GOING OUR SEPARATE WAYS

By Richard Zukosky

Two souls meet by chance in passing and weave an intricate tail of the heart.

They both lead different lives and after the first encounter they go their separate ways.
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Everyone searches for love and so it is with two people in our story, how Paul and Kathleen move forward in their relationship.

Their paths keep crossing, and the paths they take, the love they share are all part of the human story of love and loss. Destiny intervenes, and they go on with their lives each time.

As time passes, they are brought together again and again and overtime an intense relationship begins to develop.

They each learn about themselves, as they think about the other. While also moving on with their lives. While dealing with intense emotions of sorrow, anguish, and defeat. They must make the difficult decisions of losing or fighting on for those they love, as the years pass.

The story is one of love and the determination of their love. To what ends will each one go to reconcile their relationship?

The story highlights their love and the depths at which each one is willing to go, to rekindle a relationship. The connection is deeply fulfilling. To them it is worthwhile, as they are trying to find their own peace, going through their lives, learning what it means to remain steadfast. While they search for strength at every turn. A deep connection aligns and calls to them in a love that transcends time and space. A passion smolders and waits or a reunion and joy.

Will they conquer the demons of fate, which keeps interfering in their lives? Their struggle is a classic one as every love story has its troubles. Will Paul Kathleen’s intense relationship survive? What will the legend of these two lovers be? Time will tell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798369410356

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Kathleen stood there for a minute; she could feel the rage mounting from deep within. The tears started to run down her cheeks. I’ve got to get out of here! I can’t stand it any longer. How did I let Joc do this to me? she screamed to herself.

Just then, a flash of lightning careened across the sky and illuminated the inside of the house. It was as if the lightning sent a charge through her that sparked a resolve to take her life once again into her own hands.

She ran for the door as the thunder started to roll. Kathleen pushed open the door and rushed out into the night.

The rain began to pour down. She stopped for a moment and looked back at the house. The glow of the light streaming out of the windows made it appear warm and inviting.

The rain began to come down harder, so hard the petals were being knocked off her beloved flowers for which she had so tenderly cared.

It had only been a moment since running out into the rain and she was already soaking wet.

She took one last look at the home she loved and had been so happy in, then turned and started to run blindly into the night.

As she ran, the compulsion for self-preservation was now taking over and she knew she had to get away.

She splashed through the water that had already soaked the ground and gathered in large pools. She tripped and fell. She felt the mud oozing through her fingers as she struggled to get up. She felt the mud clinging to her legs. It didn’t matter. She had to get away.

She blindly ran on, falling again and again. Each time she fell, she would struggle to get up and go on. She was now covered in mud and ached all over from falling.

It doesn’t matter, she thought. I can endure. This is only superficial pain, and I will get over it. I only hope I can leave behind the pain inside of me. She only felt anguish.

The lightning flashed across the sky again. Kathleen saw the road just ahead.

Finally stumbling, she ran onto the road. She wiped her matted hair from her eyes. She started to walk down the road that was so foreboding in the rainy night.

Standing there, the chill of the rain was now starting to make itself felt. Kathleen started to shiver; She looked back toward her house and caught a glimpse of the warm yellow light coming from the windows as it passed through the trees, creating the illusion of hands reaching out to grab her.

Kathleen turned back to look down the road and she saw two bright lights coming straight for her.

As a deer caught in the headlights, she stood transfixed for a moment. At the last minute, she jumped to the side of the road as the speeding car missed her.

She was now down on her hands and knees in the road. She stayed there for a moment, sobbing. Her hair was now sticking to her face and hanging in the mud.

I’ve got to get up, she thought. I need to be strong. Slowly, with every ounce of energy she could muster, she struggled and got up.

She raised her fist to the sky and shouted, Damn you, Joc. I gave you everything I had! Why did you do this to me?

Again, the lightning streaked across the sky and seemed to strike close by her with an instantaneous clap of thunder that shook the earth and deafened her for a moment. She stood cold, wet, shaking and felt all alone, so alone. She put her face in her hands and started to cry again.

