"Ah! Finally! Girls, but how long did you take?" exclaimed Sanem.
"Ha ha! What's going on here?" asked Leyla immediately upon seeing them embracing.
Nothing, just a hug between friends, why? Are you jealous?" her sister told her.
"No, why should I be?" replied Leyla with a shrug.
"There, exactly." Sanem replied.
"Sorry, we had to wait for the Ice queen," said Ayhan.
"Ayhan..." she resumed her.
Ayhan in response stuck her tongue out at her.
"Um, yes sis, good morning. I had to finish an important job. I told them to join you but they preferred to wait for me, so here we are now. Sorry." said Leyla.
"Don't worry, sister. And good morning to you too." Sanem greeted her.
"So what are we up to?" asked Deniz.
"Let's have lunch!" replied Sanem.
"And let's gossip between girls!" said Ayhan winking at the others.
"Come on then, let's order!" exclaimed Sanem taking the menus of the various restaurants affiliated with the agency.
None of the girls asked how Deren was doing. Sanem had warned them with a message before their arrival. Better to avoid the subject.
"Come, have a seat." Sanem invited them.
As all the girls talked amongst themselves about what to order, Deren looked at them and smiled.
"Deren what are you having?" Leyla asked her.
"Huh?" she replied coming back to herself.
"Um, girls?" she began.
"Deren are you alright? You look pale." said Deniz to her.
"No, no, I'm fine. Here, I wanted to ask you something. Now I'm going to say something very corny... something you might never expect from me, but..." she said taking courage.
"Oh God... I'm scared." said Ayhan.
"Ayhan..." resumed Sanem.
"Well, girls? I love you so much. There, I said it." she said all in one breath.
"Ha ha, Deren expressing her feelings... I'm shocked. Are you feeling well?" teased Leyla.
"I'm fine." said Deren swallowing. "Here, I wanted to ask you... would you like to come with me after lunch to the last dress rehearsal? I would love to get your opinion."
"Ah!!! YESSSS!" exclaimed Ayhan clapping, a lover of wedding dresses.
"Of course!!!" they all replied in chorus.
"But first... let's eat!" said Sanem.
"So Deren what are you having? We have already chosen." Deniz told her.
"For me I will order a salmon and avocado salad from my favourite restaurant." she replied.
"And that's it?" asked Ayhan, still with a good appetite.
"Ah! Don't look at me like that! I already said that! I have to get into that dress!" she replied with her hands clenched into fists and flames sparkling in her eyes.
"Pss..." whispered Ayhan to Deniz.
"The dragon popped up again... did you see that?" she told her.
"Mh..." she replied feeling observed by Deren.
"Um... Deren?" tried to distract her Leyla.
"Yes? Leyla dear?" she replied.
"Um...why don't you give us a few more details about the wedding ceremony?" she asked her.
"Yeah, you kept it all so secret...you don't do that among friends, huh!" replied Sanem pretending to be offended.
"Ah! No!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to reveal anything. I want a surprise effect. It's my dream wedding and I want my best man to live it with me." she said, pointing at Sanem. "And That's also for my bridesmaids." she concluded, pointing at the others.
"What? Us? We will be your bridesmaids?" asked Leyla stunned.
"But the wedding is tomorrow!" exclaimed Deniz.
Sanem watched the scene from the sidelines, leaning against the back of her desk chair, since she had ceded the sofa to the others. She was already aware of it. Deren had not leaked anything about the party and everything, but as a witness, she knew she would ask the others to be bridesmaids. When she told him, in one of the first conversations after the famous proposal at the estate, it was just ideas floating around in the head of a woman who was super-excited about the proposal, which of the many ideas had taken hold and come to fruition remained to be seen. She crossed her arms and watched their reaction, she knew the reason for that sudden request.
"Deren, has the caffeine gone to your head?" exclaimed Leyla agitated by what such a request implied.
