The American Goddess

Chapter 1

The Gabby Taylor Show was airing for the third day in a row, and Douglas had it playing at full volume in the lobby. He was watching the screen intently, admiring Gabby Taylor's brunette waves and stormy gray eyes as she spoke loudly to the audience when Immanuel entered with a scowl on his face. Douglas frantically searched for the remote on his desk to turn the volume down, but he couldn't find it quick enough. Gabby was already introducing her next guest, and the timing couldn't be worse.

"Our next guest was named America's Sweetheart by Politics First and led Kyrie Emerson to victory in the most recent primary election. She's recently documented the realities of inaccesible healthcare and has launched a campaign to provide disenfranchised communities with medical services." Gabby looked away from the camera and turned her attention to one side of the stage, gesturing to a sliding panel that revealed the guest of honor. "Please help me in welcoming Winona Kingston!"

The audience erupted into cheers as Winona walked across the stage to greet Gabby. At this moment, Immanuel had given the screen his full attention. His jaw clenched when he saw the smile on her face. While she was enjoying the limelight, he was living his day to day life in misery.

"Thank you for joining us today," Gabby said to her, extending a hand. She moved in to hug the woman, but Winona kept her distance.

Winona sat in the designated guest chair and waved her off. "Thank you for having me. It's surreal to be up here with you, Gabby."

"Oh, please! I'm literally shaking with excitement."

"I can say the same. I almost couldn't walk out because I was so anxious."

Gabby laughed at the woman's joke, prompting the guests to join her. "I find that difficult to believe when you spent months behind a camera."

"I've got to admit that it's a little overwhelming," Winona responded, chuckling. "But I do owe Kyrie all the credit. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have even had the opportunity to visit these cities. I even partnered up with his sister, Savanna. While I was running the campaign here, she was traveling across country."

"Shit," Douglas said, sprinting toward the T.V. His search for the remote was completely useless this far into the segment even though Winona had just appeared. Immanuel had already seen too much. "I can't find the stupid remote. I'll turn it off."

Immanuel held up a hand to stop him. He didn't say anything as he continued watching the women on screen engage in conversation.

"So humble," Gabby said, placing a hand over her heart. "You told Politics First that you wanted to shed light on the current climate of healthcare, but the first production team shot you down. Tell us more about that."

"They said that the concept was nothing new," she explained to Gabby. "Poorer communities not having access to healthcare isn't news, apparently. But if we're always thinking about producing new content for the purpose of profit, we'll never create effective change. It's one thing to talk about this but it takes all of us to do something about it."

"You're speaking from experience as well, aren't you? How has limited access to healthcare directly affected you?"

Winona swallowed hard. Immanuel could see her eyes gloss over as she contemplated the question. "My sister and I lost our mom a few months ago. I didn't know she was struggling to pay for her care until I saw the pile of bills. Kyrie offered to take care of all of it. But not everyone has someone in their life who can foot the bill. The reality is what my mother faced—piles upon piles of hills."

"How generous," Gabby commented. "I see why you two work so well together. I am so sorry to hear about your mother though, Winona. I understand your sister is young. How is she handling all of this?"