Her rage rose once more, with loneliness and longing she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Her fists were clenched at her sides. She raised her face to the sky and with the rain pelting her face, she cried aloud, Oh, my love, Paul, where are you? I need you now as I’ve never needed you before.

CHAPTER 1

The mountains had never looked so majestic. Paul had traveled several times through the Alps, yet never really paid attention to their grandeur.

They looked so different now as the train sped through them, causing the new snow powder to swirl up around the window through which he was looking.

It wasn’t long ago when he was lying in the snow freezing to death and John, his first work partner, had rescued him from certain death. He smiled to himself and thought how many times he saved his butt. I don’t think I can ever repay him.

The train struggled to make it up the grade. Paul wiped the frost off the window. He looked out of his window and across the snow that reflected a collage of patterns on the snow. It finally began to sink in that he was on vacation with no mission to worry about.

Picking up the book in his lap, he tried to get interested in it. He read a few lines but could not concentrate. His mind seemed to keep wandering back to Rome and the terrible year that he had just completed.

He thought about how he was going to be pulled out of the field and get a cushy job.

The train was now straining to reach the top of the Alps and he again looked out the window. Paul could see that the snowbanks along the tracks were almost as high as the windows of the train.

He felt the cadence of the train start to slow. Suddenly, the train came to a halt. He strained to look out the frost-covered window. Through the steam being blown from the train that created a fog as the heated steam hit the cold air, he could barely make out the sign that indicated he was at the Italian-Swiss border.

He sat back in his seat and smiled to himself, thinking about the many times he had crossed this border under different identities and never even been questioned.

After being discharged from his mandatory stint in the army, he was young and looking for adventure. Taking the army’s test upon entrance, he rated in the top tier of men for officer training. The only catch was he would have to sign up for four years. Not wanting to prolong his service, he refused. He did his two years in the army and was about to be discharged, but as a result of his high score on the army test, he was approached by the CIA. The organization happened to be recruiting at that time. Thinking it would be his chance at adventure, he eagerly signed up with them.

The uniformed border officers were soon on the train, doing their job of checking passports, which they accomplished quickly and efficiently.

Paul looked out the window again and saw the officer in charge motion to the conductor that it was OK to proceed.

The wheels of the train spun as they reached for contact with the steel on the iced rails. The train started slowly. Before long, it was again speeding along with a rhythmic click of the wheels.

As the train rocked back and forth, Paul began to stare out the window. It sure looks cold out there, he thought.

Settling back in his seat, he thought of how just a few hours earlier, he was in Rome where the breezes where balmy and sweet smelling.

He had wanted to get right back into action after being in the hospital, but Manion, his boss, insisted that he take some time off before getting back to work.

He remembered his new partner, Lucian, had agreed to meet him in Paris and show him some of the ins and outs of the city that he would never find on his own. After all, he was on vacation and was going to be in Paris in the springtime. In a very short time, he would be enjoying the City of Love and its springtime finery and indulging himself in some of the nightlife for which the city was noted.

He smiled to himself, and wondered what good old Lucian was doing. I guess he’s home with that girl in Paris that he was talking about all the time.

Lucian turned out to be a good partner. When John, his first partner, had been transferred, it was hard for him to put his trust in someone new. It didn’t take long when he came through to get his ass out of trouble more than once.

Paul leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It’s been a long journey, he thought. There were a lot of good times and some gut-wrenching times, but that’s life and I guess life goes on.

He wondered how Jenny and John where doing. It seemed like it was only yesterday, and they were married in the little chapel in France. Jenny was so beautiful, and John was so happy. We sure had a lot of good times together. It was lucky for me that John was there for me while we were in training. How many times was I ready to give up, but he encouraged and helped me so that I would graduate? I miss those two and my little goddaughter, Ellen.

He finally fell into a troubled sleep.

