It took Eda a full week of Ayfer working for Serkan Bolat before she had time to research the man and when she did she was appalled at the man that had been appointed guardian of children. What was his father thinking? Giving custody of three young children to a playboy? She and Ayfer were going to have a long discussion tonight as to whether or not the woman had lost her mind.
Every night Kiraz came home and talked about Ebbie this and Ebbie that. If she wasn't talking about the little girl she was telling her about the boy Emir and how funny he was or Defne teaching her how to swim. Eda didn't want her daughter to get too caught up in their family and have her heart broken.
If Eda was being honest with herself, Serkan Bolat wasn't all bad. As a matter of fact he hadn't been in the news at all until two years ago. Either something changed or he was worse at hiding his behavior. She would get to the bottom of his story. Right now though, she had a custody case that was taking all of her time. A wealthy family was separating and refused to do mediation, both the husband and wife were demanding custody of the children. Eda had done interviews with both parties and if she was being honest with herself, neither of them really seemed to want the children they only wanted to hurt each other.
This was the aspect of the job that she hated most, when there was no clear side in the case and the children became the loser. The only person that seemed to want the children was the maternal grandparents, the husband's parents had no interest in the children. Eda ended up consulting with her boss, who supported her decision. She suggested that the maternal grandparents receive temporary custody and the parents undergo counseling. Neither of the parents were happy but the children and grandparents were.
She looked at her watch, it was only eleven. Maybe she should take the money pit out. Eda didn't often go out on the big boat alone but this might give her an opportunity to meet Ayfer's charges and get more information on Serkan Bolat. She dialed her aunt, "What would you say to packing everyone up for an afternoon on the water?"
Ayfer looked at the children involved in various projects and decided to ask, "Does anyone here want to go for an outing?"
They all looked at her, "An outing? Where?" asked Emir. They were all getting to like Ayfer and her laid back manner. She was strict without being mean and had them all doing chores with her. Even Kiraz was not immune from doing chores in their house and they were rather surprised that she did them without a fuss.
"Kiraz's mama has a boat and she asked if we would like to go out on it today."
Defne looked at her siblings, "A boat? We've never been on one before."
Meanwhile Kiraz was jumping around clapping excitedly, "Yes please can we go on mama's boat?"
The other children were curious and agreed to the outing. They also wanted to see Kiraz's mother, they were rather disbelieving that she was a loving as Kiraz seemed to indicate but then they had no experience with this kind of a mother. Thirty minutes later they were packed into Ayfer's car armed with snacks and headed the short drive to the marina.
Eda was standing on the dock with the boat idling waiting for Ayfer and her charges. She broke out into a smile when she saw her baby girl, Eda knelt to wrap Kiraz in a hug as she ran to her. Defne stared at the woman waiting for them. This couldn't be Kiraz's mother she was too young. As she got closer she realized that her mother wasn't as young as she thought she just looked young and she was beautiful. Defne was in awe of the woman standing before her looking like she just stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine.
Ayfer came up to Eda and hugged her before introducing her charges, she had to nudge Emir who only had eyes for the boat. Eda smiled back at all of them, "Welcome to Star Chaser, let's get you all on board and the little ones into some life jackets," Eda felt two small hands sneak into hers. Kiraz on one side and little Ebru on the other. She helped both girls onto the boat and then turned to assist Emir, Defne and Ayfer. Eda found Kiraz showing Ebru where the life jackets were, picking out hers and another small one for her friend.
Once they were buckled in Kiraz grabbed hold of Ebru's hand and towed her through to the cabin of the boat to show her around. Eda handed a life jacket to Emir and one to Defne, "You don't have to put them on now but if we hit rough water we will all put them on."
Defne still stared at her and finally blurted out, "This is your boat? It's huge."
Eda chuckled, "It is rather a floating house isn't it? Ayfer if you can let the mooring lines free we can be under way."
Emir eagerly followed Ayfer to the front and watched how she took off the dock lines. Under her watchful eye, he cast off the rear lines and Eda idled away from the dock. Her hope right now was that none of them suffered from seasickness. An hour later it was clear that none of them were stricken with that malady as they motored close to the coast. They stopped at a dock to purchase some corn, chestnuts and fried fish before heading back out to sea.
Serkan had been putting in some long hours and thought that today he could knock off work a little early and spend some time with the children. Ever since Ayfer arrived they had been less standoffish. He was never winning brother of the year in their eyes but at least he was making some progress. They no longer left the room the moment that he walked into it in the evening. Maybe they would enjoy swimming with him this afternoon.
He arrived home to an empty house. There were half-completed projects but no children and no Ayfer. He looked for a note and found nothing. Serkan was beginning to get a little worried but realized that he could just call Ayfer. When she answered it was difficult to hear her with the wind and water noise, "Ayfer? Was there a problem with one of the kids?"