"How can you ask such a thing the day before the wedding? That's crazy!" she said panicking. Leyla liked to present herself at her best.
Ayhan alternated between glancing first at Deren and then at her Sanemsi. Seeing the smirk on her best friend's face, she instinctively grabbed the armrest of Sanem's chair and snapped it close to her.
"Ah! What manners are Ayhan!" exclaimed Sanem as she felt tugged.
As the others argued, they paid no attention to Sanem's shout. They were used to much worse in the last period.
"Sanemsi?" she called her with a sly grin on her face.
"Ayhan, why are you looking at me like that? You scare me." said Sanem looking at her crookedly.
"You knew that, didn't you?" she asked her.
"What?" replied Sanem.
"That she would ask us to be her bridesmaids at the last minute. You know the reason, admit it." she told her.
"Me?" exclaimed Sanem acting indifferent.
"Sanemsi, I know you too well. I'm not buying it." she told her, clutching that armrest as she tried to pull away.
"Deren?" called Sanem.
"Yes?" she immediately replied.
"Can you please explain to all of us why you chose this?" she asked her.
"That's what I was trying to do, if they would give me a chance. They panicked about the dress to wear." she said.
"I'll take care of it." Sanem said as she stood up.
She clapped several times, to get their attention.
"Hey! Girls? Listen Deren." she said.
"Thank you." she replied.
"Witness duty." replied Sanem nonchalantly crossing her arms in a thick bouncer voice.
Ayhan burst out laughing upon seeing her.
"Deren what are we going to do about the dress?" asked Leyla worriedly wanting to always look her best. This would mess up all her plans for the ready-made outfit.
"I didn't tell you in advance because I knew there would be a disagreement about the dress." admitted Deren.
"What do you mean?" the others asked confused.
"You wouldn't think of wearing a dress of your own choosing, would you?" said Deren looking them straight in the eyes one by one.
"Oh... now I get it." Ayhan replied.
"No... no, no, no... don't say that, please..." said Leyla fearing the worst.
"My wedding, my choice of bridesmaids' dresses!" exclaimed Deren.
Sanem tried to hide her smile. Being the bride's best man had saved her from that torture.
Her sister saw her smirk and glared at her.
"Sister? You knew, didn't you?" she told her. "Admit it! You stand there with that satisfied smirk on your face, enjoying the show. Brava!" she told her appalingly.
"And what dress are you getting instead?" asked Deniz of her.
"Ah, Sanem and I chose the best man's dress together." Deren replied.
"Yeah, and fortunately we are both satisfied with the choice." Sanem replied.
"Deren, I refuse. If I don't like the dress I won't be a bridesmaid. Excuse me." said Deniz.
"Deniz..." resumed Sanem.
"Do you want to be the one to ruin the wedding of the famous Mrs Deren, the creative director of Fikri Harika?" teased Sanem.
"Are you sure about that Deniz?" said Deren, taking another sip of coffee from her stash with a flickering eye.
"Alright... alright... but can we at least see it?" asked Deniz.
"And try it maybe?" asked Leyla.
"Don't worry after lunch we will accompany Deren to the last dress fitting and you will try yours on." said Sanem.
"That way I will see the overall effect. Ah, I can't wait. What I imagine before my eyes will finally come to life after all this time."
"Hopefully it will be worth it." said Ayhan.
The secretary at the entrance, alerted Sanem to the arrival of the messenger with their orders. After a while, he entered, left their lunches and they finally got down to chatting.
"Ah, mh, that smells good. A nice sausage and cheese toast. It was just what was needed." said Sanem sniffing the wrapper.
"Puah..." replied Deren with a disgusted face.
"Puah what?" You don't know what you're missing!" said Ayhan taking a bite of the sandwich equal to Sanem's.
"Like the old days." Ayhan replied, cheering Sanem's sandwich.
"Mh... too good." said Sanem with his mouth full.
Deren opened her box.
Ayhan started laughing as soon as he saw her.
