Ozgur sat on the sofa, cuddling with Tesla and showering him with love. Ezgi walked into the kitchen to make her famous chicken soup. Famous only because that is the only thing which would taste the same every time, she made it. It was failproof. Once she put everything in the pot to cook, she hesitated to join him.
"Ezgi" Ozgur called her. She took small steps and stood near him.
"Sit" He ordered. She sat on the edge of the sofa and he shook his head.
"Tesla, this is Ezgi. We'll be living together with her." Ozgur figured out he had to fix the situation. He explained to Ezgi that Tesla could sense her fear. He asked her to relax and guided her hand to pet Tesla.
Though she was scared initially, Ezgi settled as she enjoyed running her fingers through its thick fur. As she eased, Tesla came near her. The timer on the pot went off after some time as they were playing with Tesla. Ozgur went to set the table. When he returned, he saw that his two partners had bonded well. They had dinner together and he even let her feed Tesla.
He loaded the dishwasher once they finished dinner and joined Ezgi, who was engrossed in watching something on the telly. It turned out to be something on paranormal activities.
"I'm going to bed" He stood up to go.
"Sit" She stopped him and motioned to sit.
"Why are you even watching it if you're scared?" Ozgur asked her as she squeezed his hand.
"I stumbled upon it. Now I can't relax till I know what happened." Ezgi answered him.
He tried his best to keep focus on his mobile and not to watch the screen. However, the eerie background score was disturbing him. The grip on his hand meant there was no chance of escape as well.
"Ezgi, I'm sleepy. I need to go to bed." He tried to convince her to let him go.
"At 10:00pm? Since when?" Her eyes were still glued to the telly aware of his late working hours. Ezgi started to explain what happened until then though he was uninterested in watching it.
"I'm not a fan of any kind of paranormal movies. They creep me." Ozgur finally admitted.
"What?" Ezgi turned and looked at him in shock. It was then she recalled them watching movies as kids and Ozgur cuddling to his mother at the scary scenes often. She laughed aloud as the image of that memory framed in her mind.
"Have fun on your own" Ozgur frowned and left.
She watched it for another half an hour and decided it is safer to watch it in daylight. She went to the bedroom and slipped into the bed, their backs facing each other.
"Still scared of Tesla?" She heard Ozgur's voice.
"I thought you were sleepy." Ezgi answered.
"Are you really scared of those movies?" She continued as the silence took over.
"Like you're not scared of anything...Who crawled into the bed last night?" He retorted.
"That's because you triggered this irrational fear of dogs in me..." She shot back.
"Still scared then?" He asked.
"I'm okay with Tesla now, he's all cuddly and nice... I'm not scared but I thought you would need me. I can go if you're okay" Ezgi tried to move out.
"Stay" He reached out to hold her hand and she turned towards him again.
"Ozgur Atasoy is afraid of something... that's surprising" Ezgi was curious to find out and tease him.
"I can always get Tesla to chase you down the street." Ozgur warned her.
"Is that a threat? Pack your bags before you think of doing something like that, you can go back to your apartment." She threatened him.
"Why should I leave? It's my home as well." Ozgur pulled the covers to his side.
"I have already moved back for you. I'm not moving again." She pulled it back. They decided it would be best if she moved back in town rather than him due to the restaurant timings.
"Really day one and we're already making plans on who'll move out?" Ozgur rolled his eyes.
"No wonder...What else were you expecting from us? We're a disaster" Ezgi turned away from him.
Ozgur shook his head and went back to sleep. They had a duvet pulling match again and Ozgur finally gave up.
"Yes, I'm scared of those movies with spirits and ghosts..." He finally answered and Ezgi immediately turned and slid a bit closer to him.
"I'm surprised you aren't even after what happened to Ozan" He continued as she looked at him curiously.
"Ozan? What happened to him?" Ezgi was unable to make sense.
"Don't you remember that time when Ozan suddenly disappeared into an alcove on a beach and kept screaming." Ozgur tried to remind her of an incident that happened when they were kids. Ozan gave him a detailed description of him being captured by a spirit and how he was tortured.
"You can't be serious" Ezgi broke into a fit of laughter.
