Holding On To A Promise

Chapter Five

This was so unlike her, as she stood there in front of the mirror fidgeting with her blouse. She was agonizing over what to wear to the office, something she never did. But today was different, today was special, Can would pick her up from work and take her to his house for dinner. So she needed to wear something that would be appropriate for the work place but also make Can take notice when he saw her. She quickly unbuttoned the blouse and threw it to the side, rejecting it as a possible candidate for the evening attire. She turned to her closet, looking desperately for the certain thing that would make her feel beautiful. She wanted to look mature yet spunky, not juvenile but stylish, maybe she didn't even have a style, she just knew she wanted to look unforgettable. She searched to the back of her closet passing on all the things that she normally wore, until she came to a little black dress that she forgot she had. It was form fitting, with a high neckline, but there were no sleeves and it was cut at an angle revealing her bare shoulders. She had only worn the dress once to a hospital function with Omer, but she had gotten many compliments and a lot of attention from it. She held it up eyeing it, was it to much for the office she wondered, she could always slip a light sweater on over it for the day and take it off for the evening. She smiled, her mind turning back to the night before and the feel of his touch when he pulled her close to him begging her to stay...Yes this would be the dress....this would be the dress that just might make him stop in his tracks..

With the decision made she quickly put it all together. Red heels for a pop of color along with a statement and her hair she worn down, letting the natural waves lay softly down her back. She looked at herself  with approval as she adjusted the lightweight sweater that would cover her for the office. This had been the perfect choice, now just to get past her mother. She would need to tell her she wouldn't be home for dinner and that was another thing that she wasn't looking forward to. But she was determined to hold her own, it was time for her to grow up and make her own decisions. 

Her mother never ceased to amaze her as she stepped out to the garden for breakfast. Mevkibe smiled at her, " Good morning my dear, you look beautiful this morning. Is that a new dress." She asked, eyeing her daughter. Sanem's stomach was in her throat, " No, it isn't new, I just have worn it much." Mevkibe motioned for her to sit, " So is Can taking you out for dinner or is he preparing dinner for you. I know he's  a great cook." Her mother asked, staring intently at her. Sanem swallowed hard, " Well, he's cooking for me, so I won't be home for dinner. He will pick me up from work and we'll go from there." She replied shifting her eyes away from her mother. "I see, so you have made your decision then. And what about the future Sanem, have you already forgot about the past and all that happened." She stated, her voice sounding full of hurt. Sanem turned her eyes back to her mother, " No mother I haven't forgotten about the past, but I am trying to forgive the past. We have both agreed to take it slow, get back to knowing each other again. Neither of us were blameless in this relationship, and now that he realizes his mistakes he is more than willing to accept that responsibly. Mevkibe nodded, " I see, so he admits that what he did to you was wrong, that slapping you across the face with the insult of leaving with Polen was an unforgiveable thing to do." Her mothers words lashes out at her like flames from a fire.

Can was up early, after a good nights sleep. He changed into some work out clothes and headed out for a run. He needed a good workout this morning to help him deal with the feelings that were pent up inside of him from the day before. Sanem had taken him over, she had filled every cell of his body with that desire to be with her. All of these feelings already existed, none of them had faded away, but now they seemed to be magnified and intensified by a million more. That need to be with her, that urge to touch her, feel her, it was running through him like a tidal wave. He would not disappoint her, not this time. Her image was permanently afixed in his mind as he finished up his run that morning and headed back to the house. He poured his tea and headed out to the garden, looking at his watch he saw it was only 8:00, as he sat down on the grass wondering how he would make it until time to pick her up. He sat there planning his day, maybe he would visit the agency and say hi to his old friends, then go shopping for the things to make his most favorite dish. He needed this evening to be perfect and special, it would be the first of many if he had his way about it..

Sanem was the first to arrive at the office as usual. Metin was always working, even before getting to the office he was taking care of business. She started with the daily calendar, checking to see the first appointment. Since she had been out of the office on Friday this were in a bit of a mess. Several messages were stuck on her desk with a sticky note and a couple had actually been written down on the appointment book. She made her tea and settled in at her desk to get things straightened out. Metin was one of the most sought after attorneys in Istanbul, and the look at how his calendar was filling up, he would be busier than ever for the next few weeks. It took her a while to things in order, she pulled the files that he would be working on that morning and placed them on his desk as she did every morning. He had often told her he didn't know how the office had run before she came to work there, she was the one that kept him focused and on time.

She glanced at the clock, " It's only 10:15, this day is never going to be over." she thought as the ring of the phone startled her. " Good morning Sanem, it's good to hear your voice on the other end of the phone this morning." Metin spoke. Sanem smiled, " Good morning Metin, I was only gone for one day, so don't act as if I was gone forever. What's up?"  She asked, knowing he had probably already been working. " I just wanted to let you know I was on my way, I had a breakfast meeting with Mr. Yildaz, I'll tell you all about it when I get there." He replied. Sanem was so proud of Metin, he had built a great business for himself, even after the split from the agency, he refused to let that get him down. The problems between Metin and Can were deep, but she knew that Metin would be willing to let them go if Can was. 

She still remembered that day when Can fired Metin. Nothing could have hurt Can more, she knew it, but his pride and the strong dislike of his mother had won over. In true Can fashion, he lashed out and punished the ones that were closest to him.

She hoped they could salvage their friendship....

Just as she hoped that her and Can could salvage their love.......