Edgar Morgan, from the beginning of their encounter seems to be acting "odd" and on edge for some unknown reason. When Paula asserts that her husband "writes something almost every day", Edgar confronts him on the point. "Is that a fact?" Morgan said. "That's impressive. What did you write today, may I ask?" Myers can only respond " Nothing", an answer that places him on an existential precipice. The response inevitably leads to questions about his identity, for what is a writer who doesn't write?.

             Edgar Morgan then proceeds to tell a story to test what Myers's imagination can do with some facts. The story is about a university professor that has had and affair with one of his students. He asks his wife for a divorce, and she throws him out of the house. While leaving, he is hit with a can of tomato soup thrown by his son, and his is now in the hospital in serious condition, Myers finds the story quite amusing while Paula and Hilda Morgan are disgusted. Edgar tells Myers that a writer could look at this from the husband's point of view and get quite a story; Hilda says that the same is true of looking at the story from the wife's point of view, and Paula speaks up for the son's point of view. Edgar then tops them all by asserting: "But here's something I don't think any of you has thought about. Think about this for a moment. Mr. Myers are you listening?.

             Tell me what you think of this. Put yourself in the shoes of that eighteen-year-old coed who fell in love with a married man. Think about her for a moment, and then you see the possibilities for your story." Hilda responds that she has no sympathy for the girl at all or for the professor, but only for the wife and child. Myers apparently has no sympathy for any of the people involved, he can only see the black humor of the entire situation. This lack of empathy again calls into question the appropriateness of his vocation as a writer.