June 25, 2025 • 39 mins
Episode 5: Story Time — 17 Cats, 2 Writers, and One Very Unwell Man
In our first official Story Time episode, we (Kayla Ogden and Rachel Cyr) read aloud the short stories we wrote based on prompts from The Writer’s Toolbox—including the eerie first line “There were 17 cats living in Larry’s basement.” What follows is a shared descent into feline chaos, lonely hearts, and the kind of dark humor that sneaks up on you.
We talk through the weirdly specific details we both managed to include, and the experience of writing from unusual points of view.
Plus: we challenge ourselves to enter a short story contest with a 4-day deadline, chat about storytelling chemistry, and unpack what it means to “talk in stories.” If you like fiction, prompts, or listening to two writers try to out-weird each other, this one’s for you.
Please subscribe, rate and review!
New episodes every Wednesday.
E-mail us your short story at contact@writeyourheartoutpod.com
Follow us on instagram @writeyourheartoutpod
Leave us a message at 650-260-4885
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Write your heart out.
Hey, this is Write Your HeartOut, the podcast, and I'm Kayla
Ogden.
And I'm Rachel Sear.
And we are going to go over someshort stories that we wrote
(00:20):
based on prompts that we pickedfrom the Writer's Toolbox last
week.
Yes.
And I think that we are going todo this on a regular basis, just
picking prompts from this gamethat Kayla's husband bought for
her, and then writing stories tosee how wild they get, like how
wildly different They are in ourown styles and where our brains
(00:42):
go.
And I think it's gonna be reallyfun.
Yeah, I think it'll be reallyfun.
We were thinking maybe we woulddo, these episodes would all
have a certain name, like maybestory time, and then you can see
them in the feed.
And if this is something thatyou like, you like to sort of
listen to almost like an audiobook kind of vibe, you can like
click to that.
Or if you want more, I don'tknow, discussions and tips and
(01:02):
things like that, you couldlisten to the other ones.
UNKNOWN (01:04):
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
Yeah.
I think it's gonna be fun.
I think, yeah.
Well, hopefully both.
Hopefully both.
Yes.
Okay, so just a reminder.
So we picked these from a boxcalled the Writer's Toolbox.
And in it, it had some popsiclesticks where it gave prompts
about first sentences and thingslike that.
And then we had another one thathad the protagonist.
(01:27):
And then it had another one thatwere called Sixth Sense Cards,
which was just like a randomline that you had to use in your
story somehow.
And so our protagonist wasLeora, who loves to visit israel
our first sentence was therewere 17 cats living in larry's
basement and our sixth sensecard was ripped upholstery okay
(01:52):
i'm gonna go first and we'regonna read our stories to you
and then we'll talk about itwe'll talk about it in between
yeah well you'll read yourswe'll talk about it i'll read
mine we'll talk about it andthen we'll talk even more about
it yeah okay so my story endedup getting to about about 3 000
words so it's a little longyou're gonna have to bear with
me here, but I think it's like afun little roller coaster.
(02:12):
Oh my god, okay.
Okay, so no more disclaimers.
I've titled it Cat People.
I don't, I couldn't, I couldn'tdecide what to call it.
Okay, here we go.
There were 17 cats living inLarry's basement, each named for
a woman that he once knew orthat he longed to get to know.
The light tinkling of bells fromtheir collars and the stench of
(02:33):
urine combined and wafted underthe basement door into the
kitchen.
Do you like to cook?
Leora looked around at thecluttered countertops, keeping
her hands on her lap as to nottouch anything.
She perched at the edge of herseat, conscious of her blouse,
careful not to lean onto thedark, sticky film that she had
observed on the back of herchair.
She eyed the refrigerator thatseemed to be covered in that
same substance and wondered ifhe would offer her a beverage
(02:56):
from that fridge, or if it evenworked.
Oh, Larry looked around, tryingto find words, as though they
may be hiding amongst the catfood cans and empty Tangeray
bottles littering thecountertops.
I order out mostly.
I have a hard time going out.
Leora nodded, not surprised byhis admission.
This kitchen was a place ofhorrors, unlike her own home,
(03:16):
full of light and sweet-smellingpastries.
Leora loved to bake.
She had brought him her famousbrownies, a treat she was known
for at the travel agency.
The box sat unopened on thecounter next to him.
I don't see any cats, but I seea lot of cat food.
Do your kitties not like people?
Leora is searching for the room,desperate for anything to relate
to him about.
There must have been somereason.
(03:37):
Gladys had suggested she dateher son.
No, no, they don't.
Larry blinked hard as he triedto get the words out of his
mouth.
It looked challenging and almostpainful.
He glanced down at her sittingin the chair and saw the twitch
of her mouth.
He saw her trying.
It had been so long since anyonehad put any effort into getting
to know him.
He hadn't remembered what thisfelt like.
Most of them don't anyway.
(03:59):
I have 17.
Oh goodness, that's a lot ofcats.
I have only one.
Leora points to the door towardsthe sound of the tinkling cat
collar bells.
Do they mostly stay in there?
Yes, yes, in the basement.
He looked at the door andnoticed a few small pacing paws
under the two inch gap.
I'll be down soon, Stacy.
He knocked hard on the door andthen paws pattered back down the
(04:19):
stairs quickly.
Leora winced.
Her bleeding heart always didthis.
She wanted to see the best inpeople and now her greater
instinct to flee was fightingwith sadness for this poor man
and her own need to be needed.
She pushed her glasses higheronto the bridge of her small
squished nose.
She could see a hint of smile onLarry's face as he watched her.
Her big brown eyes sat too closetogether and made her other
(04:40):
features look small on her largeround face.
She was self-conscious of herappearance and likened herself
to a pug.
She attributed this as to whyshe traveled the world but in
all of her 50 years had neverfound love.
Something inside of her wasdesperate for Larry to want her
even if she was repulsed.
Larry drew in a huge breath mymom says that you travel a lot
the words flooded out quicklyonce he got going as though they
(05:01):
had been caught on his tongueyes i love to travel that's how
i started at the agency leoralooked at the manicured nails on
her left hand as she pushed thehair nervously behind her ear
with her right strands of hairfell out into her fingers and
she sprinkled them onto thefloor next to her without
thinking i particularly love telaviv have you ever been she
smiled as the name of herfavorite city left her lips she
(05:22):
could see the beautiful views inher mind's eye no no i've never
been anywhere larry Larry's eyesfollowed Leora's hair as it
floated down to the floor.
My late wife, she hated peopleand traveling.
Oh, Leora laughed.
He had to be joking.
A dark joke.
But who would speak this way ofthe dead?
It's true.
She put it in the note.
The air in the room turnedthick.
The only sound was the continuedtinkling of the cat's bells.
(05:45):
Oh, goodness.
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to laugh.
Leora placed her hand to herheart, embarrassed.
You probably want to go.
Larry said this is a fact, not aquestion.
He knew he had said somethingthat most people would find
upsetting and would was unableto mentally recover.
Being around humans was toodifficult and this conversation
needed to be over with.
He stood up straight as thoughhe was going to step forward but
didn't move.
(06:05):
However, she stood understandingthe body language.
We have such great conversationsin text.
Maybe we can continue to get toknow each other better that way.
Lyra picked up her purse andhurriedly started towards the
door.
As she walked, she scanned thesitting room to her left.
She took note of the rippedupholstery on the otherwise
elegant and ornate chair.
This room had once beenbeautiful, but now it was clear
that Larry gave it a wide berth.
(06:27):
Lyra wiggled her manicured nailsin a wave as she peeked one last
time to the door at Larry, whostood wedged in the corner
between the stove and counter,unmoving.
As the door clicked close, hebreathed a sigh of relief, and
with a jolt of desperation, ranat full speed to lock it.
He turned the lock so hard thatLeora could hear the bolt clash
into the doorframe from thestreet.
Breathing heavily from theexertion, Larry walked back to
(06:49):
the kitchen and opened the doorto the basement.
He craved the only company thathe truly enjoyed.
Stacy, a black cat with fiercegreen eyes, hissed at Larry in
greeting and then marked himwith her scent by making figure
eights between his legs as heturned on the stairwell light.
Stacy was named for Larry's latewife, a woman that tolerated
Larry at best.
He was a means to an end forher.
A person that she was competentwould worship her while she did
(07:12):
as she pleased.
On their wedding day, anobligatory peck was all she
could muster for the photo atthe courthouse.
During the two times she allowedLarry to enter her, there was a
deep deficit of passion.
She wouldn't even meet his eyesas he penetrated her, just a
blank stare over his shoulderand a pat on the back, con
completion.
Stacy would, however, allow himto masturbate in her presence,
and now the cat does the same.
(07:33):
Piercing green eyes watching himjerk away at his sad until he
came onto his own stomach.
The cat would sit above him,licking its paws, judging him,
and then look away, wipe himselfoff, choking back tears.
When he found her dead, hangedin her closet, a note on the
floor that had been soiled inher own piss read, I hated you
(07:56):
all, and not one person wassurprised.
Larry trips over Stacy.
Fuck, you stupid fucking cat!And winds up to kick her, but
holds back.
The vicious retaliation he wouldneed to endure from the beast
was not worth it.
You're just like...
Her, he spits at Stacy andglares.
Larry turns to a run-downcabinet, the hinge of which was
hanging crooked and creeped ashe tugged it open to pull out
(08:17):
armfuls of cat food.
Larry didn't register the hingeor didn't care.
It was just one more thing to doin this miserable life.
Tugging open each pop-top with asharp jerk, Larry muttered to
himself and shook his head as hewent over Leora's visit.
A small Siamese cat jumped ontothe counter next to him, Trish.
She had been named for Larry'sdental hygienist.
He had thought her teal blueeyes were dazzling above her
(08:38):
medical mask.
She would make constantconversation with herself and
Larry would look up at her,hanging on every word, while his
stinking cavernous mouth laywide open.
