In the House That Love Built

Chapter Nineteen

The next morning brought a whole different Sanem. She was up before him, had fixed the tea, and was in the process of cooking eggs and toast when  he came in the kitchen. She was humming and happy, " Good morning, my love." He said, cautiously. She turned with a smile on her face,  " Good morning sweetie, are you hungry? She asked, pulling him close to her, giving him a kiss on the lips. He relaxed, ok, I guess it's over, he thought, as he ran his arms around her waist. Can tightened the hold he had on her, " Oh no my dear, where do you think you're going." He asked, as she started to turn away from him. Sanem relaxed, infusing her body with his as Can covered her lips with his, igniting that ever living fire inside them. He had never pretended to know the workings of a woman's mind, least of all this spectacular woman, so he would just move on as if nothing happened. 

" Can, honey, we can't." She whispered as their lips parted. " The food will get cold, let's hold this thought for later." She stated as she turned to dished up the eggs, and poured the tea, " Let's go to the hot baths today," she said out of the blue. He had about them, but he didn't know she had, and it surprised him for her to suggest it. " Ok, so have you read about them or did someone tell you about them." He asked. " No, Esteban took me there the other day, they are very relaxing, it's quite therapeutic." She said, not looking up. He swallowed his bite of food, trying to reign in those feelings, " Esteban,.....I see, and you got in the baths?" He asked, his  mind swirling at her admission. " Yes,.. we did, that's the whole purpose of going to the baths." She joked. " They are fantastic, so relaxing."  Can had lost his appetite, but she seemed unfazed by it, as she chatted on about the outing. 

 Can was giving himself a stern talking to in his head, as she babbled on, " Then we can go to the orphanage, and see the babies." She said, looking at him. " Can,....Can, are you listening, what do you think?" She said. " Oh,.....that's great, but I need to touch base with Salvador first, to see about the next trip." He said, trying to bury those feelings of jealousy. She reached for his hand,   " I hope you will have a couple more days here with me, before you take another trip, I miss you so much when you're gone." she said, lacing her fingers through his. Her touch made him weak sometimes, made him lose all sense of reality, she was definitely the weakness within him. He smiled at her, " I feel the same, but it will soon be over and we will head home, and there won't be anymore time apart." He said, kissing her hand. He saw the change in her eyes, but she didn't say a word. The thought of going home, leaving the orphanage and the babies would be the hardest thing she would up have to do, but she knew she had to. She insisted on doing the cleanup in the kitchen too, so he could make his call to Salvador. "Mr. Can, how are you," Salvador's asked as he answered the phone. " I hope things a good with your wife." he said.  Can assured him things were fine and the emergency had been short lived. " So when do we make the next trip, I'm anxious to get this assignment done so we can return home, we have some pressing issues back there. Can had agreed to take at least a collage of 500 pictures, and from those they would select the ones to go in there article. This was to be the feature of the magazine, with about a ten page spread. So the most exquisite shoots were what they were looking for. Salvador explained the next outing, they would move inside the ruins to capture all the hidden secrets. It would be a three day trip and then one more after that and he would have more than the required number. 

They decided to leave out the next afternoon. Get to their camp spot, setup and be ready to start the following morning. There would be two full days of shooting, then the packup and return to town the third day. Just a few more days of being away from her, and they would be done, he would whisk her away from here, but he knew it wouldn't be easy. But he couldn't say he would be sad to see Esteban go. She was ready to go to the baths when he finished his call, but anxious to hear their plans. She grabbed their bag and they walked toward town, as he filled her in on the next trip. " So tomorrow, you'll be leaving tomorrow." She said, her voice dripping with sadness. He knew the feeling all to well, the feeling of being apart, he didn't like it but that was the was the way it would have to be. The baths had been a welcomed distraction from all the worries he had. The orphanage, Sanem's devotion to Beni, and of course the disturbance he felt from Esteban. They all seemed to melt away as they floated there together, in the hot steamy water, their body's seemed to recharge and come closer together. They stayed there for an hour, then they dressed and started to the orphanage. Can felt so much better, so relaxed and more focused. The hot springs were definitely full of healing powers, he thought, but if Beni had been chosen by the couple from yesterday and taken for adoption, there wouldn't be enough power in the world to heal his wife's heart.

The priest welcomed them at the door, " Hello Mr. Divit,...Mrs. Divit, he said. Can nodded to him, somewhat surprised that he  was the one to greet them. The priest explained, " I'm afraid we will have to ask you and your wife to come back another time, we have a guest couple, who is reviewing the children for home placement." He said. Can didn't understand, " Excuse me, but we went in yesterday when a couple was here." Whats  different with today?" He asked. The priest smiled, " I know, but the couple has asked for privacy, while they make there decision." Please understand." He stated. Sanem hadn't made out the whole conversation, just the part of not being able to go in, and her stomach had wrenched into a tight knot. Can asked if it was the same couple from yesterday, and the priest confirmed that it was. Can felt his relaxed and calm demeanor slowly fade away, as he tried to explain the situation to Sanem. Her eyes turned from loving to fearful in an instant, as he relayed the message. " Babe, come on let's go back to the apartment, we can come back later." He said, trying to lead her out the door. She held there, not willing to move, " No Can, I will wait." She said, moving away from him and walking toward the sanctuary. She took a seat in the last row of benches, so she would have a view of the hallway  leading to the nursery. Can looked at the priest, begging with his eyes for him to allow them to stay there. The priest nodded an approval to him, and patted Sanem on the shoulder as he passed by. She focused her eyes on the hallway, waiting for the couple to appear. If they had Beni, how would she be able to handle it, how would her heart not keep from breaking. It seemed like an eternity before they heard voices coming from the hall, and the couple appeared, not with a baby, but with the two sisters in tow. Sanem was confused, they had chose the older girls, the sisters that had the most problems. She looked at them closely, they both had smiles on their faces, and they looked happy to be going with the couple. The husband was carrying the bags, while the woman was doting on the girls. They stopped at the door so they could give Maria a hug goodbye, they seemed so happy. Sanem and Can both breathed a sigh of relief, as they watched the goodbye from a distance, the sisters spotted them through the open door and waved to them. Can and Sanem waved back, as the man opened the door and ushered them out.

Can felt Sanem's body relax, as he put his arm around her shoulders. Maria smiled at them, motioning for them to go to the nursery. The stress had made Sanem weak, but Can helped her down the hall to the nursery door. As they entered the door, he noticed the change in her, the calmness, the love that oozed from her soul. She went to Beni's bed, picked him up, and held him tightly. The sight had brought the tears to his eyes instantly.....

Were they tears of relief or were they tears of sadness.......sadness for the pain his wife would soon feel...........