"Ah, and is that supposed to satiate you?" she asked her sarcastically.
"I don't have to binge like you. I just have to feed myself just enough so that I can fit into my dress." she replied, taking a first bite of that salad.
"Besides, it's delicious, you should try it. You don't know what you're missing." she told her with satisfaction.
"True... and it's healthy." replied Leyla noticing that they had both opted for a salad. Leyla, however, unlike Deren, had taken a red salad with chunks of feta and cherry tomatoes.
"There they are, the living salads." Ayhan said, pointing at them. "The iceberg and radicchio!" she exclaimed laughing, pointing first at Leyla and then at Deren.
Sanem disguised a laugh with a bite.
Deniz had also opted for a sandwich, but with fish. She together with Ayhan and Sanem were just three chicks from the neighbourhood. They had created two factions: the gourmand salads and the neighbourhood sandwiches. They could not be more different from each other.
Leyla and Deren joined in. "Ah, and you then, the carbo club!" she retorted.
"Watch the clothes! I really want to see later!" said Leyla.
"Sure, sister, like after lunch they only bloat those who eat carbs and those who eat vegetables don't..." replied Sanem.
"Forget her Sanemsi, she's the usual Ice Queen envious of our group." said Ayhan hugging Sanem.
"Look!" In your sister's face!" she said biting into the sandwich.
"I don't give a damn about a kilo more or less." Sanem answered her.
Leyla, not knowing what to say, stuck her tongue out at her.
Deren remained silent, lost in thought. With one hand she forked her salad blankly. Her gaze was vacant. Suddenly her hunger passed and she put down her fork.
"Deren you don't eat any more?" asked Deniz.
"I can't swallow anything else at the moment. I'm nervous about the dress rehearsal." she said.
"I wouldn't have even heard that salad go by because of how light it is." Ayhan replied.
"Whatever! But you have a stomach that digests even stones!" replied Sanem to her. "In this you resemble Can."
"Ah, my brother-in-law is unbeatable." Ayhan replied without hesitation.
"He is, indeed..." admitted Sanem.
"But Sanem has a point actually. I mean, despite your slimming Ayhan, while eating what you eat you have a physique to be envied." observed Deren.
"Ah, Mrs Deren, you flatter me. It's all about metabolism. Once I turned around, my body started to burn what I ingest." he said, winking at her.
"Ah, if only I had that metabolism too..." said Deren with a sigh.
"There, it will also be a bit of genetics." said Deniz. "I mean, look at her brother Osman..."
"How can you blame her." said Sanem.
"Osman is an Adonis." said Deren. "And you too my dear Ayhan, since your return, you are no joke!"
"Wow, a compliment from Mrs Deren? It's going to rain tomorrow." replied Ayhan.
"Ah! Don't say that even in jest, you know!" exclaimed Deren.
"What's the forecast saying? Is it going to be bad weather tomorrow?" asked Deniz.
"Not that I know of. "Deren replied with wide eyes.
"Pssss... you don't even need to ask that question. I mean, we're talking about Deren. If the weather suddenly changes, she will surely have thought of a plan B, throughout this long year of preparations. Of that I am sure. Isn't that right, Deren?" asked Sanem turning towards her.
She saw her eyes widen.
"Um... no." she admitted with wide eyes.
"No?!" they all exclaimed in chorus.
"What do you mean no, Deren? You're joking, right? You're messing with us!" exclaimed Sanem standing up.
"I didn't think of a plan B, girls!" she shouted.
Ayhan plugged her ears.
"My husband is right. She is not human!" exclaimed Ayhan to Sanem in a low voice.
"Mine says so too." she replied in a whisper.
"How is that possible?" asked Leyla. "How could you not think of such a possibility?"
"Well... I... I... I don't know. I was so focused on achieving my dream wedding. I mean, the wedding I always dreamed of as a child that... I didn't think about such a possibility. And I don't want to think about it now either!"
