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Aylin paced back and forth nervously outside the courthouse and ran her fingers through her hair. Coming here seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that she’s here, she wasn’t so sure. Sure, her brother-in-law may be a sweetheart who was completely devoted to her sister, but he was also a State Prosecutor who most likely didn’t spend his days idling in his office. The truth is, Aylin should have called or texted him before coming here. Except that she didn’t plan on enlisting his help in this. That is, not until she had a fight with her mother over where to hold the event.
The truth is, her options were quite limited to begin with - it was either her mother’s place, or Ceylin and Ilgaz’s home. Sure, there was also her and Osman’s apartment, but Aylin wasn’t ready to face the ruins of her failed marriage just yet. She knew it’s unavoidable, but right now she’d rather focus on more pleasant matters.
“Aylin hanım ?” A familiar, warm, voice called out to her from behind and Aylin spun on her heel to face its owner.
She was greeted with the slightly concerned face of the newly promoted BaşKomiser Eren. Despite the shadow of concern on his face, he radiated his usual warmth that never failed to bring a smile to Aylin’s face and put any anxiety she was feeling at ease.
Aylin got to know Eren much better in the past three months. Between several family events, birthdays, and most of all - the close friendship between their daughters, Aylin and Eren’s relationship growing closer seemed inevitable. If she was completely honest with herself, she owed Eren a big apology - when they’d first met, during the investigation into Inci’s death, Aylin thought he was little more than Metin and Ilgaz Kaya’s lapdog. Yet another cop who blindly followed orders and was deaf to the suffering of the victim’s family.
She couldn’t be more wrong. Eren was down-to-earth, genuine, and funnier than anyone else Aylin met in a long time. He also treated Parla with kindness and showed her the same respect and attention he did to his own daughter. Not that she acted any differently with Tuğce. The poor girl has had such an unstable, turbulent life, that she was in dire need of some stability and care. If that meant she had Eren call her in a panic several times because he had no idea how to handle his unruly teenage daughter - well, Aylin was more than happy to help out.
Sometimes, one of them would tag along when the girls would visit with each other. These visits went from polite small talk, to complaining about teenagers, to slowly opening up to each other. She found him easy to confide in as she opened up about her failed marriage to Osman and she found it even easier when he shared with her about his own failed marriage. Slowly, carefully, they went from Ilgaz’s best friend and Ceylin’s sister to striking a friendship that’s all their own. And somewhere in these past several months Aylin found that she couldn’t help but feel happier in his presence. A realisation that left her with many conflicted feelings that she refused to act upon until she signed her divorce papers.
“Hello, Eren Amirim ,” Aylin teased him, bowing ever so slightly in greeting.
The smile on her face widened even more at the sight of his annoyed grimace.
“Drop the ‘amirim ,” he said as he approached and came to a stop next to her.
“Sure, as soon as you drop the ‘hanım’ .” Aylin retorted.
They both laughed at their exchange and for a moment Aylin forgot all about why she came. But soon enough their laughter died down and Eren got that ‘all business’ expression back on his face again. Come to think of it, he is probably here on business - Aylin thinks - and you’re holding him up.
“I’m here to see Ilgaz, actually,” Aylin told him and the uncertainty is back in her voice.
Eren sobered up immediately and his hand came to rest on Aylin’s arm.
“Is everything okay?” he asked with genuine concern.
Aylin lifted her hand and placed it over his, patting it softly. “Everything is okay, I promise.”
Reassured, Eren let go of her and took a step back, at which Aylin released a breath she didn’t realise she was holding in.
“I’m planning a night for Ceylin before the wedding and from the looks of things, it seems we’ll need to use their house for some of it. So Ilgaz can’t be there.” Aylin explained. “I came to talk to him about it, but I just realised that I don’t remember how to get to his office.”
“Come on, I’ll take you,” Eren offered and put a hand at her back to guide her forward, “I could probably walk to his office blindfolded.” he added.
Aylin snorted at his joke because she was absolutely sure he was right about that.
“You’re probably busy, though, I don’t want to keep you,” Aylin says as they went past security and up the stairs of the main lobby.
