Another Kind Of Promise

Chapter Thirty Three

       The minute that Alara opened her eyes she thought of Tarkan. She heard her mom talking in the other room, and she wondered if her dad was still home. " Mom, mom, is dad still here?" she called out, making her way to her parents bedroom. 

      Melike motioned for her to come in as she finished her conversations on the phone. " Good morning my dear. Your dad has already left, but he will be back to talk to you." She told her, not wanting to reveal where Metin had gone.

      " I have to talk to Tarkan. I'm going to call him so we can meet. I don't know why Dad is being so mean about it. Tarkan and I haven't done anything wrong." she blurted out, stomping back to her room to get her phone.

      Melike followed, " Alara, you might want to wait a while before calling Tarkan. Let's let this all settle down a bit. You know your father, it takes him a while to accept new things." She begged, wanting to give her husband time to try and resolve the problem with Can.

      Alara was just about to disagree with her mom when her phone rang. She smiled, " Mom it's Tarkan. I'm going to talk to him." She said, rushing down the hall to her room. 

      " Tarkan, I'm so glad you called. I miss you." She muttered, on the verge of tears. Tarkan was relieved to hear her voice. " Alara, babe, I miss you too. I wanted to come to you first thing this morning....but when I got up, I saw that your dad is here. Your dad and my dad are in the garden talking." He explained, whispering into the phone as he watched them through the door.

      " What...my dad is there. He's there talking to your dad. Are they fighting, or are they just talking?" She asked in disbelief. 

      Tarkan hesitated a moment before answering, " Alara, you're not going to believe this, but they are talking and even laughing. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to find out." He said. " I'll call you back.....don't worry babe, I will take care of this." He spoke, sounding confident.

      " No, wait Tarkan. I'm coming to your house. We will take care of this together. I'm leaving in a few minutes so wait for me." She ordered. Alara rushed around, getting dressed, her head full of thoughts of what to say once she got there. 

       She grabbed her moms car keys and headed out the  door, " Mom, I'm taking your car and going to Tarkan's house. Why didn't you tell me that dad had gone over there. You have to stop treating me like a child." She blurted out, as she hurried to the car.

      Metin looked out across the back yard, feeling more comfortable with his life than he had in years. " Can, saying I'm sorry for what I did to you when you came back to Istanbul isn't enough. I was wrong, and I was jealous." He began to explain.

      " I didn't like what you did to Sanem..... it was cruel, and it was unnecessary. But you never listened...not to me or to Sanem. ...you just ran away." He said, not wanting to leave out anything.

      " I knew you loved Sanem. You had never acted like that with anyone else, so I knew. But you hurt her. And when you came back, I didn't want you to hurt her again. So I.....well you know what I did. But I just wanted you to face your flaws." Metin spoke with honesty.

      Can hung his head, " I know, I hurt her. But you are right about one thing....I loved her and I still do...more than anything. What I did to her and to you is something I can't change, but I want to make it right with you." Can mumbled.

      " I'm not the same person Metin. I look at people differently now. I don't judge, I try to understand. I was wrong do let my feelings about my mom ruin our relationship. You were doing your job and I punished you for it." He said, his heart full of regret.

      " Metin, do you remember the promise we all three made to each other before we left the boarding school. We promised to always be a family.... Stay close to each other and raise our children together." Can asked, looking into the face of his friend.

       Metin shook his head, " Yes I do. I remember everything we promised each other." He said. "So, let's keep those promises. It's not too late.... What do you say." He said , smiling at Can.

      Can nodded, " I think you're right. So much time has passed, but it's not too late. You are my brother, my friend and my family. I'm glad our children made me see that." He told him. 

      Tarkan waited for Alara outside. When he saw a car coming up the driveway, he hurried out to meet her. " Tarkan, I was so scared. I thought they would keep us apart." She cried as she stepped out of the car and threw her arms around his neck. Tarkan held on to her tightly, "There's no way. They will both see that if we stand together in front of them."  

      Tarkan grasped onto her hand, " Come on, they are still in the garden. We have to show them that are serious." He replied, pulling her toward the house. Sanem met them  at the front door, "Alara my dear, I'm glad you came. Your dad is with Can in the garden, but I think you both need to let them talk this out together." She said, reaching out for her hand..

      Sanem cupped Alara's face in her hands, " You know that none of this has anything to do with you or Tarkan...don't you? This struggle between Can and Metin is years old, and in my opinion, it's time for it to end."...

       She ushered them to the back of the house, where they stood watching out the large glass sliding door overlooking the back garden. Sanem's eyes filled with tear as she watched Can and Metin give each other a sincere hug and pat on the back...

       Tarkan smiled, " Mom, I think that maybe their struggle is over.....what do you think?"...