"Deren how could you not think about it!" cried Sanem.
"I can't believe it, a precise and organised creative director like you...that you don't think something could disrupt plans, given our past, is unthinkable. You surprise me! Hasn't the past taught you anything at all?"
"I haven't thought about it, all right? I haven't thought about it!" shouted Deren exhaustedly back.
"I took care of everything myself from the wedding planning, the menu, the dresses, the decorations, to every last detail, do you allow me to make mistakes too?" she blurted out shouting.
"But you left out an important detail!" Sanem pointed out to her.
"For me, something else was more important!" she exclaimed testily.
"Did you really do it all by yourself Deren?" asked Leyla.
"Now I understand why she is in this state." said Ayhan.
"I beg your pardon?" asked Deren.
"That explains why you are in this state Deren." replied Deniz.
"What do you mean? What state?" she asked defensively.
"Irascible, irritable, nervous, anxious, stressed... shall I go on?" she told her.
"No, no, that's enough. I understand." She replied, letting herself down on the couch.
"Anyway yes, to answer your question. The answer is yes, I did it all by myself."
"And why didn't you tell us, maybe we could have helped you... I don't know... lighten your load."
"No, I wanted to do it myself. Only I know exactly the result I want to achieve in my head.
"But you couldn't get a wedding planner?" asked Leyla.
"Are you kidding?" she replied. "He couldn't figure out what I wanted, so what choice did I have but to rely on myself? So I told myself: only you know what you want. Only you can do it."
"Um, what about Bulut? Does Bulut know?"
"Of course he knows. He's seen me fight with every wedding planner we've ever heard." she replied.
"That's... perfect." said Leyla.
"But he knows what your idea is, I guess? He must have given you a hand at least..." said Sanem.
"Who? Bulut? The savage? Do you think Bulut the forester could tolerate the pressure of the wedding preparations?" mused Deren.
"After my first demands, he threw in the towel. But I admit that now, thinking back, I was hard on him. I didn't like any of his choices, so at that point he gave me carte blanche, just to get this out of his way." she said.
''And how can you blame him...'' Sanem said softly.
"How?"
"Huh? Nothing. I mean, I feel sorry for you that you had to do it all by yourself." replied Sanem.
"Deren, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be pushy, but I was wondering... your family? Your famous best friends you were constantly mentioning a while back? Didn't they know either?" asked Sanem of her.
Deren turned dark in the face. She lowered her head. With her hand she touched her engagement ring over and over again.
Sanem realised.
"Those who were once my best friends are now my former friends." she said.
"And... I haven't had a relationship with my family for years now." Deren admitted.
"That's why Cey Cey will be the one to walk me down the aisle." she concluded.
"Deren, but how? Your family will not attend the wedding? Don't they know you are getting married?" asked Leyla surprised.
"I am an only child, and they disowned me the day I decided to stay in Istanbul after finishing my studies with honours at Oxford University." she pointed out.
"What are you saying, Deren?!" exclaimed Leyla.
"Really?!" exclaimed Deniz.
"Repudiated even?!" Ayhan exclaimed.
"I no longer exist for them." Deren replied.
The girls were shocked. Deren had never opened up about her past. She was very private, but no one could imagine that she had experienced this.
"Therefore, no one from my family will be there. Also because the only person I would have wanted by my side on this day is my grandmother. But unfortunately she passed away several years ago... so..." said Deren wiping away a tear.
"If I am not too prying, may I ask why?" asked Sanem shyly.
"Why what?" she asked.
"Why do you say they disowned you? What would be the reason?" pointed out Sanem.
"Well, my father is a rich Turkish lawyer living in London and my mother is her business partner. She was actually an actress before she got married, you know? They made a name for themselves there. They have a studio and they know most of London's high society. Big shots." summed up Deren.