He imagined falling in love withher every time he lay in the
dental chair, but he didn'tblame her for not falling in
love with his sharply angledface and receding hairline.
Now he scoops up Trish and shepurrs into his neck.
He leaned into her warmth andbare into her fur.
(09:00):
When he lifted his head, hisface was wet from tears.
No one had been kind to him inas long as he could remember,
except Leora.
Larry takes his seat in thebasement lounger and watches the
cats feast from their trough,clicking his tongue and
squinting to take note of whichcats dominated the feeder.
His newest addition, a Persiancat with a squished face and
long shedding hair, came up tohim, cozying into the crook of
(09:23):
his arm.
Larry gently caressed her face,gazing into her big brown eyes.
We could go to Israel.
I've never been Larry wasspeaking as though he was
speaking to the woman herself.
(09:59):
to the towel rod on the way by.
Rubbing away the pain in herarm, Lyra looked in the mirror
at herself and then downedthrough Motrin with a glass of
stale water that had been lefton the vanity.
Mascara was smeared under hereyes and made them look even
larger.
She disliked her face more thanusual in this moment, and her
confidence was at an all-timelow.
How could she have been set upwith that poor, sad man?
(10:19):
He smelled, and not just becauseof the cats.
He omitted a stench that surelycame from periodontal disease.
She had smelled it from acrossthe room.
Larry's mother, in a last-ditcheffort to save him from romantic
destitution, had practicallybegged Leora to go on a date
with her 55-year-old son.
Leora, having nothing left tolose, agreed.
For months, they had texted andemailed back and forth.
(10:40):
She didn't see or didn't want tosee any red flags.
He had been so great in writing.
But last night, he had said henever traveled.
Leora now wondered how he hadmessaged so much about the
world.
He had told her about beer typesin Germany, sunsets in
Barcelona, and festivals in Rio,even about Argentine barbecue.
How would he have known aboutthese things if he never left
his home.
(11:00):
He presented as sowell-traveled.
Liara went to the kitchen andshe put the empty wine bottle
into recycling as the phonerang.
She still had a wall-mountedhouse phone and she watched it
ring for a moment.
She adored it when this phonerang.
It was so classic and romanticand picked up the phone twirling
the cord in her fingers.
Hello?
Leora! Gladys crooned.
(11:22):
Oh, Gladys, she sighed.
When was the last time youtalked to Larry?
There was no sense in trying tohide anything.
I talk to him all the time.
I told him all about you.
Was everything okay?
Does he talk to you or do youtalk at him, Gladys?
He's not in a good way.
What?
(11:44):
Oh, it's been a while since I'veseen him.
And yes, it's mostly me talkingwhen we're on the phone.
I know that he's odd, but hejust needs love.
We all need love.
I think you should try to seehim.
(12:06):
Leora doesn't want to tell thiswoman what to do, but she knows
that perhaps that's what'sneeded.
Goodness gracious.
Gladys pauses and holds herbreath.
Finally, letting out a longsigh.
So it didn't go well.
She sounds defeated.
I told him we can continue intext and email.
Okay, thank you for trying,dear, Gladys says, the words not
matching the tone, which wasclipped and harsh, and the call
(12:26):
ends abruptly.
She recounts the conversationfor Eloise and finishes getting
ready for work.
Packing up some brownies thatshe had baked yesterday and
popping one in her mouth, Lyrawalks out the door while gently
tugging on a beautiful pinkcashmere sweater and gets into
her RAV4.
As she drives by, she realizesthat all these months she had
been passing by his home anddidn't even know it.
Now she slows and sees darkwindows and wonders what he's
(12:49):
doing in there, so sad andpitifully alone.
Seventeen cats.
She remembers the smell andgags.
That poor man.
Gladys words...
Ring in her ear.
We all need love.
And she knows it's true.
We all do.
Maybe there's something shecould do for him.
Maybe he just needed to get somefresh air.
Calling Larry Stevens.
The automated voice responds andLeora pulls on into the strip
(13:11):
mall parking lot as the firstring blares on the car speaker.
It rings for the second time andLeora goes too fast over a speed
bump.
A splash of coffee bounces outof her mug and onto her sweater.
Fuck me! Hello?
He gasps.
No, no, oh no, not you.
Oh no, oh no.
Leora pauses.
Parks resets with a deep intakeof breath, and Larry is silent
(13:31):
on the line.
Okay, starting over.
Good morning, Larry.
I just wanted to thank you forhaving me over yesterday.
Silence.
Would you like to go for a walksometime?
Silence.
Larry, are you there?
You don't have to if you don'twant to.
She honestly wasn't sure if shewanted him to agree to come or
not.
That would be f-f-fine, hefinally says.
(13:51):
Okay, should I come by tonight?
Leora tests.
Fine, yes.
He hangs up.
Leora shakes her head, wonderingwhat the fuck she just did.
We all need love.
We'll have to become her newmantra for the day.
Leora arrives at his housestraight from the work and
appears in the windows to seethey are just as dark as this
morning.
She looks down and gives herselfa once-over before knocking.
Her loose blouse was onlyslightly stained from the coffee
(14:14):
that had gone through thecashmere.
This will have to do.
She knocks, bracing herself forthe smell that was so unexpected
yesterday.
No sound of footsteps coming tothe door.
She knocks again, this time withintent.
Faintly behind the door, she canhear the tinkling of cat bells
and meowing.
Strange.
She remembers he said the catsstay in the basement.
Leora knocks again.
Still nothing.
(14:36):
Leora tries the knob and itopens.
Immediately, six cats rush thedoor, each with colorful collars
and a name embroidered in large,bold letters.
A cat with a hot pink collar andthe lettering Lila comes over,
rubbing against her ankles.
The stench from the kitchen isstrong, and she can see the
basement door is wide open.
Larry?
Leora calls out, nothing.
(14:56):
She ventures in further andlooks to the right, again
admiring that beautiful chairwith the tragically ripped
upholstery.
It takes her a moment toregister, but next to it, she
sees him.
A teal collar with Trish writtenon it.
Meows incessantly, looking downat Larry's cold, hollow face,
mouth agape as he lays on thefloor.
He was dead.
Oh, my gosh.
(15:18):
Whoa.
That was so good.
Thank you.
Oh, my God.
I love it.
Oh, gosh.
That was so funny.
Oh, talking to the lady about,Gladys, do you just talk?
At him or do let him speakbecause he's not in a good way,
(15:39):
Gladys.
He's not in a good way.
Larry is not well.
And it's like you set her up togo there.
Oh, my gosh.
It's so good.
UNKNOWN (15:49):
Oh, good.
SPEAKER_00 (15:50):
Yeah, I love it.
It's funny.
And like, it's really dark, likethe very dark ex-wife hanging in
the closet, peeing on the floorand everything.
She's evil.
She kind of deserves it, butnot.
yeah obviously because it'shorrible oh my word so have you
ever written anything that darkbefore no I haven't it was
(16:13):
definitely different for me andI've also never written in the
third person like as I've onlyever written in the first
person's point of view uh thatwas a little strange like I kind
of had fun with that yes yeah itwas cool I did do you want any
like pointers or critiques?
Of course I do.
You do?
Okay, great.
So just one thing that I noticedwith the third person was, so
(16:37):
you were from Leora's point ofview, but it's like close third
person.
So you can tell how she likefeels and everything.
And then a couple pages in, itswitches to Larry's point of
view, like what he sees, likehow he feels and stuff, which I
think is fine.
I don't know if that's thirdperson or if that's omniscient
then, but you know, say you havelike 10 paragraphs with Leora
(17:01):
and then there's a paragraphwith Larry's point of view and
then the rest is Leora.
Sometimes people call that headhopping.
So it can just be a little bitjarring to go from one to the
other.
So what I would do is I would doLeora for the whole first part
until she leaves and then startLarry's third person close point
of view from the moment he runsat the door and locks it.
(17:24):
So I would just look at what'sin the top part and switch it to
her point of view.
Okay.
Yeah.
But other than that, I thoughtthat you did like an excellent
job with that.
It was like really, really cool.
Thank you.
I'm very excited to hear yours.
Okay.
So I worked on this for a whileand okay, I have an urge right
(17:44):
now to do this thing where I go,oh, I didn't work on it that
much so that if it's not great,I don't have to.
To own it.
Do you know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
But I think that that's shittyand a cop out.
Also, like, yeah, it was justsort of an interesting journey
for me working on this because Iwas like, OK, we did these three
prompts and I want to be writingshort stories to get them
(18:04):
published.
Right.
Sure.
And then I started writing thisand I knew where it was going to
go and everything.
And I was like, you know what?
These prompts are tooconstrictive and this isn't
something that I would want towrite.
So since I know where it's goingalready and I already wrote a
couple pages, that's enough, youknow, whatever.
And then I opened it up againand I don't know, I just had
(18:26):
this experience where I waslike, oh, I kind of like what I
wrote.
And I'm like, you know what?
I'm going to see this through.
This is something that Icommitted to.
I'm like, I need to learn and Ineed to grow as a writer.
This was my first time doingfirst person writing.
point of view.
And so I think these exercisesare really good for me, whether
I want to publish it or not.
And I learned so much during theprocess of writing it.
(18:50):
So I was really, really gladthat I did.
And I don't know where all ofthis like resistance came from.
Steven Pressfield would be like,girl, just fucking sit down and
write it.
Yep.
Okay.
So also, I think that you mightbe a little bit surprised by it.
Okay, I'm very excited.
Okay.
It's called Many Moons.
(19:10):
There were 17 cats living inLarry's basement.
This was my first interactionwith him on Many Moons, and he
wanted to tell me about his catsup front before things got
serious.
I was glad he had.
Goodness, can you imagine beingsurprised that someone has 17
pets of any kind?
Tropical fish might be okay,given the tank was nicely cared
for, but cats?
(19:30):
I shuddered to imagine the feralsmell, the ripped upholstery.
It was too bad, as Larry lookedtall, lean, and dapper in his
photos.
