Take a Chance on Me (14 page)

‘
T
oday's Sunny Sunday
joke comes from eleven-year-old Tom Baker on Nicholas Ward. Thank you Tom. Tom's joke is:
Doctor Doctor: I'm addicted to Twitter. Sorry, I don't follow you.
Boom, boom! That made us all laugh in the studio. I hope you've enjoyed the show and you'll join me tomorrow night for more jokes.'

Charlie shut off the microphone and picked up her handbag.

‘Don't go just yet,' said Sam. ‘I want to see your face when I read out the next challenge. Sit down opposite me and we'll do it live.'

Charlie moved opposite Sam and let him prepare for the show. He cued his first song.

‘You enjoying it then?' he asked.

‘I suppose, in a funny way, I am. It's quite exciting wondering what I'll be doing next. It's certainly kept me busy. I haven't had time to drip about the house being miserable.'

‘Somehow I can't see you as miserable. Now me… I can do miserable with bells on,' he chuckled. ‘Ever since I retired, I've been a right old grumpy guts. Brenda says it's my age. I think it's because life's turned out to be quite different to what I expected. I thought when I retired, we'd have more time together and enjoy getting to know each other again. I thought we might go hiking at weekends or go on some big adventure and hire a campervan to tour Europe, or buy a motorbike and head off up to Scotland. Oh, I don't know what I expected. I didn't bank on her having other interests and friends, or the grandkids always being at ours. They're great kids but... well, she never wants to be away from them. In fact, she sees more of them than she did of our own kids. She's always busy. She never seems to have time for us. Life doesn't always go in the direction you hoped, does it? Still, I don't need to tell you that. Oops, here we go. The track's almost up.

‘It's Sam the man here again. I've managed to keep the lovely Charlie Blundell behind for a few minutes so we can chat to her about the next challenge which is in an envelope in front of me. We discovered several audacious challenges dropped into our box last week and this one was selected at random.'

He picked up the envelope and ripped it open in front of the microphone and sucked air through his teeth dramatically. ‘Diving with sharks is popular with many backpackers and gap year students and often they go diving in cages to see these creatures. Not for our Charlie. There'll be no cages involved. We're challenging Charlie to have a close up encounter with ten-foot sand sharks. We've arranged for you to be sent to South Africa to dive with the toothy monsters.'

Charlie's mouth dropped open.

‘Oops, sorry, I don't mean South Africa. I mean Blue Planet Aquarium in Chester. Oh people, if you could see Charlie's face now. She looks like she's going to thump me. I think I'd better play the next song. I was going to play the theme tune to
Jaws
but I couldn't find it, so here instead is “Swim” by Madonna.'

M
ercedes was sitting
in the technician's room wearing a diving mask and a snorkel when Charlie marched back in.

‘Very funny, Mercedes! Whose idea was this? Diving in a tank of giant sharks.'

‘I think it was Ernest Peters in Esther Ward. He's only in for a few days for minor surgery and said he rather liked the idea of you in a wetsuit. He's a cool guy, especially for eighty,' said Sean while Mercedes removed the steamed up mask and snorkel. ‘He used to be a diver for the navy, years ago. I'm sure he'll give you some pointers.'

‘I'm guessing there's a bit more to this than just rolling up and ogling a couple of sharks.'

‘You guessed right. We've enrolled you on a PADI diving course. You'll be doing the learning bit online, followed by five confined dives at a local swimming pool. I'll give you details of when and where. The two open dives, sadly, won't be taking place in Barbados, but at Dosthill Quarry in Tamworth,' continued Sean in a matter-of-fact voice. ‘If you manage the online course without any problems, and fit in your dives on the dates we've provisionally chosen for you, you should easily be ready to go to Chester in four weeks. Once more that'll give us time to raise interest in the challenge and some funds. Mr Peters will be chuffed. You're okay with this, aren't you?'

‘I'm not sure yet. I'm more worried about squeezing into a wetsuit than swimming with sharks at the moment.'

‘Hey, who doesn't look good in neoprene?' Mercedes chipped in, placing the snorkel and mask on the table. ‘The mask's for you. It's just been delivered anonymously to the studio with love from a well-wisher.'

