Page 27 of The Missus
‘How did that make you feel?’
Luke shrugged. ‘Good. Because he was a mechanic. And he thought I was better than him.’
‘Is that something you need to feel? Better than others?’
‘Everyone wants to feel special.’
‘You can’t feel special without lying?’ Alanna asked.
‘I don’t know. Sometimes I feel a bit… It’s just fun.’
‘If it’s so fun, why are you here?’ Alanna pressed him.
‘Because my wife said she’s gonna leave me if I don’t come,’ he admitted.
‘It seems like it would be pretty easy for you to lie and pretend you came,’ Alanna posited.
‘I would. But she’s sat in the reception waiting for me.’
That was a pretty good answer. ‘What brought that to a head?’
‘I lied about some stuff, and she caught me.’
Now they were getting to it. Last week’s session had been one lie after another, so she’d never gotten to this point with him. ‘What did you lie about?’
‘I got sacked a few months ago. I told her I was going to work when I wasn’t.’
‘Where were you going?’
‘I was having an affair with this gorgeous French woman who teaches my son piano.’
Alanna raised an eyebrow. ‘Were you?’
Luke tutted. ‘I was going to betting shops.’
‘Why did you want me to think you were having an affair?’
‘Because… I don’t know, do I? That’syourjob,’ he said defensively.
‘I can’t tell you how you feel. You have to dig for it. Or this can’t work. Why does lying make you feel special?’
He crossed his arms. ‘Well, Iamspecial, because I’m a great liar. So it is like being an orchestra bloke. I conduct the world with my words, innit?’
‘It didn’t work with your wife. She saw through the lie.’
‘That’s only because my bastard brother-in-law ratted me out. He’s the one with the problem!’
‘He is?’
‘Yeah. He’s a gambling addict. That’s how he found me out. Ran into him at Ladbrokes.’
Alanna was not about to be diverted. ‘Why wereyouat Ladbrokes?’
‘I like a flutter, that’s all. My dad used to take me when I was a kid. It was how we bonded.’
‘Your dad used to take you gambling? What about your mother? Was she fine with that?’
Luke laughed. ‘She never found out. We told her we were fishing.’
