* * *
"Maddy! My gosh girl, you look great!" Audrey's bubbly voice
greeted her as she opened the screen-door of the atrium. Having just put
her little boy down for a nap, she'd heard the familiar click of the handle
as she walked by the foyer, prompting her to open the main doors before
Madeline could even ring the bell.
"Hey there, so do you!" she replied, returning her friend's warm hug.
A petite woman with a lovely face and gorgeous, waist-length dark
ringlets, Audrey looked more like a Hollywood celebrity than an
accomplished doctor. But her remarkable intelligence was evident to
anyone who spent less than two minutes with her-along with her
genuine sweetness, generosity and commitment to her Catholic faith.
"Is Elyse here yet?"
"No, honey, but she called to say she's running late. I think she
stopped by her sister's house to help out with the kids. You know, it's still
so hard for them having to come to terms with Kevin's death. Being a
mother myself, I don't know how that family is coping. I can't even
imagine losing a five year-old."
Audrey's eyes filled with tears, remembering the Lombard family's
recent tragedy. Having supported Elyse throughout the entire ordeal,
including the night the child passed away in his father's arms, Madeline
fought the urge to cry, too.
"Some of your friends from your manifestation class are here,
though," Audrey added quickly, in an attempt to change the mood. Today
was after all, a celebration. "And we have a very special guest, who was
supposed to be a surprise, but since Elyse won't get here for at least a
half-hour, we can't wait."
"Who is it?" Maddy asked, genuinely intrigued.
"You'll see!" Audrey exclaimed, taking her friend by the arm and
leading her out to the enclosed patio, where a small group of women had
gathered by the poolside bar. Nearby, a large table had been set up to host
a healthy feast of homemade tuna, chicken and egg salads, complemented
by fresh fruit, multi-grain rolls and Audrey's famous tiramisu-one of
Maddy's preferred desserts.
"Madeline, my goodness, look at you!" Carolyn Charlton exclaimed.
"Looks like you've reached your goal-congratulations!" She pecked her
younger friend on the cheek as she spoke. Though twenty years older than
Madeline and Audrey, Carolyn had a natural exuberance for life and a
sharp, spontaneous wit that made her seem ageless. And with her short
blonde hair, impeccable make-up application and stylish clothing, she
always looked appropriately fashionable.
"I know, can you believe it? I finally knocked off those last stubborn
ten pounds!" Maddy laughed. "They've been dogging me my whole life,
but I finally won!"
"Well, you look fantastic. And I can't wait to hear all about your new
promotion!"
But before Maddy could answer, she exchanged hugs and kisses with
the rest of her friends; then Audrey entered through the sliding glass door,
escorting a very special guest onto the patio.
"Ann, oh my God!" Maddy cried out, astonished.
"Hello, Madeline!" Ann Claire smiled, pecking her on the cheek. "I
feel so honored to have been invited here today."
"It's been awhile!" Maddy offered, quickly embracing her. "How are
you?"
"I'm just great, thanks. But I can't stay long, so I think you and I
should go have a seat in the family room and talk."
"We hired Ann to give you a reading," Audrey explained. "Think of it
as a special gift to celebrate your promotion."
"Aw, you're the best, thank you!"
Maddy smiled at them as she followed Ann back into the house,
where they settled into the comfort of a plush sectional couch. Once
relaxed through deep breathing techniques, Madeline nevertheless shot up
in surprise reaction to the first thing out of Ann's mouth.
"Who's Kenneth?" the psychic asked her.
"W-what?" Her heart nearly caught in her throat at the sound of the
name she'd forced herself to forget a lifetime ago. Even her closest
friends knew nothing about him, believing Maddy moved to Florida
simply on a personal quest for a new identity and nicer weather.
"Kenneth," Ann repeated calmly. "I see someone named Kenneth
cycling back in. I'm feeling that he's someone from your past-someone
who loved you very much."
"Y-yes, that's true. He's someone I met when I was a much younger
woman."
"And you loved him, too," Ann declared.
"Yes, well that was a long time ago and he married someone else,"
Maddy retorted.
"Really? Well, I don't think they're together anymore. I'm definitely
sensing if he's not already divorced, he's on his way. What's being shown
is that he's thought of you a lot over the years; in fact, he still thinks about
you very much.
"There was no excitement in his marriage. Now don't get me wrong,
he loved her. It's just that there was no 'wow!' kind of energy; it didn't go
where he wanted it to go. He's had floating moments of happiness, but
I'm feeling a joy-crisis dynamic around him. And he's kept himself busy-
not necessarily happy busy. There's a real sense of dissatisfaction on his
part; a tremendous amount of issues in this marriage. Right now I am
feeling real bitterness about who didn't do what for the relationship. And
there's a lot concern and confusion over his kids. I'm getting that he has a
boy and a girl. Did you know that?"
"Yes, I knew about his daughter because he'd contacted me right
around the time she was born. I'd just had my first piece published in a
local paper and he called to congratulate me. That has to be close to 11
years ago. And then at one point a few years back we did reconnect very
briefly over email and he sent me a picture of the whole family, including
his son. I could barely even look at it, so I ended up deleting it. And I
immediately put him out of my mind again."
"Well, there's no doubt that you and he have the potential to recreate
the relationship," Ann went on. "It's such an interesting energy. And I'm
feeling that you were together in past lifetimes, but you both had karma to
experience first in this lifetime before you could be together; it wasn't the
right timing when you first met. Does that make sense?"
"It sure does," Maddy agreed with a nod of her head. "The problem
back then was that he was ready and I wasn't, even though I really did
love him. And even after I followed him to Florida to find out he was
engaged, he pretty much admitted he wasn't excited about marrying her.
But I refused to tell him how I really felt because I believed I was doing
the honorable thing by stepping aside."
"Hmm," Ann replied, "I am getting a clear message that had you been
honest with him he may not have gone through with the marriage. In fact,
when the two of you do get together, he's going to tell you he never
should have married her. It'll be interesting! You must definitely make
contact. Absolutely call him!"
"Are you really sure about that?" Maddy pressed her. "I mean, the last
thing I am is a home-wrecker, especially with two innocent children
involved."
"Madeline," Ann stated emphatically. "The failure of Ken's marriage
is not your fault. It's over because the two of them were never right for
each other in the first place. If they couldn't make it work, that's directly
attributable to Ken and his ex, not you. He had a lesson to learn about
making good decisions and following his inner guidance. In spite of all of
his misgivings and unresolved feelings for you, he still married her. And
he's been a faithful husband all these years, but he's had it. Like I said, if
he's not officially divorced, he's definitely in the middle of proceedings.
"But I cannot stress enough that you must contact him. He really
wants to hear from you."
Maddy took her words to heart, cognizant of Ann's remarkable
abilities and pragmatic personality. She'd never advise her to do
something this risky if she didn't truly see a positive outcome. The only
problem now would be figuring out how to locate Ken's cell phone
number or a personal email, though the Internet would most likely make
that a fairly simple task. Beyond that, however, anything could happen,
psychic phenomena notwithstanding.