Safe Haven

chapter six

Serkan loaded all the stuff behind the car, including the colorful kites Josh and Aylin requested to bring.

He made a mental note to call Engin and Piril before the kids would fly their kites so they could arrive just in time to pick up Josh.

Eda approached him before he could make it back to the driver's seat.

"Uhm, Serkan?" she stammered. "Do you think we could stop by any nearby shops? I need to buy something."

Before Serkan could ask, Aylin appeared beside Eda. "Daddy, I want to wear matching bathing suits with Miss Eda. Can we stop by at the shop before the beach?"

Eda and Serkan looked at Aylin amused and a bit confused at the same time. Aylin made a cute wink at Eda. 

Earlier Aylin noticed Eda scanning through Toz Pembe's aisles while looking at her clothes every five minutes when she thought no one was watching. Well, none that Eda noticed herself.

God, this sweet little girl is something. Eda thought, offering Aylin a smile when she tap her cute nose.

"Yes, baby. I-..If that's okay with Eda, I think we can." Serkan stutters completely surprised by his daughter's remarks.

"Of course, I think that's a cool idea." Eda answered, winking back at Aylin.

"Yipee! Hadi gel, dad. Miss Eda, gel." Aylin exclaimed taking Eda's hands leading her back to the front seat.

Eda didn't have a bathing suit, but she wouldn't have worn one even if she did.

As natural as it was for a teenager to walk around in front of strangers in the equivalent of underwear and a bra, she wasn't comfortable wearing something like that in front of Serkan on a day out with the kids, especially Aylin. Or frankly, even without the kids.

Though she resisted the idea, she had to admit he intrigued her. Not because of the things he'd done for her, as touching as that was.

It had more to do with the sad way he smiled sometimes, the expression on his face when he'd told her about his wife, or the way he treated his daughter. 

There was a loneliness within him that he couldn't disguise, and she knew that in some way it matched her own. She knew he was interested in her. 

She'd been around long enough to recognize when men found her attractive; the clerk at the grocery store talking too much or a stranger glancing her way, or a waiter at a restaurant checking on their table just a bit too frequently. 

In time, she'd learned to pretend she was oblivious to the attention of those men; in other instances, she showed obvious disdain, because she'd known what would happen if she didn't. 

Later. Once they got home. Once they were alone.

But that life was gone now, she reminded herself. 

The night before, she'd had wine with a friend, and now she was going to the beach with Serkan and the kids.

These were ordinary events in an ordinary life. The concept felt alien, like she was learning the customs of a foreign land, and it left her feeling strangely elated and wary at exactly the same time. 

"You need to put on your seat belt, Miss Eda," Aylin said from behind her. "My dad won't drive unless you're wearing it."

Serkan looked over at her, as if to say, Are you ready for this? 

She gave him her bravest smile.

"Tamam," he said, "let's go."

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