The Wedding Night...

A new bet...

"Baran! Baran! He is moving! The baby is moving. Come!" Baran got off the horse, jumped the fence, and ran towards Dilan. "Are you sure?" He sat beside her. "I am. Here." She took his hand and placed it over the side of her belly. "Do you feel him?" He had waited for so long for this moment. He closed his eyes and felt it. He felt a little bit of pressure against his hand. "Amazing!" He declared while opening his eyes barely able to see Dilan's face from the tears that had prepared to fall. "Hi, little one. It is me, your dad." He placed his head over her belly. "I was telling him about us. When we first saw each other. I told him how good you were with the horse and that he would be too, then he moved. I felt him kicked. It is like he was saying; I want to be a part of the story too." Dilan's voice vibrated from within. Then the baby kicked again. "See!" Baran looked up at the woman before him, once again in awe. The most amazing gift, life could have given them, was growing inside her belly—their baby. The excitement on her face matched his. Her tears fell nonstop. "Dilan, did you feel that?" He could not hide the wonder in his voice. "I did, Baran. It is impossible for me not to feel him. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world." He kissed the spot the baby had kicked, suddenly worried. "Does it hurt?" She brushed his beard. "Not at all. It is something magical, Baran. I don't know how to describe it... Before, he was a notion. But now I know he is there. Feeling him move made it more real... I don't know. I'm not making sense." He wiped away her tears. "You are making perfect sense, my angel." She smiled sweetly and wiped the tears from his face. "And you are right. It feels even more real now." She nodded happily.

It took them both a moment to sober up. "Shouldn't we start thinking of names? We should begin to refer to him by name, don't you think?" Baran held Dilan's hands. "Hold it right there, Ms. Dilan. We don't know the gender yet... Maybe it would be best to wait until we know for sure." She rolled her eyes. "I don't need the doctor to tell us. I already know the baby is a boy." Her chin went up and she crossed her arms under her breasts somewhat upset. "Well, if you are so sure about it, how about a bet?" Baran could not let this opportunity go to waste. Tempted, she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "What would the terms be?" He smirk. She bit the bait. "If the baby is a boy, you will win, but if the baby is a girl, you will lose." He watched her pondered his words. "And what do I get when I win?" He arched a brow to her. "That confident, ha?" She nodded cockily. "Fine, IF..." He made sure to emphasize the conditional. "...you win, I will let you pick the baby's name." Dilan's face lit up. She was about to speak when Baran interrupted her. "Before you give your answer, let me finish. Because I have a condition..." She narrowed her eyes in distrust but remained silent. "I will have veto power. If I don't like your choice of name, you will have to change it, once." Dilan fell silent. It was essential for her to agree. Baran needed a way to protect their baby in case she picked a bad name. "Fine!" He could notice the reluctance in her voice. "So, if it is a girl." He completed. "I will choose the name." They shook hands on it. "Pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Dilan." She gave him an overconfident smile. "Likewise, Mr. Baran." Baran placed himself behind Dilan after noticing her discomfort. She leaned on him and they watched the horses train in silence.

On the drive back, Baran kept his hand over her belly. "Now that I felt him, I can't wait to have him in my arms, Baran." Dilan took the chance to play with her husband's arm hairs. He glanced at her. "I feel the same, my angel. I guess we will have to settle with knowing the gender, for the time being." Dilan grew excited. "After the doctor's appointment, we can start looking for baby cribs. We also need clothing, diapers, bottles, toys, storybooks... There is so much to get ready, Baran." She was both breathless and overwhelmed by the time she finished her list. Baran parked in front of the entrance and turned in her direction. "We have time, Dilan. We will get it done. Don't worry. Our baby will have everything it needs." His reaction gave her a flashback of the time they were getting married. He was the same back then. Calm and secure with every step he took. At the time, she got angry at his reaction, but now she was just amazed. "How do you manage to do that?" He smiled confused. "What do you mean?" She shrugged. "I'm here panicking over everything we have to do before the baby comes, and you look so calm and collected." He approached her. His lips were dangerously near. "Because I know we can do it. I trust in our ability to get things done. Remember our wedding? You were panicking then, but it turned out fine. The wedding was just like you... beautiful, elegant, exquisite." By the time he was done talking, Dilan could not think straight. She leaned forward and kissed him. "Mmm! What was that for?" He asked her with eyes half close and a raspy voice. "You always help me to level my emotions when I get overwhelmed and stuck on details." He kissed her back. "You do the same for me, Dilan. You are the only one who can calm the storms that sometimes threaten to cloud my judgment. We complement each other. We always have."