A few days later, after I’d put the word out to current and wanna-be Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats writers that I’m the series’ new story editor and am open for story springboard submissions, I walk into Lori’s office. Lori picks up a sheet of paper with the writers’ names I’d submitted to her, glances at it and looks at me with, “Looks like you’ve got a good crew.”

“Yeah. A lot of them have written Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats episodes. I think the series will go smoothly; by the numbers.”

She nods. “I’m sure it will, Jack.”

When I look away, she senses something’s on my mind. Consummate professional that she is, Lori gives me some space. I look back to her and say, “With all these writers already familiar with the series, I think this is going to be an administrative job for me – editing, polishing, keeping everyone on schedule.”

She nods again. “That’s what a story editor does. What’s your point?”

“Twenty-one episodes. Heathcliff and a Catillac Cats story for each episode. That means we’ll have forty-two stories. I appreciate that it’s okay for me to write some of my own scripts. But for this series I’d like to just focus on story editing.”

“That’s your call.”

I know there’s something unspoken here, but I let it lie. Lori’s phone buzzes. She answers it, listens, then hangs up and say, “Ray Dryden’s here to see you.”

I give her a half-hearted “Thanks” and leave, wishing I knew what her ‘something unspoken’ was.