The Circle

excerpt

“Everything seems to be alright, my dearest. What is the news on your side? Do
you have the okay on the new apartment?”
“Yes, it’s done. I’m taking possession October 15th, and hope to move in by the
end of October; Jennifer is excited and looking forward to that.”
“How do you feel about Jennifer moving in with you?”
“I’m very happy also, my uncle. I’ll tell you all about it later when we move in;
it’s a very special place. I’m very happy.”
“Very good, and how is Talal?”
“He’s good; we had the funeral for Matthew Roberts yesterday, and as you can
understand, Jennifer and Emily are going through a hard time right now. Bevan is
here in Los Angeles also. He came for the funeral and I’m going to have coffee with
him this morning. Is there anything you would like me to tell him? He always asks
about you. He wants to see you soon, he says. He says you’ll understand.”
“Oh, that’s very good. Well, when you see him, tell him I’d like to see him soon,
also. I understand. Now I’m going to send you a document to read.”
Hakim prints out the five page document, Ibrahim’s monthly statement of
transactions with Regis Hudson, but the middle page is something else, it reads, “I
want to seeTalal. See that he comes and visits me; perhaps with awoman? Shred this.”
He takes the sheet of paper and puts it through the shredder.
He already has a copy of the monthly statement; he wonders why the old man
wants to see Talal.
He feels rejuvenated after talking to Ibrahim and after a refreshing shower he
notices Jennifer still isn’t up; he finds her half-covered with bed sheets. But his
mind is on his meeting with Bevan and on his uncle’s comment about Talal.
Why would Ibrahim need to see Talal?

---

Bevan Longhorn is in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel, drinking coffee and reading
the newspaper as he waits for Hakim. The daily news is always about the cost
of living going through the roof, instability in Africa, and the Palestinian people,
who still fighting the Israelis in an endless conflict that has made headlines for
more than six decades. Egypt has been in turmoil since the opening of the election
laws passed by President Mubarak ten years ago. New political parties have
sprung up, the establishment fights them with all its might. There is no end to the
conflicts in the news.
He’s on his refill when Hakim comes in.
“Good morning, Admiral.”
“Good morning, Hakim.”
He calls the server who takes Hakim’s order for fruit salad and coffee.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562817

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524

Ken Kirkby, A Painter’s Quest for Canada

excerpt

“There are all kinds of people here,” he said, grabbing Ken’s arm. “They
want to talk to you, and I told them to go down to the restaurant.”
The tables were filled with media people, and Ken spent the morning
answering questions. When the last of the journalists left, Rocco handed
him an envelope that had arrived in the morning mail. The address was
written in old-fashioned curlicue script and inside was a card and a note
from Salvador Grimaldi, a landscape architect, congratulating him on the
event and on his magnificent paintings. “I would appreciate a call,” the
note said. “I would love to meet you. We have crossed paths many times
although we have never met. Please call.”
Ken dialled the number and they met at the gallery later that day. Salvador
Grimaldi sparkled – his eyes twinkled, his smile stretched across
his cheeks and he bounced when he walked. He was like a boiling kettle,
bubbling over with life.
He explained that he had once done aerial surveys of the Arctic and
had flown across the land many times. On occasion, he had noticed
groups of people travelling across the land. He had been told that they
were Eskimos on the move, and a white man who had gone native was
travelling with them.
“That was you!” Salvador exclaimed. “And I’ve wondered about you
for years. And here you are with all these Inuksuit. This is the first time
I’ve heard anybody in the southern part of this country talk about them
or describe them, and here you have a world full of them. I just had to
meet you!”
They talked all afternoon. Ken told Salvador about his ambition to get
his message out to the public, and Salvador told him about his work as a
landscape architect. The Reichmann family was one of his largest clients.
“The Reichmanns?” Ken asked.
“Yes,” Salvador nodded.
“Would you mind if we returned to the subject of the Reichmanns another
time?” Ken asked, arranging to meet him again in a couple of days.
He wanted time to consider how to use this information and to plan his
next steps.
In the morning, while he was working on the Reichmann painting and
pondered Salvador’s relationship with the family, Henri banged into the
studio shouting, “I’ve had enough! I’m selling the company!”
Rocco suggested that Ken buy him out and hire someone to run the
framing studio for him. He introduced him to Diane Lyle, a young woman
in her twenties who had grown up on a farm and wanted to make
a name for herself in the city. Ken agreed with Rocco. She was just the
sort of enthusiastic, no-nonsense, ambitious person who could make the
business thrive. Ken met with his lawyer, David Freeman, drew up the
papers and purchased the framing company for fifteen thousand dollars.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562830

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073573

He Rode Tall

excerpt

How many horses do you have ready for the sale?”
Somewhat taken aback, yet feeling relieved, Joel muttered, “A
dozen three-year-olds.”
“All by your own studs and out of your own mares I presume?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“And how much do you think you will be able to get for each of
those horses? Just an approximation.”
“I would say three- or four-thousand dollars. What do you
think?” Joel wanted to tell her that he had turned down 40,000
dollars for the palomino filly, but he was concerned that she
would think he was totally wacko and refuse him the loan on the
basis of his mental incompetence.
“That amount at least. But thank you for being conservative. I
was concerned you would think that they are all as valuable as
that old palomino mare you sold.”
“Oh no, ma’am. I understand that she was special.”
“Yes, she certainly was. You won’t find that kind of breeding
around anymore. Let’s call the horses 3,000-dollar horses and
you have a dozen, so that is 36,000 dollars that you could expect
to see in the next sixty days. Is that right?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“And your debts?”
“I really don’t have many other debts than the couple of thousand
I owe for hydro and telephone. But I don’t have any cash or
credit either, and you should know that the fridge is empty and
the truck is pretty much running on fumes these days. A loan of
10,000 dollars would give me what I need to pay off the bills,
operate the place through to the sale, and invest in some advertising
to get the buyers out. That’s all I need.”
Joel was feeling pretty good about himself as he sauntered out of
The Great Plains Bank of Great Falls, Montana with a line of credit
of 10,000 dollars. Next stop was the auction yard to see what Roy
would have to say about helping him put together a sale.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562862

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955