Chapter 6: Ruperts Raw Deal

Thursday evening Lewis got a long text from a boy at school. ‘Hi Lewis,’ the message said, ‘My name is Rupert. You don’t know me, I’m at your school but two years lower that you. I am living in a care home and have a problem that’s really getting me down. There’s no one here I can risk talking to.’

‘I heard someone talking at school a few weeks ago and your name was mentioned. I didn’t hear much of the conversation, but I did hear it said that you were safe to talk to.’

‘When I saw you in the hall with Michael and Dudley on Monday, I finally made up my mind I had to do something. I spoke to Michael later who I know slightly through swimming. He seemed to guess right away that I was worried about something. He gave me your number as well as a glowing reference. It’s taken me a few days to pluck up courage to contact you even so.’

‘There’s probably nothing you can do to help, but I’d be very grateful if I could talk to you. Just telling someone would probably help a lot.’

Thanks,

Rupert.

Lewis texted back saying, ‘Hi Rupert, yes certainly we can meet up. You are quite right, talking about a problem always makes it seem lighter. I normally see people Saturday evening, but I’m busy this Saturday. Can you make five o’clock tomorrow, Friday instead?’

Best wishes,

Lewis.

When Rupert texted back saying yes, Lewis sent him the details of the shop. He texted Mike out of courtesy who replied yes immediately.

Friday evening Lewis got to the shop at ten to five, to find a young boy already waiting outside looking in the window. He looked of Indian origin and was very thin and short. He only looked about eleven or so.

Seeing Lewis approaching he gave him a nervous smile and said, ‘Hi Lewis, I’m Rupert.’ As they shook hands he said, ‘Thank you so much for seeing me, I hope I’m not being a nuisance.’ ‘Not at all.’ Lewis said, ‘Come on in.’

Mike was serving a customer, so Lewis waved and took Rupert straight through to the back room. ‘Make us two coffees,’ Lewis told him, ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes. Mike will be in to collect his coat then we’ll be on our own.’

‘I’ll explain how I work and what happens if you stay. Then you can decide if you want to stop. Ok?’ he asked with a smile. ‘Yes, thank you,’ Rupert answered giving another nervous smile.

Going into the shop he went behind the counter with Mike. ‘This was a sudden request,’ Lewis told him. ‘Rupert sounded very stressed so thanks for tonight.’ ‘You know you don’t have to ask permission,’ Mike said, ‘You only need to tell me so that I know you’re in here.’ ‘I know,’ Lewis said. ‘Thanks.’

As Mike closed up the shop, Lewis went back to Rupert. He was sitting at the table with two cups of coffee. Mike came in, said, ‘Hi Rupert, you’re in good hands, good luck.’ He gave him a smile and left. ‘I’ll just lock up after him.’ Lewis said following him out.

As he and Mike had a hug and a kiss, Mike said, ‘Poor kid, he looks terrified. See you tomorrow.’ he said and left. Returning to the back room, Lewis explained about the key in the door and getting out anytime he wanted to.

Sitting down at the table they sipped their coffees. ‘I’ll explain about what happens whilst we drink. Then you decide if you want to stop or not.’ Lewis told him all the options, all about relaxing first and leaving without explanation. ‘No one will ever know anything you say or do in this room unless you tell them yourself,’ Lewis told him. ‘Mike knows you’re here but no one else will ever know you’ve been unless again, you tell them.’

As they finished their coffees, Lewis said, ‘If you decide to stay, I’ll ask you to take your shoes off and go and lie on the settee. Then I’ll tell you the next stage. It’s your choice now, door or settee. Remember if you’re not happy being here with me, we’re both wasting our time.’

Rupert got up, went to the settee, kicked his shoes off and lay down. As Lewis sat down at his side, he looked very anxious. ‘Try to relax,’ Lewis told him. ‘Nothing we do is going to hurt you, and nothing will happen unawares. I’ll tell you what I want to do next, why I’m doing it and what I hope to achieve. Even then nothing happens unless you say ok, go ahead.’

‘We’re not going to talk about your problem just yet. The first thing we have to do is in two parts. One is to get you feeling relaxed and at ease with me. Two is for me to learn more about you and your life. Only when we’ve finished all that will we look at your problem.’