Paul! He heard his name being called out. He saw a woman standing in the shadows of a darkened doorway motioning him to follow her. Kathleen! Kathleen! Is that you? he shouted. He reached out for her, but she was gone. Suddenly, he was wide awake and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

He sat up and looked all around. He saw people sleeping and talking quietly. It must have been a dream, he thought. I wonder who the woman was.

CHAPTER 2

The rhythmic click of the wheel of the train tapping on the rails had almost put her in a trance as the locomotive sped across the French countryside. It was a beautiful day. The trip had been long, but the scenery had been more than adequate to keep her from getting bored. The conductor interrupted Kathleen’s daydream as he walked down the aisle announcing, Please get your things together. We will be arriving in Paris shortly.

Finally, Paris. This was a time she thought would not come to pass. At twenty-three years old, Kathleen Walker was finally traveling to Paris. Just then, the train jerked sideways as it moved onto the siding track, moving relentlessly toward the train station. She could now feel the cadence of the train’s wheels changing. The train was slowing down as it entered the outskirts of Paris.

She gathered her bags around her and sat back. She was ready to spring into action the moment the conductor said it was alright to disembark.

Her thoughts wandered back to graduation day and the wonderful gift that her parents had given her, this trip to Paris. Also, the fact that right after graduation she came down with a fever and within one day was in a coma. The doctors could not diagnose what the illness was and even gave up on her being able to survive. They said that the fever would have to run its course and what would be would be.

It was her mother who would not give up and stayed with her constantly, caring for her and praying that she would survive.

She had been in a coma for five months. The day that she woke up it seemed as if she was getting up from a normal night’s sleep. Everyone was amazed there didn’t seem to be any major aftereffects except for her being very weak. They never did have an answer as to what caused her illness. It would take her several months with her mother’s careful nursing to get her strength back. This brought about a special closeness with her mother that she hadn’t had before her illness. Now, sixteen months later, her postponed trip had finally come to pass. She was Kathleen Walker from Monroe, Michigan entering Paris.

Suddenly there was a lurch of the train that again brought her back to reality as the slow-moving train switched tracks again and made its last approach to the train station. The shrill whistle of the other trains leaving the station answered the whistle of her train as it blew its own high-pitched sound before entering the covered station.

The wheels on the steel rails squealed as the brakes of the train finally came to a stop. The train then blew out its last puff of steam in a long sigh of relief that it had done its job and brought her safely to Paris.

Quickly, she gathered up her bags and, with one bag in each hand and one bag under each arm, she sidestepped down the aisle and off the train onto the station platform and French soil.

She looked around to see if she could find her sponsor, Madame La Due. She set her bags down and opened her purse to get out the picture that Madame La Due had sent her. She looked around the station with its high glass and steel-beamed ceiling. The crowd of pushing people was hurrying to get on and off trains and shouting at the porters. The smell of the vendors selling all kinds of good foods reminded her that it had been hours since she had last eaten.

CHAPTER 3

Paul started to gather his belongings. He glanced out the window and could see that the boat train had also arrived a few minutes before his train and the people were disembarking, which added to the confusion and the masses of people pushing their way through, to get to where they wanted to go.

He stepped off the train and the crowd seemed to engulf him. He slung his bags over his shoulder and started to back up to get to a less congested area. He looked over his shoulder to see if he could see a porter to help him take care of his bags.

He heard a voice behind him shout, Look out! at the very instant he stumbled over a bag that was set down in his path. Like a tightrope walker, he put out his arms to try to regain his balance, but to no avail. He fell over backward and twisted to try to break his fall, but he landed face down.

He lay there for a moment and the same voice that shouted at him just before his fall asked, Are you alright?

He lay there trying to regain his composure. He was really fuming at the idiot who had left their bags where someone could trip over them. He was going to get up and really give that person a piece of his mind.

