Until I Found you

Nineteen

"Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has happened only once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it." 

- Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

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"Don't laugh," Serkan told her as they walked down the road to leave the fresh food market.

"You look adorable carrying those bags," Eda told him with a smile.

"I could have asked Ayaz to get these. We didn't need to come here," Serkan grumbled.

"I like choosing the vegetables I want to cook with, Serkan," Eda laughed. "That pout may work for Kiraz, but it doesn't work for you."

"Will it work if I call you mummy?" Eda asked with a smile.

"Idiot," Eda said, slapping his arm and rolling her eyes.

"Can you get my phone?" Serkan asked when the device started ringing.

Eda reached for it inside his pocket and answered it, "Efendim?"

"What's wrong?" Serkan asked when he saw Eda's expression change dramatically.

"We'll be there in a couple of hours. Thank you, Seyfi."

"It's your father. He had a heart attack. Eda told him, stroking his cheek and kissing him tenderly, "I'm so sorry, Serkan,".

"Is— is he okay?" Serkan asked in shock.

"He's at Memorial. Your mother is with him," Eda explained as they walked the rest of the way back to the chalet.

Suddenly, Serkan stopped, realizing what Eda had said. "My mother – My mother is at the hospital?"

"That's what I understood from Seyfi," then Eda herself acknowledged what she had uttered. "Your mother left the house!"

"Maybe I should call her," Serkan said, placing the fruits and vegetables they'd bought on the kitchen counter and heading to the sink to wash his hands.

"Don't. Let's just pack up and head to the hospital. With luck, we'll be there before sundown. Seyfi said that your father was in the ICU and your mother was very shaken, but Kemal was there to hold her hand."

"Don't you mean my mother was holding his hand?"

"No," she deadpanned, leaving Serkan baffled.

***

"Pırıl?" Can called as he walked into the living room.

"Canim?" she answered, raising her hand and inviting the boy to sit beside her.

"Are you staying here with us tonight?" Can asked, leaning against his aunt's chest. "Engin Amca is very nice, but I like it better when you sing me to sleep."

Pırıl smiled at him. "How can you remember me singing to you? You were so little!"

"You used to tuck me in and sing to me to sleep when I stayed over," he recalled. "We used to play jokes on Engin Amca, too."

Pırıl nodded, remembering the silly pranks she and Can would do. "Yes, we did. Didn't we?" The interior designer caressed the little boy's curls. It'd been so long since she allowed herself to be playful and enjoy the moment. "I'll ask Engin to let me stay here tonight. But only tonight, okay? I don't want to inconvenience him."