He had a full head of salt andpepper hair.
Still, I spent the morningThanks for watching! Emma
(19:56):
created the profile for me onMany Moons early that morning,
sitting at my kitchen table sideby side in front of the used
MacBook Air her mother hadgifted me.
I asked Emma if the moonreference had to do with single
seniors being in our twilightyears.
For me, the phrase twilightyears evoked a sense of
mischief.
Emma didn't know.
I asked her if the website wastargeted towards indigenous
seniors.
She said no.
I said I didn't mind.
(20:17):
It might be nice.
I had never been with a nativeman.
She blushed and then said, stillno.
well if you don't want to hearthese things then don't meddle
in grandma's romantic business isaid she giggled i felt like a
college girl again whispering inthe dining hall with a sorority
sister i didn't download the apponto my smartphone the device
was daunting enough with the fewapplications that came standard
(20:39):
on many moons there was anoption to share phone numbers
and even mailing addresses oncematched with an eligible suitor
though i can type exquisitelysome of the gizmos on the
website are downright tediousi'd much prefer to flirt in
another mode my generation isnot too awkward to hold a
conversation conversation on thetelephone, not too impatient to
wait for a letter.
Anticipation can be more thanhalf the fun.
As it turned out, there wasanother man waiting in the
(21:00):
wings.
Lawrence this time.
He was a nice looking man in his60s, roughly 10 years younger
than me.
Emma said he was hot.
I cocked an eyebrow but didn'tdiscourage her.
If she's savvy, and I believeshe is, dating older men could
have its benefits.
Lawrence sent me cyber flowersexpressing interest and how that
little digital bouquet sent myheart fluttering.
It was almost as though afragrant bundle had been hand
(21:22):
delivered at my door.
Lawrence's photos were close-upselfies he had taken at odd
angles.
Bald head shining.
I didn't think I liked his lookas much as the other Larry, but
what could I really learn fromphotos a man took of himself?
It's the cologne that gets me orthe raw smell of a man.
I don't mention that detail toEmma.
Over the next few weeks, Lauraand I spoke on the phone each
(21:44):
night at six o'clock right afterdinner.
I learned that before heretired, he had been a houseboat
carpenter of all things.
He had funny stories from histime walking up and down the
docks, fixing up people'sfloating homes.
Larry didn't seem to get outmuch these days, not like me.
I loved to travel.
I had a trip to Israel comingup.
To Emma's chagrin, Lawrenceconvinced me to book a layover
in Seattle near his home.
(22:04):
He reserved a room for me at theairport hotel and offered to pay
for a taxi to visit him.
This all felt quite sudden, butreally, time was of the essence.
I don't have a lifetime of loveahead of me, but there will be
more love in my life.
Emma told me that excitement andanxiety are the same feeling,
and did I know which feeling Iwas having?
Let's not turn the butterfliesinto moths, I said.
(22:25):
When I got off the plane, therewas a beautiful driver in a
black suit holding up a signthat read Leora.
How romantic! How civilized! Thedriver walked me through the
airport all the way to theadjoined hotel and left to pull
his car around as I dropped offmy suitcase.
Then I was whisked away in anelectric car with the steel logo
that looked like a uterus on thebumper.
David, that was the driver'sname, a man in his forties whom
(22:47):
I wouldn't have minded spendingmore time with, helped me out of
the futuristic vehicle.
He read a note from his phonewhich instructed me to go around
the side of the house toapartment number three.
My low heels clicked along thecobblestone path beside the
two-story character home, whichhad been retrofitted to
accommodate several units.
I saw the number three and astairwell leading down.
It was dark in the shade of thehome.
There was heavy ivy crawling upthe walls.
(23:09):
I glanced back at the clearstreet.
Why hadn't Lawrence picked me upfrom the airport himself?
He was only 68, but perhaps hehad poor eyesight and no longer
drove.
But he should have been waitingon the walkway for me when I
pulled up.
That would have been a nicegesture.
I hesitated at the top of thestairs.
There was a window beside me andtwo tabby cats curled on the
sill inside, between thecurtains and the glass.
(23:30):
Lawrence hadn't mentioned havingtwo cats.
Perhaps this window belonged toa different residence in the
house.
I remembered the other man onmany moons had said he had 17
cats.
Unimaginable! just looking atthose two felines in the window
made my eyes itch i was startledwhen a third cat jumped up on
the sill knocking the other twooff in a clamor of claws and
fangs i gripped the metalrailing as my other hand flew to
(23:53):
my throat the door below creakedThere he was below, wearing a
minty button-up tucked intokhakis.
He held a fluffy gray cat underhis arm like a football.
He ran his free hand through hishair.
Leora, he said, welcome.
No, I gasped.
His pet wriggled free andpounced away with a sharp meow.
An orange cat paced a figureeight around his slippers.
(24:14):
Oh boy, I've shocked you.
Is this not...
A pleasant surprise?
Despite the dim of thestairwell, there was a twinkle
in his bright blue eyes.
The top of the door frame wasmere inches from his head.
He was even more handsome than Iremembered from his photos on
many moons.
I shook my head and turned on myheel.
I bounded forward, but my ankletwisted.
I steadied myself against thehouse, my hands clutching the
(24:35):
slick, damp ivy.
He rushed up the stairs.
I sat on his firm couch with myleg lifted on an ottoman.
A bag of frozen peas inside adish towel was thawing on my
ankle.
He placed a hot mug of tea in myhands.
There were cat's Everywhere.
Each wore a different coloredcollar.
Every hue in the visiblespectrum was displayed around
the room in lines around theirnecks.
(24:56):
There were four on the couchnext to me.
My lips tingled.
My throat felt rough.
I took a sip from the mug andscalded my swollen tongue.
I set the mug on the side table.
Larry, I said, I need you tocall me a cab.
You just got here.
You can't leave on such anawkward note.
And your ankle.
Why don't you rest here for awhile?
(25:16):
You need to get to know me andthe ladies.
What?
Ladies.
My girls, all the girls! He madea sweeping gesture.
I need an antihistamine, Iadmitted.
Do you have anything?
Please, is there anything?
Is there anywhere to sit outsidewhile we wait for the cab?
Larry slid his hands into hispockets.
You didn't tell me you wereallergic to cats.
I sniffed as my nose began torun.
(25:37):
A huge, terrible-looking calicowas kneading my leather handbag.
The charm on its mauve collarread, Karen.
Oh! I gently pushed the cat offthe couch and found the
smartphone in my bag.
Don't push Karen, Larry said,bending to pick up the calico.
They all understand English.
I stared at Larry through wateryeyes.
(25:58):
He buried his face into thecat's neck.
Please, Larry, I need medicineor I need to get outside
immediately.
I sneezed into my elbow.
I fiddled with my smartphoneuntil I managed to unlock it
with my fingerprint.
I found Emma's name on mycontacts and pressed on it.
Are you one of those women whocan't put down her phone He took
the phone out of my hands andplaced it on the side table next
to my mug.
(26:19):
You didn't give me a chance totell you about my cats.
You simply dismissed me withoutlearning anything about them,
why I have them, what they meanto me.
I'm allergic, Larry.
It's really not an option to beinvolved with.
My voice squeaked and my chestfelt tight.
I had never had such a strongallergic reaction before.
I tried to breathe through mynose.
Panicking would not help me now.
I needed to keep my wits aboutme.
(26:40):
Please, I rasped.
Antihistamine.
I lowered my ankle from theottoman.
My family knows I'm here, Imanaged.
Right you are, of course, I havesomething.
He waded through the felinesover to his small kitchen.
I could see him rummaging aroundin there from the large
rectangular serving hatch on thewall.
I grabbed my phone and placed itto my ear.
Emma was yelling, Grandma,what's going on, Grandma?
My throat was closing.
(27:02):
I could only squeak into thephone.
I stood snatching at my bag andstumbled toward the door.
Larry was yelling, One for everywoman I've ever loved.
To honor them.
To keep them close.
Each of my beauties has the sameshape.
Oh, he sighed.
They're brown.
(27:34):
We wrote the same thing.
We are
SPEAKER_01 (27:37):
such creeps.
SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
Oh my god.
Larry.
I hate him.
Yeah.
Yours is a little more evil.
Mine's really sad.
Yours is sad and pitiful.
Yeah.
But also a creep.
I thought yours was morerealistic because it's like
either way they would have to bementally ill.
(27:58):
Oh my God.
Yes.
And both of them have colorfulcollar.
Colors.
Collar to like tell all of themapart.
And they're all the ladies.
They're all the ladies theyloved.
I mean, I guess what we'relearning here is a man with 17
cats is going to be weird.
Yes.
And there's probably a type.
Yes.
And we have that in our head.
(28:19):
Yes.
I love that story.
That was really fun.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I didn't.
know where it was going to go.
Really?
And I liked it a lot.
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
I think that yours was better.
Oh.
I do.
I really do.
I think that I love, you reallyput me in it and it was so
funny.
And I just, I think that you'resuch a good writer.
(28:41):
Thank you.
I think that you really, reallyhave a gift, especially since it
feels like you haven't beendoing it for that long.
Or like, how long have you beenworking on your project?
Love the compliment.
Thank you.
However, I don't want to saythat I haven't been writing a
long time.
I just haven't made it apriority to write ever until
more recently.
But I've definitely written alot in my life.
(29:02):
I'm writing an essay currentlyfor my final project for school.
And I was kind of, in my essay,I'm kind of retelling my writing
path.
And like in fifth grade, I wonan award for writing a story.
So like, clearly I've been doingthis a while.
I just didn't register it assomething that I do.
Right.
Yeah.
And when we first met and I toldyou the ghost story in real
(29:26):
time, like we were sittingtogether and I told it, you
commented on how I was such agood storyteller.
And then recently I was lookingat one of our textbooks for
school and it was saying thatstorytellers are good writers.
And like it comes hand, youknow, it goes hand in hand.
Yes.
So maybe it's just that.
