It's Just Lola (20 page)

~ ~ ~

Enriqueta’s voice came to Lola through a fog of sleep. 
“Lola
,
did I have a weird dream last night, or did you tell me you were going to marry Mehmet?” 

Lola’s eyes flew open and she sat up straight—wide awake
.
  Marriage!  She grabbed Enriqueta in a tight hug.

“Oh, yes, Enriqueta
—he
wants to
marry
me
.
”

“When?”

“
I
don’t know.  He wouldn’t let me accept the offer last night.  He said we needed to talk more, but I can’t imagine why.”

Lola went through the morning waiting on customers, so nervous that she caught herself making mistakes and began doing all the arithmetic twice—just to make sure.  She kept glancing across the street, impatient to see Mehmet again. 

Her breath caught in her throat when he stepped onto the street.  It was amazing how much difference it made when she imagined him to be “husband” instead of “friend.”  When he was merely her friend, she didn
’
t notice what he wore or how he walked.  She had asked about his country because it was interesting to learn of other countries.  Now she wondered about
him
.  What was he like as a child?  What games did he play?  Did he even play?  She smiled as she thought there must be enough questions to make interesting conversation for the rest of their lives. 

“Lola, my dear, I came to rescue you from Concha’s cooking today.”

“But Concha’s cooking is very good.  Besides, I have to wait for Luis.”

“Luis is here,” said Luis as he entered the shop.

Lola grabbed her shawl as Mehmet offered his arm.  “Where are we going?”

“
T
o a café for lunch.”

Lola stopped in mid-step. “Is it acceptable for me to go there with you?”

Mehmet
’s
warm infectious laugh
gave
Lola
a thrill of happiness
. 
“Yes, it
’
s perfectly acceptable.  The café is one place that we can be alone and still be perfectly proper because we
’
r
e
surrounded by
other people.  It’
s common to see men and women eat together there.”

Lola nodded and kept walking.  She wasn’t sure what a café was, but she
’
d displayed enough ignorance for one day.  They walked to the café and Mehmet ordered food for both of them
.
 

“Lola,
t
here are things about me that you have a right to know before you make your decision.  My life isn
’
t exactly as
you might suppose.  Remember, I’
m from a very different culture and my religion isn
’
t the same as yours.”

“But you do have a religion?  You do believe in God?”

“Yes, indeed.  We believe in the same God you do.  Our
values and our
ideas of right and wrong are very much like yours.  The differences between the two religions aren
’
t in the basic beliefs, but in the attending
rules and
rituals decreed by the men who attempt to interpret the religions for us.  However, that
’
s not what I fear may be unacceptable to you.”

“Is there something you think I
’
ll find unacceptable?”

“Not that I
think
you may find unacceptable—I merely
fear
you may find it unacceptable.  I hope that you
’
ll hear me out before you judge me.”

“
Of course
.
”

“My father captained ships to the Americas for many years, but he lost his life and his ship in a terrible storm while trying to round Cape Horn when I was quite young.  The owner of the ship took me into his own home and educated me.  As you may imagine, I was, and am, deeply grateful to him.”

“You were fortunate to have such a generous benefactor.”

“Yes.  However, he understood his duty to me rather differently than I did.  He was a widower with no desire to remarry, and no sons
.  He decided that I should wed his daughter
to insure that he wouldn
’
t be left alone in his old age.  He trained me in the business, and I was proud that he was grooming me to be his successor.

“I was very young and I
’
d have done anything to please him.  His daughter was nice enough, and she did her duty, producing three fine sons in the first three years of our marriage.  I was very proud of them.”  Mehmet got a faraway look
in his eyes
.

“After the birth of our third son, my father-in-law gave me a promotion and sent me to start a branch in the Americas.  It was two years before I was able to get home.  By then my boys had almost forgotten who I was, and my wife made it quite clear that I was interrupting her schedule.  My father-in-law congratulated me on a job well done and sent me back here as soon as he could.  Then I understood that my real job in that house was
not to be his successor, but to provide him with a grandson who would
b
e his heir.
”

“How sad,” said Lola. 

Mehmet smiled.
 
“But then I met you and your daughter.  I told you I fell in love with Estela first.  Holding her in my arms reminded me of all I was missing.  As time went by I knew that you were the woman that I wanted in my life.”  Lola returned his smile and felt warm inside as she looked at him.
 
“I decided to go back and get things sorted out.  My own sons called me Uncle Mehmet.  When I said I intended to remarry my father-in-law was very generous and my wife seemed relieved as she wished me well.”

“So you got a divorce?  And you know that my religion forbids divorce?”

