by Leah Leonard
Forty-Seven
Khalil wasn’t sure what to think when he saw his precious love, Kelley, standing there with another man after he had only turned his attention away from her for a few moments. How dare anyone try and come between them!
She became so enraged by the ordeal, so passionate about all she had done to be with him, inside, he smiled. He knew now that she truly cared for him, and that was a blessing. She had definitely made some excellent points concerning his personal life. She was right. Any woman would have had difficulty adjusting to all the recent turmoil.
Regardless of her right to be jealous of the other women in his life even though he had already explained that they meant nothing to him, he still felt envious of Ian. This feeling was new to Khalil. He always remained with women who were so loyal, he never had to deal with the possible intrusion of other men.
Aside from her physical beauty, which must attract other men, the fact he never loved anyone like he loved Kelley made the presence of this British idiot, Ian, deeply troubling to him. The thought of Kelley being with any other man shook him to the core. If she had not been here, he hated to think how many more times he would have struck Ian. He would have easily pummeled him to the ground.
This was unjustified, he realized. The reality was that they both had lives prior to meeting, and Kelley was with the wrong man, just as he had been with the wrong woman. Intellectually he realized that, even though emotionally it was hard to handle. Now their lives were changed for the better.
He approached her cautiously, careful she was still not angry with him, and wrapped his arms around her. “Understood.”
“I’m glad.”
He kissed her and was pleased she kissed him back. “Shall we continue digging for treasure now that we have had a break?”
Kelley laughed. “If that’s what you call it, yes. Let’s get busy and dig.”
****
They spent the next few hours digging, all the while Khalil hoped that the men he hired did their jobs. His team was told to scour the area with infrared x-ray machines and find any artifacts near Kelley’s digging site. Initially, he wasn’t sure if they would turn up anything or not, however after only a day, they reported their findings. A clay object had been found quite close to where Kelley had been searching. The item was deep underground, so Khalil had the men excavate it and move it up toward the surface to the approximate depth where she had been searching. He asked that they cover their tracks, return the soil to a condition that would not betray his interference.
Next, they presented him with a diagram of the area, which he studied and had told him the vessel would be found in the exact center of the area where the two of them were working. He hoped they were correct. He had no time or patience for error. He needed Kelley to be happy and pleased to stay here with him, preferably for the rest of her life.
Because of his knowledge of where his team said the object would be found, he worked slowly to ensure Kelley would make this discovery herself.
Sure enough, near dusk, he heard his love cry out with joy from ten feet away. “Khalil!”
He glanced at his watch. Perfect timing. The expression on Kelley’s face brought a great joy to his heart. He wanted her happy, for if she was pleased with him, with her work, with her life here, she would never want to leave.
“What is it?” He rushed to her side.
Kelley lifted a small clay pot from the ground that featured a curved lip as for pouring or drinking. Her eyes filled with tears and she held it up for him to see. “This is it!”
“Wonderful,” Khalil did his best to appear surprised. “Congratulations!”
Lost in the discovery, she twisted the pot in her hands, tracing cracks with the tips of her fingers, studying every line, each feature. “It’s smaller than what I expected, but I think this is it. I can’t believe I was going to quit if it wasn’t for you. You believed in me and I am grateful. Thank you!”
“This is wonderful news, darling,” he approached her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek. “We must take it back to Istanbul. I know of a lab there where you may have this tested.”
To his surprise, Kelley’s excitement faded. “I don’t know…”
“What is wrong?”
“Funding. Those tests cost a lot, and I don’t have any money left, thanks to Josh.”
“I shall fund your projects from now on, Kelley.”
“No, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“I must. I believe in you, in this,” he gestured to the vessel. “And most of all, in us.”
She thought about his proposal for a moment, and then said, “If I let you do this, and if our discovery turns out to be anything of great significance, you will receive a full return of any money you invest.”
“No, this is not necessary. You are my wife… or soon will be. We are partners in life now.”
Kelley stared him down. “Which is exactly why you have to agree, or we don’t have a deal.”
Khalil had absolutely no intention of ever taking a dime from her. He realized that Americans were stubborn in this way, and for now, he had to go along with her wishes in order for her to agree. “All right, I accept.”
She kissed him. “Thank you.”
“No thanks are needed, my love. Shall we return to town? I can have my jet prepared to go whenever you wish.”
Kelley leaned in, placed her head in the crux of his shoulder and hugged him. “Did I ever tell you that you are the most wonderful man in the world?”
“No.”
“Well you are. Thank you, Khalil. Your support, your love, your friendship, mean the world to me. To know you believe in me makes me feel like I can do anything in the world.”
“That is because you can. I have witnessed this today.”
“With you, I feel stronger. We make a great team.” She kissed his cheek.
Music to Khalil’s ears, he thought. Soon they would become one and his existence would finally have the meaning he longed for his entire life. “Nothing pleases me more than to be on your team. I wish us to be partners, Kelley, partners in everything, partners in life.” He hoped these words wouldn’t frighten her. He needed her calm, moving toward him, and the new life he wanted them to share.