Like it's just like astoryteller-writer connection
(29:47):
thing.
Right.
I don't know.
Yeah, no, you are.
great storyteller.
Because there's just certain...
Like, don't you hate it whenyou're telling, you have a
story, maybe it's one of my liketop five go-to stories or
whatever anecdotes.
Sure.
And even just my personalstories that I'm telling people,
it's like at the end, there'sgoing to be something to maybe
(30:07):
surprise you or something thatwraps it up or something that's
funny, right?
Like I'm getting somewhere.
Yeah, your climax.
Yes.
And you're telling a story tomaybe a few people and you get
to one funny part and theneverything dissolves in terms of
your audio And they startlaughing and then talking about
their own thing.
But you know you haven't gottento where you needed to go.
(30:30):
And you don't, your storydidn't, you're like, oh, fuck,
like it didn't even land.
Or somebody halfway through yourstory goes, oh, and then was he
a cop?
And then ruins everything.
And then you're like, well,yeah, okay, don't have an
experience.
I'm going to fucking take thewind out of my sail.
I hate that.
And then there's people who somy friend, my best friend, Amy,
she we were talking at somepoint in our lives.
(30:53):
We've known each other sincewe're seven and eight.
She was living in a new city andwe were talking about her making
friends.
And she is such a socialbutterfly.
She she's the type of personthat gets invited to like 10
weddings every summer justbecause everybody thinks she's,
you know, beautiful.
Their best friend.
Wow.
But they're not.
She's my best friend.
(31:13):
Back off.
And anyway, she was living inNew City and she said, you know,
it's hard to to make reallyclose female friends like it
takes.
I was like, yeah, you know, ittakes time to really bond.
And she was like, yeah, but alsoa lot of women or I don't want
to say a lot of people aren'tthat funny.
And I had never really thoughtabout it that way, but I do
(31:36):
notice now, some people do nottell stories when they talk.
It's true.
And Amy said to me, yeah, that'show you talk.
You talk in stories.
Totally.
And I think you do that too.
Yes.
But you'll have some people whowill just, you'll be like, hey,
like, how was your week?
And they'll just say, oh, Martymade the soccer team.
And you're like, okay.
When really there is a fuckingstory there.
(31:58):
Did he want to be on the soccerteam?
Did you pressure him into beingon the soccer team?
Did you think he would make thesoccer team?
What were all the obstacles thatgot in his way?
How did you feel when he, wherewere you sitting?
What did it look like?
How did you feel when ithappened?
And some people just, I don'tknow how these people have
conversations with each other.
Totally.
Okay, so I mean, I don't know ifthis is a shorter episode or
(32:22):
what.
Well, I think it can be ashorter one.
If we do these regularly, wherewe have our story time, then I
think that that's perfect.
It's like a little mini episodestories.
People kind of get to know ourown writing, which I think is
cool.
Yeah.
And then we'll see you at ournext episode.
(33:06):
They put out five differentprompts.
You respond with a short storybased on that prompt and you can
win 250 bucks.
So far, this contest that's liveon their website right now, the
theme is Beyond Redemption.
And there are 100 entries and 66stories.
I don't know how that'spossible.
(33:28):
But there's four days left,seven hours, 54 minutes for us
to write these stories.
I'm willing to bet you have topay to submit.
And so some people have to pay.
have paid multiple times tosubmit their one story.
Don't you think?
That's bullshit, isn't it?
I mean, that would be my guess.
How else could there be 66stories and 100 entries?
Oh, well, I don't really likethat.
(33:48):
I don't want to...
It should be based on, like, themerit of the story, not how many
times you submit it.
No, you're right.
Although that does make the potbigger.
Oh, no, you're running$2.50 nomatter what.
Yeah.
Okay, so that doesn't makesense.
Okay, so basically, there's thisReadsie contest, and Rachel and
I don't know all the ins andouts of it yet, but we are going
to pick one of the promptsthat's live.
(34:11):
We're both, we're challengingourselves to each write a story
based on those prompts andsubmit it.
And we only have four days,seven hours and 53 minutes to do
it.
And then I guess we'll talkabout that, our experience on a
future story time episode andalso read our stories.
Okay.
So Rachel, I'm going to let youchoose the first prompt.
Okay.
Write a story with the line,quote, I didn't have a choice.
(34:34):
The second one is center yourstory around someone Ooh.
Oh, scary.
Okay.
Aww.
Aww.
And write about someone whochooses revenge, even though
(34:57):
forgiveness is an option.
Oh, let's go revenge.
I don't know why I feel verydrawn to that one.
Okay, so Rachel's going to gowith revenge.
And I'm going to go with writeabout a character who becomes
the villain in anothercharacter's story.
Okay, wait, hold on.
I need to write down what I'mdoing.
Write about someone who choosesrevenge, even though forgiveness
(35:18):
is an option.
Okay.
Oh, my God.
And I have four days, sevenhours, and 52 minutes.
Okay.
I'm in.
Yep.
And if you guys want to knowmore about the contest, you
should just go to ReadZ.
Apparently, if you win, you havea chance to be published in
Prompted, which is a newmagazine where they feature 12
prize-winning stories from thecommunity.
(35:40):
Fun.
So this is like kind of a chanceto get published as well, but
there's like 66 stories already.
So it's pretty stiffcompetition.
but either way, I think it'sgoing to be really fun to see
what you do.
And I think you have a reallygood shot.
Oh, I think you do too.
I also, I mean, I did reallylove your story.
(36:00):
I can't believe we wrote thesame story.
I cannot believe we had so manyspecifics that were similar.
Yeah.
I mean, I promise you people, wedid not talk about this.
Yeah.
So the prompts were the Leoraloves Israel.
Larry has the 17 cats and theripped up poultry.
Leora supposed to be theprotagonist, which she was.
(36:20):
But it's like both of our mindswent there without, I don't
know, I didn't think that itwould be such an obvious place
for it to go.
I didn't think so.
I really thought that I wasgoing somewhere dark and that
you wouldn't want to go.
Well, yours was very dark.
But the fact that we chose olderpeople, I mean, I guess is
(36:41):
Israel more attractive to olderpeople in our minds?
Leora and Larry.
I mean, they are older names.
Yeah.
But at least Larry's handsome inyours.
Yeah.
Mine is.
He's gross.
So sad.
Oh, my gosh.
The part about him laying therewith his mouth open, like
looking at the lady.
Dental hygienist.
And then how you brought itaround.
(37:02):
The dental hygienist cat waslooking down at him with his
mouth agape when he died.
I know.
It was so, I love the way thatyou're able to just like bring
things back around.
I love bringing things around,you know?
So how long do you think youspent writing this one?
Honestly, not very long.
It just flew out.
Yeah, I'm a pantser, man.
Yeah.
I really seem to be.
I have my daughter's gymnasticsclass today and I have two full
(37:26):
hours to just sit there andwrite.
So I honestly, oh, I'm sorry.
That was what I did last week.
So that's where Larry came tobe.
Was we had our, we recorded.
Yeah.
And I sat there at the thing andgymnastics.
And I think I had started it athome a little bit.
So maybe like three hours total.
Yeah.
And then I just kind of honed itin after that.
(37:48):
Yeah.
So cool.
How many hours do you think youtook?
Probably the same amount becauseI think I sat and I sort of
wrote it out in the first hourand then I gave up on it.
I was like, and then I was justsort of like, I was mad at like
the constraints I was like howam I supposed to write something
like that's like me when I'm bigand I'm never gonna want to like
(38:08):
me I'm acting like I was mad atit but it was just sort of like
I don't know I don't know why acharacter that you're assigned
it's like an arranged marriageyeah you know it's like an you
kind of have to be in love withwhat you're writing and it's
hard to fall in love if you'reassigned yes and I also found
that Larry's 17 cat thing was alittle to me I thought it was
like a little bit corny surewhen I read it so I was a little
(38:31):
bit like, oh, like I didn't, Iwanted to be able to just take
that sentence out or likereframe it, but that wasn't like
the assignment.
But yeah.
So anyways, then I went in thegarden this morning and I worked
on it for a couple of hours tokind of like wrap it up.
But normally, hopefully I wouldhave made this better if I had
edited it.
But one thing that I think I'mlearning from your writing is,
(38:53):
oh, I don't know.
I want to listen to yours again.
It's something about the waythat people are moving around
that just sounds really likebelievable and like slice of
life i don't know it's just sofunny like i can't i don't even
know why that particular linehad me howling when you said
when she calls gladys and gladysis like oh how how's it going
(39:16):
and she's like gladys do youjust talked it talk at him
because he's not in a good way imean gladys needs to take a
little ownership over what she'sdone to her son clearly gladys
so how did he how did he die hewas on the floor i'm not sure
i'm trying to kill them sidewell i don't know i okay so if
(39:36):
this was a longer story yeah andit was i mean if i was to go
like two all the way like wewere gonna go further in with
larry and leora i was going tomake it so that leora becomes a
suspect in a murder of Larrybecause she was there she was
the last one in his house herhair is on his floor and like I
was kind of setting it up sothat it was a it could have
(39:57):
gotten to be a bit of a did shedid she kill Larry whoa yeah Oh,
my God.
That's even cooler.
Rachel, you are so impressive.
Jesus Christ.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm very intrigued by murdermysteries.
And one of the classes I'm goingto take at CSM in the future is
of like a mystery class.
(40:19):
And I feel like I could maybe godown that road because she drank
a whole bottle of wine.
She was feeling really shittythe next morning.
Maybe she went, his house is onthe way to work.
Maybe she, it was like a littlebit more of a path than she
realized and she went backthere.
I don't know.
What secrets does Leora hold?
(40:42):
I know.
Well, if you want Rachel to keepon writing this.
Oh, yeah.
Let her know.
Yeah.
When we do post about this onInstagram.
If you want to comment and tellme you want me to keep going,
I'll keep going.
Especially since you don't haveto write really Larry that much
anymore.
