10 Minutes

"Until then Sanem, until then"

The rain seemed to be here to stay. From the moment they had arrived, some days prior; it hadn't stopped but for an hour or two. The streets in the older part of the city were flooded and there had been fears that a dam would give way. For her part, she and Osman had been busy helping her father secure his small grocery store. His assistant was awaiting the birth of his first child and had left the day before and wouldn't be back for another week. Between mopping out the floor and securing the products in the storage unit she had been busily avoiding the conversation that was eminent with her father. She knew it had been a shock and upsetting for her parents to receive them both when she returned but there was simply no other way. Can too had been reluctant up until the final moment. He wasn't afraid to face her father but he was ashamed and he didn't want to ruin her first meeting with them in years. But she was relentless and soon they were face to face. Even now, a week after they arrived; things were tense but she felt certain that given time they would understand that their love was true and resilient. It had survived their pride and arrogance and it would endure even in the face of her cultural mores and customs. She wouldn't allow anyone to separate her from Can again. Not even the father and mother that she loved so deeply. She just needed them to see Can with new insight and for that she needed to be completely forthcoming. She had arrived with her man and every evening she left to be with him. She never overtly told her parents where she was going or who she was with. She let them fill in the blanks. She was not a child anymore but she also wasn't heartless. Just because these were her choices didn't mean she had the right to thumb her nose at her parents view of propriety and morals. They were old fashioned. They had raised her that way as well and she had done as they asked for the majority of her life. Now, now life was different. Not better, not worse, just different. She needed to respect them if she was to receive their respect someday. She knew it was hard for them but after what she had been through, after loosing Can and then nearly loosing him again literally, she refused to give up on her right to love and live her dream. They would come along in time she felt sure, but if they couldn't; she would still hold out the olive branch hoping for a change of heart someday. She hadn't told them about the child and she wasn't sure she wanted to or needed to. It would complicate things unnecessarily. What she planned to do tonight was to share all that had elapsed from the time they left each other to the moment they arrived and that also included Cans impending court case. That was something that couldn't be ignored or put aside. Soon the whole of Istanbul and Europe would know and she needed to tell them before it was too late. She looked up from her task of organizing the large pantry to meet the eyes of her beloved as he stood leaning against the door frame. He made her heart stop just looking at him. His hair was wet from the rain and his green windbreaker was slick from it. "Can... what are you doing here? We agreed that I would talk to them in my own time. Sevgilim...it's better this way. I have a better chance of..." He simply nodded his head and walked toward her with his eyes steadily holding hers. "Can?...what is it?" Something about the way he watched her made her nervous, even frightened. He spoke in just above a whisper, "Please just let me hold you for a moment. Nothing more. Just a moment". He pulled her into his large frame and held her close, firmly but with great gentleness. She felt his heart pounding in his chest and she knew instantly what it was. She closed her eyes and mentally walked through her breathing technique before putting it into practice. She breathed in slowly for four counts and then exhaled gradually for four. She repeated it several times before feeling calm enough to speak. "The DNA came back a match didn't it?" His response was to hold her tighter but he didn't utter a word. She squeezed her eyes closed harder, wishing the world to simply disappear and leave them alone but instead the clearing of a man's throat jerked them out of their private moment. There stood her father. His face expressed his state of mind and feelings clearly without a word being spoken. Can looked straight at her and then turned to Nihat Aydin and said "Nihat Bay, it's time Sanem and I tell you everything. We will leave nothing out and we will put ourselves at your mercy. After you have heard what we have to say you can judge us and either condemn us or forgive us but we will not be separated one more day. I love your daughter, and had I not been blinded by my own arrogance I would have understood that something was very wrong. She has forgiven me and I can only hope that you might one day do the same. For now however I seek your wisdom and your fairness as a man, a husband, and a lover. Not as her father for I will never deserve her in your eyes. I simply want a chance to tell you the truth. You must know it from our lips, and then we will not upset you further". Sanem couldn't decide if she was more shocked with Cans words or if her father was. They both wore a similar expression on their faces. Hers was produced by some trepidation of his words of "tell you everything". Her father was simply nonplussed at Cans candor and courage to speak honestly and simply. In the end she softened her eyes at the man who owned her heart and reached for his hand, entertwining her fingers with his. They would face their troubles together. Alone or separate from their loved ones if need be, but always together.