The Divit Brothers...Love Makes Everything Right

Chapter Twenty Three

      Paola pulled out the chair from the desk and sat down, letting out a huge sigh. She was so tired, which was so unlike her. The slight discomfort that has he had felt earlier had appeared again, but just for a minute and then it was gone. 

      She laid her hand on her stomach and smiled, " Maybe this is the way it's going to be...being pregnant."  She thought. Or maybe she was just imagining all of it. 

      She glanced at the time, " 1:00... it's lunchtime and I didn't have breakfast either. Maybe that's what's wrong with my stomach."  She took her phone and ordered a burger and onion rings from the place down the street to be delivered. 

      It had been slow for the most part so she looked forward to taking her lunch break and enjoying her food. With her food delivered, she locked the front door and turned the sign over.       " Eat first, then make the call to Gabby. I'm sure she's ready to apologize." She thought as she dove into the burger.

      By early afternoon Gabby had finally moved on from all the ugly things that Paola had said to her. But that didn't mean she had forgotten about them. She went about her usual routine for her days off by grabbing her basket of laundry and walking down the way to the laundry room. 

      She got the load of dirty clothes going and headed back to her apartment. A little clean up around the house while she was waiting on the laundry, anything to keep herself busy and her mind off of Paola. 

      Gabby knew that her so- called friend would be waiting on her call to apologize, but this time it wasn't going to happen. She was done being taken for granted, she was through with always putting Paola first.

      "No, this time I'm not sweeping her actions under the rug. This time I'm not calling her, this time I'm putting myself first." She told herself as she threw her laundry in the clothes dryer and turned it on. 

      As she opened the door to her apartment and started in, she heard her phone ringing. For one glorious second she thought, she hoped she wished it was a call from Kadir,...but when she picked up her phone, she saw the call was from Paola. 

      She let it go to voicemail..... "Why would she think I would answer her call.... I have nothing to say to her." She huffed, as her phone alerted her of a message. She knew what the message would say.. it was always the same....Paola was right and she was wrong, but....she listened to it anyway.

      " Gabby, are you there? Ok,...I'm not upset with you anymore. I know that you are sorry for what you said to me, and for kicking me out of your house... So, you don't have to say you're sorry, because I know. Call me....

      Gabriela rolled her eyes, a typical Paola thought. Paola had always involved her in everything she had ever done. But this time it was not going to happen. "This time Paola is wrong and I don't want to have anything to do with her destroying both Efe and Alvaro's lives."  She thought as she tossed her phone on the sofa, completely ignoring her plea to call her back. 

       If there was one thing she knew about Paola, it was that she would be showing up at her place, and shame her into forgiving her. But this time she wasn't giving in.... This time she didn't want I sit around waiting on Paola to make her feel worthy.

      Business picked up in the afternoon at the small boutique, leaving Paola little time to wonder about why her friend had not returned her call. When she finally locked the door behind the last customer and flipped the sign on the door to closed, that's when she realized that Gabby had never called her back. 

      A feeling of betrayal lunged through her, " Who does she think she is anyway. I called her and told her I forgave her for what she said.....so what else does she want."  She huffed, as she rang Gabby's phone again..... But there was still no answer.

      She drove in the direction of Gabriela's apartment, " She will feel different when she sees me.  She will be sorry for what she did. And then everything will be fine.... We will be fine." She told herself as she made her way to Gabbys.

      Sanem and Carolina had marked off half of their list that afternoon. The guest list consisted only of their family, and old friend of Can and Sanem's from the magazine, and Efe's two best friends from school along with their girlfriends. It was definitely going to be a small intimate affair..

      The food would of course be taken care of by Can. Just simple dishes, but all of them would be traditional Spain cuisine... The flowers had been selected and Sanem's friend was delighted to design the arbor of flowers that would mark their special spot on the beach.

      The cake..... it was designed and ordered by Carolina. A solid white, two tiered cake that was as pure and natural as their love...  She wanted nothing elaborate or flashy....just elegant..

      The dress...It had been found. This too was a design by Carolina. A soft white color,...a flowing cascade of chiffon material that was pulled together at the waist with a wide band of delicate lace. The neckline was a v-line, trimmed with a tiny row of the same lace. 

      She remembered seeing a picture of Sanem in a white sundress, wearing a crown of white daisies on her head. She had seen it in Can and Sanem's bedroom on Can's nightstand, and she had seen a different picture of her in the same clothing on his desk in his office.

      She loved the look of it, and wanted the same look for herself. But she wanted to make sure it was ok with Can. It was obvious to her that he had been the one to take those pictures of her back then. 

      Both Can and Sanem were thrilled she wanted to wear a similar crown of flowers in her hair that Sanem had wore that day, " I think you will look beautiful, and I couldn't be happier that you are marrying my son." Sanem said, hugging her soon-to-be daughter.

      So all had been decided, with only a trip back to town on Friday to pick up her dress. This was the wedding that Carolina had always dreamed of since she was a little girl, but she had never dreamed she would fall in love with a man like Efe Divit. 

      Now the last thing for Carolina to do.....Call her dad and give him the news. She would give anything if he would insist on catching the next flight to Malaga to walk her down the beach and give her away to the man she loved, but she knew that would not be the case....

      The day had been busy, but productive. As she and Efe said their good nights in her bedroom, the reality of it all began to sink in. " Efe,...do you realize that in two days it will be our wedding day?" She whispered in his ear. 

      " Hmmm, yes, but it's still two days away, I'm ready for it now." He mumbled, as he kissed her neck and continued on, making his way to her chest. She giggled, " Efe, you are making this harder in both of us. We can wait.." She told him, as she tried to wiggle from his embrace.

     " Ok,...Ok. I will try to be on my best behavior." He said, kissing her on the forehead. " Oh,I forgot to tell you. Kadir is inviting someone to the wedding, and please don't get upset,...but it's Paola's friend Gabriela. He started out trying to get information from her about Paola, but I think it has turned into something more,....even if he doesn't want to admit it." 

      Carolina wrinkled up her nose, " Oh, the girl from the bar. She doesn't seem like Kadir type. So is that where he hurried off to earlier." She asked. 

      Efe smirked, " I think so. He was in a rush, but Kadir is a pretty good judge of character. I don't think he would let himself get involved if he thought she was anything Paola."

      " Well ok then. Just as long as she doesn't bring Paola along"....She joked, tapping Efe on the nose.