The first eight chapters of Kindling will release to all subscribers on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. Starting with Chapter 9, only paid subscribers can see past the preview.
Previously, we go back to 1982 and the Arizona boarding school where a red-haired Irish boy picked up a girl’s bags and asked if they might be cousins. Read Chapter 4.
Chapter 5: Marcus and Leenie
Fresno Airport Fairfield Inn — July 2025
Leenie had spent three years researching full-time travel before they retired in Fresno. One trick she took to heart: ease your departure day by staying at the airport hotel the night before an early flight. Eliminate the morning chaos and give yourself a fighting chance at sleep, assured the tip.
At the hotel, Marcus composed the limerick that would launch their journey. He had been teasing it for three days. He read the limerick aloud with appropriate ceremony:
“Just two travelers on their way
To adventure on each and every day
We have no possessions
Nor religious concessions
Taking in the day, come what may.”
Leenie rolled her eyes. Sounds like John Lennon, she thought. She hoped all the red varietals they’d uncover hidden in the world’s wineries would help her treasure Marcus’s poetry better. His obsession with limericks had peppered her life every day they’d been together, even showing up as part of their wedding vows. She wondered if their upcoming stop in Limerick, Ireland, would solidify his dream of becoming a professional limerick’ist or kill it for good.
“I posted in the Nomad Life Facebook group that we launched,” Leenie said. She was elated she’d stumbled upon the Nomad Life Facebook group while researching cities to visit. This diverse group made them both feel welcome. Every week, other full-time travelers posted where they’d be in the world. When folks overlapped they reached out to each other and grabbed dinner, a walk, a concert, or whatever else might be going on in their shared geography. The nomads posted pictures from Danang, Vietnam to Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and gushed how their meetups carried on for hours.
Leenie believed the group would be a way to meet other travelers and also squelch Marcus’s fear of loneliness and isolation.
Marcus asked “Did you say we’d be tasting reds in Italy? Or that I’m going to win the Limerick competition in Ireland?”
“Venice. It’s too soon to post about Ireland. That’s weeks from now.” Leenie couldn’t wait to check out a boutique winery at the bottom of Stelvio Nature Park near Tyrol, Italy. She’d read about it in Wine Enthusiast.
After a night of perfect sleep avoiding the jittery what-ifs at the Fresno Airport Fairfield Inn (where Leenie tried out her new-found skill of using hotel points for free stays), Marcus pulled their hotel door closed. For the first time in what seemed like forever, no one had to make a bed or scrub a toilet. This was a benefit of Nomad Life that Leenie knew she’d enjoy.
A domestic flight to Newark seemed reasonable. With their extra-large body sizes, she feared the coach seats would be too wrenching. On the flight to Newark, they tested their packing system. Marcus wedged their carry-ons in the overhead, while Leenie shoved the backpacks under their seats. Everything fit perfectly. On their first-ever red-eye to Venice from Newark, she picked the window seat so she could sleep with her head against the window, and Marcus took the aisle to stretch out. Miraculously, the middle seat remained empty. She thanked the travel gods.
When they landed in Venice, Marcus unfolded his cramped legs. Leenie tried to unkink her neck.
“Honey, we need a new strategy if we do any more long flights. I feel like a snail in a too small shell,” Marcus said. “Toss me the aspirin, baby.”
“Me too,” Leenie said, reaching around to rub her back.
They cleared immigration with their carry-ons. Before stepping out into the Italian sunshine, Leenie visited the airport ATM to withdraw some Euros. They bought a couple bottles of water. It’d be good to have some small change in case they couldn’t tap their phones to pay on the bus.
Leenie had researched how to make sure her phone would work when they landed in Europe, and it’d paid off. Google quickly displayed the info they needed to locate the local bus station for a short ride to their hotel.
A sleek public bus pulled up a few minutes late. They tapped their phone to pay and sat down for their ten-minute ride. At the hotel, the host looked surprised. “Signora, why are you checking in too late? You were supposed to be here last night?”
Leenie had learned this trick in the Facebook group, too. If you’re arriving after a red-eye, you often can’t check into a hotel until the afternoon. Rather than dragging luggage around like zombies, make a reservation for the night before your arrival, suggested the tip. She was happy she’d mastered this trick; they needed a good nap.
When Marcus opened the door, Leenie crumbled from laughter. “How is that a King-sized bed? It’s a twin.”
From the doorway, they fell into the bed, Marcus’s feet dangling off the end of the mattress and Leenie smashed up against the wall, like two cannolis squeezed into a take-out box. Their laughter echoed down the hallway. Their bags squeezed between the door and the bed, leaving no room to stand if they wanted. Nor was there space for nightstands or a desk. Leenie continued to laugh, vibrating Marcus on the mattress. He giggled.
“I can’t use my CPAP breathing machine tonight, it won’t fit anywhere,” Leenie gasped, catching her breath.
“That’s okay,” Marcus joked. “We’re so close I’ll just put my hand over your mouth.”
Next: This story returns to the day before the bus ride, when Kelly tries one more time to sync her Kindle.
Author Notes:
We’ve learned that bed sizing around the world is very different than what we’re familiar with in the USA. Fulls are twins, Kings are Queens. This bed in Greece had us laughing so hard; we ended up getting a second room. One for me, one for Steve so we could get a good night’s sleep. Have you struggled with getting the bed size you need?
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It's fun to read about nomad life in a novel!
Yes. Bed sizes. That’s a tricky one.