Chapter 8: Lewis Admits He’s Untrained

Saturday morning Lewis set off for his usual day at work with Mike at the shop. He had no idea what the day held in store for him. He had no counselling session booked for that evening. But of course, he knew that could always change.

Mike and Lewis had their usual busy morning and Lewis was just about to pop to the chippy to get their lunch when a young lady came in. She looked to be in her early twenties.

She stood by the door looking around. She seemed uncomfortable about being there and uncertain what to do. After he had finished serving his customer, Lewis went over to her and put his hand out. ‘Hi, I’m Lewis,’ he introduced himself, ‘Can I help you?’

‘I don’t think so,’ she said as she shook his hand, ‘I’m Chloe, but it is you I came to see. A friend told me... ‘ ‘Just pause there for a moment please,’ Lewis told her, ‘I’m happy to do anything I can to help you but we’re just about to close for lunch. I’m slipping out to go to the chip shop to get our lunch so would you like to join us? Then I can tell you how I work, and you can decide if you feel comfortable enough to return at five o’clock and have a proper chat with me.’

Apart from thinking how young he looked, she liked him, and the idea of getting to know him first seemed like a very good idea. ‘Yes, I’d like that,’ she said, ‘Thank you.’ Lewis asked her what she would like and told her to go through to the back room and put the kettle on. ‘That’s Mike serving.’ he said pointing to the counter.

As she went through and Mike looked up, Lewis pointed at her back and then did a mime of eating. Mike realised right away and gave him a thumbs up.

Lewis returned with their meals just as Mike was shutting the shop up. They went through to the back room and Lewis introduced him to Chloe. ‘Nice to meet you.’ Mike told her. As Lewis set out the food and made a coffee Mike explained that Lewis usually saw people at five o’clock when he’d gone home, and the shop was shut. ‘He never tells me anything about them or what they’ve said.’ he told her.

Lewis put the food on the table and three cups of coffee. As they ate Chloe told them, ‘A boy I’ve known since school is now a policeman. I have always liked James and he likes me, but we’ve never been a couple.’

‘I’ve refused his request for a date many times over the past year. Two weeks ago, I bumped into him at the shops. He told me that he didn’t want to intrude, but if I had a problem of any sort, he had come across two young men through work who had a reputation for sorting out other people’s problems. He gave me a piece of paper with two names on. Lewis, a phone number and a note saying he works at the video hire shop near you on a Saturday. The other one was Danny, and his phone number but no other details. ‘I’ve met Danny,’ he said, ‘And he’s nice. I haven’t met Lewis yet, but everyone speaks equally highly of him.’

‘From what I’ve heard,’ he told me, ‘If you do decide to go and see either of them, I’ll never hear about it from them.’ I took it off him but didn’t say anything about it. I’ve been turning it over in my mind ever since. Today I decided to take the bull by the horns and as you were so near, pop in and at least see what you looked like.’

‘When you came over and introduced yourself, you seemed so nice that I accepted your invite to have lunch. So here I am. But I still don’t think there is anything you can do, or that I’d be able to tell you about it anyway.’

‘Don’t be so sure,’ Mike told her, ‘He helps loads of people who usually arrive looking sad and if I see them again, they always look very happy. I can also tell you that my ex-girlfriend had a very serious problem which Lewis dealt with. She is now my wife and we’ve just had our first child, Catherine.’ ‘Congratulations.’ Chloe said smiling.

‘That’s not all,’ Mike said, ‘When Valerie went into labour the ambulance was delayed so I called Lewis. He rushed round and delivered her.’ ‘Gosh,’ Chloe said, ‘How did you know what to do?’ looking at Lewis in awe. ‘One of my career options is medicine,’ Lewis answered, ‘So I had read a lot about it.’

When they had finished eating, as Mike cleared away and washed up, Lewis told her, ‘If you come back just before five, we’ll be in this room just the two of us. No one will ever know anything you tell me. But I won’t ask you to tell me about your problem. I’ll ask you all about your life and get you feeling relaxed and at ease with me first.’

‘Then it will be up to you to decide if or when you feel able to do so. If you do, then we can look at a solution. If you can’t well at least you’ve tried. Then if you decide to come back and try again another time, you won’t be coming to see a stranger.’

‘But you’ve already taken the first two of five major steps to solving any problem.’ Then as she looked puzzled, he told her, ‘You have admitted to yourself that there was a problem. By coming here today you took step two, you did something about it. There are only three more, step three is relaxing enough to tell me about it and step four is finding a solution between us. The final step number five is entirely in your hands. Deciding whether to accept the solution I suggest or not.’

‘There’s no pressure at any time,’ Lewis told her, ‘If you do come back you can get up and walk out at any time you want to, there’s no need to explain why you’re going. If you were not happy being here, we would be wasting our time anyway.’

‘I’d be delighted to see you at five, but if you decide not to, you have my number and you know where I am, you’ll always be welcome in the future.’

As he got up, he said, ‘Now I’m afraid it’s time for us to open up the shop again.’ At the door Chloe shook hands with him and told him she hoped she’d make it back for five. Then she shook hands with Mike and said, ‘Nice to meet you too and congratulations once more.’

They showed her out and within seconds the first customer was coming in through the door. ‘She seemed very nice.’ Mike said as he started serving.

As five o’clock approached there was no sign of Chloe. As Mike showed the last customer out and closed the door, they had both decided she wasn’t coming. Just as he turned away from the door there was a gentle rat-a-tat-tat.

He opened the door to find a flustered looking Chloe outside. ‘Am I too late?’ she gasped. ‘No, of course not,’ Mike said, ‘Come in.’ Lewis had heard the knock on the door and come through to the shop. ‘Come and sit down and get your breath back.’ he told her.

He sat her down at the table and made them both a coffee. ‘Take your time,’ he said, ‘There’s no rush.’ Mike came in, picked his coat up and told her, ‘Leave your problem behind when you go. Good luck.’ Chloe smiled at him and said, ‘Thank you.’

Lewis saw him out after a quick hug and kiss in the shop. As he sat at the table with her, he said, ‘The shop door is locked, and my key is in the lock. That means not even Mike can get back in. So, no one can disturb us or overhear anything you tell me. But you can open the door and leave anytime you want.’

‘When you finish your coffee, you can decide if you want to go or stay. If you decide to stay, I want you to go over to the settee, take your shoes off and lie down. I will then sit at your side and tell you what we do next.’

‘I will be trying to make you feel relaxed with me and at the same time I’ll be asking you lots of questions. They won’t be intentionally about your problem. They’ll be aimed at getting to know more about you and your life. Should I ask any question you feel too uncomfortable to answer just then, simply say ‘Pass’ and we’ll skip it until later.’

‘Nothing here will either hurt you or take you by surprise. I will tell you in advance everything I want to do, why I want to do it and what I hope to achieve. But even then, nothing happens until you say it’s ok. We move at your speed, not mine.’