Excerpt
treason appear in their minds, and the decapitated houses in Iraq look like
toothless skulls standing opposite the beautiful houses they observe around
them in Pasadena as they drive by well-kept yards, gates on some of them with
security. They know some very rich people live in these residences. The sun is
still quite strong this September afternoon. The atmosphere carries traces of
smog, although there are fewer cars on the road than on a working day.
Americans still love to drive their cars around despite the price of gas which has
more than doubled in the last year and a half.
The two share thoughts of war and executions and the door of chaos appears
fully open like a new curse that this time will be started by them instead of the
others, and it’s these others who will suffer under the pressure of such a curse.
“What else do we know about these two guys?”
“Nothing more; I wish I could find out what they do, in particular.”
“Leave it with me; perhaps I can find out.”
“How are you going to find out?”
“There is a way; leave it with me.”
However, Hakim is not ready to let go as yet. He knows that in order to guide
his ship the way he wants he needs to know everything possible, and for that
reason he says firmly, “Tell me. I want to know. How are you going to find out?”
Talal turns and looks at him. It is time to tell him a few things.
“I’ll ask Ahmed to get the info.”
“Ahmed knows how to do that?”
“Don’t worry, he knows. Leave it alone.”
Hakim gets upset and pushes him more, but Talal doesn’t want to go further
at this point and says, “Leave it alone, Hakim. He knows. That’s all you need to
know. He will find out what we want to know through his contacts. Trust me;
some times it’s better when you don’t know everything.”
They drive for a little while longer and come to a small park. Talal parks the car
and they get out to walk for a while. They’re quiet, each with his own thoughts.
Hakim is confused, in a way, but in another way he feels satisfied that his friend
looks after things, so he doesn’t have to do it all himself. His uncle is correct. Talal
has qualities Hakim can exploit as the days go by. They spend some time in the park
walking and talking about home when they notice it’s time to head for Jennifer’s.
“I haven’t said anything to Jennifer about her dad’s work and such, so leave it
alone.” Hakim tells Talal.
They get to the Roberts’s house just before six o’clock and Jennifer opens the
door and hugs and kisses Hakim. Then she turns and greets Talal. They walk inside
and find Emily in the kitchen where Hakim gives her a hug and says, “Hello Emily,
thank you for inviting us, again.” He calls her by name for the first time.
Libros Libertad 