Kelley did not respond with words, but kissed his lips. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“Perhaps tomorrow is best. It is late.”
“Sounds perfect.”
****
Since the labs were all closed by sundown, Kelley and Khalil decided to spend the night at his home in Ephesus, a bittersweet time for Khalil, but one he deeply appreciated. He had not been there much since his childhood, not with Oma, not with anyone, and having Kelley here helped him to move past his former aversion to the place as a receptacle of unhappy memories of his mother’s death. Now the home reminded him of Kelley.
They shared an intimate but simple meal, and made love on and off throughout the evening.
The following morning, the driver arrived at dawn, and soon they were headed back to Istanbul on the jet.
A relatively short drive from the airport took them into the downtown area, where they dropped the vessel off at the lab to await the findings they both hoped would mean Kelley had not been a fool to follow her dreams of coming to Turkey.
“I’m so excited about this, Khalil,” Kelley held his hand on the way out of the lab. “Do you realize what this means? I might actually be a legitimate archeologist after all!”
“You are more than that to me, love,” Khalil kissed her.
Her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t thank you enough. If it wasn’t for you, I would probably be back in Boston right now, with my tail between my legs, feeling like a complete failure.”
“You are a success!” Khalil said, “and as such, I believe we should celebrate with an outing to the Blue Mosque.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up.
Khalil couldn’t have been happier to please her.
****
The Blue Mosque was truly one of the most gorgeous places Kelley had ever seen. Built by Sultan Ahmet, the Mosque was constructed in Ottoman style, with six towering minuets, two hundred and sixty windows and over 20,000 tiles.
After a complete tour of the entire complex, they briefly visited the underground cistern, followed by Hagia Sophia, where Kelley was again struck by the amazing craftsmanship of the Byzantine mosaics.
“Thank you for today, Khalil,” Kelley squeezed his hand. “I am so happy to see all of this, but you know there is still one place I am dying to go.”
“Indeed, the Grand Bazaar.”
“You remembered?”
He turned, cupped her face in his hands, “How can I forget? I remember all that you tell me. Anything important to you is important to me.”
“I love you, Khalil.”
“And I love you, my dove.”
Forty-Eight
The Grand Bazaar was undoubtedly the most amazing shopping experience Kelley had ever seen in her life. Thousands of items, all handcrafted, some imports from throughout the world, were sold in booths. Vendors sold Turkish Delight and other treats, all of which she and Khalil sampled. Rows and rows of vendors sold jewelry, clothing, and house wares. Anything you could think of wanting was there for the taking.
“Having fun?” he held her hand as they tried to take in the incredible spectacle.
“Never better.” Kelley bit off a piece of Turkish Delight, feeding the other half to Khalil.
“Come, we shall buy you a rug.” Khalil tugged her arm, leading her down a long aisle filled with rug dealers.
“I don’t need one,” Kelley said.
“Everyone needs an authentic Turkish rug. Come,” he led her to a booth on the side of the enormous building where Turkish rugs were hung all over the walls and rolled in stacks in the corners.
An old man lit up when he saw Khalil, stood and rushed to greet him. “Sheikh Khalil!”
“Good day.” Khalil bowed.
“How is your father?”
“He is well, he will be in town soon.”
“Wonderful news. I have some new items I know your father would enjoy.” The old man tugged at his turban and walked to the far end of the shop. “Such as these.”
He pointed out a stunning sapphire blue rug that spanned an entire wall. It had to be incredibly expensive, Kelley thought, but then again, nothing would cost too much for Khalil or his family.
“It is beautiful, my friend,” Khalil said without making a move toward the display.
“I am sorry to hear of your wife’s passing,” the vendor said, crossing back toward him and lowering his voice.
Khalil bowed. “I thank you.”
Kelley wasn’t sure she wanted anything to do with meeting old family friends right now. Things with her and Khalil were so new and wonderful, she didn’t want anything to spoil their time together. Ian’s little stunt hadn’t helped them, but in a way, maybe it brought them closer together. Kelley wasn’t sure. She hated having to hear people ask about Khalil’s wife. Listening to that brought her back from the fantasy she’d been living in since they met. Khalil was a widower, and a recent one at that. The fact that he was already out with someone else and she was sporting a new engagement ring would be considered shocking in the States.
“May I introduce you to Miss Kelley Jones Smith?”
Kelley nodded at the old man.
He extended a hand. “Pleased to meet you, madam.”
“Miss Jones Smith is an archeologist from the United States. She is a friend of the family visiting here for an extended period.”
Regardless of how Khalil tried to frame it, Kelley could tell by the look on the old man’s face, he knew good and well what was going on between them. The palpable chemistry between she and Khalil was so electrifying, anyone could tell that at any moment, the two of them were about to rip each other’s clothes off. She was relieved Khalil had refrained from introducing her as his fiancé, and twisted her diamond to the palm of her hand to hide it. Unable to stand the discomfort any longer, she ventured to the end of the booth and glanced out into the aisles in both directions, watching the spectacle of humanity milling about the area. “I’ll be right back.”
