Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens

EPISODE THREE—“MATT WAS TOO GOOD FOR HER”

Kyle Porter lives in Austin, and I meet him downtown, in the conference room of a trendy hotel. He’s on his way to get drinks with a colleague, and he looks like the main character of a sexy legal drama. Stylish, effortlessly cool.

Kyle:              I think Lucy had been living in Plumpton for about a year when I met her? After she moved back as an adult, I mean. I was in Plumpton a lot for work, and I ran into her and Savvy at the bar one weekend. Lucy would hang out there sometimes during the day, when it was slow, and write.

Ben:               Write?

Kyle:              She was writing a book. She’d bring her laptop to the bar, which looked kind of funny. I saw her sitting there, typing away, so I just went over and said, “Are you drinking or working?” And she told me she was writing a book, which I thought was cool. We got to talking.

Ben:               And then what happened?

Kyle:              I think it was the third weekend I was in town. I could tell that third time that she’d been waiting for me, and she was just … looser. There’s a hotel next to that restaurant, and after a couple glasses of wine I took a chance and asked if she wanted to get a room.

Ben:               Did you know she was married?

Kyle:              I saw the ring. But I was single, and honestly, I wasn’t looking for a relationship anyway. A married lady seemed like a kind of ideal situation, actually.

Ben:               What was your impression of Lucy? Did she seem happy?

Kyle:              Happy is not the word, no. Lucy was complex. Layered. She wasn’t interested in making other people comfortable, which I really liked about her. Not a common trait in a woman.

She seemed older than her early twenties. A real old soul. A deep thinker. She was writing that book, but she’d just get so stuck in her head. I’m not surprised that she never managed to publish anything.

Ben:               Did Lucy talk about her marriage with you?

Kyle:              Not at first. But our … tryst went on for months, nearly a year, and eventually she did talk about him a little.

Ben:               Did you get the impression it was a happy marriage?

Kyle:              I got the impression it was complicated. Most marriages are, though. Right? I’ve never been married. But that’s what I’d always thought. It seemed dramatic, to be honest. She was so young. I’m a good fifteen years older than her, and I remember thinking that it didn’t sound like either of them should have gotten married.