Hunter Killer (2005)
Page 52
Gamoudi and Giselle had found a special place in the southwest of the state where so many Basque immigrants had once arrived from the Pyrenees in search of cheap land to raise sheep on the mountainside.
There was evidence of Basque culture everywhere here in Idaho—food, restaurants, and timeless stories handed down among the local farmers. You could even buy the famous Basque spicy sausage chorizo, specially made by fourth-generation immigrants, in nearby Payette County.
The McCaffreys had found an earthly paradise among people of a distant but often shared culture. Even the towering mountains, in certain light, looked much the same as the Pyrenees.
And suddenly, here was the King of Saudi Arabia, dressed in Western clothes but waving the distinctive greeting of the Bedouin as he walked down the aircraft steps. He wore the smile of a man whose oil economy has been rebuilt and is back on track and he walked onto American soil as the confident political partner of the U.S. President.
A few local photographers took pictures as the King walked straight up to his old rebellion tank commander in Riyadh and hugged him. “JACQUES,” he exclaimed, beaming with camaraderie. “COLONEL JACQUES GAMOUDI!”
In his left hand the King carried a gift—a gilt-edged, leather-bound first edition of E. M. Forster’s Two Cheers for Democracy. Inside he had inscribed the words: For Le Chasseur, my friend…as salaam alaykum, upon you be peace, Nasir.