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.