Chapter Three
The jet landed at McCarran International Airport early that afternoon. Joshua could not help but to notice the multitude of slot machines bunched together outside the gates. Tourists from across the globe gathered around the machines, filling them with quarters, nickels, and dimes, having their first or final shots at winning big in Sin City. Joshua and his companions did not make time for the gaming then as more pressing matters were on the horizon. They found their limousine driver quickly and departed to the awaiting vehicle in the outside heat.
The limousine interior smelled brand new and was stocked with beverages and fresh fruit. Deborah sipped on grape juice while Theresa and Joshua each had a beer. The two friends learned very little of Joshua’s side of the family from the man with much on his mind. He, instead, spent most of the time finding answers to his own questions. He wanted to know everything about Deborah’s side of the family and was thrilled that she was so keen on the information. Deborah, like her grandfather, Samuel, had a strong sense of family and values. She could name all of her living relatives off the top of her head as well as many of the deceased ones. She had studied the family tree and took it as her own responsibility to keep track of it and update it when necessary. She let her grandfather keep an eye on the family business and stocks while she organized the family get-togethers and made sure everyone in the family received a phone call or a letter every month. Samuel often told her how much he respected her sense of family love.
Business and family: organizing both was something only Julianna Gibbon was able to do and do it well. When it became clear that her time was limited the responsibilities had to be split in two.
Taking notice of his occasional glances at the city, Theresa asked, “Have you ever been to Vegas before, Joshua?”
He nodded. “A few years back. I must say, however, that the city has changed much since that time. It has become nothing more than a massive playground; a theme park of sin for all ages.”
Theresa laughed. “That’s very cliché, but true. I think that’s the city’s new slogan: come to Vegas, it is total sin for all ages! But, really, you’re just talking about The Strip. Anywhere else it’s just like any other city in the country.”
“Except for the slot machines,” Deborah added, “they’re everywhere: grocery stores, bars, shopping malls...everywhere but church!”
Joshua sat watching the city pass by outside his window. A new sense of awe filled his insides. The neon lights stretched along, advertising cheap food, fantastic payoffs, the loosest slots in town, and entertainment galore. The hotel casinos were monstrous, each trying to be gaudier and bigger than the one before. The crowds of tourists and hangers-on packed the streets and sidewalks. “Still,” Joshua conceded, “it is amazing. It is definitely tacky, yet truly amazing.”
