The morning after, Ayça got up very early, actually she didn't sleep a wink, it hadn't been easy to sleep knowing that he was lying next door.
Alp was sleeping like a baby on the sofa, his messy hair covered part of his face and Ayça felt the urge to fix that cowlick on the side of his forehead, but she resisted that urge and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast instead.
She made two toasts with ham and cheese, Mavi's favourites, and scrambled eggs with bacon,Alp's favourites; then she prepared an orange juice made with Izmir oranges and a coffee for herself.
She looked out of the window, the weather had improved from the night before, the sea was calm and the morning sun had already begun to paint her colourful garden.
Her tranquility was interrupted by Mavi, as she heard her laughing and squealing in the living room.
Ayça looked out the door to see what was happening and smiled when she saw father and daughter tickling each other and laughing loudly on the sofa.
That huge wave of happiness warmed her heart. She didn't want to interrupt them, but their breakfast was getting cold.
-Çocuklar! Breakfast is ready.
Alp froze for a moment and looked at her, he hadn't noticed immediately that she was there and watching them.
He lifted Mavi with his strong arms and put her down to earth.
-Have you heard what mom just said? Go wash your hands and come here to eat right away.
He placed a kiss on her forehead.
The little girl did as she was told and Alp got up from the sofa, stretching a bit while heading towards the kitchen, where Ayça had set a table full of delicacies.
He stopped at the door to look at her, just as she had done with them right before.
He stared at her for a few minutes while she was tidying up the room, he was enchanted by such a shining beam of rare beauty and extraordinary grace.
As always happened, their eyes, like opposite poles of a magnet, found themselves tied to an invisible magnetic wire, a simple rotation of their heads that always ended at the same angle, finding exactly the line that joined each other glance.
-daddy can you sit next to me?
-sure, my life.
Mavi pulled him towards the table grabbing him by the hand, and they both sat down to eat breakfast.
Alp was amazed to find out that Ayça had made his favorite food for him.
-mommy I'm not going to school today, right?
Mavi asked her with a pleading look.
Ayça smiled, and sat down at the table with them. She took a sip of coffee from her cup.
- okay, you are not going to school today because your dad is here, but tonight is Derya's birthday party and we promised her that you would go.
She paused for a moment, then turning to Alp she said:
-You can take her wherever you want today, I will stay here to work. Tonight there is her best friend's birthday party, she and her family live in Ulamiş, so when she goes to Derya or when Derya comes here, they usually sleep over.
-...But if you like, you can drop her there and pick her up later at night, or if you prefer you can stay there with them all the time. Just do what you want to do.
He just nodded.
-We'll do what Mavi wants.
-Mavi wants to go to the playground!
The little girl bursted out laughing, and they both could do nothing but laughing with her.
At that moment she felt like someone had rewound the clock and that nothing had ever changed.
Later Alp enjoyed his date with Mavi and they spent the whole day together. They went to the playground, they played together and with the other children and had lunch in a typical restaurant.
Mavi was a very well educated and sensitive child, Ayça was a very good and present mother, and their daughter was growing up with the values that both Ayça and him shared since the beginning.
Even though the little girl was tired and sleepy in the afternoon, he kept the promise he had made to her mother, and dropped Mavi to her friend's house in Ulamiş.
Derya's parents were two nice guys, and Alp stayed there for a few hours to chat with them about this and that.
The truth was that he wanted to be close to his little girl and make the most of the time he could spend with her; but when all the other children showed up for the party, the house had become a bit too crowded and he decided to leave. Derya's parents reassured him that the girl was used to stay over and that they would provide her with everything, so he could safely drive home.
Home?
Ayça had made it very clear the night before that she was not ready for any kind of rapprochement, although he had driven straight to Sigacik only to see her again.
Yes, because Mavi wasn't the whole reason for him to be there.
Initially, when he decided to break up with her, their relationship was so consumed and worn out that a separation seemed to be the only possible solution to him.
But as the months went by, and with the distance that she put between them, what at first was just a big lack soon turned into a huge void. He understood that she meant everything to him, she was the love of his life. and letting her go was the biggest mistake that he had ever made.
He had lost his family and the woman he loved and now he was there to do the impossible to win her back. But although he had left Istanbul full of hope and good intentions, he now realized that it probably wasn't a great idea to go there without inform her first or to try a different approach before barging in unannounced.
But what kind of rapprochement he coud try if she was far away? By phone? Should he really give a try to win his beloved back with a phone call?
Of course not, and in any case he could not have done anything but being himself, being honest with her, without any particular frills, because this is what Alp was: serious, straightforward and genuine.
Maybe this night that Mavi was not at home he could have tried again, maybe all was not lost forever.
He parked his Porsche in the driveway and walked slowly down the brick corridor that led to her porch.
He saw her sitting on a bench with her eyes lost in the sea, her hands clutching a cup of steaming chay. Her lashes curled with each heavy breath and the wind framed her hair which was drawn like strings in an abstract texture.
Her soft profile was at one with the features that the bright full moon filled with light, and even the her hair was wet with it.
He approached slowly, step by step, until he stopped a few meters from her.
And there she stood, his favorite person in the world, the one that sent his secure sense of being into a tailspin of emotions, the one who was equally beautiful in the moonlight and in the sunlight.
