A Price Above Rubies

Chapter Six

She would never do it, but Hilal sometimes dreams of setting Leon's Greek officer's uniform on fire. It rests folded in a box at the bottom of the wardrobe in their bedroom, under piles of linens and blankets. She spots the corner of the black box and a flicker of the old rage flares in her chest before love squashes it and send it back to the past where it belongs. Hilal has never asked him to get rid of it. She loves him too much.

Leon keeps it in honour of his father, who despite his failings, was still his father. Hilal can understand the sentiment, knowing that her own love for her father, even when she'd thought Cevdet had been a traitor, had never wavered. It would have been easier if she could have stopped loving her father for his perceived betrayal.

So she understands her husband.

Leon also keeps the uniform for Yorgo, the childhood friend he lost. Yorgo had died, dreaming that Greece could be better.

Finally, Leon keeps the uniform for his brother, Ali Kemal, who never wore the uniform, having been raised Turkish. He keeps it to remind both himself and his brother that there can be pride in being Greek. There were strong, positive ideals that Leon wants to teach his older brother about. Leon is not ashamed of being Greek. He feels shame for what was done to these people by the Greeks.

Someday, their son will see it and ask questions. Yorgo and Acelya know they're half Greek, but they're still too young to encounter any of the hatred their mother's people have for their father's people.

Hilal never asks Leon to get rid of the uniform because she loves him and also because she loves their children and never wants them to feel shame for who they are. Both sides of who they are.

But they keep it hidden away because the pain is still there. For Leon as much as Hilal. She grabs the table cloth she's looking for and shuts the wardrobe door, leaving the uniform hidden away once again. Hilal walks down the stairs, following the sound of the music coming from the record player. Leon had bought a new one just last year. The singer...something Baker, Hilal tries to recall is singing in English. She doesn't know the language well, but she has picked up a few words over the years from Yakup's friend Vecihi who has traveled more than anyone she's ever known. He's dear to all of them, having helped them to victory in the war, but he and Yakup seem especially close. Hilal likes to think Vecihi helped ease Yakup's grief when Hilal's father, Cevdet, who'd been Yakup's best friend before he'd became his father-in-law, died in the war. Vecihi doesn't really live anywhere, but when he visits he always regales Leon with his many adventures and Hilal wonders if Leon sometimes envies Vecihi's exciting life. He assures her that he doesn't.

Next to his father, Vecihi is their son Yorgo's favourite person. The little boy loves hearing about his adventures and can't wait until he's old enough to go on adventures too, chilling Hilal's heart with worry. Yorgo says he wants to work for the paper like Daddy when he grows up, but Hilal wonders if he'll be satisfied with such a calm profession. She can see it for Acelya but her little boy is not one to remain still in life.

As if to prove her point, on the way to the dining room she peeks into the sitting room where the children are listening to the music. Her little brother Mehmet is showing Acelya the dance steps he learned, guiding her around the room. Little Cevdet is laying on his stomach on the floor, reading a book. Yorgo, her darling boy, is spinning around the room with his arms stretched out, his shirt off and wearing only one sock, a ball of chaotic energy, dodging his sister and uncle rather impressively.

Hilal leaves them to their fun and heads to the kitchen where her sister Yildiz is helping with dinner. She's adding more seasoning to the lamb despite the fact that Hilal assured her she'd seasoned it well enough the night before. Even now that they were older, ran their own households, Yildiz insist she knows better. It doesn't irk Hilal as much as it did when they were younger. She chalks it up to maturity. "Don't add more pepper," Hilal says. "It'll be too spicy for the children."