Unlikely Places Read Online Free Page A

the
length of three double decker buses, with as I discovered a sizable car park
around the back. The building looked quite worn constructed with red brick and
with carved stone detail around the doors and windows. Leaving my range rover
in the car park I walked around the front of the building entering through a
large carved archway with curved wooden doors. The reception counter on the
left was manned by a tall slim woman who pointed me in the direction of
conference room one.
    The door was ajar I could hear paper shuffling on the other
side, I knocked softly as the door swung fully open brining me face to face
with a middle aged man with a bushy beard.
    “Hi....I’m looking for Mike Green?” I said nervously.
    “You’ve found him.....are you Alexandra Philips?”
    “Yes”.
    “Come in....take a seat”. He started to offer his hand for
me to shake than changed his mind waving me to a selection of chairs. The room
was bare apart for some historical prints of the city on the walls.
    “Thanks”. I
chose what I hoped was the most comfortable chair, is this the first test?
    “I was just looking at my notes, so you’re down for ten
hours of counselling plus some community payback time?”
    He removed his glasses to look at me again. “Yes that’s
right”. I said looking at the varnished but worn parquet floor, feeling
thoroughly embarrassed.
    “Have you started your payback yet?”
    “No not yet”.
    “Okay so my job here is to produce a report for the
probation service.....keep them informed of any problems or progress”.
    I nodded in agreement.
    He looked up pen poised to write. “So...are you employed at
the moment?”
    “Yeah....I work for a small text book publishing firm I do
some of the dtp layout work”.
    “Do you enjoy it?”
    “Yeah its ok I get to choose my own hours which I like
so....”.
    “Good so......Why do you think you’re here?” He asked
observing me wriggling uncomfortably in my chair.  
    Deep breath. “Well....I think it was officially called
alcohol related destruction to property....but basically I smashed up two
cars”. Hoping my honesty would be rewarded in the future.
    “How much would you say you drink on average per week?”
    Here we go. “Um I’d say nothing to a bottle of wine
maybe.....not much”.
    “But not that day......Why do you think you drank so much
that particular day?”
    “I don’t know....I think I....just got a bit wound up and
lost it for a bit....I guess”.
    “Has it happened before?...Or since?”
    “No”. I was grateful there was no sign of smugness in his
voice.
    “So...you think it’s an isolated incident?”
    “I hope so....yes”.
    “Was there something going on in your life at that time?”
    “You’ve read my file...I’m sure it says my father died in a
car accident”.
    “Yes it does”. He looked back to his papers. “He died in
January almost two years earlier....were you struggling with your loss at this
time?”
    “I....think I’d come to terms with it by then...I’d had
bereavement counselling for a while after he died”.
    “Do you have any close family nearby?”
    “A sister she lives nearby we’re pretty close”.
    “What about your mother?”
    “My parents got divorced when I was fifteen...my sister and
I both moved with my father....she disappeared from our lives...I don’t have
any contact with her...I think my sister does I’m not sure”.
    “Would you like to have contact with her?”
    “I don’t know....maybe I haven’t seen her for so long...I
don’t know...I don’t really think about it”. He scribbled down more notes
before posing a further question.
    “Tell me about the cars you damaged?”
    “I...Um I heard about a close friend being caught for drink
driving....it made me angry they were a close friend that had helped me get
over the death of my father.....I...it brought it all back up again I got drunk
and....lost it for a bit...I didn’t plan it really or I guess I wouldn’t have
got