AllFreeNovel
Share Us
JL jumps to his feet and waves. “Here they are,” he shouts. Other diners turn at the sound. Mum winces as nine pairs of eyes watch our progress toward the table. I notice Ian and Meggy are missing. The kids ignore us, intent on a video game.
We make our way over. The rest of the party sits at one of the long wooden tables. This is a place for glorying in meat but definitely not in privacy. Fergus Henderson, known for using every part of the animal, is a genius. The restaurant’s location, close to Smithfield Market is perfect. Cress wouldn’t know it, but she wasn’t too far from here earlier today.
When we cross the room, I do a double take. JL has brought Yavuz.
I pull out a chair for Cress, then slide the bag with my other trousers under my seat.
I move around the table to Yavuz and clap him on the shoulder. “Fancy meeting you here. I thought you would be at a family dinner.” We shake, and I move back over to sit next to Cress.
“My brother is out with his mates. JL suggested that I join you and meet your family.” Yavuz opens his arms as if encompassing all of us.
This is the first time that everyone has met this friend from my past. Frank and Les have been checking him out. Yavuz is wearing the same suit he wore the other night. “Sorry,” he apologizes. “I only have two suits these days, and the other one is still at the dry cleaners.”
Waving away his comment, I introduce him around. “For those of you who haven’t met him, this is Yavuz. His sister was one of my teammates when I was in Istanbul in 2003. Zehra.” I wait for that to sink in. “Yavuz lives in London now and we arranged to meet up. He had dinner with us at Rules the other night.” I clap him on the shoulder. “This is my family. We’re big and noisy, but friendly.”
“You’ve been reminiscing?” Liz turns guileless blue eyes on our guest. Frank leans over and whispers in her ear. She flushes.
“Hardly,” I say drily. Liz and Frank weren’t married at the time and the family doesn’t talk much about what happened. The details are still too painful.
“When did you move to London?” Dad asks.
“A few months ago. One of my brothers lives here and the other, Emre, is studying in Paris. The political climate at home isn’t good, so moving here seemed like a good idea. I’m going to Paris soon to visit Emre.”
Everyone goes back to general conversation, and Cress and I have our own little bubble. She looks troubled.
“I didn’t pay much attention the other night but you said he’s Zehra’s younger brother. Was she older than you?”
“No. Why?”
“He looks older than I would have expected.”
“Yeah, he definitely looks older than thirty.”
She gasps. “He’s only thirty?”
“I guess he’s had a hard ten years.”
“Don’t you think it’s suspicious that he shows up in London when we’re here, and he’s going to Paris—like us?” Cress’ voice quavers.
I shrug. “The CIA says he’s clean.” But I do wonder about that gap in time. Maybe he fell afoul of the conservative government in Turkey. I give a mental shrug and scan the table. Everyone has a drink, so I motion to the waiter. “Two Rosales 75 cocktails.”
There is a slight commotion at the entrance. We all crane our neck, wondering which celebrity is gracing us with their presence. Striding down the Art Deco room is my brother, Ian, with my sister Meggy.
A waiter follows behind with two chairs. No one says a word as we crunch together to make more room.
“Isn’t this cozy?” Meggy’s salutation appears forced.
Ian apologizes for their lateness—Tube delays—but stops short when he sees Yavuz. “Good to see you again, Arslan. Enjoying London.”
“I always enjoy London,” Yavuz says politely.
I stand up and hold my sister’s chair. “Meggy, this is Yavuz Arslan, one of my colleagues from my posting in Istanbul. Yavuz, my older sister, Margaret.” They exchange polite nods.
Meggy narrows her eyes, staring at Yavuz. “Gate crashing, are we?”
“Margaret,” Mum says repressively. “Mr. Arslan is a guest.”
“Sorry,” Meggy mumbles with bad grace.
