Page 278 - James Caan - The Real Deal

The Real Deal

‘I’m really serious. I want to see where you and Dad – where I
– come from.’
‘Well, you’ve got lots of family there. Would you like to me to
give you some numbers?’
By this time I was very used to travelling for business. I’d had
offices in Australia, Singapore, South America, all over, so taking
a long-haul flight by myself was not an unusual experience. I was
very relaxed about the trip and when I got off the plane and
checked into a hotel I had a completely open mind about what I
would do next.
I decided to call the first name my mum had given me, and that
presented me with a problem: was I James or Nazim? I’d been
James for more than twenty-five years and it wasn’t just my
name, it was my identity, but in Pakistan I felt a bit uncomfortable
using it.
‘Hi, this is Nazim, my mum is your father’s sister and I’min
Lahore and I would really like to meet up.’
‘Where are you staying?’
‘The Pearl Continental.’
‘I’ll be there in twenty minutes.’
My cousin Muneer walked into the lobby of the hotel and
started asking around for Nazim Khan. It took me a while to
realise that he meant me! So one of the first things I had to tell him
was that I had changed my name. Muneer was a really friendly guy
and we talked about our parents and our families, and midway
through the conversation he called a bellboy over.
‘Could you please check Mr Caan out?’
‘What are you doing?’
‘You’re in my city, so that means you’re my guest. You’ve been in
England for so long you’ve lost your manners. When you come to
somebody else’s city, you don’t stay in hotels. It’s quite insulting.’
‘Then let me insult you. It’s wrong; you’ve only just met me.
Thank you, but I’ll stay here.’

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