Eren clicked his tongue and raised his hands quickly in a reassuring gesture, “No no, don’t worry. I have a meeting with Prosecutor Pars to go over a case.”
“Then you should definitely not keep him waiting,” Aylin urged him with concern as she recalled the prosecutor in question’s prickly nature.
“Nah, don’t worry,” Eren dismissed her with a smile, “The day doesn’t feel right if Pars Savcım doesn’t chew me out at least once. It’s a reflex at this point, I swear.” he snorted.
Aylin decided not to press the matter any longer. After all, Eren was a grown man who knew how to do his job and she had absolutely no right to involve herself in his affairs. With that in mind she turned the conversation to the one topic that never failed - their daughters.
They reached Ilgaz’s office quicker than she thought they would, and Eren waved a hello at Ilgaz’s assistant and then unceremoniously knocked on his door and poked his head in.
“He’s free, go right in,” he said with a smile and a quick pat to the shoulder. “I’m off to see Pars. I’ll see you around.”
Aylin murmured her own quiet goodbye and then threw an apologetic smile at the confused young woman at the desk before knocking on Ilgaz’s door.
“Aylin?” Ilgaz asked immediately and she could tell he was surprised to see her there. “Is everything okay?”
The concern was obvious in his voice and she watched as he pushed back his chair and stood up.
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she told him quickly and motioned for him to sit back down. “I sort of need a favour, do you have a moment?”
She waled in as her brother-in-law motions for her to come in and closed the door behind her.
The next couple of days kept Aylin so busy that she didn't really notice them go by. Yes, there was her general routine of taking care of her mother and daughter, doing some housekeeping and continuing to look for a job. But any free moment in between was spent making arrangements for Ceylin’s henna night.
She personally delivered some invitations to Ceylin’s friends at the courthouse yesterday and was very happy that both Neva Hakim and Derya Savci would attend. Then she had to stop by the Kaya house which proved to be just as difficult as it had been a few months ago when she’d accompanied her mother. The main reason she was there was to talk to Ilgaz’s little sister, because she knew how much Ceylin and the girl loved each other. But because she wasn’t raised on the street, Aylin did the decent thing and extended an invitation to Ilgaz’s aunt as well. Makbule hanım’s refusal was completely expected, but her vicious words towards Ceylin and her family left Aylin’s chest stinging.
In the two days since she talked to Ilgaz, Aylin had been trying to get her mother to change her mind. But her mother was absolutely resolute that while she’d attend the wedding just so people don’t speak badly of her later, she absolutely refused to attend any celebrations for Ceylin’s upcoming wedding.
“Why should I celebrate my daughter tying herself to these people?” her mother had asked her before shutting her bedroom door in Aylin’s face.
For her part, Aylin tried to explain rationally, tried to remind her mother of just how much she used to love Ilgaz just a few months ago. She even tried to use Gül’s own guilt tripping tactics against her in trying to appeal to her conscience as a mother and telling her that Ceylin would be very hurt by her absence.
Pleas, explanations, and discussions fell on deaf ears. So eventually Aylin gave up and decided to focus her energy into more useful venues.
Parla and Tuğce were both very excited to participate and Aylin put them in charge of decorations. Ilgaz volunteered to keep Ceylin distracted and to make sure she was dressed appropriately for the evening. Aylin took it up upon herself to cook for the night, Neva said she’d bring wine, and Derya promised to secure dessert - all of which took quite the load off Aylin’s shoulders and she was grateful for it.
The night itself isn’t going to be anything too fancy, both because she knows Ceylin isn’t one for pretentious events, but also because she wouldn’t even know how to plan such a thing. Instead, they’d gather in Ceylin and Ilgaz’s home for some nice dinner, they’ll paint Ceylin’s hands with henna, put on some music and have some fun. And who knows, maybe after they drop off Tuğce, Parla and Defne back at Eren’s place, they could go out for drinks.
