Chapter 2 : Johnathans Terror

Saturday morning it was back to normal with Mike at the shop. A busy morning then lunch. Over lunch Mike asked how he had got on with the relief manager. ‘Very well,’ Lewis said, ‘He was really nice.’ ‘I never thought about Dudley on Mondays, Mike said, how did you manage?’ ‘My impression was that Warren wouldn’t have minded,’ Lewis said, ‘But we made it an hour later after he had gone, just to be on the safe side.’

Mike grinned, ‘There’s always a way,’ he said. ‘If you liked him, I’ll ask for him next time the need arises.’ ‘He’s left,’ Lewis told him. ‘What on earth did you do to him?’ Mike asked laughing.

‘It turned out he had an engineering degree,’ Lewis said, ‘But he hadn’t been able to get a suitable job at the time. I asked John who’s boat I saved if he’d give him an interview. As it happened Warren had taken a week’s holiday this week. So, he went over to see him on Monday. John asked him to work a trial few days, so he worked there for the rest of the week. He called at home last night to tell us he’d got a permanent job.’

‘You never cease to amaze me,’ Mike said, ‘You just can’t avoid helping people, can you?’ After they had finished eating, Mike showed him the pictures of Venice. ‘It looks an amazing place,’ Lewis told him, ‘I’ll have to go one day.’ ‘Perhaps you and Ella on honeymoon?’ Mike said, ‘I’m sure she’d love a sail in a gondola.’ Lewis said grinning.

‘You might have to be quick,’ Mike told him, ‘The whole place is sinking. Apparently its built on wooden stilts driven into the middle of a marsh. They’ve been sinking slowly for centuries and now the water levels are rising as well. In the winter the canals flood over the sidewalks and everyone walks round in wellies.’

They were just getting ready to open up when Mikes phone rang. It was obviously Valerie, so Lewis got up to go and open the shop. As he reached the door Mike called him back. ‘I’m redundant already, it’s you she wants,’ he said.

Lewis came back and took the phone. Mike said, ‘I’ll go and open up,’ as he went through to the shop. ‘Hi Valerie,’ Lewis said, ‘Did you enjoy Venice, I’ve just been looking at the photos.’ ‘Yes, it was lovely,’ she said ‘I love travelling and it’s so much nicer with Mike. The sex was good too,’ she added. ‘Yes, well, I thought it would be,’ Lewis said grinning.

‘Anyway, the reason I called,’ Valerie said, ‘My boss at work rang me earlier to see how the trip went. In conversation he mentioned that he was worried about his eighteen-year-old son. Apparently, he’s been down in the dumps for the past two weeks and refuses to tell anyone what’s up.’

‘I told him it was probably just a teenage thing, but if he wanted, I knew a lad a similar age to Johnathan who was an expert at drawing problems out of people and solving them. He asked immediately if he could send him over today.’

‘I’ll have to check my appointment book,’ Lewis said laughing. ‘Ah yes, I have a slot free at five o’clock.’ ‘I’ll tell him and let you know,’ Valerie told him. Lewis went through to the shop where they had their usual busy afternoon.

An hour later Valerie rang and said Johnathan was coming, but he had had to be pushed.

At ten minutes to five a lad who looked older than Lewis came in, looked around and stood as if unsure what to do. He was about Lewis’s height but although by no means a Tarzan, he had more muscle on him than Lewis.

Lewis went over to him and said, ‘Hi I’m Lewis, are you Johnathan?’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘But I don’t want to be here.’ ‘That’s ok,’ Lewis said, ‘I don’t want you here either, unless you choose to stay. But I guess your dad has pushed you, so unless you at least hear me tell you what I can do for you, you’ll never get him off your back.’

‘I guess so,’ Johnathan said, ‘Sorry if I was a bit abrupt, I know it’s not your fault.’ ‘If you go through into the back room and make us two coffees,’ Lewis told him, ‘I’ll be finished here at five, then Mike will go home. We can have a private chat then. Milk and two sugars for me,’ he added with a grin.

Johnathan went through to the back room and Lewis returned to serve the last few customers. Soon all was sorted, customers gone, shop shut and lights out. They went through to the back room where Lewis introduced Mike and Johnathan. Mike gave his usual spiel about Lewis and headed off home.

Returning to the back room, Lewis sat at the table with Johnathan. ‘The front door is locked, and my keys are still in the lock. Absolutely no one can get in and hear anything you say.’ Lewis told him. ‘As far as I am concerned you are free to get up and go anytime you like without giving a reason,’ Lewis said. ‘But if you go too soon, you’re not going to get your dad off your back because he’s worried about you. So, for your sake and your dad’s, at least hear me out.’

‘Let me tell you first that I will never tell anyone anything that you say or do in this room. That is why so many people have found themselves able to confide in me.’

‘You should also know that problems never go away, if you do nothing about them, they just get worse.’

‘I may be young, but I’ve dealt with problems so embarrassing that it is most unlikely that yours is any more embarrassing. Although it probably seems that way to you.’

‘Now if you decided to stay and let me help you, I would not ask you about the problem right away. I would first get you relaxed with me and find out all about your life and the people around you. Everything in fact except about your problem. We would not look at your problem until you felt enough at ease with me to do so. I can assure you that although you are at this moment thinking, that that can never happen, it will.’

‘Once a problem is out in the open and talked about, it is usually easy to find a solution. Now, we have finished our coffees so it’s your moment to decide your future. ‘There’s a famous verse, “There is a time in the affairs of men,” which explains how your future is affected by your decision at critical times in your life. Right now, is one of those times for you. If you want to keep your problem, just get up and go. If you want to at least try to solve it, go and sit on the settee. There’s no pressure from me, because there is nothing I can do without your full cooperation.’

‘If we start and I change my mind’, Johnathan said after a few minutes thinking, ‘I can just get up and go without saying a word?’ ‘Yes,’ Lewis said. ‘This is for your benefit. If you don’t want to stay, there’s no point in continuing.’

‘Fair enough,’ Johnathan said as he got up and went over to sit on the settee. ‘Take your shoes off and lie down,’ Lewis told him, ‘Then I’ll tell you what the first stage is.’ Once he was settled, Lewis sat on the edge of the settee, smiled at him and said, ‘In a moment I want you to turn over onto your front. Whilst I ask you all about yourself and your life, I’m going to massage your back from head to foot and back again to relax you.’

‘When I ask you questions, remember all I know about you so far is that you are eighteen, your name is Johnathan, and your dad is Valerie’s boss. So, give me as much detail as you can. Now, because I have no idea what your problem is yet, I might inadvertently ask you something connected with it. If I do, and you don’t feel ready to answer it, just say pass and we’ll move on.’