This is the writer's voice, new fiction from the New Yorker. I'm Deborah Treisman,

fiction at the New Yorker. On this week's episode of the writer's voice, we'll hear Caleb Crane read his story Clay from the August 12th, 2024 issue of the magazine.

Crane is the author of one book of non-fiction and two novels,

Necessary Errors, which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award,

and Overthrow, which was published in 2019.

Now here's Caleb Crane.

Clay. The county had recently put in a light at the intersection of 14 and 273 because of all the semis that were coming through.

The old spot was a little south of that. It was a bar in what had once been a Mexican place,

and a big wooden board with the old menu painted by hand was still standing in the empty lot beside it.

When Jane drove by on her way home,

she was pretty sure she saw her husband's truck parked out front,

a red Ford F-150.

But it was almost dark and she wasn't sure.

This would be the third night in a row, if it was him.

There was no Red F-150 in her and Lindy's carport when she got home.

She pushed open the back door of the house and their cat, gray, trotted toward her on stiff

legs.

Lindy, she said into the empty. toward her on stiff legs.

Lindy, she said into the empty rooms. During his shift, he got so bored, he had once explained.

He had never been one for sitting in a chair, and at the motel that was pretty much all he had to do.

We yeah, gray sighed.

Jane put a can of his food into the machine to open it. Behind the machine was where she tucked the bill she hadn't paid yet.

...