"No," she laughed, "My niece offered to take us on an outing. She just finished a long case and had some free time. The children are all fine and we'll be home in about an hour."
Serkan was puzzled, "What kind of an outing? I hear waves, water and maybe a boat engine?"
"Yes, we are out on Eda's floating money pit as she calls it. She wanted to take it out once more before she put it on the market."
"You're on a boat?" he was picturing a small boat, maybe a fifteen footer, out on the Bosphorus. "What's the name of this boat? What marina?"
Ayfer knew where his thoughts were going, "Please don't worry, Eda is a very good pilot and it isn't a small boat. It's a forty-four foot cabin cruiser named the Star Chaser. She keeps it at the marina by the castle, just down the street from the house."
Serkan was writing this information down as she gave it to him, "Serkan, I would never jeopardize the children," admonished Ayfer, "We'll be home in an hour. The children have enjoyed themselves immensely." She had taken quite a few pictures during the day and sent a few to him after she hung up.
He thumbed through the pictures that Ayfer had sent him. She was right, they looked like they were having fun. He gave a small laugh at the picture of Emir piloting the boat, the woman standing behind him coaching him must be the niece. There were no pictures of her directly, he only got impressions of long wavy brunette hair and a set of very nice legs. Serkan had no idea of how old the woman was, she could be anywhere from twenty-one to forty. He would wait until they got home and see if they would give more information. He headed to his office to work to bide the time.
Eda looked at Ayfer, "I hope that I didn't get you in trouble."
"Please Eda, the children had fun, all of them. Even Ebru laughed, we all heard her, Kiraz is good for her, this outing was good for her. It was good for all of them."
Defne looked at Eda with scared eyes, "Did we get Ayfer in trouble?"
She put her arm around the teen, "No, Ayfer isn't in trouble. I think that your brother was just concerned when you weren't home."
The girl snorted, "Like he's ever there."
Concerned, Eda asked her what she meant, "What do you mean he's never there? Does he leave after Ayfer does? Is he leaving you at home to babysit Emir and Ebru?"
"No, I didn't mean that. I just meant that sometimes he gets home from work late and then works at home too. He's there but he isn't. Do you know what I mean?"
Eda looked at Ayfer hoping that she would mention it to Serkan, she turned to Defne, "Do you want your brother to spend more time with you?" asked Ayfer.
Defne shrugged, "I suppose. He isn't that bad but I still don't think that he knows what to do with us or that he wants us."
Ayfer gave Defne a one-armed hug, "He's learning, give him time. I think you should take it as a positive sign that he came home early to spend time with you."
She supposed that Ayfer was right. Defne had spent quite a bit of time talking to Eda finding out what she did as a lawyer. She had never heard of a lawyer that worked for the children like Eda did. Her questions moved from her job to fashion and makeup. Eda was happy to oblige the teen, she remembered what it was like at that age, worrying about fitting in and not knowing quite how to do it. Ayfer had mentioned to her about the pitifully small wardrobe that the children had, it seemed like this was something that still needed to be addressed by the man.
When Eda pulled up to her slip at the marina Emir was ready to help Ayfer with the docking lines, she let him do the back one with supervision and then he watched as she did the front. The little girls had gotten very quiet during the push home, Eda went to go find them and saw them both sound asleep curled together in the smaller bedroom that Kiraz had claimed as her own.
Eda knelt down in front of the bed and gently shook them both, "Kiraz? Ebbie? We're back. Are you ready to get up?" neither of them stirred. Eda went above deck to get Ayfer, "The girls are sound asleep. The engine noise and fresh air always gets to Kiraz and I guess the it's gotten Ebbie too. If you want to get Ebbie, I'll bring Kiraz home with me."
Defne helped Ayfer with Ebru while Emir followed Eda around, giving her a hand where he could. Once on the dock with Ebru in her arms, Ayfer called for Emir, he turned to Eda, "Thank you for a fun outing. I hope that we can do it again," he gave her a fast, impetuous hug before running off to follow Ayfer.
She watched Ayfer lead her charges down the dock and finished buttoning up the boat before going below to get Kiraz, she stroked her hair away from her face, "Hey sweetheart, are you ready to get up?"
Kiraz slowly blinked her eye and focused on Eda, "Mama, I had the best nap here in the cabinet."
"Cabin honey, just cabin. Are you ready to go home?"
She looked around, "But where's Ebbie?"