‘Who? Who knew I was going diving?'

‘Dunno. Someone in the know must have leaked it out. Sam knew. Art and Patricia know. Maybe they blabbed. Or, maybe Mr Peters told his family. Anyhow, you have some equipment to play with and an online course to study, so off you go, little mermaid. We'll get on and do the hard part, raising funds, getting sponsorship… and trying to find an insurance company willing to insure you.' Mercedes handed the mask and snorkel to Charlie. ‘Oh, before you go, you might want to watch this to help you.'

She rummaged in a plastic bag, pulled out a DVD and passed it to Charlie.

Charlie regarded the cover and shook her head, trying hard not to smile. It was a copy of
Finding Nemo
.

‘You are too much, Mercedes,' she said. ‘Hilarious. Just hilarious.'

C
harlie sat in her car
, hands trembling. She could not tell her friends. It was irrational. She was behaving like a child. She had already overcome her fear of heights. This was bigger, but she could overcome this too. She hoped.

‘Charlie Blundell you are a big baby. Get a grip,' she said out loud. It did not help. Her mobile rang, interrupting her thoughts.

‘Hello?'

‘Hi, Charlie. It's Susannah. Susannah from the belly dancing classes. I've been listening to the radio shows online. Just heard all about your latest challenge and wanted to wish you good luck. I might have another idea to help raise money for the station.'

‘What is it?'

‘Did you see the film
Calendar Girls
?'

‘Yes, but there is no way on this planet I'm taking my clothes off for a calendar. Not even for charity.'

‘Hell, no! I thought you could do a
Challenge Charlie
calendar with photos of all the challenges you have done. January could be you eating that gruesome locust. February, a photo of you with us belly-dancing girls. March, you on the roller coaster. April, you and Mercedes zip-lining. There's a very good picture of you both on the hospital radio website. What do you think?'

‘Hey, that's a great idea. I'll tell the team about it. Thanks Susannah. So, how are you getting on at the gym?'

‘Pretty good. I've lost another eight pounds and Dave says I'll soon have no belly left to dance with. I feel much better. I was scared I'd get diabetes like my mum, but since the classes I'm a lot healthier. I've changed our diet at home too. Less crap. We both eat home-made soups and casseroles now. I'm really glad I went to those classes. I'm not so moody and I have loads more energy, as Dave's discovered,' she gave a low suggestive laugh. ‘What about you?'

‘I don't have much time to exercise but I'm still feeling the benefits of the classes. I do some of the moves at home in front of the mirror each evening. But worrying about these challenges has helped keep the weight off.' Charlie wavered remembering what her next mission was to be.

‘You okay, you sound a little less perky than usual?'

‘I…er… I'm struggling with this next challenge. Promise you won't laugh if I tell you something?'

‘Of course I won't laugh. Not unless it's hilarious, then I might not be able to help myself.'

‘I suffer from selachophobia.'

‘Isn't that a wheat allergy?'

‘No,' said Charlie, laughing in spite of her anxiety. ‘It's a fear, and I mean total fear, of sharks. I have no idea why, but it started when I was a child. I wouldn't take baths when I was little because they scared me and on one holiday with my parents I ran screaming from the hotel pool yelling ‘Shark!' because I thought I saw one in the water. You're not smirking are you?'

‘No, not yet.'

‘When Gavin and I got married, he took me to the Bahamas for our honeymoon. It was beautiful there. Gavin wanted us to go snorkelling but when we went out on the boat, I couldn't get into the water. I pretended I was feeling queasy and managed to get out of it. He took me a second time and I really tried. I stood on the side of the boat. Gavin jumped in and held out his arms to me. I geared up, took a deep breath, jumped in, peered down, and began freaking out. When I panic I don't scream and carry on, my body stiffens and my face twists into one of those expressions that could easily be mistaken for erotic pleasure. Luckily, Gavin recognised the subtle differences between my trauma face and my pleasure face and got me back onto the boat, where I sobbed all the way back to the shore.

‘I explained my phobia to him and he understood. I've never had to worry about it, until now. I was about to tell the team that I can't do this challenge, when you phoned. I hate letting them down. They are so excited about it and have organised it all and of course it's to raise funds for the radio station. This isn't something I'll get over by having someone hold my hand, either. I've been hyperventilating in the car just thinking about it.'

