Can and Sanem arrived at the Aydin household at 6pm. Mevkibe and Nihat had already mostly finished cooking. When they heard their knock on the door, Mevkibe turned to Leyla. Both of them becoming jittery with excitement.
"Act normal." Mevkibe whispered to her daughter, then went to open the door. An exchange of greetings was shared as the couple stepped inside. Leyla helped her sister out of her coat and welcomed Can. Mevkibe pulled Can into a hug. While Nihat brought Sanem into his arms.
"How are you, my daughter?" He asked pulling away.
"I am very well, baba. How are you"
"I am good, thank you. Any news?"
"Some," Sanem replied, a small smile on her lips. "You will find out later." Nihat's eyes went wide. Sanem didn't notice. Mevkibe did. She nodded discreetly at her husband, putting a finger against her lips, before leading Can into the living room. They all chatted for a while, about work, the district and the new house. Nihat asked how the decorating was going.
"We just finished painting the study today. The guest room should be finished tomorrow. Hopefully next week we can buy the rest of the furniture and it will be a proper home" Can replied. Leyla offered to poor everyone drinks. She filled five glasses, placing one in front of Sanem too. As she did so, Sanem cast Can a glance. The conversation continued and Can ended up drinking both his and Sanem's glasses. He had tried to be discreet, but with Sanem's whole family on hypervigilant mode, he had no chance.
A while later Mevkibe excused herself to tend the food. Nihat followed after her.
"Mevkibe! I think we are going to be grandparents!" Nihat whispered.
"Shhhh!" She waved at him. "Don't let them know that we know! They organised this whole surprise, we have to go along with it." Mevkibe replied just as Leyla followed them in.
"Did you noticed? It looks like she has put weight on." Leyla whispered. Her parents nodded. "I can't wait any longer. I have to know. Maybe if I give you my gift now, Sanem will reveal their 'surprise' too"
"Good idea." Mevkibe waved her daughter into action.
Leyla fetched the scrapbook that she had made for their parents from her bedroom. Then all three returned to the living room. Leila presented the gift to her mother. Mevkibe carefully opened the wrapping. In the excitement of Sanem's expected news,
Mevkibe had forgotten to be excited about Leyla's gift too. When she saw it, and opened the pages her eyes welled up.
"This is beautiful Leyla. Thank you." Mevkibe flipped through the pages. Nihat was sat beside her, they both looked at the photos and memories. Mevkibe patted her daughter on the knee. It was a montage of photos from her and Sanem's childhood, the few family trips they had been on. There were even photos from before Leila was born. A photo of Nihat outside the newly purchased store, Mevkibe standing next to him looking very pregnant. They looked so young. Mevkibe got lost in the images.
"And what about your surprise Sanem?" Leyla prompted. Their parents attention suddenly pulled away from the scrap book, towards their youngest daughter.
"It's in here," Sanem revealed the envelope from her purse. Mevkibe's breath caught in her throat. Could it be...might it be sonogram photos?
"Can we open it now?" Mevkibe tried.
"No." Sanem said hiding the envelope in her bag. "You can open it later. If you do it now, you might be too excited to eat dinner." Leyla caught her mother's eye and winked.
---
As they sat to eat dinner, Sanem tried to ignore the strange looks her family were giving her, while avoiding the wine at all costs. Damn tortoises. Mevkibe, Nihat and Leila ate quickly. They were eager for dinner to be over with. After, they all retired to the living room.
"Can we open our surprise now." Mevkibe asked.
"Yes." Sanem fetched the envelope from her bag. Handing it over with a large smile on her face. "Though I must warn you. It is not really a gift for now, it's a gift for May."
"May?" Mevkibe asked. That would mean Sanem was 4 months along. How had she hidden it for so long?
Mevkibe pried open the envelope slowly trying to stop her hands from shaking. Leyla and Nihat held their breath. She pulled open the seam and removed the contents onto the coffee table. She found the 'happy anniversary' card, the plane tickets, and the information leaflet. But no sonogram.
"Is this it?" Mevkibe asked, slowly looking again through the contents of the envelope again. A slightly disappointed look on her face. Have I missed something? She shook the envelope - hoping something else might fall out. Nothing did. She glanced at Leyla who was also looking disappointed.
"What about the baby?" Mevkibe huffed. Sanem frowned, confused.
"Baby...? What baby?" Sanem asked, perplexed.
"Your baby!"
"My baby?"
"Yes. Your baby!"
"Mevkibe!" Nihat attempted to shush his wife, realising they had made a big mistake.
"Oh no." Leyla whispered.
"Sanem, are you pregnant?" A confused Can leaned over to ask her quietly.
"No! What is happening." Sanem put her hands up in the air. "We are not having a baby. What made you think we were?" She asked her mother, who looked a bit sheepish, and very disappointed.
"Wait." Nihat interrupted. "You said you had news. What was the news?" Everyone turned to Sanem. Who was very aware that the news she had, was not nearly as exciting as the news they had obviously been expecting.
"We are getting a puppy." She said, her face falling into her hands.
---
Mevkibe and Nihat spend the next few weeks apologising. After the disappointment had worn off, they promised that they really loved the gift and were excited to finally go traveling for the first time in years. Sanem finally forgave them, admitting that the whole situation had been funny.
