by Leah Leonard
He stood outside by the limo and watched her alight from the palace wearing her conservative American clothes of slacks and a long sleeved blouse. No more tradition, apparently. Her gorgeous hair fell long and loose around her shoulders. Did she do this to taunt him? How he wanted her! His eyes wandered to her curves and his mind went back to times of their naked bodies entwined in passion. How the sight of her caused his pulse to
quicken and a lump to form in his throat. “Shall I accompany you to the airport?”
“No.” Her eyes glistened with tears and her gaze focused on the ground.
“Are you sure?” He stepped forward, placing his arm around her shoulders, his fingers relished in the touch of her silk blouse and her faint perfume filled his nostrils, hardening him instantly.
“I think it’s best if we say our goodbyes here, don’t you?”
He didn’t. He wanted to touch her, to hold her hand one last time, to kiss her cheek, caress her fingers. “No, I do not.”
She smiled and extended her hand, as though he was nothing more than a business colleague. “Thank you.”
Even though he did not like her demeanor, he took her hand, if for no other reason than to touch her one last time. “For what?”
“For not trying to stop me.”
“You are a strong woman, Kelley. I have no power over you.”
She chuckled. “You actually do.” She kissed his mouth quickly. “I wish you happiness.”
He pulled her in, deepening the kiss, allowing his body to melt one last time into hers. “You are not weak to change your mind. You can stay. I will do all I can to make you happy. You have my word.”
“I can’t.” She pulled away.
Khalil backed off, remembering what he told himself yesterday. Unlike the women of his culture, Kelley Jones Smith was a strong presence. For now, he must yield to her wishes, no matter how unreasonable and ridiculous. Tomorrow he would fly to the United States and bring her home, but for today, he would allow her to leave. “Understood.”
He watched her climb into the limo and stood outside while the car drove down the long road leading to the property gates and disappeared out of sight. He never felt worse in his life.
This situation would soon be remedied, he reminded himself, walking back into the palace.
Aside from his servants who tiptoed around in silence due to his incredibly sour mood, for the first time in many years, Khalil was alone.
His father was abroad somewhere. His brother and family preferred their other home closer to town where his children could attend school. Khalil wanted children. Lots of them, in fact. With Kelley.
For the first time since he could recall, Khalil felt the cold, isolated feeling of loneliness creep into every fiber of his being. Not even Oma was here any longer to provide companionship and a friend to talk to. He now understood what true isolation felt like, and because of that, he loved and appreciated Kelley all the more.
A cold chill settled over him. He missed Kelley already. This was not a situation he would settle for. Something had to change and he decided at that very moment that he would remedy this problem immediately.
Khalil rushed to his office to glance over his paperwork and make certain his affairs were in order for his trip. He called for his favored manservant and told him, “Get my plane ready.”
“As you wish, master,” he bowed. “Where shall I tell them you are going and when?”
“I shall leave tomorrow to head to the city of Boston in the United States of America.”
Sixty-Five
When the limo pulled away, Kelley wanted to turn around and watch until Khalil disappeared, but she didn’t have the heart. Instead, she cried all the way to the airport. How she would miss him! He was the one, and yet she had to preserve her own self-interests and let him go. Their cultures were just too different. There were things even love couldn’t overcome.
This was by far the toughest day of her life. She would need time to sort out what happened, what she would do next, where she would go and how her next several years would turn out, since in her heart, she wanted this life, here with Khalil. She was kidding herself to think it would work. She did the right thing, she told herself. She spared them both much unnecessary pain and suffering by simply pulling the plug on the romance now, rather than waiting until later.
****
Over the next several hours on her flight back to the States, she put together a plan of action for her return to Boston, to include returning the funding to the foundation, going through all her old paperwork and trying to find a new project to occupy her mind.
Once her plane landed, she took a cab home. She stood on the curb in front of her apartment, climbed the stairs and unlocked the door. The place smelled musky. Her plants were all dead, stale air filled the air. She opened the window, gazed out to the city she cared nothing for any more. She completely forgot Boston while she was away. What she wouldn’t give to be back in Istanbul!
She realized it would take time to get over her experience, all the betrayal of her friends and people she trusted, and above all, the loss of her one true love. She had to get busy, throw herself back into her work and move forward.
After unpacking and settling in, she made sure she stayed up so late that she would wear herself down to the point that all thoughts of Khalil would be pressed out of her mind and she could succumb to pure exhaustion.
Her strategy apparently worked. When she woke the following morning at dawn, she was startled. Where was she? Oh yes, the pain of her journey slowly filled her mind, along with the dread of knowing she had nothing here in Boston to look forward to.
She rose and drank some coffee, black. She hadn’t missed coffee either. She thought about the special Turkish tea, and wished she had that instead. She sat at her old table by her window and looked out at the busy city streets and cringed at the sound of the honking horns. She missed the quiet serenity of the palace, and especially the man who lived there. Tears filled her eyes. She would get over this eventually, she told herself.
