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for rafael
âHey... do you remember that time Burak snuck me the RakÄą?â Is perhaps not the most normal way to start a voicemail message, but itâs what Demet is going with nonetheless. Rafael didnât pick up this time, but she also wasnât expecting him to, knowing heâs busy with MILF right now. It is the lunch rush, after all, and heâll check his phone as soon as it clears out. âYou distracted mom while he poured it into my cup, and then I had to bold-face lie to her and say I was drinking milk at eleven oâclock at night? With ice?â She laughs lightly into the phone receiver, grinning to herself. âThank goodness Esma wasnât home, or she wouldâve snitched on us so fast.â Esma always did consider herself the most responsible of the group of siblings, even over Burak. Itâs no surprise she was the only one to become a parent.Â
âI still donât know how we got away with that, in all honesty. It had to be suspicious.â Maybe it was her big blue eyes that saved her, that doe-eyed innocent look she can put on and pretend like she has no clue what someone is talking about. Itâs served her well over the years, her most useful tool even though she isnât the best of liars. Demet chews on her bottom lip in thought. âDo you think she always knew, and just decided to let us think we were so sneaky? Like... letting us have it as a bonding moment?â The older she gets, the more she thinks back on their childhood. Their mother, more specifically, and everything she put up with from them over the years. âI know, this probably seems like a weird thing to call and talk about, I just... itâs been on my mind, I guess.â She looks down at the bag she carries in hand, the name of a liquor store imprinted on itâs side. âAnyways, long and reminiscent story short, weâre sharing a bottle of RakÄą tonight at dinner. And youâre going to pretend to turn a blind eye when Filiz sneaks some into her glass, and offers Yusuf a sip.âÂ














