The Dreams That You Wish

Chapter 11

"Are you sure about this?" Ilgaz asks her one last time.

She says nothing. She just takes a deep breath and takes a tighter grip on his hand. His other hand is holding the baby carrier, so she has to gather the courage to knock on the door since she's the only one with a free hand. Sure or not, ready or not, there's no turning back now. She swore to herself she'd fix things. Today she's here to do just that. Or at least try.

The minute the door opens, Makbule comes flying out, throwing her arms around Ilgaz. A pang of guilt hits Ceylin. It's been awhile since he's seen his family. And she knows she's partially to blame for that.

"One minute, Hala," he says with a laugh. "I've got my hands full here."

Makbule sneers when she notices Ilgaz holding on to Ceylin. But that disdain turns into shock the moment she sees the baby at his other side. Then the shock turns to bemusement.

"And who is this little one?" Makbule asks curiously, leaning down to move the blanket from over his face. "Who's baby, Ilgaz?"

"Let us in, Hala. That's what we're trying to tell you," he teases her. "Where is everyone?"

Ilgaz stands aside and lets Ceylin go before him. He waits for her to take a seat and then sets the baby carrier next to her so that she can get to the baby. Asen seems to realize he's not at home and starts to get a little fussy in the new place.

"I know, I know, Sweetheart," Ceylin coos. "Mommy's got you. You're fine. And Daddy is right here too."

Makbule circles back around to shock.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she gasps. "Is this your baby?"

"We're in the process of adopting him," Ilgaz explains. "He'll officially be ours soon."

"How did you two go from getting a divorce ... to getting a baby?"

Before they can answer, the front door opens and Defne comes dancing in, dropping her book bag just inside the door. She stops in her tracks when she notices Ilgaz and runs to him.

"Abi!!!"

She practically jumps into his lap and wraps her arms around him.

"I missed you so much. You too, Ceylin abla. Oh my goodness! A baby! He's so cute. Can I hold him?"

"Hold on, Defneciğim," Ilgaz says, laughing at the way the girl seems to have said all of that in one breath. "One thing at a time."

He settles her on his lap so that she's facing Ceylin and the baby. Then Ceylin holds him up so that Defne can see him better.

"This is Baby Asen," Ceylin tells her. "He's a bit too small for you to hold him just yet. But one day soon, you can come over to our house and spend as much time with him as you want."

"He doesn't really do that much right now," Ilgaz jumps in. "He eats. He sleeps. He cries."

He leans in and whispers in Defne's ear, "And he poops. A lot."

Defne giggles. The sound warms Ceylin's heart and she can't help but smile at the little girl. She's glad they came today, if only just to see Defne and soak up her infectious joy. And as a reminder that the truly innocent ones - like Defne, Parla, and now Asen - don't deserve to be in the middle of a family feud. And they don't deserve to be torn from people they love and who love them, just for being on opposite sides.

"Defne, sweetheart. Why don't you run upstairs and let your dad and grandpa know we have company," Makbule suggests. She stares right at Ceylin, as if she's daring her to challenge her decision to invite Metin down.