Chapter 12

I woke in the morning still in her bed. I carefully rose and went into the kitchen to start coffee. As I was finishing that task, a naked arm came around my chest and two breasts pushed into my back. Eve said, "Good morning."

I said, "Yes, it is." I turned around and gently kissed her lips.

She gave a soft moan. She said, "Would you help me shower?"

I thought about that for all of a half second and said, "Pleasurably."

It took a little longer to shower than either of us separately but was much more pleasurable. It was different for us now that we have admitted how we felt about each other. We dressed and made it downstairs in time to meet the limo. I was wearing my suit pants and a dress shirt and carrying my coat and a tie. We rode to the studio in a comfortable silence holding hands.

We went inside and weren't met by the people crying for attention. There was a calmer atmosphere and we filled two plates and coffee cups and sat down to eat. Eve motioned for Joan and Nick to join us. She said, "I have one of my guests for this morning right here. He is going to have suffer through a bit of hero worship on my part before I will let him talk. Joan, let's set up some questions to ask that will get information on radio, operators, and what these people do in emergencies to our viewers. Nick, you will have to shepherd him through makeup. I don't want them to overdo it."

Both nodded. Joan said, "Bill, what questions should she ask to lead you into talking about radio?"

"It won't be hard. I enjoy talking about radio and emergency work and have done it for local groups at home."

We stayed away from technical issues but talked about licensing questions, how to start, different communication uses, and what hams call "hamspeak." We had about six or seven questions for the teleprompter that Eve might ask. I said, "Is that all there is to preparing for an interview?"

Eve chuckled and Joan was shocked. Joan said, "It depends. Some are easy. Some bring their own questions to start a discussion and lead it into a topic area. We prepare some questions for others like we have done with you. Others want to script the entire interview. Eve tries not to have them on again. Some, however, are unavoidable. Eve has been known to violate the rules and go where she will. It's part of what makes her and the show popular. Eve says our viewers come first even if the persons on the show don't like it. I don't think you'll have any problems, Bill."

I shook my head. "I'm just a poor innocent lamb being led to slaughter."

Eve and Joan loudly said, "Baah!" Nick even joined in!

He went on to other duties. Joan looked at both of us carefully. She asked, "What happened yesterday? There is a different aura between you two."

Eve grinned. "We're still concerned about being together but it's focused upon how rather than if. We did make some decisions last night. How we are going to make things work is unknown but that's the direction we will take."

Joan looked excited. "I want to watch."

I said, "You'll have to come to Alabama next week while we continue the process of working this out."

She grinned. "That works for me. You might have a younger friend. I don't have a contract or two houses."

Eve and I grinned at her and with her. It was a restful morning until Nick took me into makeup. He asked, "What's happening?"

I said, "Your boss and I are in love. The problems still remain but we are focused upon a solution rather than the problem."

He smiled. "It should be an interesting ride." I nodded. He had moved my coat and tie into the dressing room previously. An older lady came in and draped a cloth over me. She said, "You won't need much since you are well tanned. It shouldn't wash out too badly. Just be patient and hold still. When you finish later, I will clean you off." She smiled and began her work. It didn't take long before she was done. She removed the cloth. I tied my tie. She adjusted it. She grinned, "I can see why Eve thinks you're hot. She's right."

It was time for the show to start and I would be the first guest. Eve performed a short introduction for the show. Then she said, "I want to bring out a guest I never thought I would have on the show. His name is Bill Anderson though that name will not mean anything to you. He is the man who pulled me from the wrecked SUV after the hurricane saving me. I went with him for the rest of that day and into the evening. Bill is an amateur radio operator with a call sign issued by the FCC of WR4L. I remember it because he allowed me to transmit some reports during that long, eventful day. He has been up here and has impressed my staff with his helpful activity as he had me in that other situation. I am proud to call him a good friend. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Bill Anderson!"

I walked out with a small wave to the audience. Eve came to me and put her arms around my neck and gave me a very romantic and thorough kiss! Members of the audience went, "Wow!" I did, too.

Eve grinned, "Folks, he didn't expect that but I completely enjoyed it." She turned us facing the audience. "Ladies, isn't he a hunk?" There was a lot of enthusiastic applause. She guided me over to a seat and took her normal place close to me. I had noticed that her sets didn't have a desk separating her from her guests.

Eve said, "Other than to display to the world my studly rescuer," she grinned, "I want Bill to talk about amateur radio and how the operators help with emergencies. Bill, let's start with something easy, tell people about emergency work."

"Thank you, Eve. I will do my best.

"Amateur radio operators are licensed by the FCC. One of the primary purposes is to provide emergency communications. A popular word for amateur radio operators is hams. Most hams are not emergency workers but are communicators. I have friends who are wheelchair bound but who contribute meaningfully in handling communications in emergency situations. In the hurricane, when you were riding with me, one was in the EMA center from six in the evening through six in the next morning. Burt did an outstanding job during that period. When the hurricane struck, power went out and a crucial tower in the county was toppled. This is typical in these situations. County and state agencies cannot afford to mount antennas all over.

Many hams have towers for their own use. In our county, we have two that are out from the county seat and its official use antennas. In this last hurricane, that antenna was downed by the wind. Our ham antennas were spared and we were able to provide local communications on the two-meter band. That's a set of frequencies allocated for amateur use below the police and fire band of frequencies. At our own cost, we had centralized communications available. Even without that, we have methods to communicate directly. It's just a bit more difficult. I have worked with our county EMA for a number of years and my pickup is prepared for emergency work. Charles and I have worked on this and I am able to get around and offer help in simple situations."