Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal

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"So you're heading down to the house after work on Friday?" Mom

asked.

She and Maddy were standing at the counter in their ceramic tiled

kitchen, preparing a dinner of chicken cutlets, tomato salad and broccoli.

As had been her "job" with this particular menu since she was a little girl,

Maddy carefully dipped each chicken breast in egg before submerging it in

Italian breadcrumbs, and then adding it to the Pyrex dish that would then

go into the oven after the cutlets had made a short stopover in the frying

pan. Her mom had the more difficult task of slicing away any unwanted

fat and pounding them to the desired thinness, before moving them along

in the assembly line.

"Yes, Kenny was able to get most of the weekend off, so we're going

to go to the beach if it's still warm enough, then maybe walk on the

boards, go to dinner….I'm not really sure yet." Monica Rose looked a bit

concerned as she opened the oven door and slid the Pyrex dish inside.

"Maddy, I don't think your father is going to be too happy with the

idea of you being there alone. I mean, Ken's a nice guy and everything,

but it doesn't look right."

Here we go, Maddy thought to herself. My God, hadn't she already proven her

loyalty to her upbringing? At 25, most girls her age had already discovered what life

was about. Here she was, still innocent in the ways of the world, fully on-board with the

concept of waiting until marriage before giving herself completely to a man, ever mindful

of her own dignity and her parents' wishes and reputation.

"Mom, my God," she protested, "All of the times I've been out on

dates with Jake, we were alone plenty of times. What difference does it

make if I am somewhere in Pennsylvania or at the Jersey Shore? If I

wanted to do something wrong, I sure don't have to drive over the Walt

Whitman Bridge! And what do you mean, it doesn't look right? Look right

to whom?"

She fought to keep the emotion out of her voice, but conversations

such as these could be so exhausting. She knew her mother meant well,

but sometimes she wondered if the overriding consideration was for what

other people might think, rather than for Maddy's safety, although she

never doubted her parents' love for her.

"Honey, I know," Mom's voice softened. "I know you and I know

you're a good kid. It's just that you two are still getting to know each

other and your father and I don't really know Kenny yet. What I've seen

so far I really like. I mean, he's very respectful, courteous…and it's

obvious how much he likes you. But I still don't like the idea of you being

there alone. Why doesn't he come here?"

"Well, for one thing, he has to work part of the weekend, and for

another, I really want to go to the beach while I still can, before it gets too

cold." Then after an inspired thought, she asked, "Why don't you and

Daddy come down this weekend, too?"

"I think your father's on call," she explained.

"Oh, well do you think he'd mind if you and Aunt Maria came down

without him?" Her father was so good about those things, never resenting

anyone else for having the freedom to enjoy the fruits of his labor; on the

contrary, it gave him such joy to know that those he loved were happy.

And quite honestly, he wasn't much of a beach person to begin with.

While his wife and children were content to play in the sand and surf

for hours, Joseph Rose would become restless and agitated after what

seemed like only moments. Maddy and her siblings would crack up as

he'd rise up out of his chair and announce with firm conviction, "I

CANNOT sit!" Then, he'd head back to the house before venturing to

the Ocean City Municipal Golf Course or the small airport, where he'd

begun taking flying lessons.

Much to her mother's chagrin, the latter hobby had led to the

purchase of a low-wing Piper Cub, a money-sucking toy whose significant

burden on their finances was evident every month when she did the

books. She certainly didn't begrudge her hard-working husband an outlet;

but after years of funding college educations, such an unnecessary bigticket

item was beginning to prove just too much of a strain. And now,

Lori's wedding loomed on the horizon. It was all a bit overwhelming.

"I don't know, I guess I can ask him. Your father's so good that way."

Maddy nodded in agreement. "I can just leave him with some food he can

heat up. You know your Dad; he's happy with a sandwich, but I can leave

some eggplant parmesan and some other stuff in the freezer. He certainly

won't starve!"

Visions of the casino danced in Monica's head as she went over to the

phone to call her sister.