The American Goddess

Chapter 10

"Manwell, how come Nana is crying?"

Immanuel watched the woman lay a bouquet of flowers on her mother's grave as Yemaja licked the dripping ice cream off her cone. Winona had requested a private moment to grieve, so he offered to pull Yemaja aside. He wanted to be there to console her, but his presence would only disrupt the process.

"Sometimes, we cry when we're hurt," he explained to the three year old. "It helps us heal."

"Mhm," Yemaja said, unconvinced. "Nana took me to my first day of chemo today and I didn't even cry when they put the needle in me. That hurt a lot."

"I was there," he reminded her. He was trying not to laugh, but the tight smile on her face made it difficult. "Just because Nana cries, that doesn't mean she isn't as strong as you."

Yemaja looked at her sister and then down at the concrete beneath her small feet. She wasn't sure what to make of his statement. "Mommy will be sad if we cry. I don't want Mommy to be sad."

"She will understand," he told her. He dropped to her level and held a hand out to her. "I'll make you a deal. If you give Nana a big hug when she comes back, I will give her one, too."

She grinned and slipped her small hand into his to shake it. "It's a deal."

"Come on, Yemi," Winona said, approaching the pair standing by Immanuel's car. "Let's go get you cleaned up before you touch the seats with your sticky hands."

"I want to give you a hug." Yemaja reached out to her sister, and when she picked her up, cradling her small body against hers, Winona smiled. "Manwell's turn."

Immanuel chuckled and then wrapped both arms around Winona and Yemaja. He kissed the top of Winona's head before parting and opened the backseat door. "We can get her cleaned up later. I don't mind a mess."

When Winona caught him staring at her lips, she instinctively licked them. That only made his nose flare, but she chose to ignore the look of desire on his face and helped Yemaja into her booster seat instead. Once her sister was buckled in, Winona closed the door and then entered the vehicle on the passenger side. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and dabbed the corner of her eyes. They were still wet from crying.

"Vanna is picking us up from the office," she informed Immanuel as he entered the driver side. "I'm sorry you took half the day off work for this."

"This was important," he assured her. "Yemi's first day of chemo and coming to see your mom—I wouldn't miss that."

"Thank you," she whispered quietly.

"I'm just doing what any good friend would do."

Winona winced. She tried not to react, but something inside her stirred, and it was painful. She didn't verbally respond, however, and sat quietly. She looked in the rearview mirror at Yemaja who was nodding off to sleep, completely uninterested in the conversation between Immanuel and Winona.

Immanuel didn't like the quietness as he drove off from the grave sight. So, he cleared his throat and then said, "Why does Ky need you at EFO today?"

"I'm helping with the final review of his initiative," she explained to him. "I'm not sure why we aren't meeting at his office."

"I think Ky is having a hard time letting go of Emerson and the Cloud Company," he said, shrugging. "Do you miss working at EFO?"

Winona bit her lip as she considered the question. "All the time. I want to go back, but if I leave, Kyrie will have to go through the hassle of hiring a new public policy consultant in the midsts of getting his initiative on the ballot."