The un-sanitised, hilarious and emotionally honest story about one man's quest to start his adult life again from Scratch.
Scratch is complete at 98k words.
Jim Cooper, a 33 year-old Glaswegian call centre worker, makes a big decision. He’s going back to adulthood ground-zero - no job, no debt, no, er, home, and starting again. Maybe this time he can do it right and get (or, rather, keep) the girl.
Given that his forward planning skills don’t extend beyond praying and having panic attacks, it isn’t surprising when Jim soon finds himself living with his parents and working for minimum wage, in the same pub he worked in when he was 18. Paula Fraser walking through that pub’s door for the first time in 12 years though, that is unexpected.
What’s even more surprising is that Paula admits she still loves Jim. But she’s married, and doesn’t want to be ‘a bitch’ until she’s told her husband the marriage is over. Unfortunately her husband is caring for his sick, possibly dying, beloved grandfather, and Paula can’t bring herself to have ‘the conversation’ until the old man gets better, or fatally worse.
And so, Jim and Paula embark on the tricky business of not having an affair, and not telling anyone they know that they’re not having an affair. Shouldn't be a problem, surely?