True to his word, Ilgaz dropped earlier that morning to leave Aylin a set of keys for their home and assured her he would keep Ceylin busy and then drive her back home. He was also kind enough to offer to take any groceries or decorations Aylin had back to the house, so Aylin and the girls wouldn’t have to worry about them later.
Aylin called Eren one more time to make sure that he really was okay with Tuğce missing school that day and to her relief his answer remained the same as it was when she first asked him:
“School is almost over anyway and besides, she wouldn’t let me breathe in peace if she missed Ceylin’s celebration,”
It warmed Aylin’s heart that her little sister had surrounded herself with such good people who cared so much about her.
Reassured, Aylin told Parla to hurry up and text Tuğce to meet them at the house. She went down the stairs of her childhood home and paused before her mother’s bedroom, hand poised to knock just has the door opened sharply from the other side.
“Aylin!” her mother exclaimed angrily “You scared me! Don’t do that!”
Aylin opts to turn a deaf ear to her mother’s anger and lowers her hand.
“Are you sure you won’t come?” Aylin asked her, perhaps in a foolish hope that the woman would choose to see sense.
But her mother’s wrath only grew at Aylin’s question and Aylin was faced with a much familiar rant of people treating her mother as if she was a child.
Luckily, Parla arrived just in time to prevent the situation from escalating further. Mother and daughter both bid Gül goodbye and headed to the upper neighbourhood to pick up the youngest member of tonight’s party. Much to both their amusement, Defne was already waiting for them by the front gate, all dressed up and ready to go. Defne greeted each of them with a big hug and then they all walked the rest of the way to Ceylin and Ilgaz’s home.
Aylin unlocked the door and let the girls inside and told them to find the decorations Ilgaz would have left inside in the morning. Sure enough, they were on the living room table and Aylin left the girls to arrange the decorations as she headed to the kitchen to start preparing for tonight. The doorbell rang not too long afterwards and Parla called out to her to let her know Tuğce had arrived.
Once the living room was decorated, the girls opted to help Aylin in the kitchen so they could all be done quicker and start getting ready. Aylin’s heart melted just a little as she watched the two girls take turns to keep an eye that Defne doesn’t get hurt and doing their part of the cooking. Teenage girls weren’t so bad, after all.
It was late afternoon by the time they got everything ready and went upstairs for a shower. Defne headed straight for her bedroom, dragging Parla and Tuğce by the arms to help her pick out what to wear. Aylin decided to use the time to enjoy a quick shower and get ready herself. It was a bit uncomfortable to be in Ceylin’s bedroom without her there, but Ilgaz had assured her it was no problem whatsoever. Once she was showered and dressed up in a simple pastel blue dress, Aylin poked her head in to see that the girls were also ready and that Parla was doing Defne’s hair while Tuğce was doing Defne’s nails.
She opted to leave the girls with a reminder that Ceylin should be here in about thirty minutes and headed downstairs to start warming up the food and make sure everything was ready. The doorbell rang just as she finished straightening the red napkins on the table.
Aylin headed quickly to the door and was relieved to see Neva and Derya holding drinks and a big box that looked like cake, respectively. She knew they were both responsible, but driving in Istanbul at rush hour could lead to all kinds of disasters. She quickly let the two women in and took the drinks and cake as she ushered them to the living room.
“Girls, come on down! It’s almost time!” Aylin called out on her way back from the kitchen.
The next half hour was spent in the women talking about their days and listening to Defne’s excitement about the upcoming night. The sun was just about to set when Aylin’s phone pinged with an incoming text.
“They’ll be there any moment!” she exclaimed as soon as she read the text from Ilgaz. “Quickly, turn off all the lights!”
The serene atmosphere was transformed into organised chaos as all of them dispersed to make sure nothing would give away their presence and spoil the surprise. No sooner had they turned all the lights off and gathered back in the living room than Ilgaz and Ceylin’s voices came carrying on the wind of the open balcony door.
“Honestly, Ilgaz!” Ceylin exclaimed in annoyance, “You were so insistent this morning that we couldn’t be late to the restaurant and that I wouldn’t have time to dress up after work,”
Ceylin’s rant was interrupted by the shuffling of keys and the key turning into the lock.
