"So, is this the contract you draw by yourself?"
"Yes, after your terms and conditions are settled, we can arrange a trusted lawyer as well."
Leyla looked at the man facing her expectantly. After she roasted her cousin because of his rude behavior, he ran away saying the couple should spend some time alone. Her prospective husband, then started his speech. How he wanted to marry in order to give his daughter a complete family, how he needed someone in charge of his house, his circumstances that not allowing him to settle down in normal ways and his idea of contract marriage.
Well, in the first place she didn't hope anything more. It was late at night when her cousin brother called her.
"Have you fought with your wife again?" she asked skipping pleasantries.
"Might be"
"Just say sorry. It is late. I'm sleepy."
"I know you are not sleeping."
"I said I am sleepy, not sleeping."
"Wanna go to a blind date?"
"Kay. Send me location."
"What?"
"I said send me the location. I will go to that damn blind date. Don't fight with your wife and sleep."
"I am not fighting her over your damn blind date."
"Then go to sleep."
She hanged up the phone on his face and asked the details by sending a message to her sister-in-law. Hülya explained her everything, that the man she was to meet is named Fatih Kayman and he was a widower with a daughter at the age of five. This contract wife thing, she also mentioned.
"I have no right to divorce you, you say?"
"That is a given. This is already my second marriage. I mean to keep it."
"There will be no physical involvement, but if both parties agree they can have sex." Leyla doubted if that man ever married before. This sounded more like an ordinary marriage. She kept reading,
"Both parties shouldn't interfere with personal lives of one another." So, this is more like an open marriage. "Party B should never fall in love with Party A." Aww, can this guy be more cliché? She tried to hold her laughter. Blab la bla… she read whole text filled with rules and regulations. It seemed like a marriage contract out of a Turkish drama. Even Korean dramas didn't have such corny ones nowadays. She now understood why Hülya matched them out of the blue. This man needed someone to teach him. She cleared her throat,
"So, in case of a dispute which court is on charge?"
"Pardon?" Fatih seemed very surprised at her question. Leyla was worried about the quality of the businesspeople handling nation's commerce.
"I mean, which court should I seek justice at, if there is any breach of the contract. Family court? Civil chambers?"
Fatih was speechless. He never felt this speechless in front of an opponent. He was the businessman; she was a simple teacher, yet she was the one asking the sensible question.
"I will call my lawyer and ask about it."
"Then you will be the one breaching the contract since no one should know about it."
Fatih leaned back as he saw her play. "Oh, I guess we have a lawyer here."
She crossed her arms, leaned back as well. "You need to have a general understanding of common law in order to pass civil servant exams."* She scoffed, "And it is not that I haven't signed one or two contracts up until this age. I am amazed how you – as a well-known businessman – managed to draw this thing so poorly." She threw the contract on the table.
"Then, what are the defects my contract have?"
"A contract should abide by the law. If it is against the law, then it is not a contract but only evidence of fraud."
"Where is it against the law?"
"The very first clause? I'd like to see the judge's face when you say 'oh, she cannot divorce me according to the contract we signed before' at court if I ever file for a divorce." She started laughing heartily with the thought of judge's making 'oh honey' face. "Filing for a divorce is my constitutional right given as an equal citizen of this country. A mere contract of yours has no power over it."
Fatih was silent. This time, it was because of his shame.
"And, what about this 'you shall not fall in love with me'? A contract should rely on quantitative measurements. How can you measure love? What court will you sue me at if I ever fall in love with you? What if I say 'l love the creation for the sake of the creator'** How can you prove if I never admit?"
"Enough of your mocking!" Fatih said at last. He was shaking with shame and anger. He regretted his idea of getting a contract wife. It looked very easy when they do it on TV. In real life it was not like that. Even his intimidating personality was in no help. He was mocked by a mere high school teacher. "I understand your refusal. I apologize for taking your time."
"I never said I am refusing you," Leyla said. "On the contrary, I really intent to marry you."
Fatih couldn't find his words again. This woman was really something. He underestimated her so much. A good person introduced by his late wife's cousin? A mere high school teacher? Hell no! He should have understood at the time she rebuked her cousin – no himself – when she first entered the restaurant. This was a worthy opponent of himself.
"Name your conditions then," He smiled.
*teachers at public schools are civil servants in Turkey and they need to pass a general civil servant exam as well as an exam checking their abilities as teachers.
** "love the creation for the sake of the creator" is a quotation from Yunus Emre, a 13th century Turkish poet and Sufi mystic. It means if you love God, then you should love all his creations.