No, Larry's a god.
I mean, he was an amazingcharacter and it was so visceral
(41:03):
and it gave me so many creeps.
But it also, like, I did haveempathy for him, too, even
though he was so weird.
I still, like, I don't know ifI'd want to be in his head for a
whole, like, book down there.
You know what I mean?
No, I don't want to be anywherenear Larry.
But we're going to keep onwriting and we'll be back with
you guys...
We'll be back soon.
We'll be back soon.
UNKNOWN (41:27):
Okay.
Write your heart out.
Hey, this is Write Your HeartOut, the podcast, and I'm Kayla
Ogden.
And I'm Rachel Sear.
And we are going to go over someshort stories that we wrote
(00:20):
based on prompts that we pickedfrom the Writer's Toolbox last
week.
Yes.
And I think that we are going todo this on a regular basis, just
picking prompts from this gamethat Kayla's husband bought for
her, and then writing stories tosee how wild they get, like how
wildly different They are in ourown styles and where our brains
(00:42):
go.
And I think it's gonna be reallyfun.
Yeah, I think it'll be reallyfun.
We were thinking maybe we woulddo, these episodes would all
have a certain name, like maybestory time, and then you can see
them in the feed.
And if this is something thatyou like, you like to sort of
listen to almost like an audiobook kind of vibe, you can like
click to that.
Or if you want more, I don'tknow, discussions and tips and
(01:02):
things like that, you couldlisten to the other ones.
UNKNOWN (01:04):
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
Yeah.
I think it's gonna be fun.
I think, yeah.
Well, hopefully both.
Hopefully both.
Yes.
Okay, so just a reminder.
So we picked these from a boxcalled the Writer's Toolbox.
And in it, it had some popsiclesticks where it gave prompts
about first sentences and thingslike that.
And then we had another one thathad the protagonist.
(01:27):
And then it had another one thatwere called Sixth Sense Cards,
which was just like a randomline that you had to use in your
story somehow.
And so our protagonist wasLeora, who loves to visit israel
our first sentence was therewere 17 cats living in larry's
basement and our sixth sensecard was ripped upholstery okay
(01:52):
i'm gonna go first and we'regonna read our stories to you
and then we'll talk about itwe'll talk about it in between
yeah well you'll read yourswe'll talk about it i'll read
mine we'll talk about it andthen we'll talk even more about
it yeah okay so my story endedup getting to about about 3 000
words so it's a little longyou're gonna have to bear with
me here, but I think it's like afun little roller coaster.
(02:12):
Oh my god, okay.
Okay, so no more disclaimers.
I've titled it Cat People.
I don't, I couldn't, I couldn'tdecide what to call it.
Okay, here we go.
There were 17 cats living inLarry's basement, each named for
a woman that he once knew orthat he longed to get to know.
The light tinkling of bells fromtheir collars and the stench of
(02:33):
urine combined and wafted underthe basement door into the
kitchen.
Do you like to cook?
Leora looked around at thecluttered countertops, keeping
her hands on her lap as to nottouch anything.
She perched at the edge of herseat, conscious of her blouse,
careful not to lean onto thedark, sticky film that she had
observed on the back of herchair.
She eyed the refrigerator thatseemed to be covered in that
same substance and wondered ifhe would offer her a beverage
(02:56):
from that fridge, or if it evenworked.
Oh, Larry looked around, tryingto find words, as though they
may be hiding amongst the catfood cans and empty Tangeray
bottles littering thecountertops.
I order out mostly.
I have a hard time going out.
Leora nodded, not surprised byhis admission.
This kitchen was a place ofhorrors, unlike her own home,
(03:16):
full of light and sweet-smellingpastries.
Leora loved to bake.
She had brought him her famousbrownies, a treat she was known
for at the travel agency.
The box sat unopened on thecounter next to him.
I don't see any cats, but I seea lot of cat food.
Do your kitties not like people?
Leora is searching for the room,desperate for anything to relate
to him about.
There must have been somereason.
(03:37):
Gladys had suggested she dateher son.
No, no, they don't.
Larry blinked hard as he triedto get the words out of his
mouth.
It looked challenging and almostpainful.
He glanced down at her sittingin the chair and saw the twitch
of her mouth.
He saw her trying.
It had been so long since anyonehad put any effort into getting
to know him.
He hadn't remembered what thisfelt like.
Most of them don't anyway.
(03:59):
I have 17.
Oh goodness, that's a lot ofcats.
I have only one.
Leora points to the door towardsthe sound of the tinkling cat
collar bells.
Do they mostly stay in there?
Yes, yes, in the basement.
He looked at the door andnoticed a few small pacing paws
under the two inch gap.
I'll be down soon, Stacy.
He knocked hard on the door andthen paws pattered back down the
(04:19):
stairs quickly.
Leora winced.
Her bleeding heart always didthis.
She wanted to see the best inpeople and now her greater
instinct to flee was fightingwith sadness for this poor man
and her own need to be needed.
She pushed her glasses higheronto the bridge of her small
squished nose.
She could see a hint of smile onLarry's face as he watched her.
Her big brown eyes sat too closetogether and made her other
(04:40):
features look small on her largeround face.
She was self-conscious of herappearance and likened herself
to a pug.
She attributed this as to whyshe traveled the world but in
all of her 50 years had neverfound love.
Something inside of her wasdesperate for Larry to want her
even if she was repulsed.
Larry drew in a huge breath mymom says that you travel a lot
the words flooded out quicklyonce he got going as though they
(05:01):
had been caught on his tongueyes i love to travel that's how
i started at the agency leoralooked at the manicured nails on
her left hand as she pushed thehair nervously behind her ear
with her right strands of hairfell out into her fingers and
she sprinkled them onto thefloor next to her without
thinking i particularly love telaviv have you ever been she
smiled as the name of herfavorite city left her lips she
(05:22):
could see the beautiful views inher mind's eye no no i've never
been anywhere larry Larry's eyesfollowed Leora's hair as it
floated down to the floor.
My late wife, she hated peopleand traveling.
Oh, Leora laughed.
He had to be joking.
A dark joke.
But who would speak this way ofthe dead?
It's true.
She put it in the note.
The air in the room turnedthick.
The only sound was the continuedtinkling of the cat's bells.
(05:45):
Oh, goodness.
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to laugh.
Leora placed her hand to herheart, embarrassed.
You probably want to go.
Larry said this is a fact, not aquestion.
He knew he had said somethingthat most people would find
upsetting and would was unableto mentally recover.
Being around humans was toodifficult and this conversation
needed to be over with.
He stood up straight as thoughhe was going to step forward but
didn't move.
(06:05):
However, she stood understandingthe body language.
We have such great conversationsin text.
Maybe we can continue to get toknow each other better that way.
Lyra picked up her purse andhurriedly started towards the
door.
As she walked, she scanned thesitting room to her left.
She took note of the rippedupholstery on the otherwise
elegant and ornate chair.
This room had once beenbeautiful, but now it was clear
that Larry gave it a wide berth.
(06:27):
Lyra wiggled her manicured nailsin a wave as she peeked one last
time to the door at Larry, whostood wedged in the corner
between the stove and counter,unmoving.
As the door clicked close, hebreathed a sigh of relief, and
with a jolt of desperation, ranat full speed to lock it.
He turned the lock so hard thatLeora could hear the bolt clash
into the doorframe from thestreet.
Breathing heavily from theexertion, Larry walked back to
(06:49):
the kitchen and opened the doorto the basement.
He craved the only company thathe truly enjoyed.
Stacy, a black cat with fiercegreen eyes, hissed at Larry in
greeting and then marked himwith her scent by making figure
eights between his legs as heturned on the stairwell light.
Stacy was named for Larry's latewife, a woman that tolerated
Larry at best.
He was a means to an end forher.
A person that she was competentwould worship her while she did
(07:12):
as she pleased.
On their wedding day, anobligatory peck was all she
could muster for the photo atthe courthouse.
During the two times she allowedLarry to enter her, there was a
deep deficit of passion.
She wouldn't even meet his eyesas he penetrated her, just a
blank stare over his shoulderand a pat on the back, con
completion.
Stacy would, however, allow himto masturbate in her presence,
and now the cat does the same.
(07:33):
Piercing green eyes watching himjerk away at his sad until he
came onto his own stomach.
The cat would sit above him,licking its paws, judging him,
and then look away, wipe himselfoff, choking back tears.
When he found her dead, hangedin her closet, a note on the
floor that had been soiled inher own piss read, I hated you
(07:56):
all, and not one person wassurprised.
Larry trips over Stacy.
Fuck, you stupid fucking cat!And winds up to kick her, but
holds back.
The vicious retaliation he wouldneed to endure from the beast
was not worth it.
You're just like...
Her, he spits at Stacy andglares.
Larry turns to a run-downcabinet, the hinge of which was
hanging crooked and creeped ashe tugged it open to pull out
(08:17):
armfuls of cat food.
Larry didn't register the hingeor didn't care.
It was just one more thing to doin this miserable life.
Tugging open each pop-top with asharp jerk, Larry muttered to
himself and shook his head as hewent over Leora's visit.
A small Siamese cat jumped ontothe counter next to him, Trish.
She had been named for Larry'sdental hygienist.
He had thought her teal blueeyes were dazzling above her
(08:38):
medical mask.
She would make constantconversation with herself and
Larry would look up at her,hanging on every word, while his
stinking cavernous mouth laywide open.
He imagined falling in love withher every time he lay in the
dental chair, but he didn'tblame her for not falling in
love with his sharply angledface and receding hairline.
Now he scoops up Trish and shepurrs into his neck.
He leaned into her warmth andbare into her fur.
(09:00):
When he lifted his head, hisface was wet from tears.
No one had been kind to him inas long as he could remember,
except Leora.
Larry takes his seat in thebasement lounger and watches the
cats feast from their trough,clicking his tongue and
squinting to take note of whichcats dominated the feeder.