“But you forget your phone at home and you need my help to find it?!” Ceylin’s voice is louder now as it bounces off the corridor walls.
Aylin has to bite the inside of her cheek and roll her eyes at the lame excuse Ilgaz used to get her here.
“Let’s check the living room,” Ilgaz offers loudly and Aylin knows this is their cue.
She hears Ceylin’s heels against the wooden floor one moment and in the next - the room is awash in light.
“SURPRISE!”
Any annoyance Ceylin is feeling towards her husband is quickly replaced by alarm and then surprise as the light in the living turns on unexpectedly and six different people jump out at her from various hiding places around her living room. She can't avoid the way her palm flies to her chest and how her shock makes her stumble backwards - right into Ilgaz's waiting arms.
Her eyes sweep over the decorated room in seconds, she notices the people in the room and how nice they look, a quick look to her left reveals her dining table already set and overflowing with delicious smelling food.
"What-What's going on?" She asks, her eyes bouncing from one woman to the other.
She receives her response in the form of Defne running towards her and enveloping her in a tight hug, as if they hadn't seen each other for far longer than the actual 24 hours it has been.
"It's your henna night, Ceylin abla!" the little girl exclaims and claps her hands in excitement,
Ceylin's mouth drops open ever so slightly as the realization dawns on her and she looks down at Defne - noticing the girl's pretty lilac dress and the neat little buns her hair has been twisted into.
"Aren't you the most beautiful girl in the whole world?" Ceylin asks her happily and takes Defne's arm to twirl her around, only to be rewarded by her delighted laughter.
She turns her eyes quickly towards her older sister and her expression softens even more.
"Abla, you did this?" Ceylin's voice is a soft, emotional whisper, as she lets go of Defne with a final squeeze and heads towards Aylin.
Aylin embraces her tightly and Ceylin has to fight herself to keep the tears at bay.
"I had help," Aylin whispers into her ear and jerks her head forward, motioning in the direction Ceylin was just standing in.
Ceylin let go of her sister and looked back to see Ilgaz with his hands in his pockets and a sheepish expression on his face.
"You knew!" Ceylin exclaims, pointing a finger at him. "Of course! Is that why you were so weird this morning?"
Ilgaz nods and smiles, "I'm sorry for the deception,"
"You didn't tell me any of this!" Ceylin protests.
"If I had it wouldn't have been a surprise." Ilgaz teases her. "Have fun, ladies," Ilgaz smiles at all of them and turns to leave.
"Where are you off to?" Ceylin asks quickly and lets go of Aylin to follow him.
"Well, Eren said he wanted to go out for some billiards and beer," Ilgaz told her "He said something about how we should have some fun too,"
"Have fun!" Aylin calls out from behind her, "For your sake, I hope the Komiser's parties are better organized than his desk,"
Ceylin reaches out and embraces Ilgaz goodbye.
"You really do look amazing in red," Ilgaz tells her before pressing a quick kiss just above her ear.
"Go," Ceylin urges him, "Before it's everyone else that needs to go," She adds with a wink and pushes him away from her playfully.
"Alright, alright," Ilgaz concedes with a laugh," Aylin, I'm trusting you to be the responsible one,"
"I'm always the responsible one," Aylin counters.
"Have fun, just don't end up in jail!"
Ceylin bristles at his teasing and starts pushing him out of the room.
A few kisses and whispered promises later, Ceylin returns to the living room and looks around properly this time. There are streamers and baloons all over the room, colourful candles adorn the windowsills, their flame washing over the room in a soft light. She walks right in again and takes the time to greet each person separately and thank them for doing this for her.
She gets too emotional by the end of it and is very relieved when Tuğce offers to put on some music. Derya goes over to the bottle of champagne that’s chilling in a bucket of ice and starts pouring it into flutes for each of them.
She hands some to everyone, including Parla and Tuğce. “It’s a special occasion,” she tells them with a wink.
Meanwhile, Aylin is busy opening the alcohol-free bottle of champagne they got for Defne and handing her a flute as well. The girl is absolutely delighted at this.