Khalil continued his conversation with the old man, who was busy pouring him the sweet hot Turkish tea she’d come to love.
She continued gazing out into the busy aisles and watched the people go by. All shapes and sizes, young and old, feeble and spry, bustled around, wheeling and dealing on all kinds of items. It was truly an exciting place to people watch, if nothing else.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, someone caught her eye. A gorgeous dark haired girl who looked just like Safina. Surely not!
Kelley knew with all the emotional turmoil of the past few days she was likely imagining things, but she had to go see for herself. She called to Khalil, who was busy sipping his tea, laughing with the old rug merchant. “Will you be here for awhile longer?”
“I can leave now, if you wish,” Khalil offered.
Always the gentleman, she thought. “No, you’re fine. I just want to go look at something, and I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Do you need some money?” he pulled his wallet out.
“Uh, no.” She wished he hadn’t just asked her that! She hurried out of the booth and headed to the main aisle where she saw the Safina lookalike moments earlier. Of course, she was nowhere in sight.
The place was slam packed. Most people were locals, all with dark hair. Only Kelley had the bright blonde that made her stand out amongst the crowd. She realized that she likely imagined the whole thing.
She stood still with her back against a rack of scarves in one of the booths and glanced in both directions, trying to get her bearings. She continued studying the people, and gasped. There she was again!
She ran down the aisle, following the woman until she reached the farthest back corner of the market, making a mental note of where she came from in case she needed to find Khalil. It would be really easy to get lost in a place like this.
The woman’s head bobbed up occasionally through the sea of people. Kelley had to really work to try and keep up. In a full jog, she ran down the aisle where she saw the Safina look alike vanish, and found her a minute later in a store, glancing at leather purses. “Excuse me!” she tapped the woman on the shoulder, but when she turned around the lady appeared confused. It wasn’t her friend. “Sorry.”
She looked further down the aisle and saw her again. Yes, that was Safina all right, wearing a bright orange cloth over her head.
Kelley ran to catch her and this time, without hesitation, grabbed her arm as the woman was about to pay for a piece of hard candy. “Safina!”
The girl spun around, and her eyes grew wide as saucers.
To Kelley’s shocked amazement, it was her. “Safina.”
Looking like she’d been caught breaking the law, Safina’s hands trembled, the candy fell to the floor. She stumbled to pick it up, tossing a few coins in the woman’s basket, and the candy in her bag. “Kelley, um…what are you doing here?”
Unsure of how to answer that, Kelley didn’t have any idea what to say to the friend who let her down so terribly. “Shopping,” was all she could think to say.
“I saw you with Khalil.”
Kelley felt about a millimeter high. Why, she didn’t know. Safina had made herself clear when she disappeared with Josh that she wanted nothing more to do with her poor fiancé. So why did she feel so guilty about it then? “Uh, yes, I’ve been staying on at the palace for a few days until I can get myself home.”
“I see.” Safina spoke with little emotion.
She wanted to add, ‘after you and Josh stranded me,’ but refrained, instead asking about the one thing she most wanted to know. “So…where’s Josh?” Kelley prayed she wouldn’t have to see him anymore, but better not to be surprised.
“He is gone.”
“What?”
“We
broke up. He told me what he did to you, how he lied about your project. I cannot marry a man who lies.”
But hadn’t she and Josh both lied to her and Khalil? Again, Kelley decided now was not the time to bring up the past. What happened was done. There was no going back or rewinding recent history. Without the entire twisted series of events happening as they had, Kelley and Khalil would likely not be together. What a thought! She truly loved him now, and could not imagine life without him.
She was happy to hear that Safina seemed to regret her actions. She decided to forgive both she and Josh right there and then and make sure that he and Safina would be okay in the future. “Khalil helped me find the vessel. As it turns out, Josh was right all along. It existed.”
“You are serious?”
“Yes! He didn’t lie!” Kelley hoped Safina would believe her, perhaps to ease her guilt at loving her friend’s fiancé, Kelley told herself that it was to help her old friends get back together, but in her heart, she also knew that if she could somehow help mend the rift between them, then she and Khalil could be together without guilt or remorse of any kind. “Josh loves you, Safina. He helped me with the research for one reason – to get back to you. Nothing could be better than that. He cares more for you than for himself or anyone else in the world. That’s hard to find. The feelings the two of you have for each other are real and don’t come around too often in life, if ever. He is your once in a lifetime. Don’t you think he deserves a second chance?”
Her entire demeanor brightened and Safina said, “Yes, and I believe you too deserve a second chance.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Khalil look so happy together. I wish you the best.”
Kelley froze. “But—”
“It’s okay,” Safina touched her sleeve. “I came to the palace the other day to ask him back. He said no instantly and threw me out. He tossed my things outside and I had to collect all my belongings and return to my father’s house. I shamed my family. I never loved him as you do. And now I know why he could not marry me. He is in love with you.”
