A LEAP OF THE EARLY BIRD

Food for thought...

Nothing compares to a morning that begins on a happy and positive note. The sun shines brighter. The breeze of the wind seems warmer. The birds sing gentler with a song that fills the soul. And a heart begins to hold out hope for more of life's happier moments. Such days just seem brighter above all others. Even if they present an unexpected visit. Even from the most unexpected of visitors...

Sanem walked into the agency as if she was floating on cloud 9. 10, if anyone would have bothered to ask her... Her heart sang within her chest, her soul hummed her heart's favorite mellody. All seemed better. And the best part of it was, no one suspected or questionned why she was so happy, or why she wore the same clothes. Most fortunate of all, no one knew she and Can were stuck in the elevator because they were the last ones out of the elevator. No one knew, for the time being at least...

She glided to her seat and thought she was out of the woods. But Leyla could not have helped it, and came to her to inquire about what happened to her last night. Sanem could not help it, and admitted she spent the evening with Can stuck in the elevator. Moreover, she spent the night at Can's house. She said it too fast and too confidently, but she noticed that Leyla did not judge her this time. She did not shout. She did not bestow her deep-freeze snow queen of a stare upon her. She was looking at Sanem through sisterly eyes, with a sister's heart. With suspicious and concerned eyes, but not ones filled with judgement. And Sanem could not have been happier. Until...

As instructed by Can, Deren went to speak with the security guard regarding the elevator system. It was a shame that there was no actually working emergency system in case the elevator got stuck. It was unacceptable. Simply unacceptable. The agency could not operate without improved emergency fail-proof plan regarding the elevators. The security guard agreed with Deren and the more he tried to explain what happened, the louder Deren got. Unbeknownst to them, someone had caught their conversation. Someone other than Sanem. Someone last on Sanem's list of people who she'd have waned to overhear that conversation...

Mevkibe Aydin listened to that conversation with her suspicious ears and she looked at Deren with her keen motherly stare. She realized what was said. She heard what was spoken. And knew what she felt. And she felt and knew better than to let that converstion to go on without it being questioned. And who suddely appeared before her? Sanem. Of course, Sanem. She questioned her immediately. And she knew there was more to the story than what Sanem was telling her. Because Sanem always babbled when she was anxiously trying to come up with an excuse that was far from the truth. Rather than try to talk over Sanem, she knew she would get better answers from the sourse. She would get them from Can.

She passed Sanem, and went straight for Can's office. She was happy to have been greeted by Ceycey, and not at all surprised that he was attempting to evade her from going to see Can. She was beginning to see and understand the bond that was forming between her younger daughter and Ceycey. They were like two peas in a pod. Literally. But, thankfully, Can came out of his office, and he rushed to greet her. She offered him a wide smile, and he offered her a wider one. He was always happy to see her, especially whenever she prepated food. And to realize that she brought food meant especially for him, well, that meant so much more. To Sanem's worst nightmare, instead of letting her follow them to Can's office, he requested that she brings them teas. Two teas. Which meant, not one for her.

Afraid of what her mother would get out of Can, Sanem rushed to the kitchenette counter. Only to realize that the tea pot was cold. Not only cold, it was  unplugged. Whomever did so was now her number one enemy. She just wasn't aware that the perfect suspect was standing right next to her. Eye to eye. Ceycey... Perfectly aware of what Sanem was capable of, he played it safe and attempted to look innocent, and pretended he knew nothing about the teapot being unplugged. Sanem was left with no other choice but to wait for the water to boil and the tea to brew.

Back at Can's office, things could not have been better. Can felt so much better than he felt in a very, very long time. His stomach was happy because it was full of Mevkibe's deliciously delicious Borek. His heart was even happier to know that she made it especially for him. They spent time talking and just enjoying their own company. Mevkibe thanked Can for his help with the campaign for her community leadership position. He was very happy to hear her say so, but explained that it was not the campaign that won, it was the candidate. And made Mevkibe smile from her heart by saying so. He also suggested opening a community library, or creating a community directory. The more they spoke, the more Mevkibe realized that Can was a good man, through and through, with a golden heart and a kind soul.

As Sanem rushed back to Can's office, she walked in right when they were beginning to discuss the reason why Mevkibe had to take the stairs to get to Can's office because the elevator was still out of commission. And what took place next had Can's head spinning in yet another example of deja vu that day, and it was even more confusing than the conversation they had regarding the fact that it was Sanem who kissed him by the embankment. Since Mevkibe mentioned that she was aware of Sanem being stuck in the elevator with him, he assumed that Sanem told her everything. Through a process of unfinished sentences and confusing crypted responses from Sanem, he lost any sense of logic. To top it all of, he wanted to pay Sanem a compliment, and advised Mevkibe that Sanem took after her when it came to cooking, and prepared a delicious breakfast. Which made the conversation even less understandable and definitely less logical.

To ensure that the conversation would not lead any further, Sanem suggested that they leave Can to his work duties. Mevkibe agreed, and they made their way to walk Mevkibe to the door. She thanked them, wished them a good day, and left them to themselves. Sanem could not help but ask why Can revealed so much to her mother about what happened in the last 24 hours. He explained that he did not know he was revealing too much because he assumed she already spoke with her mother. Sanem denied doing so, and replied that Mevkibe had learned about the elevator by the reception when she walked in.

Can nodded, and smiled, a bit confused. He asked her, since they were friends, why was there a problem if she stayed by her friend's home overnight. She replied that there was no problem with that. But she asked if friends fall asleep embracing one another? He in turn saw no problem in that. So she asked if friends embrace one another while not in their sleep, or come so close as to take in the other's scent, or caress the other's hair? That for sure baffled him completely. She told him to dismiss that question as a non-relevant one...

She thought he dismissed the last question. That he forgot it. That it did not matter. Maybe it did not matter to her. But it did so for him. Because as much as Mevkibe's Borek filled his stomach, Sanem's words filled his mind. It was definitely food for thought. The most important thought...