“Okay. Well, sure. We’ll deposit the money as soon as we have an account with her name on it.”
Honorata was too far away to hear what the young owner was saying to Jimbo. After breakfast, he had collected their passports from the front desk and given them to the owner. She had not known that her passport was in Las Vegas—had not seen it since that first day in the Chicago airport.
Jimbo came over.
“We’ll have to go to a bank, Rita. You’ll need to set up an account. We can open a joint account, which they will do for me very quickly.”
Honorata said nothing. Her heart beat faster.
Just then, the other owner, the woman called June, walked up.
“Rita, may I speak with you a moment?”
Honorata stepped forward, and Jimbo started to catch on to her arm, but dropped it when June looked at him. The two women walked to a door nearly disguised by the swirling wallpaper that covered it; behind the door was a set of offices. June chatted idly about the weather, about Chicago, about the good time Marshall had had there last summer. The largest office was hers.
“Please sit down.”
Honorata sat.
“Is your name Honorata?”
“Yes.”
“Honorata Navarro?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re a citizen of the Philippines?”
“Yes.”
June said nothing. She looked down at her desk for a moment.
“Does that mean I can’t win? Because I’m not American?”
“Oh no. You’ve won, Honorata. You pulled the handle, and according to the Supreme Court of the United States, the person who pulled the handle has won the jackpot.”
Honorata tried to calm herself.
“The thing is . . . Are you married to Mr. Wohlmann, Honorata?”
Honorata stared at the floor. Jimbo was an important person in this hotel. She’d had most of a week to see how important. She thought about how nice everyone had been, how they had all known her name, how they had known what she was doing at all times.
She was alone now. She didn’t know how to get back to the casino. Who would help her anyway? She felt dizzy, unmoored.
“Ms. Navarro, are you okay? Please don’t be afraid.”
Everything swam in front of Honorata. She was going to be sick.
June stood up and asked someone to bring some water. She placed her arm on Honorata’s back, making her flinch. A woman brought in the water, and June closed the door firmly behind her.
“Honorata. I can see that you’re upset. I think that you’re probably afraid. But there is no need to be. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. If you’re not married to Mr. Wohlmann, the money’s not his. It’s yours. It’s yours alone. And nobody can do anything about that.”
Honorata started to cry. She gulped in air and sobbed.
Later, June and Marshall met to decide what to do.
“Mom, Jimbo Wohlmann has been coming to the El Capitan since I was fourteen years old. I can’t simply send him home without her.”
“You can. And you will. And if James never returns to the El Capitan, then good riddance.”
“It’s not like when you and Dad managed this place.” Marshall ran his fingers through his hair, a gesture that always reminded June of Del. “Our investors are different. They look at our take every month. Jimbo has dropped millions here. We could practically make him a line item in our budget.”
“The El Capitan may not be the same as it was. But it’s still my casino. So I say, and the law says, that Honorata Navarro has won over a million dollars. She’s a single woman, and she’s the sole owner of that money.”
“Jimbo isn’t after her money. He doesn’t need another million dollars.”
“He doesn’t want Ms. Navarro to have it. And we both know why. Now, I don’t know what you’re thinking, Marshall, but we’re not going to be part of keeping that money from her. Whether it is the law or not.”
“You’ve known Jimbo for decades. He’s not a beast. She’s not a slave. Why can’t we extend the courtesy of a few days to him? He says that’s all he needs.”
“Because we are not going to extend the courtesy of a few days to him. He’s going to leave our hotel, and if he wants to go down the street and stay in another one, he most certainly can. But Ms. Navarro is staying here.” June rapped the table with her pen. “She’s staying here until she has her money, and her passport, and then we’ll take her to the airport, and she’ll go wherever she wants.”
“You act like I’m the one getting in the middle of this. You’re the one getting involved. You’re the one orchestrating this.”
“I’m not discussing this for another minute. I’ll talk to James myself. Do you think your father would have given him a couple of days to persuade that woman that she isn’t free to leave? James had his chance with her, and if she doesn’t go back to Chicago, I’m sure he’ll know why.”
“Mom, that’s not fair. Don’t throw Dad at me that way. I’m not evil here. I’m trying to keep the El Capitan going. Which I remember as being pretty important to Dad too.”
“Honey, we’ll keep the El Capitan going. We should have a line of people waiting to play Megabucks tomorrow.” June smiled.
“Like that’ll help.”
“You’re going to get your chance to make all the decisions. And you’ll be great. But this is my call.”
The woman had offered Honorata a new room in the hotel. The minute she was alone, Honorata lifted her dress over her head, and crawled beneath the sheets. When she woke up, she was disoriented. The sky above the Strip was dark; she had slept all day. She didn’t remember getting into bed; she barely remembered coming into the room. Little by little, though, everything returned to her. Tossing about in the bed alone. Going down to the casino. Climbing onto the high seat of the Megabucks machine. It couldn’t be true.
She sat up. Where was Jimbo? Did he know where she was? Honorata struggled to get out of the tightly wound sheets. What would she do with the money? Could her uncle get it? Would Jimbo call him? She stepped onto the thick carpet. Was someone watching her? Could she leave? She didn’t have any money. She didn’t even have her passport. Her heart rattled in her chest. Honorata was alone, and maybe she was worth a lot of money. And Jimbo, who mattered to these hotel people, was going to be angry.
She had only dresses to wear. Sandals with heels. She had a lipstick in her clutch, and a tissue. Nothing else. She looked around the room, frantic for something more useful. A basket of fruit and cheese was on the table. Next to it was a note, two hundred-dollar bills, and her passport. “Honorata—I didn’t know if you had any cash. Call and ask for me when you wake up, and we can make arrangements to have your winnings placed in an account. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like—June.”