Triple Diamonds (Mystic Nights Book 2) (20 page)

Jewel nodded. “I noticed the tiger and dragon at war on your sleeve.” She was referencing one of his many tattoos. He wore a V-neck t-shirt, and could see a hint of those images.

Jewel guessed their meaning correctly, but he elaborated anyhow. “The tiger is our tribe, and the dragon theirs. It would have been so much easier for all of us had we stayed as one.”

“That’s always not so easy. The land given to us by the government couldn’t sustain all of our people.”

He nodded knowing the story well. “But later, if we had come together. . .” He shook his head knowing this was a grievous situation for all his people. All the Pequot.

“Some don’t want that. There is too much hurt and anger over the years.”

“I know. But it’s still one of my hopes. To see us all united once more. The success of
The Mystic
could do that. If we hope to grow and become stronger as a people, reuniting would make us stronger. We need to put the past behind us.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Jewel agreed. “But people hold grudges, and then there is the fact that the western tribe feels we have had too much assimilation. That our bloodlines have been too diluted.” This was a sore spot between the two tribes still.

She glanced at Joseph and noticed his grim expression. She immediately felt guilty knowing that his father must be white due to his fair skin. And that this was personal for him as well.

He glanced her way and saw the sympathy in her eyes. He didn’t like it. “I’m native in my heart. I think that is what is most important.”

“I agree. It’s how you are raised. My great grandmother was African American,” she surprised him with that detail. “I may not look it, but I’m mixed too, and so I do know how you feel.” She didn’t mention that his light skin tone probably had caused him a great deal of grief growing up. That didn’t need to be stated.

He looked up in surprise. “I didn’t know that.” He knew her father was western Pequot, and mother eastern. But he hadn’t known she was also interracial like him. It was yet another thing that they shared.

She nodded. “And when she married my great grandfather she embraced the life style, but kept her own as well. She felt it was important that her children had both histories, two halves to make a whole, she would always say. She was a remarkable woman. Her parents were slaves and she shared many stories they told her with us. She passed away when I was seventeen, but I’ll always remember her, and share those stories with my own kids someday.”

Joseph looked at the remarkable woman before him. “That’s exactly how I feel about the western Pequot. Perhaps someday they will come around. I know our tribe would embrace it. I hope to work towards that if I win the election.”

“Ah, I see, you have your own mission, other than your mother’s.”

“They go together. I think it is something my mother has always wanted too.” They had stopped walking and stood by a rail that kept walkers away from this section of the river that was moving particularly fast.

“I think you are going to win. I have heard many say they plan to vote for you. Harrison has not been campaigning like you. I think his ideas are out of date. It’s not what is right for our people in these times.”

He pulled Jewel closer to him, and bent down to plant a soft kiss on the top of her head. He appreciated her encouraging words and insightfulness. “Thank you,” he murmured as he turned them to head back towards his car which was still parked at
The Oyster Club
. This amazing woman beside him was perfection. He began to picture her beside him more permanently. She would be his perfect life partner. They shared a lot, a mixed parentage, and dreams and goals that would advance their nation, their people.

She interrupted his thoughts to add, “If the casino does as well as everyone hopes, and it has so far, I think you will have real negotiating power to maybe make reuniting a possibility.”

He hoped so, but the robberies that were happening could really hurt their reputation. He hoped they caught someone soon. That worry was never far from his mind. “That is my dream. I hope to see it in my lifetime.”

Jewel remained quiet for a moment. “Well, it would definitely help the case. We will come in on equal ground. The other tribe wouldn’t have as many reasons against a reunification.” He just nodded his agreement silently as they continued to walk back towards the car, her hand was now entwined with his. And it felt right. Again, she got quiet. “But with our success also comes problems. Problems that both our tribes will have to deal with. Like gambling, drinking, drugs, corruption.”

Those were issues. They tried to discourage their people from gambling, and the drinking that came with it. “Yes, sadly. As hard as we try to keep our people out of the casino, they find a way in. Or they go gamble at
Foxwoods
or
Mohegan Sun
. And we have seen a rise in the Western Pequot coming here. But if we ban together, then it could make it more difficult.” He knew they had counseling as well, and that helped some. Not much. But some. He knew efforts to curb excessive drinking and gambling were needed. He’d bring that up with his mother. It was something to think about.

Despite
The Mystic
having a strict policy of employees not gambling there, many of their people who were not employees still came. And many people from the local community, too. She knew the
Mohegan Sun
and
Foxwoods
hired many of their own as well. By banning together it would be even harder to gamble, and consume the alcohol that often came with it. “Perhaps more funds into counseling services for addiction is something you should be looking into.” He looked down at her surprised they were on the same wave lengths again.

“It’s funny. I was just thinking that,” he voiced as he gave her hand a little squeeze. More money on counseling would also help relieve some of the other problems that ensue if one became an addict.

As Jewel listened more to Joseph, she knew he was destined for more than just helping to run
The Mystic
, though that was a job in itself. He was such a juxtaposition. Pulled apart by his heritage, by his tribe, his body marked with the warring sides of his personality, but they really showcased his dreams and hopes. He wanted to unite the two factions of their people. And after over a month together, she already knew he was the man to do it. His ambitions were grand; they weren’t for himself, but for others. He was a good man. He really cared about his people. And this was a remarkable trait in a politician. It was what their people needed. True selflessness. She would be proud to stand by his side. She voiced those thoughts to him. All but the last part.

“Joseph, you are such a good man. With a good heart.”