"The others went back to their house with Ayfer, you'll see her on Monday. How about you and I head home and get cleaned up then we can make popcorn and watch a movie until Auntie gets home?" Kiraz loved the idea. Eda sometimes felt like she didn't spend enough time with her daughter so this would allow them one on one time together. As much as she advocated for other children Eda needed to be the advocate for her own. Hand in hand they headed to the car for some mother, daughter time.
Ayfer pulled into the Serkan's driveway, he came out to the car to meet them. Two windblown and sun-kissed children hopped out of the car, "Did you have a good time?"
Emir was still excited, "It was so cool! I got to steer the boat and I learned how to tie it up to the dock. It was the best!"
Defne smiled fondly at her brother, she was thankful that the ride to the house only took a few minutes so that she didn't have to hear him describe piloting the boat for the tenth time, "We had fun. Don't worry, we were safe the entire time and had our life vests."
Serkan smiled at her as he went to the car to help Ayfer with Ebru, "I never doubted it Defne . . . . I can get her Ayfer. If you wanted to head home early for the weekend I can take it from here. We'll just order a pizza tonight and do something easy."
Ayfer stayed his arm, "There are a few things that I'd like to talk to you about regarding the kids Serkan," he got a concerned look on his face, "Nothing terrible just small things. Clothes, they all need new clothes. They only have a few changes each in those small suitcases. What they have is either worn or too small."
"Clothes? I think that my mother can help with clothes. The woman loves to shop."
She followed him in the house and said a little softer, "The children still don't think that you want them here and are afraid that you are sending them away. I told them that you were getting used to being a brother and to give you time. They seem to want your time and mentioned that you work quite a bit."
He colored a little, not in anger but in embarrassment, "Seyfi told you a bit about my life?" she nodded, "Then you know that I'm trying to get myself back together after having a breakdown of sorts."
Ayfer snorted, then apologized, "That was rude of me Serkan, but your previous lifestyle wasn't a classic breakdown though you were rather out of control," she softened her tone, "Grief can manifest itself in many ways, yours just took a more colorful direction."
"Yes, well that spilled over into work and I've been trying to prove myself to my partners again. I did a lot of damage on all fronts."
"The important part is that you recognize it and are trying to work on it. . . . . .I'll get out of your hair now. . . . . Oh, one more thing. You'll need to decide soon about school. I would recommend private school for them so that they can all be together at the same place. Kiraz will be going to the Beykoz Academy if you were interested."
"Thank you, I'll look into it," he headed upstairs with Ebru.
Defne was waiting upstairs to help with Ebru, "If you put her on the bed I'll see that she gets changed. Don't worry about it."
"No, I have her. Could you get out her pajamas? I can change her," he gently laid Ebru down and turned back to Defne, "What you can do is go order pizza and salad for us for dinner. I thought that we would do something simple tonight together. Ayfer went home to be with her family."
Her face fell a little, "Oh, Ayfer went home? Sure, I can order pizza. What about paying for it?"
"My wallet is on the counter. Use my credit card," Defne got out Ebru's pajamas and watched over her shoulder as Serkan got her sister ready for bed. She went downstairs and ordered pizza and salad as he requested and gave the card number. She had his wallet in hand and was tempted to go through it but realized that he had trusted her to pay for the pizza and she should respect his privacy.
Serkan dressed a limp Ebru and tucked her into bed. He sat next to her for a moment and waited for the feeling of brotherly love to kick in. Still nothing other than concern. Maybe that was the only emotion that he was going to be able to feel with them. Maybe losing Alp had killed his ability to love someone. He brushed the hair from her forehead and went to go get a cloth to wash off her hands and face. The little girl slept on as he cleaned her up and tucked her in, never realizing that these tender acts of care were displays of love.
Ebru knew that her brother Serkan loved her, she could tell. He took care of her tonight and everything just like Miss Eda had done for her and Kiraz. Ebru had found more adults to love. She loved Defne, Emir, Ayfer and now she loved her brother Serkan and Miss Eda. Kiraz was so lucky to have a mama like that. Her mama never threaded her fingers through her hair when they ate lunch like Miss Eda had. Kiraz's mama was wonderful, she was beautiful, kind and Ebru knew that she loved her. She wondered what she had to do to get Miss Eda for a new mama as she fell asleep.
Emir and Defne were starving by the time the pizza arrived and had to hold themselves back from gorging themselves. Defne was more refined than Emir but then Emir had a plan. He had talked today with Eda, she had told him to call her Eda, Miss Eda sounded like an old woman she had laughed. They had talked about navigation by the stars and she admitted to being interested in astronomy but not knowledgeable enough to navigate by the stars.
Then he asked her advice, "Serkan has a telescope, a really nice one. How do you think I could get him to let me use it?"
"Hmm," thought Eda, "Have you told him of your interest in astronomy?"
