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Joy Mutter, author
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Category:
Memoir
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10: 1519297009
Type: Fiction
Pages: 426
Copyright: Nov 26, 2015
ISBN-13: 9781519297006
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
Book Two of The Mug Trilogy. Loosely autobiographical.
The words in this book were triggered by the entanglement between Mug, a recently divorced, disinherited, temporarily sex-obsessed woman and Michael, a complex, mendacious, Scottish baggage handler. Destiny threw this Gordian knot her way one night in early 2004. She was an honest, trusting, troubled woman in her late forties. He was an enigma in his late thirties who was hiding many shocking secrets. Her original plan was to write about their unusual story as a gift to him, taking the opportunity to describe her life prior to their meeting because it shaped how she felt about him, why she tolerated what others might deem unacceptable and dictated how she lived her future life. The purpose of this book changed into a desperate effort to make sense of unfolding, bizarre events and to help them both deal with the aftermath. The Lying Scotsman is available on Amazon at: http://amzn.to/1hh8Vdn
Excerpt
Whilst she was out she received a text from him, saying, ‘Hi, babes! When are you coming back to the house?’
Thinking he was anxious to see her, she informed him, ‘I’ll be back in a few hours. Can’t wait to see you.’
When she returned, the house was eerily silent. She expected him to be back at her home, and thought he might be sleeping in his room. When she sent him a text to ask if he was up there, he rang her and gave her yet another lie.
He said, ‘I’m at Gatwick, about to fly back up to Scotland as mum’s so ill. I don’t know how long I’ll be away.’
When she went into his room after the phone call, she fell apart. Most of his belongings had disappeared. Amongst the items he had left behind were his computer desk, leather swivel chair, a few clothes, his landline phone, a few books, a large bottle of headache tablets and worst of all, the little wooden heart she had given him. Sweating with fear, she knew then that he would be gone for a long time, maybe forever.
That night was nearly her last. She remembered he had left a huge bottle of painkilling tablets next to his bed in his room. Throughout that sleepless night, they called to her to come and swallow them. Without Michael, she simply wanted to die. It was the worst night of her life. She still believed he was up in Scotland looking after his mother and father. The fact that he had left behind the little wooden heart that she had given him broke her apart even more. She remembered the moment she had given it to him, telling him to return it to her if he no longer wanted her.
The next few days were a living nightmare. She went through all of his discarded belongings to find any clue as to what was going on because something did not add up. She found a broken picture frame at the bottom of his wardrobe with the picture of him and Monica in it. It had been intact before but now the glass was shattered into small pieces. She found his old landline phone under the bed. She plugged it in to recharge it and discovered all of his phone numbers on it for his work, his parents, Monica, his brother and his Gran. She later used what she thought was his brother’s mobile number to try to contact him. It sadly turned out to be his mother’s phone as his brother had given it to her. She also discovered all of the mobile numbers for everyone Michael worked with at Gatwick on a list she remembered him writing when he had compiled it to help out one of his bosses.
She phoned one of these work colleagues who told her, ‘We all reckon that Michael is in America. He’s sold his car and has probably flown there to be with Monica.’
She thought she would double check that information and phoned his workplace, asking if Michael was there.
His supervisor said, ‘I’m sorry. You’ve just missed him. He’s just left work to drive home.’ That meant that the story that he was in America was a total lie. His work mate had been covering his back, on Michael’s instruction.
Beside herself with rage and confusion, she texted his brother to ask what was going on, then talked to Michael’s nephew, telling him how Michael had borrowed over five thousand pounds from her to cover his other nephew’s gambling debts. This was news to the boy and quite rightly so. The nephew was very sympathetic because he had also suffered in love. She left his family in no doubt of the fact she loved Michael totally, telling them that she knew all about Michael and Monica and that Michael and Mug had been seeing each other for over five months whilst he was her lodger.
As soon as she had come off the phone, Michael rang her on her landline phone from his work, calmly saying, ‘I’ll never be coming back to your house.’ He sounded more sad than angry when he said the words.
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