‘As I don’t know what your problem is yet, I might ask you something about it without realising it. If I do, and you don’t feel able or willing to answer it just then, all you need to do is say ‘Pass.’ If you do, we’ll skip it until later, ok?’

‘Ok.’ Rupert said, still sounding terrified. ‘Now,’ Lewis said, ‘To achieve both of those things, in a moment I’m going to ask you to turn over. Then I’m going to put my hands on your head and massage your back down to your feet and back. Whilst I do that, I’ll ask you questions. Do you think you can manage that?’

Rupert nodded then whispered, ‘Yes.’ ‘If anything bothers you at any time,’ Lewis told him, ‘Just call out ‘Stop’ and we’ll take a break. Understood?’ ‘Yes,’ Rupert replied, a little firmer this time.

Lewis smiled encouragingly at him, ‘Turn over if you’re ready to start.’ he said. Rupert hesitated a few moments, then he turned over. Lewis rested his hands on Rupert’s head and started massaging very gently. ‘I won’t start moving down or asking questions,’ he said, ‘Until you say go.’

After a few moments a quiet but firm, ‘Go.’ was heard. ‘Well done,’ Lewis said, ‘Every journey starts with the first step.’ As he moved down onto his very slight shoulders Lewis asked, ‘Tell me your age and how you come to be living in a care home.’

He felt Rupert go extremely tense as his hands touched his shoulders. He stayed tense as Lewis moved on down but still manage to answer, ‘I’ve just turned fourteen,’ he said. ‘My parents came over from India many years ago. My dad and my elder brother were killed in a bit of a riot where we first lived.’

‘Mum and I moved here when I was seven. Then just over a year ago she started having dizzy spells and a month later had a stroke. She had to go into a care home, and I was taken into care.’

As Lewis reached his waist, he was still tense although it seemed to have eased a little. As Lewis moved up onto his cheek’s he went rigid and called out, ‘Stop, please stop.’ Lewis took his hands away immediately.

‘Turn over,’ he said. When he had, Lewis held his arms out and told him to sit up. He did but kept his arms to himself. Lewis put his arms around him and held him gently. ‘Remember nothing here will hurt you,’ he said. ‘We’ll wait a few moments for you to calm down, then only if you feel up to it, I’ll start at your head again. Remember there’s no rush, we move at your speed no matter how long it takes. If we don’t succeed today, we’ll keep on trying until we do.’

Rupert rested his head on Lewis’s shoulder. He was still very tense, but he said, ‘Thank you.’ ‘Stay there as long as you like,’ Lewis said, ‘Then when you feel ready, lie down again. If you’re ok to carry on then, turn over. If you’d rather start off lying on your back it’s no problem, I can massage your front instead.’

Although Lewis’s touch on his cheeks had terrified him, Rupert knew that that was because of his experiences, not a fear of Lewis. He stayed as he was for a few more moments, then he sat up.

Lewis just sat still, saying nothing. Rupert lay down then turned over. As Lewis put his hands back on his head and started massaging, he said, ‘Remember you can say stop as many times as you need to.’

As he moved onto his shoulders, Rupert tensed up again. As he massaged them Lewis asked, ‘How often do you get to see your mum?’ ‘Once a month,’ Rupert told him, ‘She’s in a home about fifty miles away so I have to save up for the bus fare.’ As he moved down his back Lewis asked, ‘How is she, does she know who you are when you visit?’

‘Yes, she does,’ Rupert said, ‘She always recognises me when I walk in, but she gets forgetful as we talk and often falls asleep mid conversation. She also gets confused. She thinks I’m living at home with my dad. I don’t correct her as it would only upset her.’ He had been very tense all the way down his back, but it hadn’t made any difference when Lewis moved up onto his cheeks.

As he finished speaking Lewis was part way over his cheeks. Rupert seemed to suddenly realise it and tensed up even more. As he opened his mouth to call out stop, Lewis moved off onto his thighs. That seemed to be enough to silence him although he still remained very tense.

As he moved down his legs Lewis asked, ‘Is her health likely to improve?’ ‘No,’ Rupert told him, ‘She is comfortable and seems happy enough, but the matron told me she could have another stroke at any time which would probably be fatal.’

‘That’s rough,’ Lewis said, ‘I bet it really gives her a boost having you visit.’ ‘Yes,’ Rupert said, ‘Matron says she always seems brighter after my visit, I would love to go more often.’