“No, I didn
’
t get a divorce.  My society does not welcome divorced women, and my father-in-law would never
allow
anything that might cause his daughter
, and by extension his family,
to be thought of poorly.”  Mehmet paused and looked closely at Lola before continuing.
“My religion differs from yours in that it accepts that a man can marry more than one woman.”  Only a sharp intake of breath indicated that Lola had heard him.  “Lola, I know it sounds barbaric to you, but think about it.  Your religion says that a man must take only one wife, yet your society openly allows men to keep mistresses, whose children are stained with the stigma of illegitimacy.  Is that less barbaric?
 
My wife is a wife in name only.
”  His mouth twisted into a bitter grimace.
 
“
She doesn
’
t welcome my presence in the house.  In my mind it
’
s no longer a marriage at all.  It may never have been a marriage, but merely a convenience.
” 
He reached across the table and put his hand on hers.
 
“Lola, if you marry me I
promise to
be faithful to you in every way.  I love Estela and it would please me beyond measure to be her father.  She is a true gift.”

If
Lola had
made a list of all the possible things Mehmet might have said, the fact that he had another wife would never have made the list, however long it was. 
She’d
been expecting Mehmet to assure her that he could support her and was a person of good character.  Maria’s callers had always talked about such things.  Of course she
’
d found it boring and had spent her time trying to distract Enriqueta by making funny faces when no one was looking.  “Your father-in-law
wa
s cruel and unscrupulous to take your children from you.”

“No, actually he
’
s a proud and honorable man
, and he
ra
ised me to be an honorable man.  T
hat
’
s why I insisted that you hear my story before you make a decision about marriage.  I know my ways aren
’
t the same as yours, and you could find this an unacceptable state of affairs.  My honor also impelled me to tell him and his daughter of my intention to remarry.  A less honorable man might have married you and continued doing business as usual.  How would a wife
on one side of the world know about a wife on the other side
?”

“I didn
’
t say you were dishonorable, Mehmet.  I said your father-in-law was cruel and unscrupulous.”

“He brought me into his house as an act of charity.  I had no one.  When my father left
on
what became his last voyage, my mother was expecting a child.  Neither mother nor child survived the birth. 
My father-in-law
gave me an education and a good position.  The fact that he had his own reasons for doing so doesn
’
t make it unworthy. 
Without him I
’
d surely have died on the streets of Constantinople.”  Lola nodded.  “
When a
girl
-
child
marries
,
she
produces heirs for her husband’s family.  He
needed
those children to remain in his family.  Do you see that?”

Lola thought of how her own father had chosen husbands for his eldest daughters.  He chose men of good family, but younger sons with little or no prospects of having land of their own.  He said it was to insure the future of his daughters.  No matter what happened they would always own the land.  Now she considered it from a different point of view.  He was forcing the sons-in-law into his family; regardless of the name they carried, the children would be an extension of
his
family.  He sacrificed huge parcels of his own land to insure the continuity of the family. 

“He sounds very much like my own father,” said Lola.  “But I don’t think
my f
ather would have sent you away and kept the children.”  Wouldn’t he?  He sent his own children away to preserve the honor of the family.  How much easier it would be to send a son-in-law who didn
’
t carry his blood
.
  “But maybe he would,” she
said
,
remember
ing
how polite and respectful
her sisters’
husbands were to him.

“So you do understand,” Mehmet said.  “And do you also understand that it was his honor that allowed me to return to you?
A man with his wealth can easily arrange a convenient accident.
” 

Lola shook her head.  “Our
ways
may not be as
different as you think.  Judging by our society, I think he has a strong interest in keeping you alive.  As a widow his daughter would be free to remarry
and take her children with her
.  Your life keeps her, and her children, forever tied to him.”

Mehmet nodded slowly.  “I never thought of that.”  He smiled at Lola.  “I knew you weren
’
t just beautiful but exceptionally clever.
 
So tell me about your father that you say resembles the man who raised me.”

Lola moved her chair back from the table.  “It
’
s time to go.  The clinic
’
s probably open, and the doctor will be wondering where I am.”

“Doctor?  Are you ill?” 
Lola
smiled
at his stricken expression
.

“No, I
’
m not ill.  I forgot how long you
’
ve been gone.  Walk me to the clinic and I
’
ll tell you all about it as we go.”

~ ~ ~

“
H
ow do you know he
’
s telling the truth?” asked Enriqueta that night after the little girls were asleep.

“He could
’
ve claimed he was single
.
H
ow would I have known the difference?  You see how he is with the girls.  I know he
’
ll be a good husband and father.”

“Have you no memory at all?  What happened the last time a man told you a sad tale and tied it up with an I-love-you bow?” 

“This is different.  Mehmet
’
s a kind wonderful man and…and I think I love him already.”  Lola gave her sister a serene smile. 

“So he bared his soul
and
to
ld
you
all his secrets
.
Did
you
tell him
your
secrets
?”  Lola
bit her lip and turned her face from her sister’s penetrating eyes
.  “That’s a no, isn’t it?”