Page 22 of Pomegranates and Olive

"They look perfect."

"Baba said that theyareperfect. I'm going to be a chef just like my Baba and work here with him."

"You're very lucky to be able to work with your father."

"Do you work with your father as well?"

"Sometimes. He's a school principal and I'm a librarian."

"Oh wow!" Emine's eyes widen. "A librarian?”

“I help people find really good books to read and I help them search for hard-to-find answers.”

“I like books. And I like answers. Maybe I can be a librarian and work with you.Annewants me to come and work with her but she lives too far away."

I glance over at Ginny. She mouths the word 'mother' and winces.

The little girl's attention is lost as she spots movement through the grove below. She pushes back her chair and runs to the railing. "Amca! Buradasiniz! Gel kahvalti ye."

"Sonra gelecegim tatlim."

She points to Deniz. "That's my uncle. I used to live with him sometimes."

"I'll see you later,tatlim." Deniz blows a kiss up to Emine before winking at me. "I'll see you later as well, Russo."

"He is my favourite uncle. He would let me stay up all night and watch television.Babadoesn't let me watch television at all but Ginny does sometimes whenbabais at work. And Uncle Deniz also took me to Paris." She stuffs a cheese pastry into her mouth and munches loudly. "We even went to Disneyland."

"Alright, alright. Let's give Aunt Olive a few minutes to relax. She's probably tired from her long trip."

Ginny plates up a dish withsigara borekas well as scrambled eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, olives and cheese, and bends down to Emine's eye level. "How about you go and watch a little television right now. I won't tellbaba."

The little girl nods and her curls bounce around her shoulders. "Really?"

Ginny picks up the plate before taking Emine's hand. "Grab some coffee. I won't be long."

Ginny goes inside to get her step-daughter settled. As soon as she’s out of eye-sight, I lean over the railing to search for Deniz in the grove. I catch the briefest glimpse of him before he disappears amongst the trees.

"His place is just over that ridge." Ginny reappears on the terrace and points to the hill behind her house. "In case you're interested."

Busted!

"Not even in the slightest, but okay."

From our vantage point, we can see all along the coastline. She points out where their land begins. "This land here has been in the family for years. But Aydin bought this piece–” she points from the ridge down to the sea, “– so now the family owns the whole cove. There are olive trees as well as pomegranates and figs. Next door at Deniz's is the mill where they press the olives for olive oil. They also make pomegranate molasses."

Pulling out a chair, I flop down and slip my sunglasses to the top of my head. "I thought he was an architect."

"I'm sure he would much prefer to be called an entrepreneur. He's made more money than he could spend in three lifetimes. Your father would say he's had his fingers in a lot of pies." Ginny settles beside me and hands me a plate. "He manages the warehouse and mill operation here for the family. It's seasonal, but still a massive endeavour. He also looks after his mother's interests at her hotel in Istanbul. His father has a construction business which he has helped build from the ground up… it’s now one of the most successful construction companies in Turkey apparently, but architecture is his real passion. He was grew up primarily in the UK, but he studied and worked in Italy for a few years. He's very well regarded in the industry, but he lost his way when the Bitch had him in her sights."

"Aydin's ex-wife?"

"Uh-huh —" She leans in so Emine can't overhear her talking about her mother despite her being inside, "— and was then left unceremoniously at the alter by said Bitch, breaking his heart and nearly destroying my relationship with Aydin at the same time."

"We all read the story."

"It was pretty huge."

"The family was furious."

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