Once everyone has their own toast, Aylin raises her glass and clears her throat.
“To my sister,” she started loudly, “Who finally met her match and was smart enough to marry him not once, but twice!”
Laughter rings around the room as the ladies cheer to Ceylin’s health.
“To all of you,” Ceylin adds once the laughter dies down, “For being a part of my life. For being my dear friends and family!”
They cheer again and Ceylin has to wipe tears from her eyes as her niece comes to hug her tightly.
“Ah! No more toasts or you’ll make me cry!” Derya announces, “It’s too early for tears and the food is getting cold.”
Ceylin laughs at her friend trying to keep her composure. Derya pretends to be all tough, but Ceylin knows very well the type of hopeless romantic the prosecutor is. She goes up to her and offers a quick one-armed hug in thanks.
“I agree!” she says and leads Derya towards the table.
It’s a bit of a tight squeeze as they all sit down, but they manage. It’s only once they’re seated at the table that Ceylin recognizes all her favourite dishes.
“Abla!” she exclaims emotionally and turns to look at her sister who was sitting across from her, “You did this?” her exclamation simmers to an emotional whisper.
Aylin nods slightly and tells her how fancy meals are nice, but she knows how Ceylin appreciates nothing more than a home-cooked meal.
Ceylin doesn’t stop the tears from falling this time.
Their dinner passes beautifully - between the delicious food and great company. They talk about their days, about the wedding. The women listen to the teen girls complain about school and boys, and they listen to Defne ramble about a new animal at school. Naturally, at one point, the conversation turns to their partners and Neva and Ceylin don’t miss an opportunity to tease Derya.
“Savcım,” Neva says over a sip of wine, “When will you make an honest man out of my brother?”
Derya chokes ever so slightly at her own sip, but is prevented from answering because Ceylin cuts in.
“Really, as much as it amuses me to watch him walk after you like a cute little puppy around the courthouse, I have a score to settle with him,” Ceylin says as she bites into a piece of bread.
“What? What score?” Derya asks with only a slight edge of concern.
“He kept throwing remarks at Ilgaz and I when we first got married,” Ceylin said with a shrug, “I feel like I should return the favour. Fairplay and all,”
Neva laughs loudly at that and starts telling the rest of the table just how annoyed Pars was about the wedding and graciously doesn’t mention what her own feelings were about it.
“Your brother can ask me out whenever he feels like it,” Derya shrugs eventually, answering Neva’s original question. “Hopefully, before we have to file for retirement.”
A fresh round of laughter rings around the room at her words.
“Well, if he doesn’t do it, you should,” Ceylin says, “Be a strong independent woman and all that,”
“Pars strikes me as the type of man who knows what he wants,” Derya says and goes for another pickle.
“Sure,” Neva shrugs, “But men can be very stupid sometimes,”
A general murmur of agreement and another quick toast passes around the table.
“I had to almost beg Ilgaz to sleep over the first time,” Ceylin recalls with a laugh, “Sure, we were tipsy but I had to put that whole act about being cold and all so he’ll take pity on me,”
They continue bantering, laughing, and drinking until the food is all over. Ceylin absolutely forbids her guests from picking up or doing the dishes, saying it’s her party and it’s only fair she calls the shots.
The next portion of the evening they spend on the balcony. Aylin pulls out a translucent red veil and drapes it over Ceylin, leading her to a conspicuous chair in the middle of the candle-lit balcony.
“You’re not going to make me cry now, are you?” Ceylin asks with a laugh as she sits down and watches the ladies circle around her.
“Trust me, you don’t want me to sing,” Derya laughs, “We’ll scare the neighbors, they’ll call the cops and then I’ll have to file paperwork”
They burst out laughing at her joke just as Aylin walks in with a small tray.
“I figured you wouldn’t be up for going the super traditional route,” Aylin explained as she settled on a small chair in front of Ceylin, “And we can’t really do that for a number of reasons,”
The air thickens with tension at the indirect mention of their mother’s animosity. But even without their mother present, they didn’t really have anyone else from Ilgaz’s side to do this. He’d lost both grandmothers and his mother, and Makbule hanım would bite her own tongue off before agreeing to do this. So really, it was for the best.