Slowly he started to pick himself up. Getting to his knees, his eyes came to rest on a pretty set of knees, prompting him to jerk back his head to see to whom they belonged. As he looked up, he saw a young woman who was laughing at the sight she had just witnessed.

He jumped to his feet. With a very embarrassed look, he said, Please excuse me. I hope I did not damage your bags?

She was still smiling, and he could see a twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes that were emphasized by her beautiful white complexion surrounded by her coal black hair. A striking beauty, he thought. He was just about to introduce himself to her, when a large older woman walked up, threw her arms around the girl, and smothered her with a big hug.

Kathleen thought that she was being squeezed to death by a huge pillow. She heard her say, Welcome, Kathleen, I am Madame La Due. I am glad you finally arrived.

As Madame La Due held her at arm’s length, Kathleen saw a large woman, short in stature with a round face and a big smile that helped to light up her eyes, which seemed to convey the feeling of warmth and happiness and a real compassion to anyone who might need it.

She was dressed the way that Kathleen had thought a French woman from the country would dress, with a loose-fitting skirt, a loose blouse, and a brightly colored bandana over her head. Kathleen instinctively knew she could not be in better hands.

Behind Madame La Due stood Monsieur La Due. He was dressed more like the country gentleman that he was. His boots were shined to a high gloss with which he wore jodhpurs, riding pants, loose on top and tight around the legs below his knees. He had on a loose-fitting shirt that looked like it was made of silk. He wore a beret on his head, and it was sitting in a jaunty, devil-may-care way. He took the beret off and held it in his hand as Madame La Due introduced him to Kathleen. Ah, Kathleen, this is my no-good husband, Monsieur La Due.

He put his arms around her and welcomed her with a kiss on each cheek. He said, Don’t listen to her. She is jealous because all the women chase after me.

He stepped back and Kathleen looked into his warm face. He had a trimmed white beard and she saw a sparkle in his eyes that she knew were full of mischief.

Paul had been standing there, watching the greetings going on and was just about to join in on the hugging and kissing when a porter walked up and grabbed his bags. Before he could say anything to the girl, he was chasing through the crowd after his luggage.

He tried to look back to see if he could see the girl one more time, but she had left the spot where they were standing and had vanished into the crowd.

He finally caught up with his bags and told the porter to hail him a cab. Within seconds, the porter was loading his bags into the taxi.

He got in and told the driver his destination and settled back in the seat. Reaching into his coat pocket, he took out a cigar case. He looked at the dent in it and rubbed his finger over it and mused to himself that this was one time smoking saved his life.

Opening the case, he took out a long cigar and lit it. He took in a deep drag and exhaled long and slowly; He watched the smoke stream toward the open window of the taxi. As he relaxed, his mind went back to the lovely girl whom he almost met.

It had been a long day and he could feel that it was catching up to him. He thought that he might close his eyes for a minute. He again saw the girl with the pretty face, beautiful blue eyes, and innocent look. I even know her name, he thought to himself. Kathleen. Kathleen, yes. That is what the old woman called her. Oh well. I’ll probably never see her again so I might as well forget about her.

The taxi pulled up in front of Paul’s hotel. He got out and paid the cab driver. He pushed his way into the lobby, and again the face of that beautiful girl flashed before his eyes and it was then he said to himself, I will find her again. I can feel it in my bones.

CHAPTER 4

Kathleen settled back into the rear seat of the car that Monsieur La Due had brought to the front of the station to pick them up. It was a 1937 Mercedes convertible, and he had the top down. Madame La Due explained that this was his baby, and he would not drive their new car, but insisted on picking her up in this car, so that they could put the top down and see a few of the sights while headed home.

Soon they were on the Champs-Élysées driving past the Arc de Triomphe. Kathleen was excited as they turned down a boulevard and saw the Cathedral of Notre Dame and as they drove by, she knew that soon she would visit it. They drove down the left bank past the book vendors. Finally, they turned down a down a street and saw the Eiffel Tower in all its grandeur. Monsieur La Due explained that the tower was built out of iron framework and rose 984 feet high.