He laughed at her compliment. He didn’t see it that way. At times, he hadn’t always felt like a good man. When he was younger, he had gotten into a lot of trouble because of his confusion over his identity and he’d lashed out. He felt ripped apart by the way some others remarked on his heritage, his parentage. It’s why he had marked up his body, to express himself, and then later it became a way to show how he wanted to pursue a life that would make the world a better place for all his people. He’d turned a negative into a positive, wanting to fight for others less fortunate or capable than he.

They were almost near the restaurant and the parking lot by this time. And Joseph stopped short to pull Jewel into his arms. “Okay, precious, enough about me. What are your dreams and aspirations? Being a chef, I know. Opening your own restaurant. But what else do you see in your future?” He hoped she saw him in her life.

Jewel wrapped her arms around his waist as he gazed down into her dark eyes after asking such a potent question. Looking into his depths, she hoped he would be in it. He was very much becoming a big part of her dream for the future, but she couldn’t say that now. It was still too soon, she reminded herself. She didn’t want to scare this man off, and until a month ago he had a reputation to back those worries up. But he was still waiting for an answer.

“For so long, I was focused on just my restaurant. But that had to be put on hold after my parents died. The funeral expenses took most of what I had saved until the insurance money came in, and then raising my brothers, they eat!” She shook her head in astonishment at just how much two active teenage boys could eat. “But now that I am moving to the reserve again, I can begin to save again.” She gave Joseph a grateful smile. He was making that possible. Sooner than she had hoped after taking over the care of her brothers.

He kissed the top of her head knowing what she was thinking. He remembered her thank you, very much.

“What kind of restaurant do you want?” he asked.

“Oh, local flavored, kind of like
The Oyster Club
. Fish, local produce, local favorites, but also recipes from our people along with the more popular New England fare.”

“Sounds great, but something like that costs a lot of money to start.”

“I know.” He saw the fierce determination in her eyes to overcome any obstacles. She would not be stopped. He liked that about her. She, too, was fierce and determined to pursue her dreams.

“I’ll do whatever it takes.” Keeping her dreams alive got her through her parents’ deaths, and she wanted to keep her family’s traditions alive by passing down those recipes in a place of her own.

Joseph was reluctant for the evening to end, but other than partying at one of the clubs, he felt it best to just head home. With Jewel by his side, he tucked her into his car, and headed back to his place for whatever the evening might bring. He knew now that he wanted her in his life for more than just a fling. Their talking about their dreams had sealed the deal for him. He just hoped she felt the same way. That her life in the future included him because he was going to do whatever it took to make that dream a reality.

‡

J
oseph, with a
large net bag of soccer balls swung over one shoulder, headed into the gymnasium and the equipment room.

The sounds of young men laughing and sneakers on the shiny gymnasium floor reached his ears. The high school kids who started school later then the younger kids seemed to be finishing up their game. Glancing at the court, he recognized two of the very tall players. Wesley and Lesley looked good. They played well together. Their speed on the floor, from being on the track team and years of conditioning, gave them a clear advantage over their peers. They’d never mentioned basketball to him in their brief encounters. It was only ever about track and field that they talked about. Both were excellent long distance runners, but they preferred the track and field events. Tall and sinewy, their speed kept the other two boys on the team constantly on the defense. The game wrapped up, and he was able to catch Lesley’s eye as the boys walked towards the exit after shaking hands briefly with the other players. They all headed to the exit. Wesley turned after a brief word with his brother, and he too gave Joseph a quick nod before exiting.

He’d been busy for weeks. Campaigning hard, and he and Jewel hadn’t had a lot of time together since their Saturday night date. They squeezed in a quick meal, coffee together twice, and they had managed to slip away up to his room upstairs twice this week, but he hadn’t been around the boys much.

He quickly threw the net of balls in the storage closet and began to exit the gym. He hoped to catch up to them and have a quick word. Maybe make plans for the weekend for all of them. He hoped to get to know her brothers better before the end of the year and they went off to college. And that was happening soon. He wanted to make an effort with them, not only because he was beginning to want Jewel in his life permanently, but he knew from his own experience that having a male role model at that age was important. Something he desperately missed. True, many of his mother’s friends through the years had stepped in and provided him guidance when he needed a male perspective, and that had helped. Tom Watson, the head of security, had been one of those men. A close friend of his uncle’s. But it was not like having a steady guiding hand. Other than Tom, his grandfather who’d passed away when he was sixteen, and Senator Silver, who never had children of his own, his wife had been too ill to raise children, he’d had no other male role models during a critical time in his life.

He quickly walked to the corner of the block where he had seen the boys’ pick-up truck parked earlier. He saw them standing beside their car. And what he witnessed stopped him short. He ducked behind the fence and watched as Lesley handed the two other boys several bills, counting them from a roll he pulled out of his pocket. The one young man, who he recognized as the young man from the coffee shop, was shuffling his feet nervously. But the other confidently pulled an envelope from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to Wesley who clapped him on the back, and then turned, pivoting on one heel. He was smiling broadly, and then made his way round to the driver side door. Lesley laughed at something, and then he, too, got in the truck.

His earlier suspicions returned in a heartbeat. What were these kids up to? And why were they handling that much money? He couldn’t fathom it. The only thing that was logical was gambling. It made him think of the conversation he’d had with Jewel last week. How gambling addictions led to other problems. Like perhaps theft to feed the addiction. He didn’t want his thoughts to lead him there. But he just couldn’t help but wonder what these two boys were involved in. And who was that fourth young man? He didn’t recognize him at all. Not from the youth center or his dealings with the tribe and his recent campaigning.