And getting into Oxford was a piece of cake, having that surname. I didn't want to. I hated and still hate recommended people. And I had to prove with hard work and absolute dedication that I was much more than a surname. Seeing my academic achievements, my parents had already literally planned my life, where I would work thanks to their connections, where I would live and so on... Sure, some may consider it luck, but I considered it a sentence. I wanted to start from scratch, to earn a living through sweat and toil, knowing that what I was getting was on my own strength and not on my family name." Deren said. Deren recounted.
They were all silent, listening.
"I held out until graduation. A nice 110 cum laude and already a great internship at one of London's leading advertising agencies was waiting for me." she said almost smiling.
"But I was tired of it all and decided to take a holiday. My paternal grandmother lived here and since I was a child I always spent my summers with her. Grandmother Pembe was a sweet woman. And the only one able to give me attention. But above all, the only one able to listen to me and understand me. She was humble and kind to everyone. Quite the opposite of my father, who was completely transformed by his self-made success. That summer my grandmother noticed my sadness. And I explained my worries to her." Deren said.
"She saw a sparkle in my eyes. A twinkle of someone who knows what she is saying and what she wants from life, of a decision now made.
I told her that I was fed up with being in London and carrying the burden of that name. And in a moment of anger, I also told her that rather than return there on my parents' terms, I would rather change my surname and stay in Istanbul." she continued.
"My grandmother told me to think it over and that is what I did for the whole time I stayed with her. In the end, I decided to talk to my father, who had not been in touch throughout the holidays, as was his custom. And when I told him that I wanted to stay in Istanbul with my grandmother for at least a year, he was out of sight. He shouted at me, saying that I was ruining all the work he had done and was continuing to do in my name and ... without my knowledge. He told me that he had already made appointments for me for job interviews, that he had already paid a year's rent for a house in central London, and that my tantrums were jeopardising his image and his words spent for me." Deren recalled painfully.
"There I exploded." she said angrily at the mere recollection.
"I was exhausted, because I counted for practically nothing. My opinion was non-existent. He had decided my entire future without me. He was even thinking about who to marry me off to in order to increase his social position even more. Think, if possible, he would even marry me off to one of the royal princes." she said angrily.
"He ordered me to return home immediately, without even listening to my plans." continued.
"Of course I refused. And in tears, at the height of anger, I said that rather than return, I would rather change my name and go hungry." said Deren forcefully, marking those words.
"My grandmother tried to reason with my mother, but the moment she heard on the speakerphone the nasty way he was taking it out on her sweet and defenceless mother, I was gone. I spat it out, telling him everything I thought of him. At that point, after a long silence he replied: I no longer have a daughter." remembered Deren.
"Then I, with eyes blazing with anger answered him: And I no longer have a father. And I can say with certainty that I never had a real father. In the true sense of the word." Deren recounted. She paused to catch her breath. She could tell that as she recounted, she was reliving every word he said. She lowered her head and wiped away a silent tear that ran down her cheek.
The girls remained silent, resting their hands on Deren's legs to give her strength.
She took a deep breath and then raising her head continued her tale.
"My mother said nothing. Not a word, a gesture... nothing. My mother was practically an automaton. She lived as if she was now on autopilot. She just sat there next to my father and hardly spoke. She no longer had an opinion of her own. Because he had taken that away from her too. He had stifled all her freedom of thought. And I rather than find myself like that, I preferred to run away. I wanted to be free. And I knew I deserved to be. And so I did." Deren said through tears, taking a confident, strutting stance.
"I lived with my grandmother, who allowed me such freedom that it was oxygen for me. It was as if every day was a holiday. I had never experienced such a feeling, and for me it was rejuvenating. Therefore, full of energy, I started looking for work. I had done some research and found out the name of one of Turkey's most important and long-established advertising agencies. Fikri Harika," she continued.
"I was going to work there, I told myself. It was my goal and I would prove to my father that even without him I could create a name of my own. A name made of work and sweat. A name that in time would become famous enough to reach his ears and make him tremble with fear." Deren said with determination and strength.
