‘I don’t mind answering your questions, but I’m not sure how helpful my story can be. I’m just someone who got into trouble and paid a hefty price.’
Lottie moved her wheelchair closer to the desk, placing her hands by the keyboard. ‘Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you talking about having cancer as a child.’
‘Oh.’ It wasn’t something he spoke about much. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Like I said, you can think about it. This interview wouldn’t go out till February. And if it makes things easier for you, I cangive you a list of questions. You can write down your answers, ready for the time.’
He wrinkled his nose as he glanced up from fiddling with his hands. ‘Do you think people would want to listen to me saying how lonely I felt? How much I missed school? How I just wanted to be like the other kids?’
Lottie gave a small shrug. ‘That’s the thing with these interviews — my guests talk about hard subjects. Afterwards, there are always comments left by listeners saying they could relate. There could be a parent out there who hears your story, then understands the kind of things their child might be keeping to themselves.’
It certainly was something to think about, but it was also like rubbing salt in a wound. He tried to quickly weigh up which part of his life was the hardest to talk about and realized he held quite a lot of baggage.
‘I guess it would be like a therapy session,’ he questioned, more so to himself.
‘A lot have said that.’
Jamie couldn’t decide on the spot what would be best for him, so he agreed to take a list of questions home and mull it over. He figured he’d listen to what the others had to say during their interviews as well. He was sure Benny would let him use the laptop to check out the Hub’s website.
Lottie smiled. ‘I think that would be for the best, too. I’m sorry if I come across a little pushy. I just get excited for the Hub because I know the interviews help.’
‘That’s okay. I can see how passionate you are about this.’
‘I love the Hub. There are times when someone walks in looking so lost and sad, then after they’ve had a chat and a cuppa with one of us, they’ve perked right up and show signs of hope in their eyes. It’s a marvellous thing to experience.’
‘I’m booked in for my first shift with Matt the day after tomorrow. He told me to be prepared for a bit of a Christmas rush. Why does it get busier this time of year?’
Lottie shrugged slightly. ‘To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. We have more food parcels to hand out. We get more donations come in, and we add extras like chocolate selection boxes for the kids. It’s not always a fun time for people. Some are at their lowest for whatever reason, so we get more coming in just for company. When we started, we thought we’d only get one or two walk through the door, perhaps looking for help filling out applications or wanting advice or a job.’
‘I remember Alice telling me you were set up to help the homeless.’
‘We were, then we just expanded in all sorts of areas because people were coming in asking for the kind of help we weren’t expecting.’
Jamie was looking forward to helping out. He continued to chat about the Happy to Help Hub for a while before making a start on the website with Lottie, happy to listen to all her handy hints and tips.
It was nice not having any animosity between them, and he was so thankful she was making him feel comfortable and welcome, giving him and their friendship this second chance.
They spent a couple of hours together, then he headed home, whistling the same tune he’d arrived with. Things were definitely looking up.
It was just past four, and the sky was already dark, but the twinkling Christmas lights on all the shops along the harbour cheered the evening no end.
Some of the volunteers for the local charity shop were gathering outside their premises, dressed as characters fromThe Wizard of Oz, and Jamie recognized Henry, wrapped in silver material, blusher on his cheeks.
‘Hello, Henry. What’s going on here?’
Henry beamed. ‘I’m the Tin Man, and we’re going to sing carols as we walk along the harbour to cheer everyone up and raise awareness for the shop.’ He held up a battery-operated lamp. ‘Look, I have a lantern I can swing.’
‘That’s brilliant, and you look great.’
‘I come in here a lot, so Mary said I can join in with the songs.’
The woman called Mary stepped forward. ‘Who’s your friend, Henry?’
‘This is Jamie. He’s new at being a volunteer.’
Jamie smiled at Mary, dressed as Dorothy.
‘Fancy joining in, love?’ she asked Jamie. ‘Only our scarecrow just pulled out at the last minute. Stage fright, apparently.’ She rolled her pale eyes. ‘It’s just a bit of “Jingle Bells” as we stroll around the harbour. You up for that? Come on, you know you want to.’