“But I figured, the actual henna, you’d enjoy. It’s something every bride deserves to experience,” Aylin tells her with a smile.
“Except we won’t be making you sad,” Parla tells her from the right, “Because let’s be real, there’s nothing sad about you getting married to Ilgaz Amca,”
Ceylin snorts loudly at Parla’s new nickname for Ilgaz. She’d only started doing it recently and in jest, but it ended up sticking around since Ilgaz unironically loved it.
Aylin places the tray she carried in on a small stool next to them and grabs the small bowl of henna. She motions for Ceylin to extend her palm.
Normally, this is the part where everyone gets all sad to make the bride cry, but in their evening, it was anything but. Aylin smears henna slowly onto Ceylin’s palm and the women around her take turns wishing her happiness and health and a long married life. Ceylin bravely holds back her tears, feeling more loved in that moment than she has for her entire life.
“Defnecim,” Aylin calls out to their youngest member, “Hadi, it’s your turn,”
Ceylin watches Defne come to stand by them very carefully. The little girl walks slowly but surely towards her and she can see one of her hands fiddling with something in her dress pocket.
“Is it time, Aylin abla?” Defne asks and her eyes are bright with excitement.
Aylin nods softly at the girl, “Place it here, in the middle of Ceylin’s palm.” she instructs.
Ceylin watches silently as Defne pulls out a gold coin from her pocket and places it on Ceylin’s palm.
“Defnecim,” Ceylin addresses her, “Where did you get this?” She's surprised to find Defne in possession of gold. It’s certainly not something she could’ve gotten by herself.
“Ilgaz abi gave it to me this morning,” Defne explains. “He said the coin is my mom’s and that it was used on her kına gecesi. He told me this is how I welcome you to our family,”
Ceylin’s tears start falling freely then. At the simplicity with which Defne explains - as if it’s the most natural progression of things in the whole world. At the fact that Ilgaz thought of this evening and wanted to contribute. Most of all, at the fact that she has been entrusted with something precious belonging to Kiymet Kaya.
She reaches for Defne with her free hand and pulls her into her side, pressing kisses into the younger girl’s hair. She makes herself a promise then and there to keep that coin safe until she can do the same for Defne one day.
Once Aylin is done with the henna and wraps Ceylin’s palm, Neva suggests they move on to dessert and some dancing. The chocolate cake is rich, delicious, and just to Ceylin’s taste. She makes sure to congratulate Derya on her taste in cake and asks for information on where she got it from. Some of the icing on the cake ends up on their faces instead of their mouths as the alcohol starts kicking in.
It’s not long after that that Defne gets sleepy and Parla and Tuğce take this as their cue to go home and take her to Eren’s where the three of them would be having a sleepover. Another round of hugs and promises to call when they get home - the girls leave.
Once only the adults are left, they decide very quickly that instead of going out to some club they’d much rather stay here and enjoy cake, wine, good music and excellent company. They talk, laugh, and cry into the small hours of the night before they can’t walk in a straight line or keep their eyes open.
Derya, Neva, and Aylin start leaving when Ceylin quickly shoots all of them down, saying how it’s far too late to go anywhere and that she has plenty of room for everyone. She ends up pulling the ‘don’t argue with the bride’ card to make them stay.
Ceylin is settled in her bed and listens to her sister's breathing as Aylin sleeps beside her. It’s no wonder she’d fallen asleep as soon as she hit the pillow with everything she’s done today.
Ceylin never thought she’d get to have this - a warm, close relationship with Aylin, two amazing friends in the face of Neva and Derya that came unexpectedly into her life. Or that she’d have a family that loves her enough to care and surprise her like this. She thinks about how she used to equate herself to a lotus - floating aimlessly wherever the flow took her, without roots. If tonight proved anything to her it’s that this is definitely no longer the case. If anything, it looks like she’s planted deeper roots than she thought possible into this home and into the lives of her friends and family - transforming the lone lotus into a chrysanthemum.