‘I've an idea of how I may be able to help. Don't tell your colleagues you can't do the dive just yet. Do you get any time in between finishing at the café and starting your shift at the hospital?'

‘Yes, I have about three hours free. I finish at one. Why?'

‘I'll meet you at the café at one on Wednesday. Don't think about the dive or sharks until then. Promise me? Go home and have a relaxing bath and a glass of wine. Or, on second thoughts, take a relaxing shower and have a couple of glasses of wine!'

‘I'll do that. I'll think nice thoughts, practise my shimmying and wait for Wednesday. Don't forget to bring your magic wand.'

‘I'll bring my magic wand and an invisibility cloak so the sharks won't be able to see you.'

B
usiness was
brisk at the café on Wednesday. Patricia had a steady flow of people visiting the craft shop; Charlie noticed several leaving with packages.

‘Things seem to be picking up, Art,' she remarked as she waited to collect an order from him.

‘It's Patricia. She's discovered new inspiration. It's down to those animal pots. They're selling well and she seems to have attracted new customers. She worked late last night painting one batch and got up early too, to finish a new one.'

‘I'll have to go and check out the pots before they all sell out.'

Charlie served her customers and nipped out to the craft shop. There was a large poster on the door to the room. It was a photo of her sailing down the zip wire, with a request under it for sponsors.

Patricia was wrapping a purchase for a customer, a middle-aged woman wearing a dark red cape and matching hat.

‘You must be Charlie. I heard about the latest challenge,' said the woman. ‘My neighbour, Marjory, is in City Hospital at the moment. She's not too well. I visited her yesterday evening. All she could talk about was you diving with sharks. Her son lives in South Africa and he did one of those cage dives off Cape Town. Scared him witless, apparently. The sharks got frantic about the food and kept bashing into the cage. There was one really large one that kept knocking into the bars. It actually bent them. Her son said he thought he was going to get eaten. Luckily they raised his cage and got him out before that happened.'

Charlie gripped the countertop and willed herself to smile. Her heart rate accelerated.

‘I bought her one of Patricia's new range as a present,' she continued, pointing at a display. On the table was a group of pencil pots with comical faces. They stood on their fins. Each had large open mouths revealing sharp teeth. In front of them was a sign: ‘Buy a friendly shark. All proceeds go to
Challenge Charlie
.'

‘That's ten pounds, please, then Mrs Higham,' said Patricia. The woman fished about in her handbag, extracted her purse and pulled out the correct amount.

‘Aren't they fun? Well, good luck, dear. I hope the sharks in Chester aren't as bad-tempered as those South African ones.'

She left the room and disappeared down the corridor. Patricia put the money into the till and recorded the sale in a notebook on a page headed ‘Charlie'.

‘We wanted to help the radio station. We know how much it means to you and everyone there,' explained Patricia. ‘Mercedes told us about the new challenge last Sunday morning when she dropped by with Ryan. She swore us to secrecy because you hadn't been told. I'd just sold the last of my chubby sheep pots and when she told me, I had one of those Eureka moments. I came up with the idea of these new pots.'

Charlie managed to let go of the counter and embrace her friend. Now wasn't the time to explain her irrational fear. She fervently hoped that Susannah was going to be able to assist. Although Charlie couldn't imagine what she could do to stop the panic that was beginning to build up.

‘You are one of the kindest people I know. Thank you for doing this. You should keep some of the money for yourselves, though.'

‘No, I wouldn't dream of it. We're fine. Besides, since you became a minor celebrity we've had loads more people coming to the café. I'll have to get you to sign photographs and leave them here.'

The doorbell chimed and Charlie scurried off to serve. She felt awful. How could she let so many people down?

S
usannah came
in at exactly one o'clock.

‘Gosh, I almost didn't recognise you,' said Charlie. ‘You've changed so much. You're slimmer, obviously, but you've altered in other ways. You seem so composed and happy.'

‘I've got my mojo back, Charlie. I feel younger than I've done in years and Dave, well, he can hardly keep up with me, if you know what I mean,' she chuckled. ‘He asked if he could have a night off, last night.' She winked. ‘Right. Are you ready?'

