* * *
"I guess you heard all of that," Maddy sighed to her sister, entering
the comfort of their large pink and white bedroom. Lori had been in the
bathroom, wrapping her hair up in hot rollers, in anticipation of a night
out with Vince. She'd heard the drama unfolding downstairs, but had
made a conscious decision to stay out of it, preferring to speak with oneon-
one with both her Mom and sister once the storm clouds had passed.
"She's ridiculous," Lori remarked. Then, seeing her sister's eyes fill up
again, threw her arms around her. "Mads, don't cry. It's gonna be alright,
you'll see. She'll come around."
"I just can't stand it," Maddy sobbed, "All this turmoil with Damian
and Laura, and she has to pick a fight over Ken? He's the best thing that's
happened to me in a long time! I'm happy with him! Why doesn't that
matter!"
"Hey Mads! What's up, darling?" Greg addressed her by one of his
many terms of endearment for his youngest sister as he walked in on the
unfolding scene. He'd heard the commotion, too, but had been chatting
with Vanessa on the phone about their plans for the evening.
"Oh, it's just Mom being overprotective," Lori explained. "She's hung
up on the whole education thing with Ken. I don't know what her
problem is, he's a nice guy, he works hard, has his own place; most
importantly, he makes her happy." She nodded her head toward her sister
as she held an arm around her.
"Pfft! Is that what this is about?" He waved his arm dismissively in the
air in imitation of Louis. "Maddy, don't listen to that nonsense, hon. You
have every right to keep dating him-my God, you're an adult. And if the
two of you get along, it's no one else's business. If the guy was mistreating
you, I'd be the first one to beat the hell out of him, you know that! But
from what I've seen I really like him. He seems like a nice kid."
Madeline looked up at her six-foot, two-inch tall brother, whose hazel
eyes emanated sincerity and solidarity. From the time she was born, they'd
shared a special bond; now as a grown woman, his support was all the
more meaningful to her.
"I'm just tired, Greg. I'm tired of everything being a problem around
here, whether it's Damian and Laura, everyone else's wedding plans or
even the latest saga with Uncle Nick and Aunt Susan."
Maddy was referring to their mother's brother, whose wife had been
generating drama in the family with her insane jealousy for over 30 years.
Aunt Maria in particular had been at the receiving end of most of Susan's
bile, for reasons that defied logic.
After all, Aunt Maria and Uncle Earl were two of the nicest people
anyone would ever want to meet. But for as long as Maddy could
remember, Nick and Susan's presence-along with their three children-
at family events tended to cause nothing but friction and the distinctive
feeling of walking on eggshells. They possessed the dubious ability to
destroy an otherwise festive occasion simply by arriving at the party.
"Don't get me wrong; I agree with Mom. She's absolutely right about
Laura, although it probably wasn't a good idea to have written that letter
to Damian a few years back. And yes, who can forget all of the tension at
their wedding and the way Mom, Aunt Maria and Lori had to go clean
Laura's apartment. Lori and I were so hurt when they had a luncheon for
all of the bridesmaids and conveniently forgot to invite us. If we wanted to
stay mad, we've got plenty of justification. But you know what? It's
Damian's problem. And if he turns down the Penn program because of
her, he's crazy; but it's still his decision to make. And I am just tired of
being wrapped up in all of this conflict!
"You know, when I'm with Ken, I forget about it all. I was so hurt by
Jake and all of the nasty things he said and did. Now this great guy comes
along, and just because he doesn't have a formal education, I'm supposed
to throw it all away!" Maddy broke down in sobs again in Greg's
protective arms.
"Hey darling, don't cry," he consoled her. "You have to just do your
own thing; don't let anyone else dictate who you can see. If you like this
guy, that's all that matters."
"Yeah, Mads," Lori chimed in. "You know we support you. And I
think the more Mom gets to know Ken, the more she'll like him. But
guess what? It's your life! You're the one who gets to decide-not Mom
or anyone else."
"She doesn't want me to go to a wedding with him. Says if I go, I'm
just getting myself in deeper." Maddy's voice was muffled.
"Madeline, listen to me! Go to the wedding with him if you want.
C'mon, don't cave in to that kind of unfair pressure. Mom is wrong in this
case; she has no right to do that to you!" Lori was furious.
"I just hate seeing Mom and Dad fight over this," Maddy remarked.
"I can't stand that they're fighting because of me."
"No, they're not fighting because of you; they're fighting because
Mom has unrealistic expectations. For God's sake, we're talking about a
well-adjusted, self-supporting guy here. And there are lots of people in
our family without degrees-people who are pretty damn successful by
most standards. Mom doesn't love them any less because they didn't go to
college."
Lori made a silent note to herself to discuss the matter with their
mother at a more conducive time; she knew if she went downstairs now, it
might only exacerbate the situation. And with Ken due to arrive any
second, it also had the potential to embarrass the entire family.
"C'mon Mads," Greg pleaded, stroking her hair, "You'd better get
yourself together. It's almost seven-fifteen; the guy's gonna be here soon."
Maddy released herself from his hug and looked up at them with a tearstained
face.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sure my make-up is a mess; I'd better
go wash my face and redo it. I don't want him to know what's been going
on around here." Greg kissed her cheek.
Maddy wanted to make one final observation before moving on.
"You know what else is really sad, that I just can't seem to get across
to her? Ken is so very respectful, even though he's dated other girls
before who-weren't like me, if you know what I mean. And even though
we're incredibly attracted to one another, he has never once crossed the
line or pressured me to do anything. Not once. And we've been alone
plenty of times, believe me."
"Well Mads, take it from your big brother-when it's true love, you're
willing to wait. That's the way it is for me and Vanessa, anyway. She wants
to wait until we're married and that is great with me. And you know I
haven't always been a saint!" He laughed as he patted her on the head.
Both girls cracked up.
"Uh yeah, we're well aware of that, Greg!" Lori chuckled. "But it's
nice to hear you've mended your ways for the right one. Vince is the same
way with me."
"I just hope Kenny can stay patient. He's told me he loves me so
many times already. And it's like I'm so closed off inside, I don't even
know what I'm feeling anymore. But I do know I care about him a lot.
And I love being with him." The ringing of the doorbell pierced the
subsequent silence, causing Maddy's heart to catch in her throat.
"Oh my God, it's him!"
"Hurry and get cleaned up, Madeline! I'll get the door!" With that
Lori ran out of the room.
"Remember what I said," Greg cautioned her, as he followed behind
Lori, leaving Maddy alone to collect her thoughts and wash away all
visible traces of anguish.