There were loud cheers from the audience, and boos for Liverpool. Kate smiled politely.
“And you know, sports kind of aren’t my thing.” She blushed, just a little, and managed to look both demure and coy. “But since I was on Lizzy’s time, well, I had to go with her.”
“What happened?” Someone cried loudly from the audience. Kate didn’t address them, but she did give a brief smile.
“I enjoyed myself,” she said. “I thought it was going to be a miserable time—loud drunks stampeding everywhere, jocks on the field, people making jerks out of themselves. But I had fun. The energy really caught me and I wound up enjoying myself more than I had at any point in recent memory.”
The audience was silent.
Kate continued. “So I really should have apologized to Lizzy.” She waited for a beat. “Not just because I was rude, but because I had preconceived notions of what it was going to be like. And I was wrong.”
She looked out over the audience and a more serious expression fixed on her face. “My show was designed to showcase equal opportunity for women, and I always wanted to feature women making choices for themselves without being judged. We’re all guilty of this sometimes, but lately, I think the hypocrisy has been overwhelming. I started receiving low ratings on my show after one newspaper—one newspaper—ran a story about how I went out with a football player. That one story was enough to make people turn their backs on me, and that one story was apparently enough to make certain people think that everything I’ve ever said is total bullshit.”
Someone in the audience gasped. I chuckled; I didn’t think Kate’s usual audience was used to profanity. Pride and love for her surged in my heart, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as I waited for her to finish.
“My misconception of football and football games is much like this. Except I knew that I was wrong, and I apologized, and since then I’ve tried to lead a very open life. Right now, my show is ending because of those low ratings, because I went out with a footballer. And right now, I want to let you all know—even though I don’t have to—that Jay is a wonderful man. He’s not just a jock, and he’s not just a guy who plays football. He’s a giving, sensitive, and loyal man. If you all think differently about him, it’s because you don’t know him. I refuse to apologize for being in a relationship with him, and if anyone wants to keep judging me, fine. Keep judging me. Stay a hypocrite.”
There was a pause, and Kate shrugged. Someone in the audience cheered and she smiled briefly. “The most important thing in my life is honesty and transparency, and this is what you’re getting. I’m no less of a role model to women just because I have a life. On the contrary, I think role models should have lives. If being a role model is going to hold me to a plastic mold of myself, then I’m done with that.”
Kate paused and took a deep breath. She looked over to me and smiled, making my heart thump in my chest. Finally, she said: “Thank you all very much for your support and your love over the years. I’ve really appreciated hosting Keeping Current With Kate. And now, let’s get started with tonight’s last-ever theme…”
The rest of the show went smoothly, and when the cameras stopped rolling, Kate visibly relaxed. Some people on set began cheering and she flushed as she got up from her seat and walked over towards me. With a shaky grin, she reached out her arms and wrapped them around my neck.
“How did I do?” Kate pulled back and gazed into my eyes.
“You were bloody brilliant,” I said honestly, releasing her.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
She turned around a second later when a producer asked her something, and she didn’t see me as I dropped to one knee on the floor.
She turned back around. “Jay, want to go for drinks? Some of the camera—oh my god!” she said.
“Will you marry me, Kate?” I asked, holding the ring up towards her. Tears flashed in her eyes and I watched a hundred emotions play on her face.
“Yes,” she said. She shook her head up and down. “Yes, yes, yes!”
I slid the ring onto her shaking hand and stood up, pulling her close to me and nuzzling into her sweet-smelling hair. Around us, people cheered and clapped and yelled, and Kate snuggled close to me and sighed happily.
“I can’t believe this,” she said dreamily, pulling away. “This ring is so beautiful! And it fits me perfectly, too.”
I grinned. “You wouldn’t believe this, but I was actually going to propose to you on camera,” I said casually. Kate’s eyes bulged. “But then I changed my mind,” I said quickly, before she could respond. “Because I’m not the kind of guy who does these things just for attention anymore. This last show was yours, Kate, and I wanted you to have every moment of that to yourself.”