The Disruption of Thomas

by Jos Henry

shook hands with Thomas.

  'Yes I see; but you have a long day ahead and I am intruding in Gunther's domain. I will leave it to the two of you to discuss the matter. I've enjoyed meeting you Thomas. We will meet again before you leave.'

  The meeting was over. Sultan revealed he intended to negotiate more favourable conditions; Thomas hoped he could delay the discussion until after he returned to Montreal. He had looked forward to a meeting with Sultan more relevant to business development.

  At least the introduction to Sultan was not a complete waste of time. People are usually more accessible once you've met them; Thomas could speak directly to Sultan in future.

  This was the first visit on the first day. Hopefully things would improve.

  Thomas and Gunther left after a polite exchange of departing salutations.

  In the car Thomas asked,

  'Did this meeting produce all you thought it would?'

  'Well ... it was typical.'

  'Oh, need a prod do you?

  'Sultan seems shrewd; does he always spar this way?'

  Thomas purposely remained vague to see how Gunther would interpret the question.

  'Very often, yes. He wants to keep well informed. He gets anxious when people can't explain to his satisfaction; he keeps silent and in a moment maybe he says "yes, please continue". The manager is completely discomfited that he is speaking to.'

  'That's not quite what I asked. I don't care a whole lot about your managers.'

  'We have a bit of time; would you like to see a typical Riyadh neighbourhood?'

  'Yes I would if we have time; it might give me a better sense of the place.

  'I guess that's it for question period.'

  Gunther drove slow on what seemed more back alley than empty street. It could accommodate about the width of his Grand Marquis plus maybe one thin pedestrian on each side; there were no sidewalks. Two- and three-floor attached white buildings of varied dimensions lined both sides of the street. At street level each house had two steps leading to a door and on each floor a single window opening.

  Thomas found the atmosphere dreary, claustrophobic even. The sun didn't reach street level which contributed to a desolate atmosphere. In less than a minute he wanted to get back to less typical more cheery neighbourhoods. He hoped Gunther wouldn't treat him to a guided stroll through this bleak urban quartier.

  Two turbaned men appeared about twenty feet ahead. They looked like fervently devout Madrassa graduates. They stared at the ground as they walked a slow pace towards the advancing car. Thomas paid no attention to them; he continued to examine the buildings. The gap shrank between the car and men. They seemed indifferent to the strangers in their neighbourhood.

  Gunther jammed the car into reverse and backed out quickly. Thomas nearly banged his teeth on the dashboard. He turned towards Gunther with a quizzed expression. Gunther was too busy to explain.

  Out of the street Gunther sped away towards less quaint neighbourhoods. Thomas wondered why they were in such a hurry to leave.

  'Those two men I didn't like their look; they might have had friends once we were stopped waiting to come out. You have to be very careful. In those streets it can be sometimes very dangerous.'

  'You knew we could be graciously invited to stay a while but you drove in there anyway?'

  The incident puzzled Thomas; Gunther seemed rattled. He might have felt the incident deserved more explanation or he needed to talk,

  'Like a tinder box the whole place soon could burst into flames. The authorities started to have more trouble to keep under control certain elements.'

  Thomas didn't prod Gunther any further on the subject. He hadn't come to Arabia to discuss politics. He would have asked whether the emboldened "elements" meant the long standing close relationship between the Wahhabi Sheikhs and the ibn Saud family had become strained. Maybe he'd find out another day.

  After the short thrilling tour of a "typical Riyadh neighbourhood" they stopped for a quick lunch then visited a Souk where Tom could see how a significant segment of retailing worked in Arabia and buy souvenirs to take back. The Souk looked a lot like a flea market but all goods were reputed to be new except for antiques some of which looked new. Vast canvases covered the Souk instead of it being out under the open sky or in permanent buildings.

  Tom found it peculiar that vendor stands were crowded together by specialty: Clothing with clothing jewellery with jewellery carpets with carpets etc. The layout let sellers know everything about their competitors and what they did. Thomas wondered if the set-up didn't breed insecurity leading to severe grouchiness. He supposed it must work but didn't really grasp the concept.

