That moment of jealousy, the sudden decision to take her hand and drag her away from that party and that intrusive man, gave a completely unexpected course to my life and hers. I am Can Divit, a restless, possessive and impulsive albatross, who perh...
Completely dazed, I let myself be dragged by Layla and Ayhan into the room that was my bedroom for the few days I lived in this house. The first thing I notice upon entering is a garment bag hanging on the wardrobe door. Layla rushes to unzip it extracting the most beautiful dress I have ever seen, it has an empire style cut, probably designed by Can to conceal my state for a while longer, with a richly embroidered bodice and a long skirt that stretches into a soft train. Layla looks first at the dress and then at me, smiling.
"What do you say Sanem? Can chose it for you, he had it flown here directly from one of the most exclusive and renowned tailors in Istanbul'. I nod unable to describe how much I like it, it's wonderful, I love it much more than the one I had chosen for our first wedding for which I had been very careful not to make my parents spend a fortune. It is clear, however, that my future groom spared no expense, the preciousness of the fabric, the sophisticated finishing touches, the impalpable veil, it is a dream dress.
I haven't yet recovered from my amazement at the beauty of the dress when the door opens and in walks two ladies laden with bags and purses. "Good morning, we are here for the bride's hair and make-up, are you ready to start?". I can hardly believe that the wonderful man I love with all my heart has really thought of everything. Ayhan rests her hands on my shoulders and pushes me towards the bathroom doorinside the room. 'Come on Sanem, go and put on your dress, we have very little time and there is so much to do. Hadi, come on, hurry up." In a flurry of lace, brushes, powders and brushes in less than an hour I am ready. I look at myself in the mirror almost unable to recognise myself in the beautiful bride smiling excitedly. The decisive knock on the door makes everyone in the room giggle as I frantically receive a final spray of hairspray and a quick touch-up of lipstick.
My sister hurries to bring the precious bridal veil in front of my face and then hands me a pretty bouquet of white roses. "Are you ready Sanem? This time is the charm?" I smile excitedly. "Yes sis, this is the time I really marry the love of my life." I turn towards Ayhan with whom I exchange a look of understanding. "My albatross." My lifelong friend smiles back nodding, only she knows how long I dreamt of the man who, in the theatre, stole my heart and first kiss in the most incredible and romantic way imaginable.
The insistent knocking brings me back to the present, Layla rushes to open the door for Can, the most beautiful man I have ever seen and whom I love with all my being. He greets me with a look that makes my heart pound with emotion, a look as intense, adoring, in love as mine probably is as I look at him.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You are gorgeous aşkım." He takes my hand to bring it to his lips in a gallant kiss and then moves closer to my ear whispering in a rough voice. "You have always been and will always remain the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on Sanem, I wanted to tell you exactly that even when I saw you on our first wedding day, but my pride prevented me from doing so. So today I want to do it, in fact I almost want to shout it out". I smile excitedly at his words. "You Can Divit look pretty good too, in a dinner jacket then I must say..." "Can?" My mother's voice brings us back to reality, we both turn towards her and my father who are walking down the corridor looking at us with a confused expression on their faces. "What's going on? Wasn't this supposed to be a quiet family dinner to celebrate your return to Istanbul? I don't understand."
Can holds me by his side as he faces my parents. 'Mr and Mrs Aydin, I am sorry for lying to you, but I wanted to explain the situation to you in person. You know very well that Sanem and I arrived at the wedding in a rather shambolic way. We tried to make you believe that everything was perfect between us when instead there were so many doubts, misunderstandings, lack of dialogue. Sanem somehow endured my decision to marry us to avoid a scandal, he had no choice and believed that I had been forced by circumstances to take such a step". He turns to me, giving me a loving look. "It took some time to clarify the situation and with difficulty I finally managed to make her understand that it was not a sacrifice for me to marry her, but rather the best thing that could have happened to me. Now Sanem knows that I love her very much and truly believes there can be a future together as I always thought, so..."
He turns back to my parents. "So today we want to renew our promises that are now truer than ever, we need it and it is an important moment that we would like to share with you and all the people we love". My parents exchange a look of understanding, my father nods and my mother turns to us smiling, her eyes moist with emotion. "Guys, you have no idea how pleased we are to hear that you finally realised that you were meant to be together. Did you really think we believed all that stuff about '... we are looking forward to starting our life together etc. etc. etc. ...'? We knew our daughter, we knew how scared and insecure she was about this union, but we also saw how Can looked at you, how you looked at her and how jealous you were of Osman. We were always rooting for you, we knew you would find each other sooner or later'.
Taken aback by this revelation, Can and I now exchange a look of disbelief. He smiles at me, leaning closer to whisper in my ear: 'And we thought we were so good at pretending". I shake my head in disbelief as he winks at me taking my hand. "We found each other and we have every intention of never losing each other again and since we're all here now, shall we go?" I smile and nod excitedly."Let's go." We move towards the patio followed by Aziz, my family, Ayhan and what I see as soon as I walk through the French doors leaves me stunned. The garden has been set up like the most beautiful of locations and waiting for us for the celebration is a canopy, adorned with veils and flowers, directly overlooking the Golden Horn.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I am so lost in the beauty of the setting that I am taken aback by the enthusiastic applause that greets our entrance. I look around in amazement to discover the smiling faces of the guys from the agency, Deren, Cey Cey, Osman, Muzo, Metin, Akif and the ladies Remide and Pinar who look at us benevolently as they smile, probably very pleased with the part they played in our reunion. We walk on the carpet of scented petals until we arrive in front of the table set up for the ceremony where the officiant is waiting for us. Can turns towards me lifting my bridal veil looking at me with burning eyes. 'Here we are at last askim, my love, our day has come. I thank your good heart for giving me a second chance by allowing me to become a special man."
I look at him questioningly, shaking my head. "What do you mean a special man?" He smiles the most beautiful smile. "What do you call someone who is madly in love with a woman and manages to marry her not once, but twice?"