His newest addition, a Persiancat with a squished face and
long shedding hair, came up tohim, cozying into the crook of
(09:23):
his arm.
Larry gently caressed her face,gazing into her big brown eyes.
We could go to Israel.
I've never been Larry wasspeaking as though he was
speaking to the woman herself.
(09:59):
to the towel rod on the way by.
Rubbing away the pain in herarm, Lyra looked in the mirror
at herself and then downedthrough Motrin with a glass of
stale water that had been lefton the vanity.
Mascara was smeared under hereyes and made them look even
larger.
She disliked her face more thanusual in this moment, and her
confidence was at an all-timelow.
How could she have been set upwith that poor, sad man?
(10:19):
He smelled, and not just becauseof the cats.
He omitted a stench that surelycame from periodontal disease.
She had smelled it from acrossthe room.
Larry's mother, in a last-ditcheffort to save him from romantic
destitution, had practicallybegged Leora to go on a date
with her 55-year-old son.
Leora, having nothing left tolose, agreed.
For months, they had texted andemailed back and forth.
(10:40):
She didn't see or didn't want tosee any red flags.
He had been so great in writing.
But last night, he had said henever traveled.
Leora now wondered how he hadmessaged so much about the
world.
He had told her about beer typesin Germany, sunsets in
Barcelona, and festivals in Rio,even about Argentine barbecue.
How would he have known aboutthese things if he never left
his home.
(11:00):
He presented as sowell-traveled.
Liara went to the kitchen andshe put the empty wine bottle
into recycling as the phonerang.
She still had a wall-mountedhouse phone and she watched it
ring for a moment.
She adored it when this phonerang.
It was so classic and romanticand picked up the phone twirling
the cord in her fingers.
Hello?
Leora! Gladys crooned.
(11:22):
Oh, Gladys, she sighed.
When was the last time youtalked to Larry?
There was no sense in trying tohide anything.
I talk to him all the time.
I told him all about you.
Was everything okay?
Does he talk to you or do youtalk at him, Gladys?
He's not in a good way.
What?
(11:44):
Oh, it's been a while since I'veseen him.
And yes, it's mostly me talkingwhen we're on the phone.
I know that he's odd, but hejust needs love.
We all need love.
I think you should try to seehim.
(12:06):
Leora doesn't want to tell thiswoman what to do, but she knows
that perhaps that's what'sneeded.
Goodness gracious.
Gladys pauses and holds herbreath.
Finally, letting out a longsigh.
So it didn't go well.
She sounds defeated.
I told him we can continue intext and email.
Okay, thank you for trying,dear, Gladys says, the words not
matching the tone, which wasclipped and harsh, and the call
(12:26):
ends abruptly.
She recounts the conversationfor Eloise and finishes getting
ready for work.
Packing up some brownies thatshe had baked yesterday and
popping one in her mouth, Lyrawalks out the door while gently
tugging on a beautiful pinkcashmere sweater and gets into
her RAV4.
As she drives by, she realizesthat all these months she had
been passing by his home anddidn't even know it.
Now she slows and sees darkwindows and wonders what he's
(12:49):
doing in there, so sad andpitifully alone.
Seventeen cats.
She remembers the smell andgags.
That poor man.
Gladys words...
Ring in her ear.
We all need love.
And she knows it's true.
We all do.
Maybe there's something shecould do for him.
Maybe he just needed to get somefresh air.
Calling Larry Stevens.
The automated voice responds andLeora pulls on into the strip
(13:11):
mall parking lot as the firstring blares on the car speaker.
It rings for the second time andLeora goes too fast over a speed
bump.
A splash of coffee bounces outof her mug and onto her sweater.
Fuck me! Hello?
He gasps.
No, no, oh no, not you.
Oh no, oh no.
Leora pauses.
Parks resets with a deep intakeof breath, and Larry is silent
(13:31):
on the line.
Okay, starting over.
Good morning, Larry.
I just wanted to thank you forhaving me over yesterday.
Silence.
Would you like to go for a walksometime?
Silence.
Larry, are you there?
You don't have to if you don'twant to.
She honestly wasn't sure if shewanted him to agree to come or
not.
That would be f-f-fine, hefinally says.
(13:51):
Okay, should I come by tonight?
Leora tests.
Fine, yes.
He hangs up.
Leora shakes her head, wonderingwhat the fuck she just did.
We all need love.
We'll have to become her newmantra for the day.
Leora arrives at his housestraight from the work and
appears in the windows to seethey are just as dark as this
morning.
She looks down and gives herselfa once-over before knocking.
Her loose blouse was onlyslightly stained from the coffee
(14:14):
that had gone through thecashmere.
This will have to do.
She knocks, bracing herself forthe smell that was so unexpected
yesterday.
No sound of footsteps coming tothe door.
She knocks again, this time withintent.
Faintly behind the door, she canhear the tinkling of cat bells
and meowing.
Strange.
She remembers he said the catsstay in the basement.
Leora knocks again.
Still nothing.
(14:36):
Leora tries the knob and itopens.
Immediately, six cats rush thedoor, each with colorful collars
and a name embroidered in large,bold letters.
A cat with a hot pink collar andthe lettering Lila comes over,
rubbing against her ankles.
The stench from the kitchen isstrong, and she can see the
basement door is wide open.
Larry?
Leora calls out, nothing.
(14:56):
She ventures in further andlooks to the right, again
admiring that beautiful chairwith the tragically ripped
upholstery.
It takes her a moment toregister, but next to it, she
sees him.
A teal collar with Trish writtenon it.
Meows incessantly, looking downat Larry's cold, hollow face,
mouth agape as he lays on thefloor.
He was dead.
Oh, my gosh.
(15:18):
Whoa.
That was so good.
Thank you.
Oh, my God.
I love it.
Oh, gosh.
That was so funny.
Oh, talking to the lady about,Gladys, do you just talk?
At him or do let him speakbecause he's not in a good way,
(15:39):
Gladys.
He's not in a good way.
Larry is not well.
And it's like you set her up togo there.
Oh, my gosh.
It's so good.
UNKNOWN (15:49):
Oh, good.
SPEAKER_00 (15:50):
Yeah, I love it.
It's funny.
And like, it's really dark, likethe very dark ex-wife hanging in
the closet, peeing on the floorand everything.
She's evil.
She kind of deserves it, butnot.
yeah obviously because it'shorrible oh my word so have you
ever written anything that darkbefore no I haven't it was
(16:13):
definitely different for me andI've also never written in the
third person like as I've onlyever written in the first
person's point of view uh thatwas a little strange like I kind
of had fun with that yes yeah itwas cool I did do you want any
like pointers or critiques?
Of course I do.
You do?
Okay, great.
So just one thing that I noticedwith the third person was, so
(16:37):
you were from Leora's point ofview, but it's like close third
person.
So you can tell how she likefeels and everything.
And then a couple pages in, itswitches to Larry's point of
view, like what he sees, likehow he feels and stuff, which I
think is fine.
I don't know if that's thirdperson or if that's omniscient
then, but you know, say you havelike 10 paragraphs with Leora
(17:01):
and then there's a paragraphwith Larry's point of view and
then the rest is Leora.
Sometimes people call that headhopping.
So it can just be a little bitjarring to go from one to the
other.
So what I would do is I would doLeora for the whole first part
until she leaves and then startLarry's third person close point
of view from the moment he runsat the door and locks it.
(17:24):
So I would just look at what'sin the top part and switch it to
her point of view.
Okay.
Yeah.
But other than that, I thoughtthat you did like an excellent
job with that.
It was like really, really cool.
Thank you.
I'm very excited to hear yours.
Okay.
So I worked on this for a whileand okay, I have an urge right
(17:44):
now to do this thing where I go,oh, I didn't work on it that
much so that if it's not great,I don't have to.
To own it.
Do you know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
But I think that that's shittyand a cop out.
Also, like, yeah, it was justsort of an interesting journey
for me working on this because Iwas like, OK, we did these three
prompts and I want to be writingshort stories to get them
(18:04):
published.
Right.
Sure.
And then I started writing thisand I knew where it was going to
go and everything.
And I was like, you know what?
These prompts are tooconstrictive and this isn't
something that I would want towrite.
So since I know where it's goingalready and I already wrote a
couple pages, that's enough, youknow, whatever.
And then I opened it up againand I don't know, I just had
(18:26):
this experience where I waslike, oh, I kind of like what I
wrote.
And I'm like, you know what?
I'm going to see this through.
This is something that Icommitted to.
I'm like, I need to learn and Ineed to grow as a writer.
This was my first time doingfirst person writing.
point of view.
And so I think these exercisesare really good for me, whether
I want to publish it or not.
And I learned so much during theprocess of writing it.
(18:50):
So I was really, really gladthat I did.
And I don't know where all ofthis like resistance came from.
Steven Pressfield would be like,girl, just fucking sit down and
write it.
Yep.
Okay.
So also, I think that you mightbe a little bit surprised by it.
Okay, I'm very excited.
Okay.
It's called Many Moons.
(19:10):
There were 17 cats living inLarry's basement.
This was my first interactionwith him on Many Moons, and he
wanted to tell me about his catsup front before things got
serious.
I was glad he had.
Goodness, can you imagine beingsurprised that someone has 17
pets of any kind?
Tropical fish might be okay,given the tank was nicely cared
for, but cats?
(19:30):
I shuddered to imagine the feralsmell, the ripped upholstery.
It was too bad, as Larry lookedtall, lean, and dapper in his
photos.
He had a full head of salt andpepper hair.
Still, I spent the morningThanks for watching! Emma
(19:56):
created the profile for me onMany Moons early that morning,
sitting at my kitchen table sideby side in front of the used
MacBook Air her mother hadgifted me.
I asked Emma if the moonreference had to do with single
seniors being in our twilightyears.
For me, the phrase twilightyears evoked a sense of
mischief.
Emma didn't know.
I asked her if the website wastargeted towards indigenous
seniors.
She said no.
