SUSAN of NARNIA

Chapter 3: Lewis & Sons

Letters had been sent to contact Susan, but she had left before any of them had arrived. When she first arrived in England she made arrangements for her trunk to be sent to her parents old home and immediately started out for her father's lawyer's shop in London.

After the long voyage, Susan was very glad that she had been able to walk the distance, from the place where the cab dropped her off, to the little lawyer's shop.

"Lewis & Sons", as it was called, was situated between a factory and a concert hall, on one of the many back roads of London. Mr. Pevensie had always turned to Mr. Lewis when it came to legal matters and now Susan had come to see him.

Upon her arrival, one of the well dressed young lads who worked for Mr. Lewis cheerfully answered the door and led Susan to Mr. Lewis's private office where the old bachelor set aside the work he was busy at and quickly made himself available to her.

It was time for afternoon tea and so the two stepped out into the back lot behind his shop where Mr. Lewis had made for himself, his very own little "Patch of Heaven" as he called it. Here between the big buildings was a little garden of beautifully colored flowers, cheerful little song birds and a stone table with two stone benches upon which to rest and get one's mind off of the many trials of the day. Tea and a bit of food was brought and they enjoyed several hours of discussion.

Mr. Lewis was a short round man with a balding head and a pare of black rimmed spectacles which he most often wore down on his pointed nose. The man also had a very soft heart and couldn't help but shed some tears as he shared with her the sad affair of her families untimely demise.

Mr. Lewis further informed Susan that her father had done fairly well for himself after the war but hadn't made enough for her to keep the family home for very long. It would have to be sold soon, to pay other expenses but that there was a surprise which he wanted to be completely sure of before he told her about it. For now, Mr. Lewis told her that all her families things had been returned to her home and that she should probably return there for several days until he was able to make some final inquiries regarding that other matter.

The story couldn't have been shared with more tenderness or concern. Mr. Lewis was one of those exceptional men who had more of a father heart than most men in London, and though he was only a bachelor he had taken in many young boys, who had lost their fathers in the war. Despite his rather amusing appearance Mr. Lewis had determined that he should make honorable knights of these boys and thus sought for ways to give them work to do and thus keep them out of mischief, and the boys also adored him for it.
Thus instead of having to take a cab Susan was driven home by one of Mr. Lewis's boys. Who calmly and quietly opened the door of the car for her before returning to "Lewis & Sons".

Susan was surprised at the character of these boys. They were very different from those that she had become accustomed to in Los Angeles and in most places in London. They reminded her of her brothers, and of something which she still couldn't remember.