Visions & Revisions: An anthology of new writing by Junior Cycle Teachers [selected extracts]

Yvonne Corscadden
THE UNWELCOME MAT [EXTRACT]
April 2019
‘That!’ Oscar remarked holding up the manuscript, a little
uncomfortably, even though he was normally quite at home in
his own office. ‘Well darling … How can I put this nicely?’
He paused nervously as he sat down in his big plush
office chair. He looked his best friend in the eye and continued,
‘That… Well… It’s just not good!’ he exclaimed. He continued
quickly, ‘Look Jane, you know I love you and I know that you’ve
been through a hell of a hard time, but the raw emotion and
utter heartbreak that you captured in The Unwelcome Mat just
isn’t here.’
He moved from behind his desk, and sat down in the chair
beside Jane and picked up her hand in his to comfort her.
‘Look at it this way,’ he began, slowly and deliberately.
‘When Aoife passed, I had never seen anyone in such a state.’ He
paused and tried to reach her eyes with his. ‘You are a young
woman, you should have been in the prime of your life but you
couldn’t eat, sleep, dress yourself. AND let’s be honest. You stank,
and I mean, you literally stank. That apartment that you shared
with Aoife was an actual pigsty. I realise I should have been more
worried about you. As soon as I knew you were writing, I knew
that you’d be okay.’
Jane could easily have taken offence, and maybe she would
have, if it had been anyone but Oscar, but she knew that he was
right.
‘I did stink,’ she agreed. ‘But if it hadn’t been for the writing,
I don’t know how I could have coped,’ Jane interjected, with a
tear beginning to gather in the corner of her eye. ‘Sorry Osk,’
THE UNWELCOME MAT
she continued as she wiped the tear away. ‘I thought I had this
random crying thing under control. But that novel flew out of
me. It was like I needed to get the words out of me so that I
could get rid of some of the hurt and the pain that was tearing
me apart.’
Her voice cracked and she sat back in her seat, throwing
her head back and inhaling deeply, trying to keep a second tear
at bay.
‘I know my love, I know.’ His tone was comforting and
he reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. ‘It was
your saving grace… And let’s be honest, and I’m not trying to be
flippant here… but you got a nice few Euro out of it too, not to
mention global recognition and a film deal. So it wasn’t exactly
all bad.’ He looked at her with a little glint in his eye, ‘AND best
of all. It placated your father!’
Jane looked at him, raised her eyebrows and smiled, ‘And
you didn’t do too badly out of it either!’
Oscar put his hands up in surrender and continued, ‘Hey,
look! I’ve been in the publishing game for three decades and you
are my only Pulitzer Prize winner, so I’m not complaining. But I
wouldn’t be doing any of us any favours if I publish this!’
Once again, he waved the manuscript at her. ‘It’s… Terrible,
awful, dreadful, unpleasant… How many other synonyms can I
use… Go on… You tell me, you’re the writer?!!?’
Finally Jane broke down laughing. That type of laugh that
clears a lot of pent up energy. ‘You’re right!’ she announced. ‘It’s
shit.’ She paused. ‘It IS shit, it’s shit, it’s shit!’ she yelled, with
each iteration of the phrase getting louder and louder until they
both collapsed and laughed as only old friends can. ‘I’m so lucky
that you took me under your wing when you did. I’m so lucky
to have you in my life, Osk. No one else could deliver such bad
news with such brutal honesty and still have me laughing at the
end.’
He smiled and she could see that he was a little relieved to
have delivered the brutal truth to her about her manuscript.
‘It’s why I’m such a fantastic editor. And also why I’m so
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