The Return To Love

Chapter Six

      Sanem was up before the first rays of sun. The noise from the pier as the day as beginning, woke her up.  She was confused as to where she was at first, but the smell of the fresh sea air brought her around. There was no other place on earth that smelled or sounded like Istanbul... 

     She smiled as she climbed out of bed. He was here,...she was here.... What more could she want, she thought, as she stepped out on the balcony, welcoming the start of a new day..

      She made a call to room service, ordering a pot of tea. There was nothing like starting off the day with a cup or two of Turkish tea, she thought, recalling all the mornings that she had brewed Can's tea and taken it to him at the agency..  Those were some of her most treasured memories...

      She let herself enjoy that first cup of tea before looking at the clock..." 7 o'clock...time to get started. You have two hours to make yourself look unforgettable..... so let's get started."  She told herself as she dug through her suitcase for that perfect outfit.....

      Can hadn't slept more than a couple of hours, and most of that was taken up by tossing and turning in anticipation of what this day might bring... 

      He set up the small table and chairs. Brought out the only set of dishes that he had, arranging and rearranging them until he thought it was perfect. He walked down the trail that led into the woods, looking for the place that Sanem always found the flowers.... After a short walk he found them.... the white daisies..  

      He picked a large bouquet of the white flowers, remembering all the times that she had brought them to the cabin for decoration... Now it was his turn to bring them..

      There was a lot to do before he could bring Sanem back her to the cabin... first of all he had to go to the deli not far from the cabin. That place had all their favorite foods, and since he had nothing at the cabin to prepare, the deli was the next best thing. 

      Can called for a taxi, then called to reserve a car from the rental agency.. The taxi arrived within minutes, and he was on his way to pickup his car. 

      He felt giddy inside as he made the stop at the deli. It had been a long time since he made something happened... since he planned out something this special. Over the past several years Can had just existed, gone through the motions of living, letting whatever was to happen..happen.

       But this,...this was the most important day of his life and he wasn't going to mess it up.. So he made sure he got all the foods she liked,...at least he hoped she still liked them.

      He placed the two large bags in the rather modest silver Honda Accord, and started back toward the cabin....But not before making a stop at the market for a bottle of wine.... 

      If things went as planned, they would spend the day alone at the cabin, and he wanted to make sure he had some wine on hand....just in case there would be something to celebrate..

      So that was it.... An out of the way place.... decorated with simple yet beautiful things....an abundance of her favorite food....and one bottle of red wine to calm there nerves.... He hoped that would be enough for them to reconnect...

     Sanem had tried almost everything she had in her luggage but nothing seemed right. She had brought a limited amount of clothing, she never dreamed she would might need to wear an outfit that could possibly change her life as she knew it....

      She rummaged through the pile of clothes on the bed, pulling out the first garment she had tried on. It was a simple sundress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt...nothing fancy at all, but when she put it on again, for some reason it felt right...comfortable... she felt herself in it...

      As she looked at herself in the mirror all her doubts and fears slipped away... "Yes this is the one."... She thought. " She had never been one to flaunt her beauty or her body, so why would she start now."  She asked, smoothing down the skirt of her dress..

      All of a sudden all of her plans to make herself look glamorous seemed ridiculous.. "You are not glamorous, or elegantly stylish... you are you...Sanem Aydin. You never tried to be something you're not, so just be you"  

       She brushed her hair until it shined, opting to let her long, dark brown hair spiral loosely down her back. She hadn't cut her hair in quite awhile, so it was nearly to her waist, and she loved it. But she did put an extra hair tie in her bag, just in case she got to warm and she needed to pull it up....

       Now the shoes.... Since she wasn't sure where he was taking her, she went with the dress flats she had brought along... dressy but not too fancy..and they went perfectly with her sundress...

      She had never liked a full face of makeup, so just a little to brighten her up.. a good lip gloss and some mascara..... " Just remember who you are..... He fell in love with that person.... 

      Sanem inspected her image in the mirror, " Yes, I like it. It's me."  She thought. But who was she kidding...she had changed, maybe not in looks or how she presented herself....but she had changed. She wasn't that same girl that dreamed of writing about love....about her albatross, her knight in shining armor... 

      She dropped down on the bed, almost disappointed that she wasn't that girl anymore. She had already done all of those things... She was a writer,..she had already expressed all of her feelings in her books of love.....She had already met her knight in shining armor...her albatross, if you will....  And she lost them....she lost him....

      She could feel the tears begin to sting her eyes...." No, you're not going to cry.. you're not. Nothing is ever lost until you never find it again.."......She said, wiping that one tear from her cheek..." But I did find it again....And I hope this time it's .....no, don't say it, this time just do it.."       

      Her phone rang as she was trying to pull herself together. The name CeyCey lit up on the face of her phone.... She laid her head back, not for sure if she wanted to answer or not,....but she finally hit the green button.. " Hello CeyCey... what can I do for you?" She asked her voice sounded dry and not at all welcoming..

      CeyCey felt his heart pound, " Sanem, love, please don't be upset with me anymore. I haven't slept all night for worrying. I need to see you... Is it ok,...I'm in the lobby..." 

      She gasped, " What, you're here. No CeyCey, not now... we can talk later. Can is on his way to pick me up. You better go unless you want to run into Can down there." She told him, hoping to avoid that scenario....

      CeyCey knew he wasn't ready for that confrontation yet, so he hung up quickly, but not before he made her promise to have a sit down, heart to heart  talk with him,...and soon.. 

      He looked around, making sure that Can was not already there, watching him, waiting for the right time to confront him. Then he rushed out, hailing the first taxi he saw. No, he wasn't ready for a face to face meeting with Can just yet...

      She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then she checked her tote bag to make sure she had everything she might need for the day. " Ahh, better take this."  She thought, grabbing her shawl and stuffing it into the bag. She knew the evening could get quite chilly, especially along the coast....Better to be safe than sorry, she always said...

      If she knew Can Divit at all, she knew he would probably be at least five minutes early. So she gave herself  two minutes for the walk to the elevator and the ride down to the lobby...... arriving in the lobby at exactly 9 o'clock......

      Can was stationed in front of the elevators as if he were a guard of the royal family...his arms clasped firmly behind his back, his hair pulled back in a half ponytail, his shirt only half buttoned and his albatross necklace, along with a couple of his favorite chains were visible as they dangled there on his bare chest. 

      She couldn't help but gasp as the elevator doors opened..."He looked as handsome as ever".....