A Story All By Itself

I called one of my dearest friends last week.  Time and distance seem to keep us from getting together as often as we used to, but our friendship is and always will be a close one.  We go back a long way.  I finally told her about Sergei Kourdakov and my book, A Rose for Sergei.  Patsy was shocked, to put it mildly.  “I have known you for over thirty years and I have never heard you talk about this,” she said in disbelief.  Just like Patsy always does, she stops whatever she is doing, and gives you her full attention.  It is a wonderful trait.  She was getting ready to go out with her husband.  “I have to hear the rest of this story!” she exclaimed.  “You don’t understand . . . my hair’s half done and I’m stopping in the middle of fixing it to listen.  I don’t even know what to say.  You kept this a secret all these years . . . that’s a story all by itself."

After I told her everything, I explained that only my family knew I was writing a book.  I take that back.  Make that my family and a lot of blog readers knew I was writing a book!  You can imagine her surprise when she heard I have been blogging for over a year.  “This story just keeps getting better and better,” Patsy replied in amazement.  We ended the phone conversation with a promise to get together soon.

Keeping something secret all these years is a story all by itself.  But I also feel that A Rose for Sergei is the real story.  It explains so much more than my blog.  The book is about the last few months of Sergei Kourdakov’s life.  It is the true story of our time together.