“Quirky how?”

“Well, to start, he’s been singing parts of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro overture out loud.”

I gasp. “No.”

“Yes,” Phil says, and maybe a relationship with him really is this easy. “And . . .” He glances around, as though worried legendary conductor Alejandro Monta?o might overhear us. “He has a dreadful voice.”

“And, of course, no one can say anything.” From my mother, I know that conductors can be dictators of the classical music world.

“Of course not.” He accepts another bowl I pass to him. “You really are doing a great job with the show, Shay. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Thank you,” I say. “My dad always talked about how radio was more than just one thing. It could make you laugh one minute and then break your heart the next. Actually . . .” I trail off, chewing the inside of my cheek. An idea is forming, and though Phil has always been easygoing, I’m not sure how he’ll react to this. “I’d love to be able to do some heavier episodes. Maybe . . . something about grief.”

Phil pauses in the middle of drying the bowl. “Connected to relationships?”

I nod, the idea gaining a little more weight. “Maybe it could be about finding love again after—after losing a spouse or partner.”

He’s quiet for a few moments, and I curse myself for saying the wrong thing. He and Diana can joke about things I’d never joke about with my mother, but this might be off-limits. Maybe I’ve crossed a line.

“You know,” he says finally, “I would really enjoy listening to that.”

I can feel my shoulders soften with relief. This could be how I make up for lying to our listeners—by producing something real and raw. By finding the truth, as Dominic is so fond of talking about.

“What if you two came on the show to talk about it?”

“The two of us? On The Ex Talk?” My mother reenters the kitchen, rubbing at her throat, her dark brows climbing nearly to her hairline. “You don’t want me on the radio. I highly doubt I’d have anything interesting to say.”

“You would,” I insist.

Phil pats his hands dry and wraps an arm around her shoulder. “If Leanna doesn’t want to, then I’m afraid I’m out as well.”

“But—you both would sound so great.” I’m suddenly deeply attached to this seconds-old idea. I can imagine it: violinists healing from loss and rediscovering love through music. In my head, I become their conductor and the show becomes a symphony, a mix of strings and voices, with pauses at just the right time for the listener to take it all in.

“I’ll think about it,” my mother says. “Chag sameach.”

“Chag sameach,” I echo, and I hug them both before I leave.

On the drive back to my house, I forgo a podcast for the first time in what feels like forever. Classical music swells from my speakers, wrapping its notes around my heart and guiding me home.

The Ex Talk, Episode 2: We Need to Talk

   Transcript

    SHAY GOLDSTEIN: Welcome to The Ex Talk! I’m your host, Shay Goldstein.

DOMINIC YUN: And I’m your other host, Dominic Yun.

SHAY GOLDSTEIN: And we are two people who dated, broke up, and now have a radio show about it. Is that how we should introduce ourselves every time? We’re still working on it.

DOMINIC YUN: I like it, but you never seemed to want to listen to my opinions.

SHAY GOLDSTEIN: That’s because mine were usually better. We want to thank everyone who listened to our first episode, posted about it online, or shared it with their friends. If I can get sappy for a second, I’ve always wanted to host a radio show, and I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. So truly: Thank you.

DOMINIC YUN: We have something a little terrifying on today’s show—well, terrifying for us. Ideally it’ll be enjoyable for you, the listener. A bit of schadenfreude for your Thursday afternoon, or wherever in time you happen to be when you listen to this podcast.

SHAY GOLDSTEIN: We’re thrilled to have Dr. Nina Flores in the studio with us. She’s a renowned couples counselor who’s here to help us figure out what went wrong in our relationship. Dr. Flores, thank you so much.

DR. NINA FLORES: Please, call me Nina. It’s my pleasure.

SHAY GOLDSTEIN: Nina, we’d love for you to take some calls from listeners, but first, we want to get your take on our relationship.

DOMINIC YUN: Maybe you could have even saved it.

DR. NINA FLORES: Well, Dominic, I want to be clear that it’s not my job to do the saving. I give couples the tools to have an open dialogue about whatever they’re struggling with, the ability to step back and analyze their relationship, to ask themselves, “Is this the best thing I should do or say in this scenario?”

SHAY GOLDSTEIN: So there’s no magic wand?

DR. NINA FLORES: Correct.

DOMINIC YUN: Let’s say you break up, but you still have to work with your ex. I would imagine a lot of our listeners can relate to that as well. And in my situation, well, my ex was intent on making my job as difficult as possible. What kinds of tools would you give me in that scenario?

Nina laughs.

    DOMINIC YUN: I’d also like to point out that Shay is rolling her eyes.