Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal

Journey's End was a lovely community of single-family homes built around an impressive, man-made lake. As with many South Florida developments, its architecture boasted a distinctively Mediterranean influence, characterized by stucco walls, arched doorways and wrought

iron terraces.

Audrey Solomon lived in this beautiful neighborhood, along with her

husband and toddler son. Over the years, she and Madeline had become

quite close, to the point where each regarded the other as not simply a

trusted friend, but a spiritual-if not biological-sister. Audrey had even

selected Madeline to be her first child's Godmother, an honor she

assumed gratefully and reverently.

Before proceeding beyond the gated entrance, Maddy smiled at the

guard and offered a sincere wish for pleasant afternoon, enthused by her

own plans for the day. And as she made the left turn in front of the

beautifully designed clubhouse on the way to the Grande Estates

subsection, she fondly recalled an exciting event that had taken place there

nearly a full year ago-her Forty Favoritesbirthday party.

Though initially not quite thrilled about reaching that particular

milestone, Maddy perked up when she and Audrey developed the

celebration's original theme, incorporating a lifetime of the birthday girl's

most cherished things, from the Philadelphia Eagles to Italian wedding

cookies. The catered event also included a deejay and personalized

decorations including Madame Alexander dolls, original "books" written

by Madeline as a child and even well-placed packages of Tastykakes.

But the most joyous part of her birthday had been the surprising

arrival of Greg, Lori, Lyle and Daphne in a stealth plan orchestrated by

none other than Elyse. She'd picked them up at Fort Lauderdale airport

the Thursday evening before the party, and then invited Maddy over for a

movie. Once there, she received the shock of her life as one-by-one, some

of her favorite people in the world jumped out of the bushes framing

Elyse's two-bedroom home. It had been one of the most meaningful and

uplifting moments in her recent history; an evening she'd remember

forever.

Mom, Dad and Louis joined them the next day as expected. After

taking her sister, brother and cousins to Deerfield Beach for breakfast,

followed by a fun session at Maddy's functional training studio, the group

had welcomed the rest of the family at the airport. The next several days

were filled with laughter, good times and gratitude for the opportunity to

reconnect in such a delightful way.

Buoyed by the love of family and friends, Madeline decided that 40

was a number to proud of. Besides, she still looked much younger than

her age, thanks to a combination of good genes, a healthy lifestyle and a

positive outlook; she was certain that the best was yet to come, a feeling

that had only intensified since ringing in the New Year. Inexplicably, with

the dawn of 2008, an authentic sense of coming "full circle" had

consumed her.

And indeed, her intuition had been correct. Here she was, on her way

to join her best girlfriends for a celebratory luncheon in honor of her

recent promotion to content manager for a prestigious e-marketing

company in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Specializing in the travel

industry, the firm provided Internet support on behalf of their clients,

most of whom were major cruise lines. After just over a year as an entrylevel

content writer, the astute higher-ups had rewarded her talent and

work ethic with a significant pay raise and editorial responsibility for a

team of six.

Ironically, she'd purchased a brand-new condo in Boca Bayou soon

after landing her corporate communications position with Portland

National Bank; however, her building was far removed from the one

formerly inhabited by Ken and Erin. Though they'd briefly come to mind

when she relocated several years ago, she'd swiftly relegated them back to

that sealed-off area in her head, never to be recalled again-or so she'd

assumed.

During the early days of her Boca Bayou residency, she'd embarked

upon an ill-fated relationship with Tag Russell, a handsome loan officer

whose office was just on the other side of Maddy's. For almost twelve

months, she'd regarded his consistent flirting as nothing more than a

pleasant workday diversion; after all, Tag never behaved inappropriately,

nor did he initiate any gatherings outside of the office.

Even on that horrendous date of September 11, 2001, when Maddy

had gone running hysterically into his office, Tag's comforting hugs and

soothing words had been completely platonic and above-board. However,

one night after a company Christmas party, the two of them ended up

having coffee at a local café, setting the stage for an involvement that

would ultimately result in heartbreak.

The relationship's failure had mainly been a function of Tag's inability

to move beyond the dissolution of his marriage and an early childhood

tragedy-two events that had rendered him emotionally unavailable. A

handsome man with wavy brown hair, blue eyes, a mischievous smile and

a ready sense of humor, he and Maddy had shared an intense chemistry,

along with a mutual affection. The former led to Madeline's full transition

into womanhood, though it came with an unanticipated problem-one

she finally resolved with physical therapy and natural progesterone cream.

But no amount of concerts, Marlins games, Harley rides or poolplaying

sessions at Gatsby's could save this doomed relationship. Whereas

Madeline fell in love with the highly successful, hard-working loan officer,

the most he could offer her was an occasional good time-on his terms

of course. And when his insecurity about being almost twelve years her

senior finally got to him, he ended the dalliance altogether.

Somewhere before the transition from office friendship to full-blown

relationship with Tag, Maddy had briefly reconnected with Mark

Donnelly, who at first appeared to be very impressed with her successful

banking career and obvious maturation. However, after three wonderful

dates wherein they shared meaningful conversation as well as endless,

passionate kisses, he disappeared again from her life. No goodbye call or

farewell visit-just an abrupt departure after promising to contact her

upon his return from California, site of his "all-boys" motorcycling

vacation.

In an interesting twist, Tag had unknowingly referenced Maddy's

former flame many months later when the two of them attended that

year's SunFest. Turned out, Tag and Mark had worked together in the

lending department at First America Bank. And as Tag and Madeline

browsed the multitude of artists' tents at the West Palm Beach festival, he

told her all about his unexpected run-in at Publix with the newly engaged

Mark, who'd happily announced his impending fall wedding. Though she

did not disclose the details of her brief romance, Madeline silently

pondered if Mark's fiancée had been the real reason for his disappearance

the second time around. If so, it was certainly a strange and recurring

pattern.

Then there was the trauma she'd endured at the hands of Ray Smith,

yet another older man who'd deceived her into believing he was divorced

and in the market for a meaningful relationship. Against her intuitive

impulses, Madeline had allowed him to drive down from Jupiter to take

her to dinner, after just a few casual lunches. Having met the retired

police detective at a community awareness event, she'd erroneously

assumed a good nature and a benign intention. But it wasn't long until the

green-eyed, dark-haired deceiver proved her wrong.

When he refused to leave her place that evening, Madeline should

have called the guard house, if not the police. Instead, she let him to

sweet-talk her into staying the night, a decision she regretted almost

immediately. Six weeks later, harrowing test results from her doctor nearly

devastated her, though within a year she'd discovered a natural cure for

the malady, thanks to focused Internet research. On that dark and dreary

day, Elyse had been a Godsend, sympathizing and coaching Madeline

through one of her most horrific experiences to date.

And yet, the silver lining-even before locating a successful

remedy-had been the fact that Maddy never once regressed back to

panic and anxiety disorder. In spite of the physical and emotional

upheaval, she remained balanced and strong; it was another testament to

Ann Claire's validity and Madeline's faith and determination.