The Best Questions

Some people seem to have the ability to ask the right questions.  Not questions that require a simple “yes” or “no” response, but thought-provoking questions.  Try as I might, I don’t believe I fall into that category.  For some people it comes naturally to question as they delve deeper into the conversation.  I usually expect that sort of in-depth discussion to come from an older, mature person.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when an acquaintance in her mid-twenties asked me about A Rose for Sergei.

Lindsay knew I had finished writing my book about Sergei Kourdakov.  However, she also told me she didn’t have a lot of time to read right now.  I told her that was perfectly all right.  After all, it is a busy time of year.  But the good news is, I told her, my book is a quick, easy read when you have more time.  I would say it will take anywhere from 3-4 hours.  And then her questions started.

“Was Sergei The One?” Lindsay asked.

“The one . . . what?  Sorry.  Yes, he was the Russian defector,” I replied.

“No.  I mean, was he Your One.”

“No,” I quietly replied as I smiled back at her.  “My husband was always meant to be My One.”

“Ohhh, I like that answer,” Lindsay said.  “So, you were just meant to meet Sergei in order to write about him then?”

I paused at that point in our conversation.  What an intuitive and thought-provoking question.  I thought about my answer.  “Hmmm . . . yes.  I think you might be right about that.  Maybe that’s the reason Sergei and I met . . . so I could write about him.”

“And no one really knew about you and Sergei.  You kept this to yourself all these years.  And it’s all true.  Every bit of it?”  Lindsay questioned.

“Yes it’s all true,” I said.

“Is the end bittersweet?”

“The end of the book?”

“No, finishing your book.  Is that bittersweet?  You kept it inside all these years and now you’re done.  Is that bittersweet for you?  Now you feel you can move on to something else.”

“Wow, you ask the best questions,” I said.  “You would make a great interviewer!”

“Why, thank you,” Lindsay beamed.

“In answer to your question, yes and no.  Yes, it is bittersweet for me to be done writing the book.  But also . . . no, I don’t feel like it’s the end.  I really feel it’s the beginning—for people to read the book and know more about Sergei.  It’s just the beginning.”