Olives by Alexander McNabb Read Free Book Online Page B

the absolute minimum and gives Israel the
absolute maximum. Of our land.’
    I didn’t know
what to say, surrounded by these trees and the family’s loss. ‘I
suppose at least you still have the farm.’
    Daoud shook
his head. ‘Now, after all these years, they are starting to cut the
water to the farmers, both over there and here in Jordan. The olive
groves are starting to die. These trees are the heritage we must
take with us into the future. My company is investing in the water
because we believe it will be critical for the future. Not just for
the trees but for our people to live. We are bidding for the
privatisation of Jordan’s water resources. You have heard of
this?’
    ‘ Yes, the
Minister told me about it. Is it really such a problem, the water
shortage?’
    ‘ We are
already suffering from the lack of water. We will suffer more, our
crops will fail and our farmers starve. It is critical to our
future to find a better way to share the water. The Israelis steal
the water from us every day. I want to steal it back.’
    I let go the
bunch of leaves and glanced across to Daoud, who was looking down
at the glowing tip of his cigarette.
    ‘ How?’
    I felt his
eyes burning in the darkness. I shifted uncomfortably and so did
the conversation.
    ‘ You like
Aisha?’
    I tried not
to react to the abrupt question, taking my time and listening to
the faint traffic noise carried on the cold night air. I replied
cautiously. ‘She’s been great to me, Daoud. The Ministry’s lucky to
have her. I couldn’t have settled in the way I have without her.
She’s a smart girl.’
    A crowd
cheered in my mind. Just right. My breath was coming out in misty
puffs.
    ‘ She was my
father’s favourite.’
    The cheering
died down. ‘She’s a very good artist. You must be proud of
her.’
    ‘ Yes. Yes I
am. I would not like anything to happen to her. She took his death
badly, as I suppose we all did. She is still perhaps,’ he searched
for the word, ‘vulnerable.’
    Fucking hell.
Enough already. I kept the
smile going, but it was getting hard to maintain. My cheeks hurt
from the effort. ‘Jordan is a beautiful country, Daoud. I’m glad I
came here. I’m sure my girlfriend will like it here, too. She’s a
lawyer. She practises international contract law,
actually.’
    Not strictly
true, the line about Anne liking it in Jordan. I hardly expected
her to turn up. Workaholic Anne never took leave and we didn’t
anticipate seeing each other until I went home for
Christmas.
    Daoud seemed
lost in thought, leaning against the trunk of an olive tree and
drawing on his cigarette. Finally he spoke.
    ‘ The Israelis
have taken everything from us, Paul. Our land, our dignity. They
took my father, too. My brother. Now they’re taking the water.
We’ve lost too much.’
    He pushed the
cigarette butt into the sandy soil with his heel, then put his hand
on my shoulder, a quick squeeze and a pat, a very Arab gesture of
finality and yet somehow accepting. ‘I won’t let the olives die.
Come on, let’s get back inside. I’ll get you a bottle of our oil.
At least when the olives weep, we are enriched.’
     
    *
    Aisha took me
home. I sat in her car, a little dark bottle with a gold label
clutched between my legs.
    She broke the
silence first, ‘Was it okay with Daoud?’
    ‘ Laugh a
minute. I’ve always enjoyed the heavy-handed approach, you know?
Toucha my sister I breaka your neck. Loved every
second.’
    I saw her
wince.
    ‘ I didn’t
know he was going to do that,’ she said.
    ‘ Yeah, well
he did. Sorry, Aisha, but I’m a nice little English boy with a nice
little English girlfriend and I really didn’t need that kind of
heavy shit.’
    We pulled up
outside the house and sat in the car together. Aisha switched the
engine off and the windows started to fog.
    ‘ You have to
give him a little time, Paul. He’s been through a lot.’
    I nodded.
‘I’m sure he has.’
    ‘ He took my
father’s death badly. He runs the