Category: Jubilee!

In the handful of years that Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk had been in the US and Long Beach, he had become well known for his loud parties and untamed ways.

He was tolerated by family and carnies- some even said loved- whether it was because they owed the Loathsome Uncle for something or because he had carnie roots, they supported him and defended him.

Outside their community, however, he was not defended and was what some called notorious for his ways. Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk had no friends on the city council.

Judge Murty was there to inform Orguz and Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk that the Long Beach city council was planning to exercise its right of eminent domain and condemn the area along the beach that included the properties owned by LUK Entertainment.

When Judge Murty was done speaking, he paused. Then he waited. Orguz and his Loathsome Uncle exchanged glances once and then they, too, sat waiting.

After a few moments, Judge Murty decided that the pair had heard and understood what he said. Rubbing his hands together, as though washing them, he got out of his chair and left, feeling that he had done the right thing.

As soon as he was out the door, both Orguz and Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk were on the phone.

The news spread like wildfire. Both the Ortrar and Dilmac families were stunned by the news, all of them wondering what would happen next.

That night, dressed in his gray suit, Orguz and Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk got into his black Mustang and drove into town.

The weather changed. Syeira worried. Hormat sat with her cards.

Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk incorporated as LUK Entertainment with Orguz as general manager.

He was the go-to man for anything regarding the Loathsome Uncle. He spoke with vendors, employees and handled LUK’s re-zoning efforts at City Hall.

Orguz now drove a shiny black Ford Mustang.

It was about this time that the head of JM Investments, the group that built the small 5 store strip mall on Tick, paid his first visit to Orguz at “The Pier” office in that same strip mall.

Everyone knew something was up when they saw the bright red Ferrari parked out front.

Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk was not a handsome man.

His long black hair was completely independent. No matter how much water or pomade he used, it stood straight up like an electric shock.

And there were moles on his face.

On his arrival in the US, he was a middle aged, short, pudgy ball of thunder with an open mouthed bar room grin that not only showed off his healthy pink gums and widely spaced teeth but intimidated people.

In spite of his wealth, he never married. He told himself it was because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, his heart was a wanderer. But the truth was, women did not feel comfortable around him.

It was no wonder that Orguz and Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk got along so well. Orguz was handsome, energetic and smart. He had a steady hand and alert eye, he was friendly and determined. He got things done and he liked to have a good time.

People liked Orguz, they were wary of the Loathsome Uncle. The two made a good team.

On the day that Orguz got his real estate license, he put on the new crisp dark gray suit Leila made for him, a black tie and patent leather shoes, then he and Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk took everyone out to eat.

The Loathsome Uncle got drunk, grabbed the buttocks of one of the waitresses and passed out on a sofa in the restaurant lobby. Orguz dropped him by the compound before taking Syeira out dancing.

Hormat flew to San Francisco where she was picked up and driven to Russian River to see her father.

Within a few weeks, Bilko , Saleh and Orguz were on their way up the coast on a bus to bring Leila and Farid down to Long Beach. Bilko and Orguz drove the trailers, Leila and Hormat were brought Farid back by air.

The trailers were parked in the Loathsome Uncle’s compound, Leila and Farid moved in with Syerira on the upper floor of the Old English Cedar and Hormat joined Bilko in their trailer.

In an odd and uncertain way, things were returning to normal. Both Hormat and Bilko bore a more cheerful countenance and Leila was clearly relaxed as she turned to tailoring at one of Saleh’s laundries and Hormat resumed her fortune telling duties at Madame Yasdi’s.

More carnies from Jubilee! followed, waiting to be part of the new Pier Amusement Park, but Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk was not quite ready.

Hormat and Bilko awakened to pounding on the trailer door. It was Syeira: Leila called, Farid had a heart attack, Hormat needed to call right away!

Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk wanted to open an amusement/water park called The Pier in Long Beach. His idea was to re-build the existing fishing pier and add rides and attractions along the beach.

Almost as soon as the fencing went up for the compound, some friends from Russian River arrived to open a tattoo shop in the only remaining strip mall shop.

Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk told the Ortrar and Dilmac families they could join him in the compound, if they provided their own quarters.

Bilko moved out of his apartment back into the trailer he, Hormat and Syeira had shared and parked inside the compound. Saleh and Aata did the same. Hormat and Syeira remained upstairs in the Old English Cedar.

There was so much to celebrate, Aata and Saleh threw a party and everyone they knew came.

They built a fire and used the Aata Tastes concession trailer to feed the crowd.

Syeira and Orguz left early for a movie. Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk pawed all the young women. And the fortune teller got drunk and disappeared with Bilko into his trailer.

Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk had plans. He opened an office in the strip mall next to his bar, The Sailor, and put up a simple sign: The Pier.

He installed telephones, bought office furniture, a fax and a printer, but the office remained closed.

The day after Orguz was released from Juvenile Hall, Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk hired him.

That evening, the Loathsome Uncle detailed his plans for his young friend. Orguz was delighted.

The following day, Orguz opened The Pier for the first time.

And the pair began work on the first step of the project: Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk wanted a nice place to live. Together, they laid out a compound on an acre of land behind the Old English Cedar and the strip mall on Tick.

In the evenings, Orguz begin studying for his real estate license.

Near the end of that summer, Orguz passed his GED testing.

Both families came to the hearing to see Orguz, in a brand new gray suit Leila made for him. The little court room was packed.

Orguz did not look like a kid anymore. Now, he looked fit and powerful. Syeira thought that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

As Aata listened, a lawyer described Orguz’ good behavior, how he passed his GED on the first try and his desire to study law and real estate.

Judge Murty listened too and granted the defense motion that he be released immediately, he also waived parole. Orguz could go home.

It was the beginning of their third summer in Long Beach.

Bilko was walking Hormat back to the Old English Cedar after dinner and backgammon at Aata Bakes.

Hormat asked Bilko if he was up for yet another game and he nodded, but instead of playing they sat out on the porch swing sipping sweet red wine and talking. It had been a while since they had been alone and talked.

“I’m sorry.”, Hormat said, she wasn’t thinking, it just slipped out.

“For what?” Bilko asked, bouncing slightly with a chuckle. He put his arm over the back of the wooden swing and looked at her, smiling.

“For not telling you,” she started and realized what she was doing. Looked down, looked away, decided it would be now, “I am sorry for not telling you that I love you and all those years,” she was crying, “I think I understand. I am so sorry.”

She folded into his arms and Bilko held her, stunned and confused.

“What are you apologizing for?” he said crying.

“Because I know you didn’t mean it,” she said sobbing, she pulled a way from him, kissed him quickly and ran inside the house and up the stairs.

O, the sound of the door clapping against the wood frame, the cry of the springs, her footsteps on the stairs and the light that flowed out of the house through the screen door, rich as butter.

Bilko sat for a moment, staring at nothing, his face broken in anguish.

Hormat had just spoken to the only thought on his mind since that night with Lori.

Then he started balling like a baby unable to see or hear or think.

When he was done crying, he sat up in the swing. Then, he just sat for a while, swinging slightly, in a fugue.

Saleh came by and asked if he would like to join him for a drink and Bilko, still red eyed and weepy, nodded.

Syeira was just starting high school and displayed both the bewitching charm of youth and the genuine beauty she inherited from Hormat and Leila.

She had thick, black wavy hair and a shadowy darkness that was deeper than the color of her skin, playful and mysterious. And her mother’s brilliant black eyes, and Bilko’s smile.

Boys were beginning to hang around Aata Bakes to wait for her.

Bilko had been thinking to open an auto repair on the now-empty lot on the corner of Hwy One and Tick. He wanted to specialize in foreign and exotic cars, he had even spent an afternoon with Loathsome Uncle Kusmuk making plans.

But when the Old English Cedar two storey house between that empty lot and the strip mall suddenly became available, he and Hormat took their savings and made the down payment on that instead.

She would open Madam Yasdi’s Reading Room on the ground floor, she and Syeira would live on the second.