A Misunderstanding

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By Fathi Afifi

Their first date wasn’t exactly a date. It was to conduct a business transaction; she wanted to sell him garage doors for her uncle’s business and he wanted her to consider a salesperson position with his own construction company. But they were young, and bumped into each other earlier that day in the bustling streets of Istanbul—truly bustling streets, so chance meetings were more fateful than coincidental—and she’d looked particularly fetching that day, with her black hair spilling out of her green hijab, and her emerald eyes moist with the wind. 

                  So he’d asked her to meet for dinner that night, to talk business.

                  Yes, she said, to talk business. Lets. 

Promptly at nine o’clock they met outside the warm wooden doors of the Seker, and he pushed open the door and followed her chivalrously into the restaurant. Immediately they were engulfed by the spicy sweet aromas of traditional Turkish cuisine, the soft golden light of the wooden chandeliers, and the lively melodies of Turkish serenades. A quintet of players drifted from table to table, their red-faced enthusiasm and loud musical force covering up whatever talent they lacked. Each man swerved his body and fluttered his hands and drummed his feet in a personal celebratory dance, a contagious vibrancy that forced every onlooker to smile.

                  A table in a corner, the young woman told the man.

                  The table in the corner, the young man requested of their host.

Halfway through the meal, she had to visit the restroom. Business was going good, the food was marvelous, but the way her heart fluttered was a little unsettling, so she decided she could use a break. On her way back she paused, an unusual spectacle greeting her eye. The young man, marooned on the island of his table, was surrounded by a wave of music and jovial voices. The men played and laughed, congratulating him on his gorgeous girlfriend and cracking lewd, friendly jokes that made his mouth curve up and his ears redden.

For a while she just watched, unnoticed, and let her heart flutter.

"Angreek87"