Pride Jewel

Okay, it's time.

The day my mother died, she told me

that life was a choice between love and money.

One brings comfort.

One brings peace.

And if you're not careful, she said, both bring pain.

I had to choose.

If I didn't pick, life would choose for me.

And it all happened just like she said.

When I was a kid, my mother and I

would watch the American show Wheel of Fortune.

Cyrus was kind of like that.

One spin of the wheel and all your troubles would be over,

or maybe you land on zero and end with nothing.

I was about to play.

Cyrus would offer me my first job and I would take it.

That's Alex.

Me and Alex became friends real fast.

He was a foster kid and always in debt.

And now you know why.

Good!

Better put some money on these guys.

Umm, can we talk?

What is it?

Alone.

Give me a few minutes, huh.

Okay, guys, good work.

Take a break.

Hold on.

Sit.

So... How much?

Twelve grand.

You dumb fuck.

I had a great hand.

I mean, who beats a straight flush unless they were cheating.

Now, I know.

I have a problem.

I've been trying to stay away from the drugs, the gambling.

The rush is--

How does that feel, huh?

Does that give you a little rush?

Huh? I wanna make sure you get the rush that you want.

No more gambling. And stop taking those goddamn pills.

Look at me. This is the last time I bail you out.

The last time.

George will get you the rest tonight.

George!

Okay, come on!

Let's see some fighting!

My mother always told me life moves slow until it moves fast.

That is how it was for my uncle.

He got married the day before the 1988 Armenian earthquake.

In the blink of an eye, his wife died in his arms.

Two weeks later he came to America,

and life became slow again.

Too slow.

My father said it was nothing but bills,

and beer, and bullshit.

But when we needed help, it was him my father asked.

Hello, hello.

Rent is late, Davit.

Just give me some time, man.

I'll take care of it.

On July 7th, 2008, we landed in what I would call my new home.

That's me with my father.

God, is that what we looked like?

I guess we all look like that

when we get to an unfamiliar place.

Full of hope and searching for the American dream.

Hey, brother!

Good to see you, man. You look older.

-Get outta here, man. -You lost so much weight.

Come on, look at me. What happened to you?

You're disappearing.

-What about... -Don't forget about Andre!

What is this? Look at you, huh?

You were just a baby when I last saw you.

It's been a long time.

Come on, let's go inside.

I don't know how old she is, but I'm thinking.

-I'm gonna estimate something. -Fifty-six.

Ten minutes you haven't been here.

Might be older than that. Older than me, perhaps.

You think I'm gonna go, fuckin', to the movies?

You think I'm gonna go to the movies?

Hey!

-Uncle Davit? -Look at this guy.

Look at this guy! Huh?

-Look at him. Half-naked. -Look at this guy.

Let me show him to his room. Unbelievable.

What do you do with this guy all day?

Careful with him. Tellin' you.

Don't listen to him. He's crazy.

This guy's a nutcase.

Yeah, that's papa for you, you know.

You never can count on him.

Thank you.

You're welcome. It's a little small,

but um, you'll be comfortable.

Andre, if you need anything you let me know, okay?

Thank you for letting us stay here...

And I'm sorry about aunt Sona.

Welcome home, Andre.

I was told America has a sweet smell.

And everywhere I went, I could smell it.

Fancy restaurants, new cars and cash everywhere.

Except I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

Fucking amazing. I couldn't even believe it.

It was like a dream come true.

Just like that, in a few seconds, I made

like two grand up top, you know.

You like that?

Yeah, it's funny.

Hey brother, you're Armenian, right?

Yeah.

I know. Nice to meet you. My name is Alex.

What's your name?

I'm Andre. Nice to meet you.

You must be new here.

You know, there aren't a lot of Armenians in this part of town.

Trust me. I know everybody here.

Yeah, I don't know anybody here. I feel out of place.

Why? You know me now.

This here is Eddy.

Don't be intimidated by him.

He only bites when he doesn't like someone.

-Right Eddy? -Don't be stupid, alright?

Relax...

Hey, you wanna come to a party?

-Now? -Yeah now.

I need to let my father know.

Still need his permission to go out somewhere?

What are you, an eight year old boy?

Tell you what. Why don't you text

your father when we're on our way over there?

I don't have a phone.

Come here...

Come here.

-Choose one. -No, I can't do that.

You don't wanna turn down a gift from us, do you?

No, I didn't mean that.

-Choose a phone. -Thank you.

And he chose the red one.

Alright, I'm gonna go see Franco.

Alright... Let's go to that party.

This place was just like the movies I had seen as a kid.

And it's also where I met Sophia.

Man, stands out in a crowd, doesn't she?...

Come on.

Sophia. When are we going out?

How about never?

Ouch. Shut down again.

That hurts.

This Sophia.

Hello.

Andre just moved here.

Hmm... Could give us a moment?

Be right back.

What?

Don't do it.

-Do what? -Don't get him involved.

He just got here.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Come on. I got someone else I want you to meet.

Relax, George. He's with me.

It's okay, George.

Hello.

Sit down.

What's your name?

Andre.

Andre?

Alex tells me you just got here.

I remember a time I just got here, too.

So how do you like America so far?

I like this America.

This America.

Yeah, I like this America, too.

Who taught you English, Andre?

My mother.

Your mother?

She taught you very well.

She give you your good looks, too?

Did you know my mother?

No...

You go enjoy the party, huh?

You have a good time.

Let's just go in and see how it feels.

Got a three month lease for free.

What else you want?

It's a perfect place for a jewelry store.

Owner wants to retire, hm?

What do you think?

What's wrong?

No offense. Brother, I mean no disrespect,

but what do you know about starting a business?

I'm fifty eight years old.

I'm supposed to start my life all over again?

I have forty two thousand dollars to my name.

I don't want to lose it. It's my life savings.

Besides, forty two thousand dollars