The studio door swung open.
It was Kyle.
We both froze, waiting for him to say something.
He warned us against this and said there would be repercussions.
Surprisingly, he smiled. “I’m glad you two worked everything out, and I’m equally happy that Lori is back with us.” He pointed back toward the control board. “But you’re still on the air and the microphone is live.” He ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head.
We both shared a laugh.
“Oh, and it looks like you’re going to have another kiss video that goes viral.” Kyle gestured behind us and then walked out the door.
Ben and I swung around toward our producer in the other studio.
Jim was recording a video of us with his phone, smiling. Standing directly behind him was Debbie, Dan, and a few other employees, all smiling and cheering.
I wrapped my arms around Ben. “Let’s give them something to talk about.” I reached up to kiss him.
Ben held up his finger to stop me. “Hang on. I’m not done showing you how much you mean to me. This may take a while.” He grinned, leaned down, and then pressed his lips to mine.
Epilogue
Four Months Later . . .
BEN
I slid on my headphones and pressed the microphone button. “Welcome to the Dr. Tough Love and Lori Martin show, broadcasting live on over one hundred radio stations across the country. Boy, that’s a lot!”
Lori smiled. “It sure is, but we can handle it!”
“You bet we can and we’re here for every single listener, whatever your woes may be.”
Lori laughed. “Or bumps in the road. We all encounter those every now and then.”
“Better than a bump on the head.” I chuckled and pressed line one on the control board. “Pauline, you’re on the air. Welcome.”
“Thank you for taking my call,” Pauline said. “I feel funny sharing this . . .”
“My philosophy is always to just spit it out. There’s no reason to beat around the bush. We’re all adults here, and Lori and I want to help you.”
“Okay—I’ll just say it.” Pauline sighed. “I just found out my husband is . . .”
“Say it, Pauline.”
“My husband is . . . a crossdresser.”
I didn’t hesitate. “Dump him. File for divorce.”
Lori held up her hand. “Wait a minute!”
I shook my head. “Nope. Don’t even think about it another minute, Pauline. Divorce.”
“She didn’t even explain the situation!” Lori said.
“The situation is cut and dry, so there’s no need for any more info. He dresses up like women, which would be totally fine if he were single and doing his own thing, but the man is married to a woman and starting to dress like her. She didn’t sign up for that. It’s wrong on a hundred different levels. Divorce him, Pauline, and if you can find a drive-thru quickie divorce, even better.”
Lori scooted closer to the microphone. “Maybe she’s calling to see how to adapt to the situation and not end it, because she loves the man so much that she just can’t bear to let him go.”
