* * *
Ken smiled as he looked down at his toddler daughter, sleeping
soundly in her "big girl bed." A devoted father, he'd often get up in the
middle of the night to check on his first-born, a habit he'd developed
within days of bringing Bonnie home from the hospital. Lately the child
had been the only bright spot in his life, thanks to his sadly deteriorating
marriage. Aside from Bonnie's birth, he could barely recall experiencing
any sense of deep-rooted, overpowering happiness; on the contrary, in
many ways he felt empty and alone.
Taking a seat in a nearby rocking chair, Ken leaned back and closed
his eyes as thoughts of Maddy permeated his brain. How was she doing? Had
she gotten married yet? Was she still writing? He hadn't seen an issue of The
Good News Gazettein a while, though he'd secretly held onto the copy his
mother had brought over to his house just weeks after Bonnie's birth.
That was before Erin had set up a home-based business and taken a
corporate position in the creative department of a local cosmetics
company.
Paula Lockheart had entered Ken and Erin's home that morning,
armed with a stack of newspapers and magazines, which she'd carefully
set down on the coffee table before heading into the nursery. As Ken
walked through the living room on his way to make breakfast, a photo of
two familiar faces caught his eye. And when he picked up the publication
to take a closer look, his heart was filled with pride and longing.
Beneath the headline, "My Brother, My Hero," and the byline bearing
the author's name, Madeline and Louis smiled back at him, seated at a
round dining table. Wow. She'd finally achieved her goal of becoming a published
writer. He well remembered the endless conversations-by the ocean,
snuggled up on the couch or wrapped up under the satin sheets of his
waterbed-during which Maddy would eloquently share her dreams for
the future. In spite of everything, he still missed that connection.
"Do you know her?" His mother's voice startled him out of his
imaginings. Ken returned the paper to the top of the stack.
"Huh? Oh yeah, that's an old friend of mine. Remember Madeline
Rose, the girl from Media I dated a long time ago? Back when I had my
place in Somers Point?"
"The one who freaked you out by moving to Florida?" Paula replied,
recalling a long ago mother-son summit at the Deerfield Beach Fishing
Pier.
"Yeah, that's the one," he admitted sheepishly as his cheeks turned
slightly crimson. Paula briefly scanned the article and photo.
"She looks like a very nice young woman," his mother proclaimed.
"Cute, too! And she's obviously from a wonderful family. What an
inspiring story!"
With that, she strode back into the nursery, leaving Ken alone with
his unexpressed thoughts.