* * *
"Kenny!" Madeline offered a warm hug as he entered the small tiled
entryway of her condo. It was another sunny Saturday, and he'd dropped
by as planned to take her to breakfast, followed by a visit to his new
home. This being Mothers Day weekend, Bonnie and Brian were
spending it with Erin and her new beau on Sanibel Island, where he
owned a palatial beachfront getaway.
"Hey sweetheart!" He relished the feel of her petite body as he folded
his arms around her waist and held her close. "God, you feel so good," he
murmured, kissing her hair.
She was wearing a cute pair of white Capri pants and a hot pink,
ruffled top; her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail with a rhinestone
clip. On her feet she wore her favorite Ann Marino thong sandals in a
coordinating color, decorated with multi-colored flower and palm tree
bangles.
Maddy closed her eyes for a moment, savoring every second of their
embrace, until he pulled away to look at her. Dressed in a pair of casual
Dockers and a navy golf shirt, he was the quintessential image of the
successful South Florida male-minus the arrogance and conceit, of
course. And when he cupped her face in his hands, she felt as if she might
actually fall to the floor before reaching to his forearms for support.
"Madeline, I know this isn't exactly romantic, considering it's broad
daylight and all, but I can't wait any longer," he whispered.
With that he leaned down to place his lips on hers, initiating a flood
of emotion when tender hesitancy quickly transitioned into an artful and
passionate fulfillment of what was once a relentlessly insatiable hunger.
"Oh God, Maddy, you feel so good," he repeated in between kisses,
luxuriating in the feel of her against him. And as was the case all of those
years ago, she still couldn't wrap her arms fully around his broad,
muscular frame; it was a joyful return to a blissful time and place.
When they finally broke away, Maddy gave him a brief tour of her
model unit. Prior to his arrival, she'd removed her treasure maps from the
bathroom mirror, along with her affirmations. Although willing to share
these new lessons with him at some point in the future, she'd determined
that today was reserved for simply reacquainting themselves with one
another; there would be plenty of time for prosperity principles later.
Besides, she already had a full agenda of difficult items to discuss when
the moment was right.
"Madeline, I am so very proud of you," he remarked, just as she was
gathering her purse and house keys. "You are truly a self-made woman,
sweetheart. I always knew you could do it, but still you've blown me
away!"
"Ah well, it's nice to know I can still surprise you, teddy bear," she
teased.
His ears perked up at her use of that particular term of affection; it
was one of the many things he'd desperately missed.
"I guess we never know what we're capable of until our backs are
against the wall. But I was never truly alone-and I've bumped into people
along the way who've helped me tremendously."
In addition to her parents and the rest of her family, thoughts of
Carmella and Frank, Ann, Elyse, Audrey, Carolyn and countless other
friends came to mind, along with of course, the One Supreme Being that
made everything possible. He was ultimately responsible for the
accomplished life she'd managed to create up to this point-a beautiful
existence she was still in the process of designing.
"I've always been in awe of you, sweetheart. Some things will never
change."
He smiled at her again as he took her by the hand and led her out the
front door.