He went downstairs to find the entire family seated around the dinner table with that evening’s guest, and his heart leaped to see Ïpek’s hair shimmering behind the bowl of soup that Zahide had just set before her. When Ïpek beckoned him to take the place next to her, Ka was proud that everyone at the table knew they were in love, very proud; then, across the table, he saw Serdar Bey, the owner of the Border City Gazette. As Serdar Bey extended his hand, his smile was so friendly that Ka began to doubt what his own eyes had read in the newspaper folded in his pocket.
