Coming Home (English Version)

49. Roles

Hamdan

"If this tendency carries on," I get up from my chair to pace around and stretch my legs. "How will the employment goals be affected for the first semester of the year?" I ask the Ministry of Human Resources representative who's doing the presentation.

He clears his throat. "We won't reach them, your highness," the slide changes into a comparative graphic. "This is the goal set up for the first semester," he points out with his finger at the red line. "And this is a projection of where we would be getting if the tendency continues as is."

"And what are we going to do about it?" I question from the other end of the room with the entire Cabinet sitting around in the grand circular desk between me and the presenter.

He looks around the room as if someone else would give him the answer I'm looking for.

"I need a plan, strategies, something. On my desk please, on Sunday first thing in the morning," I instruct him. "We're not going to sit and watch that happen."

"Yes, your highness," he bows his head and goes back to his seat.

"Should we go over the plan for the Expo 2020?" I suggest to the room.

"Right now?" Maktoum replies.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well... we've been here for hours and it's getting late," he points out..

I look at my watch and then out the window only to realise that the night has already fallen, where did the time go?

"Fine, we'll carry on tomorrow," I say.

"Tomorrow is Friday," Maktoum reminds me.

The weekend has become such an inconvenience lately, there's so much we could get done tomorrow but the strained faces staring at me and waiting for an answer are begging me to let them go.

"Sunday," I correct myself. "We'll carry on Sunday."

They start to gather their belongings and leave with a general goodbye, Maktoum stays behind everyone else.

"Do you think that perhaps tomorrow we could--"

He cuts me off. "No, no, no, there's no way, brother. Shamsa will kill me, I already missed dinner so many times this week," he reaches for his phone and grimaces when he looks at it. "See?" He turns the screen in my direction. "Two missed calls and seven texts."

"Go on, then," I tell him.

He gives me a quick hug and leaves the room while holding the phone to his ear. I take my own phone from the desk and look at it. Layla hasn't reached out to me, I don't think I have even heard from her all day long.

"Are you finally done?" Uncle Saeed wonders, popping his head inside the room.

"Yeah," I tell him. "Let's go."

Once in the car, with Saeed Hilal driving, I turn the music off to ask my uncle something.

"Uncle?"

"Yes?" He replies from the back seat.

"What do you think about the government increasing spending to create more jobs? Could that be the way to go?"

"Does your mind ever stop thinking about work?" He replies.

"Yeah, when I'm asleep," I joke. "Come on, help me out here, you should've seen the numbers on that matter, it's not looking good."

"What are you doing tomorrow? Family day maybe?" He guesses, seemingly ignoring my question.

"What? Yeah, I don't know, maybe. I'll just take the morning to work from home."