Searching for a stranger

Searching for a Stranger Elaine Kinkead Searching for a Stranger Copyright © 2023 by Elaine Kinkead ISBN: 979-8-9871498-0-5 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons or locales, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Published by Elaine Kinkead, LLC Dallas, Texas Cover design by SweetnSpicyDesigns.com To those who through courage find their worth. Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 About the Author Chapter 1 Mind and Soul December 2019. Rome, Italy “I planned this trip for months! I was so excited while planning it, my twins teased me about having an Italian boyfriend waiting for me at the airport!” The doctor smiled. “It’s flu season, Isla. Sorry it will ruin your stay. Rest, take a lot of liquid, probiotics, vitamin D3, and two ibuprofens every four hours for the fever and the pain. Allow your immune system to respond to the virus. You should be fine in about ten days. Let me know if it persists. We don’t want this to turn into pneumonia.” He paused and looked up from his paperwork. “Are we on the same page?” “I’m disappointed, but I agree.” “By any chance, are you part of a tourist group, sightseeing in crowded areas?” “No, I stay away from crowds,” Isla responded with a smile. “There is a bar next to the Trevi Fountain, where I met this couple from China who asked me to take some pictures of them. We later realized we are all staying at the same hotel. Nice couple. My twins are about the same age as them. We spent the rest of the afternoon together.” “Chinese tourists spend the most when in Italy, exceeding all other nationalities. The figure is in the billions—two hundred sixty billion, roughly. That’s in American dollars, not liras,” he quipped. “Well, I think you are set to go.” “Thank you, Doctor Giovannetti. No prescriptions, no antibiotics for me?” “They’re useless in treating viruses like the flu.” Isla cut the vacation short. As soon as her symptoms allowed, she took a flight back home, although she was still under the weather. In and out of a daze through most of her flight, her achy body made her feel much older than her forty-nine years. In her more lucid moments, she thought to herself, I need a reset, a personal reset. A reset that re-establishes the way I am going to live my life. I need to do what Hillary Clinton did in 2015 with then Russian Foreign Prime Minister Sergey Lavrov. Press a mock cardboard reset button. The difference is that her political attempt to improve relations was a total failure; nothing changed between the United States and Russia. I will take care of doing things the right way. I will, with a lot of charm, suggest to Tom that it is best to rethink our expectations. Our relationship, if I can call it that, is not going to happen. We must wrap up our constant past disagreements and misunderstandings. We must stay away from placing fault on anyone. Maybe it’s best to remain as we are now, friends. “Ma’am are you alright?” someone was speaking to her. Isla opened her eyes just enough to see that it was a flight attendant. “You were talking, not that I could make out any part of what you were saying. Maybe you were just dreaming. Are you feeling well?” “Yes, I am. I’m sorry. Can’t wait to get home.” “It’s still three more hours to our arrival in Houston. I’ll bring you some water, and…” “And ibuprofen, please, if you have any.” “Sure will.” January 2020, Dallas, Texas Late in the evening, while taking a spin on her stationary bike, Isla patted her face with a towel and spun even faster, feeling satisfied. The aurora ringtone on her phone beeped to alert her of a new text. It was Tom. Hello Isla, are you home? I am. I’ll call you back, Tom. Frank and Issa are at the door. Okay, please don’t forget to call back. Isla walked to the foyer to greet her twins at the door. “Hello, my darlings!” “Hey, Mom. What’s up? Did you cook anything today? I mean anything…” “Frank, you are terrible!” Issa laughed. “You only love Mom for her cooking, much unlike me. Mom, just to prove my point, stop cooking for a week, and I bet you will not see Frank at all.” “I only have leftovers, Frank.” “Good, I’ll take that. By the way, Mom, have you gone online yet?” “Online for what?” asked Issa. “Well, Mom failed to bring home an Italian boyfriend, so I convinced her to get on a dating site. She needs to get out, socialize, meet people.” “I agree with you that she needs to socialize but can’t picture Mom going online to find a man.” “I did.” Isla was serious. “You did!” both screamed in unison. “That’s great!” Frank said as he twirled his mother around, looking at her intently. He added, “You look so fine, I mean, for your age. Mom, truly,” he added, placing his index finger on his thumb, “have you met anyone?” “I’m talking to some people. Got a few responses. Normal people, I guess.” “You need way more traffic than a few people! It’s about numbers. It’s about making yourself attractive to men in your league—intelligent, mature but still youthful men who are not looking for an affair, or for a bimbo, either. They are looking for a woman just like you: classy, intelligent, and seriously, Mom, you are pretty. Write a nice profile, take a few nice