  After lunch and the Souk, Gunther dropped Tom off at the hotel for the remaining couple of hours of the mid-day break. He picked-him up again just past 4p.m. to take him on one last call for the day.

  'You should meet Majdi Al-Turki. He built many of the "subscriber radio telephone" systems in Saudi. His company is Radio Telephone Communication LLC; they are more well known as RTC.'

  'The day's almost over.'

  'Half over. For payer and family time everything stops around noon. Then about 4 o'clock again they start and go on to 8 o'clock or even later.'

  They climbed stairs to a 1950s style reception area on the fourth floor of an old building. The dull sickly green wooden office partitions were built in place likely by the first tenant; more were added over the years. Horizontally corrugated glass set in the upper portion of the partitions gave a degree of light and privacy. The floors were covered with thick worn vinyl originally mottled green and white such as the brown floors in temporary (but still in use) WWII Canadian government buildings.

  A male Indian secretary controlled admission to the offices.

  'Mr. Majdi will be coming shortly.'

  A few moments later Majdi emerged from the maze of partitions.

  'Ah Gunther my good friend, Salaam; how are you? I'm so happy to see you. Come in.'

  Majdi ignored Thomas, took Gunther by the hand and they walked hand in hand to his office. Tom hesitated then followed.

  Majdi showed Gunther to the only chair in front of his desk. Gunther sat and Thomas stood next to him.

  'So Majdi how are things?'

  The ice-breaking question's effect was as if an awning full with pent up water had suddenly ripped open and drenched everyone under it. Majdi went into an interminable laundry list of problems: A Bedouin clan waited until the company finished erecting towers before they claimed compensation for the desert under two of them; they based their claim not on the value of the patrimonial sands but on how much it would cost the company to take down the towers plus the lost revenues the government would suffer while the towers stayed up without operating; when he was done with the Bedouin story and a few others like it he arrived at the U$10,000 worth of Caribou Batteries from Canada that failed miserably and prematurely; Caribou Batteries said they would replace the batteries but RTC had received nothing yet.

  Thomas interjected,

  'I know the president of Caribou Batteries personally. He's a man of his word. As far as I know he's never let anyone down. I'm sure he'll do everything to make things right for you.'

  Majdi looked-up at Thomas as if a ghost had suddenly appeared. Gunther said,

  'This is Mr. Thomas Maloin President of Montech a manufacturer that we work with of very good DC Power Systems. He's from Canada.'

  Majdi brought a chair over for Thomas.

  I'm very sorry; please excuse my manners. It is the troubles with getting the new network going. My mind is elsewhere.'

  'Did you think I was his new valet or something?

  'That's alright. The pressures of closing a project can be intense.'

  'Yes but these problems are really not out of the ordinary; they happen almost every time.'

  For the rest of the meeting Majdi remained pleasant to Gunther and civil to Thomas though he clearly had his fill of Bedouin
s and Canadians for the time being.

  The three men discussed the country's communications needs, the company's current activities and its plans for future. No new project. They were currently fully concentrated on the new network start-up. However they planned to bid on systems for other areas during the coming year.

  'Stay in touch.'

  Thomas's day was not quite over after meeting with Majdi. The day would be capped with a great show of traditional Bedouin hospitality. The splendid idea came to Sultan after Gunther and Thomas left his office. From the interest Thomas showed in the artefacts Sultan believed he would certainly enjoy a Bedouin adventure. He asked his nostalgic Bedouin cousin and amateur historian Fahd ibn Fouhad ibn Nejd if he would organize a feast in the desert in honour of Thomas's visit.

  Cousin Fahd was delighted to accommodate Sultan. Fahd was the man to speak to when it came to traditional feasts, beits in the desert and banquets. He kept a permanent most exquisitely appointed beit or tent in the desert outside Riyadh ready for merrymaking at the drop of an igaal. When the family came out a generator powered crystal chandeliers and a TV set; otherwise he used more traditional quieter candles and no faithless TV.

  The walls inside the beit were beautifully draped down to the ground with red black and gold tapestry; corded and gold tasselled crimson cushions and ottomans with embroidered designs were strategically dispersed in the main area. A low table in the center held a large communal feast tray for banquets of which Fahd made sure there were