Winner's Gulch: Part 1 - Settling in and Making an Impression on the Residents

 Welcome to Winner's Gulch!

Discouraged with his lack of success as both a magician and a mixologist in Roaring Heights, Carmen decided to start out fresh in a smaller, hopefully more receptive "pond," and where he can become a "big fish."

He has set his sights on Winner's Gulch, a small gambling town just over the state line. 

Because they lived rent free on the upper, unused floor of the public library, Carmen and his wife Angie have managed to save enough for a rental deposit and a few month's rent on a two bedroom house at the edge of town. 

Now it's up to Carmen and Angie to find gainful employment and create a stable home for their growing toddler Darby. 

Angie took the first job she could find as a low-level kitchen scullion at a bistro in the mall. Never mind that she has no cooking skills since she's never had a kitchen.

Carmen decided to start out his first day in town moonlighting as a mixologist in the small casino on the poor side of town (a short walk from the house). The regular mixologist, helmet-wearing Tiffany, threw in the towel just as Carmen was about to inquire about employment, so he was in luck. He took her shift. 

Things were pretty quiet at first, but then Jarvis Hinojosa came in and started ordering fancy drinks of which poor Carmen was unfamiliar. Carmen did the best he could, but the customer was not happy with the drink quality. 

Shortly thereafter, another customer arrived. Her name was Jennette McFarland, and she either came in early for her shift as a mixologist or got off work at another bar and came here for a drink before going home for the night. 

She approved of her drink, but to be fair, hers looked a lot simpler to make. 

Perhaps Jarvis needs to simplify his drink orders. 

On the upside, Carmen got to meet a few of the residents. To bad he failed to make a good impression on Jarvis. Speaking of bad impressions, the next morning, Angie made her first attempt at cooked food. Not only did she burn the waffles, but she nearly burned the whole house down! 

To make matters worse, Carmen had just gotten out of the shower and was too worked up over the fire to put any clothes on, so the poor firefighter was greeted by a young traumatized woman and a naked, panicked man. Not the most auspicious start to the day. 

To make things even more awkward, naked Carmen tried to engage the firefighter in conversation rather than getting himself dressed. 

"Hey man, do you know if any live venues are holding auditions today? I'm a stage performer, see."

"Erm, I don't think this town is has a strip club, sir." 

Angie reported that the only shift she could get at the bistro was an afternoon/evening shift, so Carmen had dad-duty for the day. He took little Darby with him to the circus where Carmen performed for tips. 

He earned some tips, but not everyone approved of him bringing the baby to work. 

One nosy Nellie had the audacity to take picture of poor Carmen with his crying baby. 

"I should report you to CPS!" She threatened. "Only a lame brain would bring a child that small to work! What if he crawled off while you were performing? This is child endangerment in my book!"

"Ma'am, he's been perfectly safe, and it's really none of your business if I bring him to work!"

Later that afternoon, Carmen encountered the fireman who put out his house fire earlier that morning. The fireman's name was Andrae Jennings, but he wasn't paying much attention to Carmen's act. He was distracted by a young man standing next to him. He looked vaguely familiar. Andrae could swear he'd seen the man's face before (on a wanted poster maybe?)

The firefighter was right in being suspicious of the young man. The man goes by the name Roger Kadukin - but that's just an alias. He is hiding out from the mob. He did a few odd jobs for them for some quick cash, but when they wanted to make him a permanent member of "the family." Roger freaked out and split! He came across a lonely old woman living in a secluded house in the area, and convinced her that he was her grandson that she hadn't seen in years. He explained he needed a temporary place to stay while he looked for work, and she took him in. He's been hiding out in her attic ever since, but lately, he's become stir-crazy and has felt the pull of the circus. 

Now he's wondering if coming to such a public place was a good idea. People are looking at him funny. Feeling a little paranoid, Roger? 

The following day, Carmen auditioned for gigs. 

He managed to get two of them. One at the theater . . . 

. . .  and the other at the circus. 

Both proprietors were excited to hire a professional magician all the way from Roaring Heights. Carmen may have padded his resume a little. Let's hope it all works out for him.