This wouldn’t be easy, but she would begin again. It felt good to be back. In a way. No, not really. The reality was she missed Khalil, and the pain of his absence actually hurt her physically. Things would work out eventually, she tried telling herself.
What was she thinking? Regardless of how things had turned out between the two of them, she still had to come home and wrap up loose ends before she could just abandon everything and move to Turkey for good. She had rent to pay, physical belongings that needed tending to. Thinking about the possibility of that life only depressed her more. She decided to remember all the reasons why she and Khalil could never work – his dead wife, his family, his lies. She hoped that would make her feel better. It didn’t.
She thought about what Ian had done, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before Khalil betrayed her like that too. He would probably find a mistress eventually and break her heart. Or at least she thought he might. Who knew? It was over. No sense in dwelling on any of that any longer.
****
After dressing and heading out the door, the first business she had to attend to was a visit to the Center for Religious Studies Foundation. The fact that they unknowingly gave her a grant for a fictitious project still ate away at her conscience and she could not move forward before righting this wrong.
She marched straight into the building, with check in hand, to reimburse them for the plane tickets. Yes, she realized she didn’t have to, the foundation basically said they messed up by promising funds they did not have, but this was exactly why Kelley knew she had to be honest and give the money back. They needed it to hopefully fund other projects that were actually worthy of receiving such an honor.
She approached the reception area. “Is Ms. Merrill in?”
A young girl with thick glasses glanced up from a pile of paperwork. “May I tell her who’s here?”
“Kelley Jones Smith.”
The girl rose and stepped
into the back. She appeared a moment later. “Go on back.”
Kelley only met her benefactor one other time. Relieved the older woman was even in today, she reviewed her speech one last time before knocking on the outer door to her office.
Ms. Merrill shuffled stacks of papers on her desk. When she saw Kelley, she removed her glasses, placing them in her thick gray curls. “Kelley! What a pleasant surprise. When did you get home?”
“Yesterday.”
“Please, take a seat.”
Kelley stepped into the cramped space, removed a stack of Bibles from a chair and sat down.
Ms. Merrill leaned forward. “So tell me, did you find it?”
She sighed, wishing she had better news. “Uh no. That’s why I’m here, actually.”
“Oh?” the woman appeared concerned, with good reason.
Kelley proceeded to explain the very short version of Josh’s plan for deception, and the fact that Kelley continued on searching after receiving new information on the artifact, which sadly, upon further investigation proved to be completely invalid. “Which is why I came today to give you this.” She handed her the check.
Ms. Merrill took the check, studied it for a moment. “What for? We gave you the money, whether or not your research produced a tangible result or not. Here. Keep it.” She tried to
hand the check back. “You don’t owe us anything. You’re a wonderful scholar, Kelley, and although it sounds as though you were deceived, God works through people for a reason. I appreciate your honesty and you coming here today. I know you will emerge a better person for it. You have a bright future ahead of you.”
“But I must give this back, you see, for myself, and because so much happened to me in Turkey…” the words brought raw emotions to the surface and Kelley found herself fighting off tears.
“Most of our projects don’t get the results we want, but the fact we pursue them is what’s important. One day, I feel positive you will find what you’re looking for.”
“I’m grateful to the foundation for the confidence they placed in me, and I know future scholars can use this funding for real discoveries. So please…” Kelley extended the check again.
“It sounds like you made discoveries there yourself,” Ms. Merrill observed.
“Personal ones, yes,” Kelley agreed. “Which is why I want to return the money.”
“But without this you’ll be out the money you spent for that disreputable assistant of yours.”
“True, but as I said, I learned so much about myself there, I don’t regret any of it.” Here she was, trying to publically make excuses for what she told Khalil the day before had been the biggest mistake of her life. So which was it? Had Istanbul been a blessing or a curse? Perhaps a little bit of both! “Please accept this.”
“Well, all right.” She took the check and slipped it into her top desk drawer. “We have hit a rough patch with our funding as of late, so thank you. Just know that we would continue to consider sponsoring you for any future projects you might have. Once we turn things around here a bit, that is.”
“Of course,” Kelley beamed.
“Please keep in touch and God bless you,” Ms. Merrill smiled and walked Kelley to the door. “I wish you the very best.”
“Thank you again for everything,” Kelley said.
Kelley held her head high as she walked out of the foundation. Perhaps if she could ever get her mind off of Khalil, there might come a day in the not-too-distant future when she would think of a new worthy project for them to fund, but for now, this was the right thing to do. She was free and clear of her debt to the foundation, and filled with hope and a wealth of new knowledge about life and herself she would surely invest in the future.
Speaking of Khalil, Kelley thought about their cultures again. She loved him deeply, and that had nothing to do with neither his race, nor his religion. But still, here she was, walking out of a respected Christian foundation with only one thing in her heart – a Turkish Sheikh.
