Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal

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"Well, well, look who decided to show up for work today!" Betty

Stewart's lilting Scottish accent and exuberant laughter greeted Maddy as

she stepped through the door of the Kingston Personnel office in Wayne.

"How are you sweetie?"

"I'm doing just great, Betty, how are you?" Maddy smiled at the

vision of her boss behind her desk-a disorganized cacophony of papers,

files and photographs that stood in stark contrast to her crisp, grey-andwhite

pinstripe suit, perfectly twisted French knot and professionally

manicured nails. Though a plump woman, Betty never had a hair out of

place; her scattered office, however, was another story.

"I'm doin' fine sweetheart, come on in," she motioned to Maddy with

her hand.

"Guess what?" she teased, as Maddy pulled out a chair and sat down.

Betty was grinning from ear-to-ear; whatever it was had to be good.

"What?"

"Your new client? The one I delivered the donuts to yesterday? They

love Alexandra and they want to keep her on a long-term, temporary

basis, at least six months or more. And, not only that, but they gave me an

order for five more temporaries for their customer service department.

Isn't that great?" Her accent intensified as the excitement in her voice

rose exponentially with each new piece of good news. When she finished,

she positively beamed at Maddy.

"Oh my gosh, that's fabulous!" Maddy cried joyfully, jumping out of

her chair and answering Betty's high-five.

"I'm so proud of you, Madeline. This was a tough nut to crack, but

you hung in there and persisted with it. I've been trying to get the

American Enterprise account for years now-and you managed to do it

after just a few short months. Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Maddy said again, as a warm feeling of accomplishment

radiated through her being. It was a welcome phenomenon after a long

day of cold-calling in the field, though she had come away with a few

excellent leads.

"So how's Kenny doin'?"

"Much better, thanks. I really appreciated your flexibility yesterday,

Betty. Thanks for understanding."

"Well, sweetheart, I was once young and in love myself," she

chuckled. "Of course you'd want to take care of your honey after

something like that. And I'm sure he appreciated your TLC."

"Yes, he did." Wow, did Betty really think this was love after such a short time,

too?

"Good. He sounds like a wonderful young man for you, Madeline

Rose. I have a really good feelin' about it."

"Thanks, Betty. I hope you're right," Maddy replied, picking up her

briefcase and heading into her office to sort through her latest crop of

business cards.

"You just relax and let things unfold. You'll see it'll all work out

great!"

Maddy heard the musical accent down the hallway as she wondered

how her handsome patient was feeling. She contemplated calling him

briefly from the office phone before her thoughts were suddenly

interrupted by Arlene, their placement coordinator. A young, attractive

woman around Maddy's age, Arlene was prone to discontentment, in spite

of a generally good nature. Whenever she entered Maddy's office, it was

typically not to celebrate or engage in idle chit-chat.

"Hey, Arlene!" Maddy greeted her brightly as she glanced up at her

from behind the desk. In spite of her sometimes difficult personality,

Maddy always admired Arlene's artful make-up application, long reddish

ringlets and hazel eyes. And at nearly 5' 7", she was a statuesque presence

in the tradition of Carmen, Lori and Vanessa. Today she looked especially

stunning in a cream colored suit and a silk, royal-blue blouse.

"So I heard about the new client, congratulations."

What it lacked in enthusiasm, it made up for in-well, Maddy couldn't

be quite sure. It was difficult to ascertain Arlene's sincerity, based on her

monotone voice and expressionless face.

"Uh, thanks," she finally replied. "What's up?"

"I just want you to know that these positions may not be easy to fill.

So, don't put any pressure on me. I'll do my best and we'll see what

happens. I am placing the ad in this Sunday's paper, and going through

my files to call qualified temps."

"Well, Arlene, that's all you can do," Maddy sympathized. "And if you

need help, just let me know. Betty wants me to focus my time out in the

field, but if you want me to stay in one day and help you make calls, as

long as it's ok with her, I'll do it."

Arlene continued to stand there.

"Anything else?" Maddy asked, beginning to get annoyed.

"You know, Betty never congratulates me like that when I fill a

position; you get a new client and it's like you gave her a million dollars."

"Oh, Arlene, I don't think she means anything by it. It's just that,

we're an industry driven by sales and it's tough out there. When you get a

new account you have to celebrate it. Believe me, cold calling is really hard.

I still have days when I dread it. But the home office pressures Betty for

new clients and she pressures us-me to bring them in and you to fill

them. That's how it works."

Although she spoke calmly, Maddy had long begun to tire of Arlene's

"poor me" routine; it was hard enough doing her own job. But while she

felt like screaming, she maintained a sweet façade and a tranquil

demeanor.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Arlene conceded with a sigh. "Thanks

for listening."

"Anytime," Maddy called out, picking up the phone to dial Ken

before her co-worker returned for another gripe session. He picked it up

after the first ring.

"Hello?" Maddy's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his deep voice.

"Hey, Kenny, it's me. How're you feeling?"

"A helluva lot better now!" They both laughed.

"Uh, I can't talk long since I'm on the company phone. Just wanted

to check in with you after a long day in the field. How's the leg?"

"Much better today." He was propped up on his pillows on the

couch, his new CDs playing in the background. As he spoke to her, he

held the teddy bear she gave him in his hand. "But let's talk about you.

How's your day going?"

"Well, my new account just gave us five more orders; my boss is really

happy!"

"Sweetheart, that's great. Congratulations!" He felt genuine pride as

he listened to her recount the whole story.

"We'll have to do something special this weekend to celebrate," he

said.

"That sounds wonderful. I'm pretty sure Lori is coming down with

me. Vince's sister lives in Ocean City and it's her husband's birthday this

weekend. They're going to his party, so they'll be staying at the house with

me."

"Great!" Whatever made it possible for Maddy to return was fine

with Ken.

"Ok, baby, I'd better go. I'm on the company's dime here and I don't

want to get myself in trouble, especially after landing such a big fish."

"Alright, sweetheart. Can I call you later?"

"Absolutely!"

Maddy smiled inside and out as she suddenly felt refreshed and ready

to make the sometimes harrowing, but always necessary, follow-up phone

calls.