Excerpt
“That means we have to wait and see what happens when he gets it and what
he does after that. You know, Ahmed is planning to return home in November.”
“Oh, is he? Come to think of it, that sounds good; you go after him, and I’ll go
next,” Hakim says.
Talal goes toward the balcony door and peeks inside; the women are still busy
in the kitchen. He moves closer to Hakim and tells him he had an idea yesterday of
not going directly to Iraq. He’d like to go for a month or so to Australia, and then
from there, back home or back to Los Angeles for a short while, and then to Iraq.
“Why do you want to go to Australia?”
“Well, think about it; we have a contact there through Helena. We may be
able to create a diversion by going there for a while, and I think that Helena can
be of great help later on if we are to develop a presence down under. We may get
to meet a few people there who may be of help later on, you never know. After
the holiday, we’ll come back here for a short while and deal with Emily’s house.
Do you know she wants to sell it?”
Hakim is not surprised by the news.
“Oh, has she told Jennifer?”
“No, but I think she’s about to do that today or tomorrow; she’s a bit
apprehensive as to how Jennifer is going to react to the news. Emily also wonders
what to do if she sells the house now; she wonders where she will stay if she comes
back here at some point in the future. You know, it’s hard to sell a house when
you have lived in it for some time. You get attached.”
“Of course, it’s hard. Let me ask you something else. How do you see the
relationship between the two of you developing?”
Talal turns and looks at him, waiting to come up with an answer. Then he stares
far away to the west with its beautiful scenery, and after a while, he says, “To be
honest with you, I don’t know. Emily makes me feel good and I don’t mind it at all if
she is around for a while. Also, she serves the purpose of being a diversion, as you
may call it, an insurance of some sort when the shit hits the fan, you know. Uncle
Ibrahim has exactly the same idea.”
“You’re right; Emily being next to you gives you some leverage when you are in
this country; you need to have leverage nowadays—very good thinking, my brother.
Then she makes you feel good, as you say. Keep her around for a while; however, I
don’t want her to become a liability, because if that happens, you know what you
have to do.”
“I know, don’t worry about it. I know when to cut her loose or make sure she
leaves me permanently.”
“I know I can count on you, Talal; don’t let me down.”
Libros Libertad 