It Comes And Goes In Waves

Wedding Night. Part One

It has been two days. Two whole days since their wedding, and Can has still yet to so much as lay a hand on her. It was fair enough that nothing had occurred the previous two nights. Having sex in the bathroom of a plane isn't exactly romantic, and by the time they had arrived at the villa, they had both been too exhausted to do anything else but sleep. So they had slept, woken up ...and still not done anything. Sanem is getting antsy.

She has never been embarrassed about herself around Can, but she is unsure of what to do. This is something new. Something completely foreign to her. She is aware he has far more experience than she does. It worries her, even more so as he seems reluctant to instigate anything. He may be waiting for the evening, but for god sake, it has already been delayed enough!

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Their wedding had been beautiful. It had taken place on the beach in the middle of summer - the very beach they had first held each other in their arms. Where they had fallen asleep under the stars, tangled together in a hammock.

The whole office had been invited, along with Sanem's extended family. It seemed that most of the district had invited themselves too. Can's brother and father attended, as did Metin and Akif. Who Can had reconciled with after some persuasion from Sanem. "They are your best friends, Can."

Sanem hadn't been fond of the extravagant, white dresses she had tried on with her sister and mother. They were heavy and hot. It was the middle of summer, she didn't want to spend her whole wedding engulfed in layers of materials, only for the ends to get covered in sand and salt water. In the end, she found the perfect dress. It was short and simple; white, with a few colourful flowers embroiled up the sides and down the skirt. The soft material fell down to her calves in flowery waves. A ring of small white flowers lay atop her head.

Can's heart had stopped at the sight of her. She reminded him of the day he had started falling in love with her, the day of the photo shoot at his house. Beautiful.

It was too hot for Can to be wearing a full suit. He was dressed in black trousers and a white shirt. A ring of the same white flowers draped around his neck.

The whole thing hadn't been particularly lavish, but it was intimate. It suited them perfectly.

Can and Sanem had custom designed the wedding bands. Tiny diamonds and moonstone beads made the elegant forms of two small birds flying on a silver background. Their wings outstretched and overlapping.

"I do." Was exchanged and the rings gently placed on their new homes. The crowd cheered when they kissed. Sanem couldn't help beaming at the man she loved. At her husband. A happy tear fell down her cheek and Can brushed it away. He couldn't stop smiling either.

The dinner had been organised by Mevkibe. Who had enlisted the help of half the neighbourhood to feed all the guests. Wine glasses were passed around and the evening was filled with energetic chatter. Sanem and Can sat close together. Their chairs pressed right up against one another, with his arm draped around her side the whole evening. Can and Mevkibe shared stories about Sanem's childhood. Her mother told Can about all the clumsy things Sanem had done as a child. Including the first time she had taken the bus to school on her own. She had sat on the wrong bus and ended up on the opposite side of Istanbul. Can laughed at Mevkibe stories, and shared some of his own.

"Can!" Sanem protested, covering her face in embarrassment. It hadn't taken long for Mevkibe to become completely smitten with Can all over again. Once she realised he was in for the long haul, and he had sat her down and apologised for all the secrecy early on in their relationship.

The dinner finished at 7pm; Can and Sanem had to rush to the airport to catch the plane that would take them to the Galapagos for their honeymoon.

It was a 35-hour flight. Stopping over in New York, Bogotá and Guayaquil. They spent most of the trip sleeping on the plane. The 6-hour layover in NY allowed them time to explore. Can had never been here either, so it was new for the both of them. Sanem took photos of everything, so she could show her family later. She had stepped outside of Turkey before. The experience of traveling by plane had caused her stomach to flip. Can held onto her hand as she shut her eyes. After the first 20 hours, and the third take off, she was wondering why she had ever wanted to do this. Everything was an exhausted hazy blur when they finally arrived at the villa. All thoughts of their wedding night flew out the window. They both collapsed on the bed, fully dressed. Then promptly fell asleep.