‘Yes, I'll just fetch my coat and bag. Where're we going?'

‘To someone who has the power to sort out your
little problem
,' she whispered. ‘He's helped me such a lot. I would never have come to belly dancing classes if he hadn't given me the confidence to join. I've been seeing him for just over a year. He can perform miracles.'

They drove to a leafy street and parked outside a smart Victorian house.

‘Here we are. Alastair's expecting you. You're on your own now. He's a lovely man. I'll come back and get you in an hour.'

Charlie left Susannah in her car and walked up the path to the front door. As much as she wanted Alastair to help her, she couldn't shake off the feeling of skepticism about hypnotherapy. Susannah had been effusive about his ability during the journey but Charlie remained unconvinced. She rang the doorbell and was met by an eager medium-sized black Labrador carrying a teddy bear in its mouth. It dominated the doorstep until a thin man in his fifties with a balding head and kind green eyes appeared.

‘You must be Charlie. Hi, I'm Alastair. Come in. Don't mind Nero. He's very friendly and doesn't bite.'

Propelled by a thick tail, the Labrador's broad backside swung from side to side in delight as she stepped into the entrance. It dropped the bear in front of her feet, sat down and gazed at her with large amber eyes.

‘No, Nero, she hasn't come to play with you. Come on. Bring your fluffy with you. He's taken to you, Charlie. He doesn't often give up his fluffy to strangers.'

Alastair helped her off with her coat and hung it on one of the coat pegs by the door, then led the way to a large sitting room. Nero trotted behind, toy in mouth, and headed to a beanbag next to Alastair's desk, where he flopped down and draped his head over one end to observe.

‘Welcome to my office. Susannah told me you have a phobia you need to get rid of. She didn't fill me in completely, so if you don't mind, could we have a quick chat about it before we begin? Take a seat.'

Charlie sunk into a winged cream chair and glanced about the room. It was light and uncluttered. The walls were painted in a subtle grey. A modern bookcase stood against one wall, jam-packed with books. Her chair was adjacent to a stylish fireplace that housed a cream log-burning stove standing on a black marble slab. Above the fireplace was an enormous mirror that added depth to the room and reflected a calming painting of blue skies.

Alastair lowered himself lightly into the other chair opposite her. Behind him was an expensive-looking desk, as uncluttered as the room, empty apart from a laptop that was folded up neatly next to a notepad and pens. On the wall next to the desk hung a photograph taken underwater on which were written the words: Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.

‘Er, yes. It's silly really,' she said. ‘I've been terrified of sharks for years.' She gulped.

He looked directly at her. ‘No, it's not silly, Charlie. Many people have fears and phobias. They grow out of all proportion and take over. You've made the most important step by coming here and speaking to me. Tell me, have you ever been to a hypnotherapist before?'

‘No, my uncle Ernie was hypnotised once though, on stage at a working men's club. He kept clucking like a chicken. My Aunt Maude told everyone about it and said his chicken impression was so realistic, she thought he was going to lay an egg.'

Alastair smiled. ‘Fortunately for you, I don't work like that. Could you imagine the scandal if I transformed patients into chickens? Mind you, I'd be okay for omelettes for a while.'

Charlie laughed, relaxing a little. Nero looked up at the sound, then snuggled down with his fluffy toy.

‘Is there any reason you want to get over this fear? Or, have you merely decided you don't want it anymore?'

‘I need to get over it. I am supposed to be doing a dive with sharks for charity and I don't want to back out of it. I would let down far too many people. I'm not sure I can even take the diving course that's been arranged. I might be okay at a swimming pool but an open dive… It's a stupid fear. It's bizarre. If it were spiders that would make sense, but sharks? It's not like they're going to suddenly come swimming into the supermarket while I'm shopping, or leap out of my plughole when I'm washing up my breakfast bowl.'

‘I agree, that's not likely. But it's important to understand what fear is and how to control it. Fears arise in the unconscious part of our minds. You need to be able to use the conscious part of your mind to control it, that's all. Hypnotherapy works by bypassing our conscious minds and focuses on retraining our unconscious. It won't take many sessions to fix the problem. Then you'll be able to swim with sharks, pat them on their heads, and tickle their tummies, or whatever you want to do. To begin, I'm going to just talk to you about fear and how to cope when you feel frightened. If you'd like to just relax in the chair, we'll get going.'

