Jago’s Secret

Jago, Mona, Chester and Dani got together one weekend when Joseph and Eve were vacationing out of town.  Saturday was very warm and staying indoors with the air conditioning on was the best thing to do until nightfall.  Mona and Dani were trying on clothes while Chester and Jago played a game of poker on Chester’s dining room table.

Each man emptied his pockets to throw change onto his side of the table for money to gamble with.

                                                   

“Okay, what are we playing?” Jago asked.

Chester thought for a moment, “5 card stud, deuces wild, 2 bits to open.”

“Sounds good”, Jago said nodding to one side.  “You deal”.

In Dani and Chester’s bedroom, Mona flipped her long chestnut brown hair to one side and pouted with her full lips. “This still makes me look like I have a gut.” She said pointing at the mirror toward the top she was trying on.

“You always say that,” Dani rebuked giving Mona one of her famous crooked smiles.  Chester loved her smile, the way her face lit up like fireworks whether she was happy or sad.  She ran her fingers through her blond hair, pushing it out of her eyes as she rummaged through the tops on the bed, looking for another that Mona could try on. “Here, you are the only person I know that can make gray look beautiful.  It matches our eyes”.

Mona replaced tops and stood looking in the mirror.  “Well”, she said, “I like it.  You always know what suits me, old girl.”

“Old girl?!” Dani looked insulted.  “See if I drag out all of my clothes to play dress up with you ever again!”

“Just kidding!”

“Hello --- I know!” Dani said as her face lit up. “You look beautiful.  Lucky Jago!”

“What?” Jago asked from the dining room after hearing his name.

“Can you hear them in there?” Chester asked.

“Sure I can.  I may be really old, but I can still dance.” He said jokingly with a dramatic expression on his face.

The girls came into the room. “Did you say we were going dancing?”  Mona asked as she interrupted the game by sitting on Jago’s lap.

“No. Sorry my love.  I was just making a point to my man Chester here.  Besides, I am going to clean Mr. Money Bags of all his cash this evening.  Maybe we will go out later.” Jago said as he lifted his wife off of his lap and swatted her aside by lightly slapping her rear.

The girls giggled sarcastically as they left the room. Chester motioned to continue. “Now, where were we?” he asked.

“I am raising you 50 cents and calling your hand.”  Just as Jago finished tossing his change into the pot, a coin caught Chester’s eye.  “What is that?” he asked pointing to a coin.

Jago gave a grimace.  He was caught.  He couldn’t believe he was so careless at keeping his own secret. “What is that?” Chester prodded.

Jago picked up the coin. “It’s a city commemorative coin for Constantine the first.  That’s Roma with a helmet looking left.  And on the rear of the coin Romulus and Remus are being suckled by the she-wolf.  It’s cast in silver and is very fine.”

Chester laughed very hard at what Jago just showed him.  “You were giving Joseph such a hard time about his coins and look at you. Did you get this at…what does he call it….House of Ancient Coins and Curios?”

“Shut up”, Jago returned, “okay … so I went to www.ancientscoin.com to see what all the fuss was about and I bought this.  It reminded me of the day I met Joseph.  He is right, these do help us remember things we have forgotten.”

“Like magic?” Chester asked.

“I don’t know….all I do know is that when I hold it and look at it, I feel so close to that time. Please don’t tell Joseph.  He will never let me live it down.”

The girls came back in room. “What was all the laughing about?” Dani inquired walking towards Chester.

Jago gave a stern gesture to Chester not to say anything.  He thought for a second and said, “Jago was telling me how going dancing tonight would be a great time for all of us.”

Jago squeezed his eyes shut and looked down.  Looking back up he feigned a smile and said…that’s right…tonight we dance!”

Jago tightened his hand around the silver round secret in his fist.  “Hope Joseph is kind when Chester tells him about the coin.” He thought to himself.