"Look at you... I've been nothing but supportive of your fear and you're making fun of me" Ozgur glared at Ezgi as she laughed hysterically to the point, she had to wipe tears of her eyes.
"Sorry wait... I can't believe you bought that story." She tried hard to control herself.
"Greedy Ozan just sneaked into alcove to eat all the chocolates he was given instead of sharing with us. Then, a scorpio bit him. It wasn't any spirit you fool" Ezgi hit his forehead.
"What? A Scorpio?" Ozgur went pale as he realised Ozan conned him all these years.
"This is gold. I can't believe you let him fool you." Ezgi pulled his cheeks.
xxx
Next morning Ozgur woke up to the sound of his mobile buzzing. As he opened his eyes, he saw Ezgi close to him, her hand on his chest and his hand under her neck. He pulled it back carefully not to wake her up and answered the call without checking the caller.
"Ozgur did I wake you up? Sorry I thought you'd have left by now..." Sevim asked him as she listened to his sleepy voice.
"We slept late last night" He panicked as he checked the time. They were supposed to be at lunch by 12:00 and it was already 11:30 am.
"Don't think we'll make it on time. We'll probably be there by 1:00pm at the earliest." He informed his mother of the delay, glancing at Ezgi who was still asleep.
"No rush... don't forget Tesla's supplies" He could hear the giggles in the background and then his mother reminded him to pack Tesla's stuff. She was taking care of Tesla while he was on holiday with Ezgi or rather on honeymoon.
Tesla jumped on him and he went downstairs. Ezgi woke up and checked her phone. She was shocked to see the time and a few missed calls from her mother.
She rushed down to see Ozgur playing with Tesla.
"We're late... Did you talk to them already? What did you say?" Ezgi asked him.
"Relax, I told them we'll be late. Get ready now before they drop by with food." Ozgur threw the ball in his hand for Tesla to fetch.
"Highly possible" Ezgi went to freshen up.
Once ready she sat down to drink the coffee she prepared. Ozgur entered the room wearing a crisp white shirt. She took a sip of her coffee as she met his eyes after her checking him out. She felt her tongue burn and let out a moan.
"Are you okay?" He asked her concerned.
"Are you? I mean you dressed up in a proper shirt?" She looked at him again.
"I can rock any outfit..." Ozgur said confidently.
"How modest..." Ezgi just rolled her eyes.
She helped him with loading Tesla's stuff into the car and they drove to his family home. Ezgi has been visiting the house ever since she was a kid, yet she felt butterflies in her stomach. She would be stepping in as his wife, as a daughter-in-law.
"We can do this" Ozgur held her hand as they stepped out of the car and rang the bell.
"Ezgi, welcome home. I've been waiting for you." Sevim pulled her into a hug as soon as she opened the door.
"Tesla let's go. I don't think we're needed here." Ozgur announced picking Tesla in his arms.
"This is officially your home as well now." Sevim pampered Ezgi ignoring Ozgur.
"Great, where are others? I'm going in. You can continue with your welcome." He went past them.
"My handsome Damat" Unal greeted his son-in-law as he stepped into the garden.
"Only you can rock pink" Ozgur hugged him back with a smile. The comfort he shared with her parents sometimes annoyed her.
"Good to see you safe and well... I was scared you would have killed each other by now..." Nevin joined them. Though she was happy to see them married, she also knew how easy it was for them to break into a fight.
"It's just been a day... you might have to wait a bit longer..." Ezgi hugged her from behind. He left her alone with her parents and went to greet his dad.
"Ozgur, good to see you" His father just patted his cheek and there was silence. They smiled at each other awkwardly. There was a time when they discussed everything. He could not even recall the last time they spoke to each other. It felt like his father was avoiding him.
"Come it's already late. Let's start eating" Sevim called them into the garden. While they ate, the discussion revolved around the wedding, how beautiful it was and how happy the parents were to see them married.
"Wish you a lifetime of joy and togetherness just like us." Unal raised a toast, pulling Nevin into a side hug. Ezgi raised her eyes to look at Ozgur, who just smiled at her. Her parents were madly in love even after 30 years. That's something she wanted for herself, but fate had other plans for her. They took a few pictures.
"It feels incomplete without Ozan" Sevim missed him as she served them dessert.
