* * *
"Yaki! Tootsie!" Elyse called out to the couple she'd come to regard
as her adoptive parents, addressing them by their pet names. She was
standing in the baggage claim area of Terminal Four at the Fort
Lauderdale International Airport. As usual, she'd been running late, but
thankfully the Sunday morning traffic had been fairly light. She'd no
sooner consulted the airport's monitors to confirm their flight's on-time
arrival when she caught sight of them coming down the escalator.
"Hey-hey, Elyse how are ya?" Joseph Rose replied with his trademark
enthusiasm as he stepped off of the moving stairs, his wife closely behind.
They all exchanged an affectionate greeting, during which Elyse inquired
about their flight as well as the whereabouts of the rest of their group.
"Oh, the boys had to stop off in the men's room," Monica laughed.
"Little Greg couldn't wait any longer, so Uncle Louis took him. Big Greg
and Lori are with them."
"Is everybody excited?" Elyse asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh my God, we're all so happy. This is like a miracle! Have you
spoken to Maddy at all? I thought for sure she'd call me with the good
news, but she probably figured it was too late last night. Then of course,
we left at the crack of dawn to catch our plane."
"Uh no, not yet, but I assume she had a late evening and was too
busy celebrating to call me." She smiled, purposely omitting the part of
the agenda involving the Boca Resort.
"Well, thanks for coming to get us, sweetie," Monica said, placing an
arm around her as they strolled over to the luggage carousel.
"Get out, it's my pleasure!" Elyse enthused. "I'm just so thrilled for
Maddy-for all of you!"
"Who would've thought after all this time, it was Ken," Joseph
remarked. "I always did like that young man from way back in Ocean
City. I never quite understood what happened, since he's the reason my
daughter moved away in the first place. Guess the timing wasn't right until
now."
"Well, I'm just so relieved to see her finally settling down with the
right guy," Monica added. "As a parent, you want to leave this world
knowing your kids are taken care of." Then remembering Elyse's recent
tragedy, "Oh honey, I'm so sorry." She patted Maddy's beautiful blonde
friend on the shoulder.
"No worries, Tootsie. Today is all about Madeline and Kenny, and
their happiness. I want to celebrate that."
"Sounds good to me!" Joseph laughed, eager to change the subject.
Now a retired neurosurgeon, it still pained him deeply that modern
medical science had been unable to save Elyse's nephew from the ravages
of brain cancer. He couldn't even fathom his reaction had it been-God
forbid-one of his grandchildren. As if on cue, little Greg came running up
from behind, throwing his arms around his "Pop."
"Hey big guy, where's your father, uncle and aunt?"
"Right here, Dad," Lori replied. "Hey Elyse, how are you?" The two
women exchanged a hug before Greg and Louis followed suit.
"Ok, looks like the gang's all here!" Elyse proclaimed, before Lori
pulled her aside and asked if she'd heard from her little sister.
"Not yet, so I'm assuming it was a good night," she whispered with a
wink and a nod. "Ken would've called me if something had gone wrong.
Besides, does anyone here actually believe she'd turn down his proposal
anyway?" They both giggled.
"Nah, I don't think so," Lori concurred.
"So, weren't Lyle and Daphne supposed to be on this flight
originally?" Elyse inquired.
"Yes, but you know them-always a story," Monica responded with a
slight trace of sarcasm. "Let's just say they are on the Noon departure out
of Philly now. They should land by three, but they're going to take a cab
to the Lockheart's place." Elyse's face clouded over.
"Oh no! Surely someone can pick them up. I'll be happy to do it if
you need me to."
"Don't be silly," Monica admonished. "It was nice enough of you to
come down here early on a Sunday morning to get all of us. You're
Maddy's closest friend and I don't want you missing out on any of the
festivities, especially when you've already done so much for her."
"Well, I talked to Paula yesterday and she was pretty excited. We've
had a ball putting this together-it was even more fun than planning your
surprise arrival at her birthday party last year. Wait until you meet her,
she's such a sweet lady!"
"I can't wait to see the look on Maddy's face when she sees all of us!"
Louis giggled just as a loud buzzer alerted them to the impending arrival
of their bags on the rotating carousel.