She Doesn't Deserve Him

A month had passed since we had met. I was busy pretending to study for my upcoming exams. Everyone in my class was stressed about the cause as there were barely any days left. I reacted to the stress of my exams differently than the rest. The stress was reduced for me by sleeping all day. My brother had gone for military practice. That was an opportunity for me to take over his room as so his bedroom became my pretend study room. I would go to Mirac's bedroom with my books and lock its door and then sleep. Everyone in my house was surprised to see me so focused. I had told them not to disturb me as I needed to focus. Little did they know of my real intentions. They did grow a little suspicious as they would knock at my door for asking something and would not get a reply several times. To that suspicion, I had responded to them by saying, "Focus is important. I didn't answer as I need to focus or else I will fail."

During my exams, it started raining heavily. The exams were postponed because of the flooded roads. It was a small practice in our house that we would drink hot chocolate every time it would rain. I was enjoying my milk until I heard a knock at the door. When Deniz opened the door, I was able to discern some distant chattering between my father and a man who had come. Once the man headed for my fathers shop to get more information on the situation. My father sat on the living room sofa. His head had fallen into his hands. When we saw him, he looked perturbed. He dreadfully said, "My shop is in ruins. Water has flooded in and now the generators, that we had to sell, have stopped working. What will I do now? Where will I get the money from?"

His face had turned pale. We all looked at each other in agony and slowly walked away (honestly, the best thing to do when he was mad was to leave him alone as he needed some time to calm down)

The next few days were troublesome for everyone. We had issues when it came to filling out our bills. My father had faced so much adversity due to the increased loss. That was when he jumped back into my life and that was quite how it all started.

Okan contacted my father and told him that he would love to help in filling the loss. He told my father not to take it as a favor. He said that it was his duty to help someone in need. I was grateful for that action at the time because where we lived, it was not a norm to help someone else for free. After all, before helping out others wear their oxygen masks while crashing, one is advised to wear their own. Okan had helped my father cover his loss then offered my father a stable and more reliable job in his company.

After dinner, my siblings and I were taking the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. After dumping those dishes in the kitchen sink, our parents told us to go upstairs and sleep. My siblings obeyed their instructions and left. I sat on the couch in our living room to eavesdrop on my parent's conversation.

They were discussing Uncle Okan. I heard my father say, "He is such a great man. He is offering me a job, and I have decided to host a lavish party at this house in his honor. You should make multiple dishes and pull out the best dishware."

My mom replied saying, "You mustn't invite businessmen to our house when you have such young daughters."

Father said, "You are right and I agree with you, but Okan is different. If I get the job that he is offering me, then it might solve most of our financial problems. "The conversation ended with my mother hoping for the best to happen then heading towards the kitchen to do some work.

We were all told to dress up nicely. Our home was polished and cleaned. there were numerous dishes made because of him.  

We heard his jeep arrive and soon we heard the bell he rang. My mom cried from the kitchen, "Belle! Deniz has gone to the market and Moriah's in the washroom. You need to bring him in and get him seated." Father was attending a phone call at the time which was why I had no excuses for not opening the door.

I wasn't ready to confront him yet though I had no choice. I opened the door and there he was. He wore a brown leather jacket and matching shoes. His haircut and mustache looked great. The acne had reduced so much that it was barely visible. He took off his glasses and 'Scanned me' (that was what he did every time he saw me) and said, "Hello Belle! May I enter?"

I lowered my eyes and gestured him in. He came in (his eyes were slyly fixed on me) and said, "Lovely place." pointing to the chandelier that we had in our living room (we barely used it as using it resulted in a huge bill)

As my father walked out of the guest room he said, "Oh hello! So glad you could make it, it's a huge pleasure."

Okan replied saying, "The pleasure is mine."

All dinner, the two men talked about some topics that I had no interest in. Though he kept getting calls from people who would tell him something to which he would reply saying, "Oh, well give him fifty-seven thousand." 

Hearing that huge sum of money would make my jaw drop. 

He would decline a few calls he'd recieve saying, "My sincere apologies. it is not appropriate to attend phone calls during dinners." (I was surprised by the fact that he had a phone. At that time, it was rare for people to have cell phones. It was considered a treat for the filthy rich. Even my father would use a landline.)

Uncle Okan was considerate, pleasant, and kind. He helped us pile up the dirty plates. He poured us all water; talked to us so kindly and praised the food every time he would refill his plate.

He still stared at me throughout the dinner, which made me feel uncomfortable. I think that I was the only one who noticed it. His perfect personality just seemed fake. I pushed in the stupid thoughts that occurred in my mind regarding him under me and focused on the event.

Uncle Okan and my father had conversations that were hours long. Me and my siblings were asleep until he had left.

I felt thirsty, in the middle of the night, which caused me to wake up. I was going downstairs, towards the kitchen, when I heard my parents talking about Okan. My father said while doing the dishes in the kitchen, "He's such a kind and nice fellow but his wife has annoyed him for far too long. God bless him. I've heard that his wife doesn't even cook for him nor does she take care of his three children."

I was walking back upstairs quietly until I tripped over the end of the mat and fell. The thud revealed me. My parents came running towards me and said, "What are you doing here. Weren't you asleep?" I said, "I was coming to get a glass of water until I tripped off the mat."

My knee had bruised and bled. After my father bandaged my knee for me, I told him that I had gotten sleepy and so I left.

I couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking of how cruel Uncle Okan's wife must have been. How could a good man have such bad luck, that was unfair. His wife was lucky to have a husband such as him. I thought of her as ungrateful.

Things aren't what they seem. That was something that I didn't know of at the time. Now I wish I knew that. That might have changed it all. It might have changed my fate.