Sid drove her to the television station. Everyone she dealt with welcomed her and was so friendly that she was at ease immediately. A smiling receptionist let the host know Stella had arrived and in minutes a smiling blonde appeared and extended her hand.
“Welcome. I’m Natalia Higgens and we’re delighted to have you on the show.”
“Thank you,” Stella said, shaking the woman’s hand and relaxing. “I hope this does some good for my hometown.”
“We’re happy to have you and sorry about Royal. The tornado was dreadful. I think our viewers will be interested and I think you’ll get some support. We’ll show a short video one of our reporters made after the storm. I’ll have some questions for you. People are responsive when someone has been hurt and you have a town filled with people who have been hurt.”
“I really appreciate this opportunity to try to get help for Royal.”
“We’re glad to air your story. If you’ll come with me.”
Fifteen minutes later, Natalia Higgens made her brief introduction, looking at the camera. “The F4 tornado struck at 4:14 p.m. on October 6th, a Monday.” The camera cut to the video the studio had taken after the storm. As soon as the video ended, Natalia turned to ask Stella about Royal.
From the beginning of the interview, Natalia’s friendliness put Stella at ease. She answered questions about the storm and the people in Royal, listing places that were badly damaged, giving facts and figures of families hit, the people who died in the storm and the enormous cost of the cleanup.
“If people would like to help, do you have an address?” Natalia asked.
“Yes,” Stella replied, giving the address of the bank in Royal where the account had been set up for donations. “Also, the Texas Cattleman’s Club of Royal will have a Christmas festival and we hope to be able to provide toys for all the children of families who were so badly hurt by the storm. Some families lost everything—their homes, their livestock, their livelihoods—and we want to help them have a happy holiday,” Stella said, smiling into the camera before turning to Natalia.
Before Stella knew it, her fifteen-minute segment was finished.
When the show ended, Natalia turned to Stella. “Thank you. You gave a wonderful presentation today that should get a big response.”
“I enjoyed having a chance to do the show and to tell about our Christmas festival. I’m very excited about that and the joy it will bring.”
“Maybe we can have someone from the Royal and the Dallas TCC be on our show soon to mention it again.”
“That would be wonderful,” Stella said.
Natalia got a text, which she scanned quickly. “We’re getting donations. Your bank will be able to total them up and let you know. Congratulations on getting more help for Royal.”
Stella smiled broadly, happy that the interview went well, hoping they did get a big response.
After thanking them, telling them goodbye and making arrangements to get a video of the interview, she was ready to go back to Dallas.
As she left the station, people who worked there stopped to greet her and wish her success in helping her town.
Exhilarated, she saw Sid holding the door of the limo as she emerged from the building.