"My father, meanwhile, cut off all my funds. He blocked my credit cards I had used for university and every asset I was entitled to as a family member. But I did not care, on the contrary. I fought back." she said proudly.
"The first step in completely distancing myself from him was to change my surname. With her approval, I decided to use my grandmother's maiden name. Therefore I became Deren Keskin." she said.
"What?! Keskin is not your real surname then?" asked Sanem shocked.
"No." she replied simply.
"What do you mean? And what would it be?" Ayhan then asked curiously.
"It doesn't matter what it was." she replied trying to get back to the point.
"Then followed a radical makeover. I was a new person after all, wasn't I? I had a new surname and basically I could be whoever I wanted." she said.
"Despite my inexperience I had to prove myself reliable and up to the mark, but above all professional. So my grandmother took me to her trusted hairdresser. Dear Grandma Pembe was from humble origins, but she had married a wealthy man. My grandfather I never knew, unfortunately. The hairdresser she took me to, was one of the most expensive in the neighbourhood where she lived." she recalled with a sweet smile.
"I cut my long brown hair and opted for a bob with a mop. I also changed the colour. Flipping through one of the fashion magazines in the salon, a photo of Scarlett Joanson as one of her latest characters jumped out at me, so pointing at that one, I decided to dare. And for the first time I decided to go red." she said.
"After a few hours, Deren Keskin was born." she said proudly.
"After the transformation was complete, over the next few days, I lurked outside Fikri Harika trying to figure out who all those people I saw coming in and out were. After some minor research I found out who Emre was, who Can was, and most importantly who was the absolute boss, Mr Aziz." she said.
"I studied his routine and realised that he always came off at 6pm on the dot, every day. So one afternoon, I waited at a nearby café, and as soon as I saw him leave I joined him, and with a look and confident words I told him what a wise choice it would be for him to hire me in his company." she recalled laughing.
"I stunned him so much with my boundless self-confidence that he finally relented and I still remember his words. He told me: "If that is the case, Fikri Harika cannot afford to lose such an element. I will expect you tomorrow morning, you will start at 9 o'clock." he recalled happily.
"You won't regret it." I replied with a handshake.
"I think so too." replied Mr Aziz.
Deren let out a sigh. The others were all dumbfounded, fully immersed in the story.
"And so my adventure here began and along with it, so did my career." concluded Deren.
"Wow! What a story! From a movie..." commented Ayhan who was only missing the popcorn.
"Novel-like, I dare say..." replied Leyla.
"Too bad it's real life." replied Deren.
"So I only have you. As I said before, I love you all so much. You are my family and my best friends." she repeated confidently.
"Oh... now I cry." said Sanem immediately getting up to hug Deren.
"You're crazy huh? But we love you too!" replied the others. They joined Sanem in a group hug.
"And... you haven't heard or seen him again? Your father, I mean..." asked Deniz curiously, breaking the spell.
"No. Not intentionally at least." replied Deren decisively.
"So you casually saw him again?" she asked then.
"If you can call it that. At my grandmother's funeral." she replied.
"I was close to her till the end. And she left me her house. It's still intact, I haven't touched it since." Deren said.
"Only on that occasion i see him again. But we did not speak to each other." she specified.
"Didn't it have some effect on you to see him again?" asked Ayhan of her.
"It gave me the effect you can have in seeing a stranger again. Because that is what he is. What I felt was absolute indifference." Deren replied.
The girls were all in tears at that point.
"It will be the wedding you always dreamed of, don't worry!" said Ayhan.
"You are indeed a strong woman, Deren Keskin." Sanem told her, resting her hand on hers. "A phoenix." she added.
Deren replied with a gentle smile, lowering her head.
"Thank you." she replied simply.
___________________________________
Hello readers :)
Thank you for reading the 8th chapter.
If you like, please let me know your thoughts with a comment.
See you soon with the next one!