With great pride, he said, It was erected for the International Exposition of 1889. The people thought it was ugly and that it should be torn down when the exposition ended. Instead, it has become the symbol of Paris. Now there are restaurants, souvenir shops, and platforms from which one can view the city. From the highest of the three platforms, you can see for fifty miles on a clear day. He continued, and that is about how far we have to go.

He turned the car and headed out of Paris to the La Due’s home. As they picked up speed and roared down the highway, Kathleen could not help but think of the wonderful time that lay ahead in exploring Paris.

It seemed like a few short minutes, and they turned into the small town of Meaux. It was a typical French provincial town where the day begins when the first person gets up, opens the shutters, and peers outside to the quiet, early morning, dew-covered streets. The households slowly are awakening and soon the streets are bustling with people on their way to the bakery shop to get fresh croissants to eat with their café au lait in the morning.

They drove past the boulangerie and patisserie shops with their wonderful items displayed, past the open-air market, and then past the café where people were already gathering to watch their world awaken.

They exited the town, and the road turned to dirt. Soon they were driving through small foothills and finally, coming to a fence, they stopped.

Monsieur La Due got out and opened the gate. They drove down the long driveway and Kathleen could see that it was a large farm that was almost entirely planted with grapes. The house finally came into sight. It was a large stone building that must have been there for at least 100 years.

They got out of the car and entered the house. Kathleen expected to see a primitive house as she came through the front door, but much to her surprise, the house was very modern inside.

They walked into the living room and Kathleen saw a young man about her age coming toward them with his arms open. He was tall and well-tanned. He had a warm smile and the look in his eyes was the same as his father had—they gleamed mischief.

Ah, Momma, Poppa, you have returned! Joc, their son, exclaimed. He hugged his mother and then turned to Kathleen.

Joc, this is Kathleen, and Kathleen, this is our son, Joc, said Momma La Due.

Joc eyed Kathleen very carefully, not missing any part of her. While looking her over, he exclaimed, Ooh la la! What a beautiful girl. She is so pretty that she could be French.

Looking at the young man standing in front of her, she saw someone that was about her age, pleasant looking with an athletic build and a shock of hair on his forehead. Kathleen blushed and said, I am glad to meet you, Joc.

He reached out, took her hand, and held it between both of his hands. He then raised her hand and gently kissed it.

A shiver ran up the back of Kathleen’s neck.

Joc looked at her and saw her beautiful blue eyes framed by her dark hair and snow-white complexion, He responded, It is my pleasure. If you need anything, you can call on me.

Thank you, Kathleen said as she withdrew her hand from his, while trying to stay composed.

Kathleen looked directly into his dark brown eyes, and they seemed now to be cold and hard. Then he smiled and all of a sudden, she felt a tingle come over her and she caught her breath. She could feel her face turning red as they looked into each other’s eyes. She thought to herself that she must be careful with this one. There was something about him that she could not quite put her finger on, but she just did not trust his smooth tongue.

Now Joc, give the girl a chance to catch her breath before you try to dazzle her with your smooth talk, Madame La Due said.

But Momma, she is beautiful, and she is all alone in a new country. She is going to need someone to take her under their wing and show her around.

Momma said sternly, Joc, that is enough. Be a good boy and take her bags to her room. We are going to eat dinner soon. I’ll bet Kathleen is starved.

Joc looked at her with pleading eyes, and without saying another word, he picked up the bags and took them upstairs to her room.

Again, an uneasy feeling came over Kathleen. There was something about Joc that just didn’t feel right.

Momma interrupted her thoughts by saying, I’ll bet you are hungry. I noticed you are a little on the skinny side, but never you mind, I will fatten you up so they will not recognize you when you return to America.

CHAPTER 5

Kathleen was shown to her room. It was a very nice room. It looked like it belonged to a fairy princess. The window was open, letting in the fresh country breeze that smelled sweet with many mingling scents. A feather