Chapter 7: Living In A Water Tank

Lewis and Mike had a busy morning at the shop. Lewis had noticed that Mike seemed a bit on edge, so he hoped he’d find out what was troubling him at lunchtime.

As lunchtime approached, Mike seemed to get even more edgy. Ten minutes before closing Lewis went to the chippy further along the row of shops. On his return they closed up and went through to the back room. Over a coffee they shared the meals as usual and sat at the table eating.

As they ate, Lewis said, ‘You seem a bit on edge today, is something up?’ ‘I’m expecting some news,’ Mike said, ‘I’ll tell you all about it soon. But don’t worry its nothing bad.’ They finished their meal in almost silence. Then as they were clearing the table, Mikes phone pinged.

‘It’s Valerie outside,’ he said sounding even more worked up. ‘I’ll go and let her in.’ Nothing happened for a while. Lewis had washed the cups and was about to sit down as the two of them came through. Mike suddenly looked very happy, as did Valerie.

They stood in front of him arm in arm with big grins on their faces. Valerie looked at Lewis and said, ‘I’m pregnant.’ Lewis’s face lit up and he went over and gave her a hug, then Mike. ‘Congratulations, both of you,’ he said, ‘When are you due.’

‘The doctor reckons six months today,’ Valerie told them as she went over and sat in the armchair. ‘That’s were I’ve been this morning. As you know, neither of us are religious,’ Valerie said, ‘So we’re not going to have Godparents. We’re going to have Guardians instead. A guardian will be a person who we would trust to see that he or she was looked after properly if anything happened to us.’

‘We haven’t decided how many guardians to have yet, but we would like you to be one.’ Mike beamed at him and nodded. ‘I’d be honoured,’ Lewis said. ‘We’re going to ask Danny too,’ Mike said. ‘That’s as far as we’ve got so far. We didn’t want to say or do anything until we were certain.’

‘Well, this is a surprise,’ Lewis said, ‘But it’s a wonderful one. I’m sure you’ll make excellent parents.’

‘We haven’t thought about names yet,’ Mike told him. ‘Our first thought for a boy was Lewis, but then we wondered if that might be difficult if you were a guardian.’ ‘I’m chuffed,’ Lewis said, ‘But you should pick the name you want, don’t worry about me or anyone else.’

They chatted about how a baby would change their lives, then as time came to open the shop, Valerie set off home. During the afternoon Mike had a big grin on his face most of the afternoon.

At five-to-five Geoff arrived. He stood by the door whilst Lewis was serving. Lewis went over to him, shook his hand and said, ‘Good to see you. If you go through to the back room and make the two of us a coffee, I’ll be in in five minutes when we close.’

Soon Mike was closing the shop and Lewis went through to the back room. Geoff was sitting at the table, two steaming cups of coffee ready.

Mike came in a few seconds later, said, ‘Hi.’ told Geoff he was going to be a dad, then left.

Lewis saw him out, gave him a hug and a kiss, then as he was closing the door behind him, he called, ‘See you Monday, dad.’ Mike turned and grinned at him, waved and was gone.

Returning to Geoff, Lewis sat at the table with him. ‘Mike only learned he was going to be a dad at lunchtime.’ he told him. Geoff grinned, ‘He’s clearly happy about it.’ he said. ‘The shop door is locked,’ Lewis told him. ‘My keys are in the lock, so no one can get in and disturb us. But if you decided for any reason that you don’t want to stay, you can just get up, unlock the door, and go, ok?’

‘Ok,’ Geoff said, already feeling that that wasn’t likely to happen. ‘When we’ve finished our coffees,’ Lewis told him, ‘We will stand up. Then you choose whether to leave or to go over to the settee, take your shoes off and lie down.’

‘When you lie down, I will sit on the edge of the settee and tell you the first stage. Nothing in here will hurt you or take you by surprise. At every stage I’ll tell you what we are going to do and why. Then you choose.’

‘I should also tell you that most people’s problems involve sex in some form or another. Be aware that nothing you tell me is likely to embarrass me or indeed be anything I haven’t heard before. So don’t feel you can’t tell me something in case it upsets me. I can assure you it won’t.’

Geoff had been slightly worried that Lewis being so young would lack experience in worldly things. But now he was getting the impression that it would be he himself that was the inexperienced one.

Coffees finished, Lewis stood up and took their cups over to the sink. Turning back, he found Geoff already stretched out flat on the settee.

Going over, he sat at the side by his knees and facing him. ‘Remember the two important words,’ Lewis told him. ‘Pass and stop. Now, if you’re ready, the first thing I want you to do is to turn over and relax.’

‘I’m going to put my hands on your head and massage down your back to your feet and back up again. Whilst I do that, I’ll ask you questions about you and your life to get to know you. Hopefully I’ll relax you at the same time. If you’re ok with that, turn over.’

Geoff turned immediately. As soon as he was settled, Lewis put his hands on his head. Starting his massage, he waited until he moved down onto Geoff’s broad and powerful looking shoulders. Then he asked, ‘Tell me about where you live.’

That threw Geoff, it seemed so simple. He had been expecting questions hard or embarrassing to answer. ‘I live in an old water tower,’ he said. ‘It’s a square stone tower which used to have a big steel water tank on top to keep the local water pressure up.’

As Lewis moved down his back he answered, ‘My dad’s a builder so when modern pumps and water mains made the tower obsolete, he bought it. Some of the tank is still there forming the re-enforcing in the concrete beams. The top level which was the tank is now our lounge with great views in every direction.’

‘The next floor down has two bedrooms a bathroom and a kitchen. Below that are two more ensuite bedrooms. Then the ground floor is a utility room, general storage and an office.’

‘That sounds amazing,’ Lewis said as he moved over his cheeks. ‘How long have you lived there?’ There had been no reaction to his massage on his cheeks. Geoff answered, ‘Ten years now. The first year it wasn’t completely finished so it was a bit chaotic, but it’s great now.’

As Lewis reached his feet he asked, ‘Who lives there with you?’ ‘My mum and dad,’ Geoff answered, ‘My younger brother who is eleven and my grandfather on my mum’s side.’

‘How do you all get along?’ Lewis asked as he passed over the back of his knees on his way up again. ‘Pretty good,’ Geoff said. ‘I get on well with mum and dad. My brother and I squabble occasionally but we’re good mates really. Grandad is great he never loses his temper and is always willing to help you understand things.’

Lewis had passed over Geoff’s cheeks again, still with no reaction. As he moved on up his back he asked, ‘Apart from swimming, what sports and hobbies do you have?’ ‘I love woodwork,’ Geoff said, ‘I have a workshop at home so I’m often in it making odds and ends. I like roller skating too I go to the local rink quite often.’

Reaching his head, Lewis gave it a brief massage then told him to turn over. Smiling at him he said, ‘You’re doing well, how are you finding it.’ ‘It’s nothing like I imagined.’ Geoff replied, ‘And the massage is relaxing too, I’ve never had one before.’ ‘I’m glad you’re finding it relaxing,’ Lewis told him, ‘That will be a big help with your problem when we eventually get to it.’