"He went to Brighton with friends" Ozgur said as he took a bite of the trifle.
"Brighton?" Nevin raised an eyebrow and Ezgi kicked him under the table.
"London... he meant London... Ozgur forgot he cancelled his Brighton trip to attend a class in London" Ezgi glared at Ozgur.
"Oh yes, that cooking masterclass... I forgot about it. I'm lost in my own world, you know" Ozgur tried to cover up and winked at Ezgi.
"Awww... aren't they cute Sevim? You remember how we used to dream of their wedding when they used to play together nicely." Nevin held Sevim's hand, who simply nodded.
"Are you sure it was us? When did we even play together? It was always Ozan and Ozgur." Ezgi joked as she had no memories of them playing peacefully.
"Much before Ozan, Ozgur used to play with you. You would not even let Ozan join you guys." Nevin recalled the olden days.
"You remember that song they composed." Sevim laughed along with Nevin while Ezgi and Ozgur looked at each other in surprise.
They were clearing the table when Ezgi noticed Aziz, her father-in-law sat in a quiet corner of the garden all alone. Her dad left as he got a call from his restaurant. She made her way towards him as Ozgur and her mum helped Sevim.
"Can I join you?" Ezgi asked him as she stood next to the bench facing the small garden pond.
Aziz just moved in response, making space for her. This garden was Sevim's prized possession. She cared for every inch of it.
"I see the mesh is a new addition. Is the cat still causing trouble?" Ezgi noticed the new addition to the pond. The neighbours owned two cats, who occasionally jumped fences to eat the fish.
"I don't know why she bothers. That cat just finds a new way every time." Aziz smiled.
"She is stubborn when it comes to her garden, you know that..." Ezgi smiled as she recalled the time spent in the garden helping her.
"Not just garden, life as well...
She had to be stubborn to put up with me... I hardly gave them time when Ozgur was growing up, always busy at work. When I finally got the chance to relax with them, life is not the same anymore... I sometimes wonder whether I did the right thing" Aziz continued as Ezgi tried to make sense of his words.
"Well, there's no point in pondering over it again once the decision is taken. We'll just keep going in loops then." Ezgi noticed him lost deep in thought. Aziz was diagnosed with an abdominal aneurysm a few months ago. The bigger blow was that the odds of the surgery were not in his favour. Surgery meant he might end up with further complications needing lifelong medical attention. So, he decided to opt out and continue to live normally till he can but if only he did. Nothing was the same.
"I feel guilty to put them through this..." He shared his concern.
"Guilty, you should be... Do you remember the last time you spoke to either of them properly? Have you ever considered that it's not the decision rather your indifference might be troubling them? You chose to live your life, so do it. Spend time with her, with him, and do things you wanted to do. They just want you to be happy. She always supported you and it's time you support her as well." Ezgi expressed her frustration at the situation now that she was part of this family. She was tired of everyone walking on eggshells around him. Sevim and Ozgur supported his decision, but he seemed distant to everyone after that. Initially, they thought he needed time but as more time passed, he seemed to surround himself with more gloom.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said all that." Ezgi softened a bit after a pause and finally looked at him.
"I guess I needed to hear it." Aziz looked at Ezgi in shock, realising that the shy pigtailed girl is now a grown woman.
"I'll go check on aunty... no mom... Don't tell her I called aunty she'll strangle me." She tried to lighten the situation, earning a smile from him.
"On one condition. If you look after Sevim for me and promise to steer me every time I lose sight." He held her hand.
"I would be glad to offer you my advice, but you can't just pass the responsibility of your wife to me when you're here... I'm newly married, I've a husband to care for..." Ezgi would do anything for Sevim without thought but she also knew what Sevim needed the most. Aziz chuckled at her response.
"We're lucky that you're part of this family officially now... It's the best decision Ozgur ever took" Aziz hugged her in joy, assured that there was someone to guide Ozgur after him.
Ezgi got up to go and turned to leave when she rammed into his chest causing Ozgur to balance her in his arms.
"Thank you" He thanked her genuinely as she communicated with her eyes that it was going to be okay.
xxx
I lost the draft for this one twice now but finally completed it.. let me know I guess..