Their religious differences had never bothered her before, but the more she thought about it, she realized the cultural differences she noticed while she was there were likely the tip of the iceberg when it came to the challenges they would have to face as a couple. God brought them together for reasons she still didn’t understand. She still loved him more than anything in the world, but she also knew, as she told him earlier, that sometimes love wasn’t enough.
Sixty-Six
For the remainder of that day and into the following morning, Khalil put himself into a sort of self-imposed mourning, typical of the traditions when someone died. He remained locked in his quarters, seeing and speaking to no one, took very little food, no fresh air or sunlight. Confined to his bed, his pain proved the most severe emotional turmoil he had ever gone through, even worse than when his mother died.
His staff packed his bags and made sure he was prepared for his trip. Meanwhile, his father had also called, and quite frankly, the elder Sheikh was the very last person Khalil wished to see.
He wanted to call Kelley and announce his visit, but knew better than to give her advance warning. He needed to talk to her, face to face, outside of the palace on her own ground and then and only then would he be able to adequately persuade her to marry him.
After Khalil thought things over, he realized it would be best to meet with his father before leaving on his trip to America. He wanted things to be clear between them. First, he was going to marry Kelley regardless of whether or not the family approved, and second, he planned to return with her and marry her as soon as possible, with or without the family blessing.
He could not risk having Kelley return to Istanbul and to the palace without these issues resolved. Still, when he thought about his father, Khalil felt both embittered and angry toward him. If the Sheikh had not been so blatantly rude and disrespectful toward her, they might already be married right now. He did not know how he could possibly face his father without screaming or wanting to punch him. And yet, with each passing hour, Khalil realized that he must put that thinking behind him and look toward the future.
Khalil arrived in Istanbul and met his father for brunch at an incredibly posh restaurant reserved only for dignitaries and the wealthiest of citizens. His father sat in the far back corner in a table he always reserved when he and Khalil and his brother met to talk about their ventures.
He half expected Ahmed there, and was surprised to see his father alone. The elder Sheikh stood, gestured to the chair across from him. “Welcome.” The old man glanced over Khalil’s shoulders. “Is your lady here too?”
“You mean Kelley?” Khalil was surprised his father would even dare to bring up such a thing at this moment, after all the trouble he caused.
“Of course. Did you send her shopping?”
“No father. She is gone.”
“Gone? Where?”
“Your little show with the Sultan and his daughter frightened her away. You and Ahmed ought to be ashamed of yourselves for treating her so poorly. Now, thanks to you, she is gone and I am alone. I hope you are satisfied.”
“Son, if that is all it took to chase her away, then so be it. She is not the one for you. Marriage is not for the faint of heart, as you well know. Consider yourself saved from disaster.”
The only disaster Khalil could contemplate at the moment was the fact that the one human being he really loved was now several continents away from him. Khalil realized he should not have come here today. It was too soon. He did not possess the patience or wherewithal to sit and listen to his father drivel on about things that no longer mattered to him. He stood.
“Where are you going?” his father asked.
“Good day, father. I believe you and I should meet at a later time. I have only come here briefly to inform you I shall be traveling to the United States today to gather up Kelley and her belongings, bring her home and marry her as soon as possible, with or without your blessings.”
“Stop! Come and sit.”
&
nbsp; Khalil paused. “What more do we have to say to each other, father? I love Kelley. She is gone and I am forced to go and get her, thanks to you. You already made yourself clear that you do not accept her and would never welcome her into our family, so I have nothing more to say.”
The Sheikh studied his son for a moment, then said, “You really love her, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Enough to go and get her and to betray your own family?”
“Absolutely,” Khalil insisted.
“I loved your mother like that,” his father admitted. “Ours was an arrangement between families, of course, but unlike you and Safina, your mother and I grew up together and spent much of our childhood as one. We became friends and later fell in love. There was never anyone else for me. I often hoped you and Safina could be like us, but as we both know now, that was not meant to be.”
“Indeed,” Khalil said.
“What a whore!” The Sheikh rubbed his forehead.
“Perhaps, but to her credit, it was Safina who brought Kelley to me. Without her I would not know the love of my life.”
“If you love her, and I mean really love her, then you must go to her. You have my blessing and my word I shall welcome her with open arms into our family.”
Khalil stared at the man he had known his whole life and realized that this was the first time they ever had a truly meaningful conversation. “I require neither your permission nor blessing to proceed.”
“Understood, but know I give it willingly after seeing your resolve today, son. I do wish you to find peace and happiness in this life, you know?” A thick smile stretched across the Sheikh’s face. “I would much more favor a marriage with someone from Turkey, however your best match, Lakshmi has since been promised to another man. You have insisted that you want more with your life, you wish to love someone, and if this woman is the one you love, then I shall not stop you, and I will no longer speak against her. If she chooses to be part of your life, I will do my best to welcome her into our family.”