I said I didn't mind.
(20:17):
It might be nice.
I had never been with a nativeman.
She blushed and then said, stillno.
well if you don't want to hearthese things then don't meddle
in grandma's romantic business isaid she giggled i felt like a
college girl again whispering inthe dining hall with a sorority
sister i didn't download the apponto my smartphone the device
was daunting enough with the fewapplications that came standard
(20:39):
on many moons there was anoption to share phone numbers
and even mailing addresses oncematched with an eligible suitor
though i can type exquisitelysome of the gizmos on the
website are downright tediousi'd much prefer to flirt in
another mode my generation isnot too awkward to hold a
conversation conversation on thetelephone, not too impatient to
wait for a letter.
Anticipation can be more thanhalf the fun.
As it turned out, there wasanother man waiting in the
(21:00):
wings.
Lawrence this time.
He was a nice looking man in his60s, roughly 10 years younger
than me.
Emma said he was hot.
I cocked an eyebrow but didn'tdiscourage her.
If she's savvy, and I believeshe is, dating older men could
have its benefits.
Lawrence sent me cyber flowersexpressing interest and how that
little digital bouquet sent myheart fluttering.
It was almost as though afragrant bundle had been hand
(21:22):
delivered at my door.
Lawrence's photos were close-upselfies he had taken at odd
angles.
Bald head shining.
I didn't think I liked his lookas much as the other Larry, but
what could I really learn fromphotos a man took of himself?
It's the cologne that gets me orthe raw smell of a man.
I don't mention that detail toEmma.
Over the next few weeks, Lauraand I spoke on the phone each
(21:44):
night at six o'clock right afterdinner.
I learned that before heretired, he had been a houseboat
carpenter of all things.
He had funny stories from histime walking up and down the
docks, fixing up people'sfloating homes.
Larry didn't seem to get outmuch these days, not like me.
I loved to travel.
I had a trip to Israel comingup.
To Emma's chagrin, Lawrenceconvinced me to book a layover
in Seattle near his home.
(22:04):
He reserved a room for me at theairport hotel and offered to pay
for a taxi to visit him.
This all felt quite sudden, butreally, time was of the essence.
I don't have a lifetime of loveahead of me, but there will be
more love in my life.
Emma told me that excitement andanxiety are the same feeling,
and did I know which feeling Iwas having?
Let's not turn the butterfliesinto moths, I said.
(22:25):
When I got off the plane, therewas a beautiful driver in a
black suit holding up a signthat read Leora.
How romantic! How civilized! Thedriver walked me through the
airport all the way to theadjoined hotel and left to pull
his car around as I dropped offmy suitcase.
Then I was whisked away in anelectric car with the steel logo
that looked like a uterus on thebumper.
David, that was the driver'sname, a man in his forties whom
(22:47):
I wouldn't have minded spendingmore time with, helped me out of
the futuristic vehicle.
He read a note from his phonewhich instructed me to go around
the side of the house toapartment number three.
My low heels clicked along thecobblestone path beside the
two-story character home, whichhad been retrofitted to
accommodate several units.
I saw the number three and astairwell leading down.
It was dark in the shade of thehome.
There was heavy ivy crawling upthe walls.
(23:09):
I glanced back at the clearstreet.
Why hadn't Lawrence picked me upfrom the airport himself?
He was only 68, but perhaps hehad poor eyesight and no longer
drove.
But he should have been waitingon the walkway for me when I
pulled up.
That would have been a nicegesture.
I hesitated at the top of thestairs.
There was a window beside me andtwo tabby cats curled on the
sill inside, between thecurtains and the glass.
(23:30):
Lawrence hadn't mentioned havingtwo cats.
Perhaps this window belonged toa different residence in the
house.
I remembered the other man onmany moons had said he had 17
cats.
Unimaginable! just looking atthose two felines in the window
made my eyes itch i was startledwhen a third cat jumped up on
the sill knocking the other twooff in a clamor of claws and
fangs i gripped the metalrailing as my other hand flew to
(23:53):
my throat the door below creakedThere he was below, wearing a
minty button-up tucked intokhakis.
He held a fluffy gray cat underhis arm like a football.
He ran his free hand through hishair.
Leora, he said, welcome.
No, I gasped.
His pet wriggled free andpounced away with a sharp meow.
An orange cat paced a figureeight around his slippers.
(24:14):
Oh boy, I've shocked you.
Is this not...
A pleasant surprise?
Despite the dim of thestairwell, there was a twinkle
in his bright blue eyes.
The top of the door frame wasmere inches from his head.
He was even more handsome than Iremembered from his photos on
many moons.
I shook my head and turned on myheel.
I bounded forward, but my ankletwisted.
I steadied myself against thehouse, my hands clutching the
(24:35):
slick, damp ivy.
He rushed up the stairs.
I sat on his firm couch with myleg lifted on an ottoman.
A bag of frozen peas inside adish towel was thawing on my
ankle.
He placed a hot mug of tea in myhands.
There were cat's Everywhere.
Each wore a different coloredcollar.
Every hue in the visiblespectrum was displayed around
the room in lines around theirnecks.
(24:56):
There were four on the couchnext to me.
My lips tingled.
My throat felt rough.
I took a sip from the mug andscalded my swollen tongue.
I set the mug on the side table.
Larry, I said, I need you tocall me a cab.
You just got here.
You can't leave on such anawkward note.
And your ankle.
Why don't you rest here for awhile?
(25:16):
You need to get to know me andthe ladies.
What?
Ladies.
My girls, all the girls! He madea sweeping gesture.
I need an antihistamine, Iadmitted.
Do you have anything?
Please, is there anything?
Is there anywhere to sit outsidewhile we wait for the cab?
Larry slid his hands into hispockets.
You didn't tell me you wereallergic to cats.
I sniffed as my nose began torun.
(25:37):
A huge, terrible-looking calicowas kneading my leather handbag.
The charm on its mauve collarread, Karen.
Oh! I gently pushed the cat offthe couch and found the
smartphone in my bag.
Don't push Karen, Larry said,bending to pick up the calico.
They all understand English.
I stared at Larry through wateryeyes.
(25:58):
He buried his face into thecat's neck.
Please, Larry, I need medicineor I need to get outside
immediately.
I sneezed into my elbow.
I fiddled with my smartphoneuntil I managed to unlock it
with my fingerprint.
I found Emma's name on mycontacts and pressed on it.
Are you one of those women whocan't put down her phone He took
the phone out of my hands andplaced it on the side table next
to my mug.
(26:19):
You didn't give me a chance totell you about my cats.
You simply dismissed me withoutlearning anything about them,
why I have them, what they meanto me.
I'm allergic, Larry.
It's really not an option to beinvolved with.
My voice squeaked and my chestfelt tight.
I had never had such a strongallergic reaction before.
I tried to breathe through mynose.
Panicking would not help me now.
I needed to keep my wits aboutme.
(26:40):
Please, I rasped.
Antihistamine.
I lowered my ankle from theottoman.
My family knows I'm here, Imanaged.
Right you are, of course, I havesomething.
He waded through the felinesover to his small kitchen.
I could see him rummaging aroundin there from the large
rectangular serving hatch on thewall.
I grabbed my phone and placed itto my ear.
Emma was yelling, Grandma,what's going on, Grandma?
My throat was closing.
(27:02):
I could only squeak into thephone.
I stood snatching at my bag andstumbled toward the door.
Larry was yelling, One for everywoman I've ever loved.
To honor them.
To keep them close.
Each of my beauties has the sameshape.
Oh, he sighed.
They're brown.
(27:34):
We wrote the same thing.
We are
SPEAKER_01 (27:37):
such creeps.
SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
Oh my god.
Larry.
I hate him.
Yeah.
Yours is a little more evil.
Mine's really sad.
Yours is sad and pitiful.
Yeah.
But also a creep.
I thought yours was morerealistic because it's like
either way they would have to bementally ill.
(27:58):
Oh my God.
Yes.
And both of them have colorfulcollar.
Colors.
Collar to like tell all of themapart.
And they're all the ladies.
They're all the ladies theyloved.
I mean, I guess what we'relearning here is a man with 17
cats is going to be weird.
Yes.
And there's probably a type.
Yes.
And we have that in our head.
(28:19):
Yes.
I love that story.
That was really fun.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I didn't.
know where it was going to go.
Really?
And I liked it a lot.
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
I think that yours was better.
Oh.
I do.
I really do.
I think that I love, you reallyput me in it and it was so
funny.
And I just, I think that you'resuch a good writer.
(28:41):
Thank you.
I think that you really, reallyhave a gift, especially since it
feels like you haven't beendoing it for that long.
Or like, how long have you beenworking on your project?
Love the compliment.
Thank you.
However, I don't want to saythat I haven't been writing a
long time.
I just haven't made it apriority to write ever until
more recently.
But I've definitely written alot in my life.
(29:02):
I'm writing an essay currentlyfor my final project for school.
And I was kind of, in my essay,I'm kind of retelling my writing
path.
And like in fifth grade, I wonan award for writing a story.
So like, clearly I've been doingthis a while.
I just didn't register it assomething that I do.
Right.
Yeah.
And when we first met and I toldyou the ghost story in real
(29:26):
time, like we were sittingtogether and I told it, you
commented on how I was such agood storyteller.
And then recently I was lookingat one of our textbooks for
school and it was saying thatstorytellers are good writers.
And like it comes hand, youknow, it goes hand in hand.
Yes.
So maybe it's just that.
Like it's just like astoryteller-writer connection
(29:47):
thing.
Right.
I don't know.
Yeah, no, you are.
great storyteller.
Because there's just certain...
Like, don't you hate it whenyou're telling, you have a
story, maybe it's one of my liketop five go-to stories or
whatever anecdotes.
Sure.
And even just my personalstories that I'm telling people,
it's like at the end, there'sgoing to be something to maybe
(30:07):
surprise you or something thatwraps it up or something that's
funny, right?