When he admitted that he had not she suggested that he bring it up as a topic of conversation. The three of them sat silently eating when Emir found the courage to ask, "Do you know that I was talking to Eda today on the boat about navigation by stars? She said she liked astronomy but she didn't know it well enough to navigate by it."
Serkan looked at him, unsure of whether the boy was talking to him or to Defne. When he glanced at Defne she was rolling her eyes so Serkan assumed that the boy was talking to him, "Are you interested in Astronomy?" again Defne rolled her eyes and then put her head down. This was apparently not a topic that she had interest in.
Emir's eyes lit up, "I love the subject. I've been reading all the books that I can about it. I've been reading the 'Stargazer's Atlas', it's an American book that was translated into Turkish. I'd like to go to the library and get some more books if I could."
Why not thought Serkan, "There's no need for the library. I have many books on the subject in my library that you are welcome to read. I have a degree in Astronomy along with my degree in Architecture."
That brought Defne's head up, "You have more than one degree?"
"Yes, I technically have four. I have both undergraduate and master's level degrees in architecture and astronomy. Are you surprised?" he asked wryly.
Emir kicked Defne under the table and willed her to shut up, "No, we aren't surprised. Architecture is a difficult area. . . . . . . What I was wondering. . . . . . er . . . . .Do you think that you could show me some things in your telescope?" he let out finally.
Serkan looked at Emir, "After dinner, once we've cleared everything up, yes, we can look in the telescope. We need to make sure that it's fully dark outside. . . . . . Defne are you . . . . "
She flung up her hand, "Not interested. Thank you very much," Defne would see what kind of mood Serkan remained in this weekend before asking him about shopping.
Serkan was thoughtfully watching her remembering what Ayfer said about their wardrobes, "I was wondering if you would like to go shopping Defne. My mother has offered to take you and though she is my mother even I have to admit that she has excellent taste."
Defne stared at him and slowly moved her hand to her mouth to make sure that it was closed before blurting out, "Shopping? For clothes and makeup and stuff like that?"
"Yes, for stuff exactly like that. You both should probably have laptops for school and phones as well. I can have you added to my plan."
"Are you serious?" they asked in tandem.
"Yes, very serious. You will need those things when you start school. . . . . I suppose that is something else that needs to be figured out. Where would you like to attend? Public or private?"
Emir gaped at him, "We have a choice?"
"Yes, you have a choice. Think about it and let me know," he moved to clean up the plates and Emir hurried to help. He was desperate to use the telescope and the faster they did the dishes the faster they could go look at the stars.
Defne was watching Serkan and wondering what his game was, why was he being so nice? She couldn't help herself, "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? We barely see you and then you come here and pretend like you care what we do. I don't get it."
Serkan turned to her with his hands on his hips, "Hell if I know what I'm doing Defne. But pretending that the three of you don't exist wasn't working so it makes sense to give an effort. So I'm going to give this my best effort. I'll probably screw up. I've done a lot of that over the past couple of years but I'm trying. Personally and professionally okay?"
She gave a sharp nod of her head, "If you can make an effort we can make one too. And as far as shopping? Yes please but I'm not the only one that needs clothes, Emir and Ebru do too."
Emir was comically shaking his head no. Like most boys of his age he hated shopping, "Don't worry Emir. I won't send you shopping with them. Defne can take your sizes along and shop for you and Ebru. Right Defne?"
"Right, I can manage it. . . . . . .Ummm, what will we do about money?" she asked, embarrassed.
"As I told you before and as my mother explained to you, money is not an issue. You are my charges therefore I will pay for your clothes and everything else. . . . . . Any other questions?"
"Do we have a budget and can we pick the type of computer and phone?" Defne thought that it was worth asking.
"As for budget? Just don't let my mother go wild. Try to be the adult when shopping, and I thought to get you the same phone that I have. We can research the laptops," for the first time Serkan earned a true smile from Defne.
"Oh, and school? Would it be okay to go to the Beykoz Academy? I know that they have all the grades there and this way we could be together. Also Kiraz is going there and it would be nice for Ebbie to have someone she knew in her class."
"Anything else?" Serkan asked.
"That should do it for now," she turned to go to her room and then spun back to Serkan, she said quickly, "Thank you," and darted up to her room.
Emir was waiting patiently for Serkan to pay attention to him, "Is it dark enough now?"
Serkan walked over to the window, "Not quite. Let's go look at the books in the library. We can pick out a few that you might enjoy while we're waiting for the night to cooperate."
He was surprised at how much Emir had learned studying on his own as they looked through his telescope that evening. The boy asked thoughtful questions and listened to his answers. All in all it had been a very enjoyable experience. He thought that he had made some gains tonight. Maybe he could handle this guardian role after all.