‘What, no swinging pendulum, or a watch on the end of a chain?'

‘No, I don't require gimmicks. I'm going to use a special technique called the Rewind Technique. Just sit back in the chair and, if it helps, close your eyes, then breathe in and out. Imagine waves of relaxation running down your body from your scalp downwards, washing out stress. Let the waves run in time with your breathing, first washing down over your head, then your neck, then your torso, then your arms, and finally your legs. Feel the muscles in your body relaxing as the waves wash over them and breathe in and out.'

The chair was extremely comfortable. Alastair's mellifluous voice drifted over her, calming her nerves. She became aware of the sound of her own breath as she breathed rhythmically in time to his voice. The more she concentrated on his voice, the slower her heart rate became and the more she felt herself drift into a relaxed state. She closed her eyes for a moment and listened.

‘There's a part of you which is separate from the conscious. That part knows how to produce dreams at night. It knows how to relax you deeply, and it knows how to grow your hair, digest your food and blink… all beyond your conscious awareness. It knows more than you do about many things that happen in your body and your mind. It's that part of you I am going to talk to.'

Charlie thought Alastair's voice sounded a little deeper and slower as she continued to listen.

‘When you go into hypnosis… you just start to feel a little dreamy… sometimes you start to focus on sensations in the body… like comfort and warmth in your hands… or you begin to notice your breathing… and the way it… slows… a… little… and often your eyelids start to
feel heavier… like they're
feeling sleepy… and sometimes images flit into your mind… of pleasant scenes… like the way the sky looks so blue on a summer's day at the beach… or the birds singing in the woods … and when you… drift into hypnosis… you pay less attention to the room around you… you just start to forget about all that… and… drift inwards…'

Alastair stopped for a moment. Charlie's breathing was inaudible, her face was relaxed and her eyelids fluttered from time to time.

‘Charlie I want you to imagine somewhere where you feel safe and at ease. Have you got a safe place?'

Charlie smiled.

‘Now, I want you to imagine you are there. You're feeling at ease just like you do now. There's a TV set and a video player with a remote control in there with you. Now, you're floating to one side of the picture, out of body. You can see yourself sitting comfortably. You're watching yourself watching the screen, but you can't see the picture. There's a film playing of the first time you became frightened of sharks. The film's going to start at that point and will play all the way through, but you are safe. The film will end when the event is over.'

Charlie's face tensed. Her brow furrowed. But she calmed again.

‘Charlie, keep listening to me. You're going to float back into the body that's watching the film. You're at the end of the film, at a safe point. Pick up the control. Use it to rewind the film quickly to the point where it began. Now, I want you to use your control and watch the same film while pressing the fast forward button. Go quickly through it with your finger on the fast forward button. The film will race past.'

Charlie's face changed again and her head turned from side to side as she wrestled with her inner demons.

‘Well done. Remember, you are completely safe in this nice warm room. You are very relaxed. You're feeling calm. Next, you're going to rewind the film, only this time you'll do it more slowly.'

Alastair repeated the exercise several times with Charlie, suggesting she changed the speed of the control until he thought she was showing less emotion at the scenes.

‘So, Charlie, when you put on the wetsuit and go diving you will feel confident. You will feel calm. When you dive with the sharks you will be positive and relaxed.'

Alastair brought Charlie back to full awareness. Nero raised his head and watched them both.

‘Oh goodness. I feel quite a bit better. That was incredible.'

‘I think you should come along for another session after you do your first dive in the swimming pool, then another before you do an open dive, and of course one follow-up appointment before the big dive. Would you like a cup of tea now?'

‘Thank you, I'd love one. You didn't ask me to tell you what was on the television screen,' she said.

‘I don't need to know. You needed to discover where it all began because now you can deal with it. That's what matters.'

There was a knock at the office door and a woman dressed in a long shirt and leggings came in. Nero's tail thumped against the floor.

‘Hi, I'm Julia, Alastair's wife. I brought tea and biscuits but if you'd rather have coffee?'