Like I'm getting somewhere.
Yeah, your climax.
Yes.
And you're telling a story tomaybe a few people and you get
to one funny part and theneverything dissolves in terms of
your audio And they startlaughing and then talking about
their own thing.
But you know you haven't gottento where you needed to go.
(30:30):
And you don't, your storydidn't, you're like, oh, fuck,
like it didn't even land.
Or somebody halfway through yourstory goes, oh, and then was he
a cop?
And then ruins everything.
And then you're like, well,yeah, okay, don't have an
experience.
I'm going to fucking take thewind out of my sail.
I hate that.
And then there's people who somy friend, my best friend, Amy,
she we were talking at somepoint in our lives.
(30:53):
We've known each other sincewe're seven and eight.
She was living in a new city andwe were talking about her making
friends.
And she is such a socialbutterfly.
She she's the type of personthat gets invited to like 10
weddings every summer justbecause everybody thinks she's,
you know, beautiful.
Their best friend.
Wow.
But they're not.
She's my best friend.
(31:13):
Back off.
And anyway, she was living inNew City and she said, you know,
it's hard to to make reallyclose female friends like it
takes.
I was like, yeah, you know, ittakes time to really bond.
And she was like, yeah, but alsoa lot of women or I don't want
to say a lot of people aren'tthat funny.
And I had never really thoughtabout it that way, but I do
(31:36):
notice now, some people do nottell stories when they talk.
It's true.
And Amy said to me, yeah, that'show you talk.
You talk in stories.
Totally.
And I think you do that too.
Yes.
But you'll have some people whowill just, you'll be like, hey,
like, how was your week?
And they'll just say, oh, Martymade the soccer team.
And you're like, okay.
When really there is a fuckingstory there.
(31:58):
Did he want to be on the soccerteam?
Did you pressure him into beingon the soccer team?
Did you think he would make thesoccer team?
What were all the obstacles thatgot in his way?
How did you feel when he, wherewere you sitting?
What did it look like?
How did you feel when ithappened?
And some people just, I don'tknow how these people have
conversations with each other.
Totally.
Okay, so I mean, I don't know ifthis is a shorter episode or
(32:22):
what.
Well, I think it can be ashorter one.
If we do these regularly, wherewe have our story time, then I
think that that's perfect.
It's like a little mini episodestories.
People kind of get to know ourown writing, which I think is
cool.
Yeah.
And then we'll see you at ournext episode.
(33:06):
They put out five differentprompts.
You respond with a short storybased on that prompt and you can
win 250 bucks.
So far, this contest that's liveon their website right now, the
theme is Beyond Redemption.
And there are 100 entries and 66stories.
I don't know how that'spossible.
(33:28):
But there's four days left,seven hours, 54 minutes for us
to write these stories.
I'm willing to bet you have topay to submit.
And so some people have to pay.
have paid multiple times tosubmit their one story.
Don't you think?
That's bullshit, isn't it?
I mean, that would be my guess.
How else could there be 66stories and 100 entries?
Oh, well, I don't really likethat.
(33:48):
I don't want to...
It should be based on, like, themerit of the story, not how many
times you submit it.
No, you're right.
Although that does make the potbigger.
Oh, no, you're running$2.50 nomatter what.
Yeah.
Okay, so that doesn't makesense.
Okay, so basically, there's thisReadsie contest, and Rachel and
I don't know all the ins andouts of it yet, but we are going
to pick one of the promptsthat's live.
(34:11):
We're both, we're challengingourselves to each write a story
based on those prompts andsubmit it.
And we only have four days,seven hours and 53 minutes to do
it.
And then I guess we'll talkabout that, our experience on a
future story time episode andalso read our stories.
Okay.
So Rachel, I'm going to let youchoose the first prompt.
Okay.
Write a story with the line,quote, I didn't have a choice.
(34:34):
The second one is center yourstory around someone Ooh.
Oh, scary.
Okay.
Aww.
Aww.
And write about someone whochooses revenge, even though
(34:57):
forgiveness is an option.
Oh, let's go revenge.
I don't know why I feel verydrawn to that one.
Okay, so Rachel's going to gowith revenge.
And I'm going to go with writeabout a character who becomes
the villain in anothercharacter's story.
Okay, wait, hold on.
I need to write down what I'mdoing.
Write about someone who choosesrevenge, even though forgiveness
(35:18):
is an option.
Okay.
Oh, my God.
And I have four days, sevenhours, and 52 minutes.
Okay.
I'm in.
Yep.
And if you guys want to knowmore about the contest, you
should just go to ReadZ.
Apparently, if you win, you havea chance to be published in
Prompted, which is a newmagazine where they feature 12
prize-winning stories from thecommunity.
(35:40):
Fun.
So this is like kind of a chanceto get published as well, but
there's like 66 stories already.
So it's pretty stiffcompetition.
but either way, I think it'sgoing to be really fun to see
what you do.
And I think you have a reallygood shot.
Oh, I think you do too.
I also, I mean, I did reallylove your story.
(36:00):
I can't believe we wrote thesame story.
I cannot believe we had so manyspecifics that were similar.
Yeah.
I mean, I promise you people, wedid not talk about this.
Yeah.
So the prompts were the Leoraloves Israel.
Larry has the 17 cats and theripped up poultry.
Leora supposed to be theprotagonist, which she was.
(36:20):
But it's like both of our mindswent there without, I don't
know, I didn't think that itwould be such an obvious place
for it to go.
I didn't think so.
I really thought that I wasgoing somewhere dark and that
you wouldn't want to go.
Well, yours was very dark.
But the fact that we chose olderpeople, I mean, I guess is
(36:41):
Israel more attractive to olderpeople in our minds?
Leora and Larry.
I mean, they are older names.
Yeah.
But at least Larry's handsome inyours.
Yeah.
Mine is.
He's gross.
So sad.
Oh, my gosh.
The part about him laying therewith his mouth open, like
looking at the lady.
Dental hygienist.
And then how you brought itaround.
(37:02):
The dental hygienist cat waslooking down at him with his
mouth agape when he died.
I know.
It was so, I love the way thatyou're able to just like bring
things back around.
I love bringing things around,you know?
So how long do you think youspent writing this one?
Honestly, not very long.
It just flew out.
Yeah, I'm a pantser, man.
Yeah.
I really seem to be.
I have my daughter's gymnasticsclass today and I have two full
(37:26):
hours to just sit there andwrite.
So I honestly, oh, I'm sorry.
That was what I did last week.
So that's where Larry came tobe.
Was we had our, we recorded.
Yeah.
And I sat there at the thing andgymnastics.
And I think I had started it athome a little bit.
So maybe like three hours total.
Yeah.
And then I just kind of honed itin after that.
(37:48):
Yeah.
So cool.
How many hours do you think youtook?
Probably the same amount becauseI think I sat and I sort of
wrote it out in the first hourand then I gave up on it.
I was like, and then I was justsort of like, I was mad at like
the constraints I was like howam I supposed to write something
like that's like me when I'm bigand I'm never gonna want to like
(38:08):
me I'm acting like I was mad atit but it was just sort of like
I don't know I don't know why acharacter that you're assigned
it's like an arranged marriageyeah you know it's like an you
kind of have to be in love withwhat you're writing and it's
hard to fall in love if you'reassigned yes and I also found
that Larry's 17 cat thing was alittle to me I thought it was
like a little bit corny surewhen I read it so I was a little
(38:31):
bit like, oh, like I didn't, Iwanted to be able to just take
that sentence out or likereframe it, but that wasn't like
the assignment.
But yeah.
So anyways, then I went in thegarden this morning and I worked
on it for a couple of hours tokind of like wrap it up.
But normally, hopefully I wouldhave made this better if I had
edited it.
But one thing that I think I'mlearning from your writing is,
(38:53):
oh, I don't know.
I want to listen to yours again.
It's something about the waythat people are moving around
that just sounds really likebelievable and like slice of
life i don't know it's just sofunny like i can't i don't even
know why that particular linehad me howling when you said
when she calls gladys and gladysis like oh how how's it going
(39:16):
and she's like gladys do youjust talked it talk at him
because he's not in a good way imean gladys needs to take a
little ownership over what she'sdone to her son clearly gladys
so how did he how did he die hewas on the floor i'm not sure
i'm trying to kill them sidewell i don't know i okay so if
(39:36):
this was a longer story yeah andit was i mean if i was to go
like two all the way like wewere gonna go further in with
larry and leora i was going tomake it so that leora becomes a
suspect in a murder of Larrybecause she was there she was
the last one in his house herhair is on his floor and like I
was kind of setting it up sothat it was a it could have
(39:57):
gotten to be a bit of a did shedid she kill Larry whoa yeah Oh,
my God.
That's even cooler.
Rachel, you are so impressive.
Jesus Christ.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm very intrigued by murdermysteries.
And one of the classes I'm goingto take at CSM in the future is
of like a mystery class.
(40:19):
And I feel like I could maybe godown that road because she drank
a whole bottle of wine.
She was feeling really shittythe next morning.
Maybe she went, his house is onthe way to work.
Maybe she, it was like a littlebit more of a path than she
realized and she went backthere.
I don't know.
What secrets does Leora hold?
(40:42):
I know.
Well, if you want Rachel to keepon writing this.
Oh, yeah.
Let her know.
Yeah.
When we do post about this onInstagram.
If you want to comment and tellme you want me to keep going,
I'll keep going.
Especially since you don't haveto write really Larry that much
anymore.
No, Larry's a god.
I mean, he was an amazingcharacter and it was so visceral
(41:03):
and it gave me so many creeps.
But it also, like, I did haveempathy for him, too, even
though he was so weird.
I still, like, I don't know ifI'd want to be in his head for a
whole, like, book down there.
You know what I mean?
No, I don't want to be anywherenear Larry.
But we're going to keep onwriting and we'll be back with
you guys...
We'll be back soon.
We'll be back soon.
UNKNOWN (41:27):
Okay.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.