* * *
"You've got a great arm, beautiful!" Joseph Rose complimented his
daughter as they played a spirited round of beach football. She'd just
tossed him a tight spiral, hitting him perfectly in the chest.
"Thanks Dad!" Maddy called as she ran after his return lob, which
had sailed high over her head, nearly landing hard on the blanket of some
sunbathers a few feet away. She laughed out an apology as she scooped it
up before it could do any damage.
"Hey Maddy, whad'dya say we take a break and go for swim? It's hot
out here!"
"Sure, Dad!" she nodded in agreement, before depositing the ball on
one of their colorful beach chairs, along with the tee-shirt she'd been
wearing over her bathing suit. Though another year had passed, Madeline
persistently clung to old and self-defeating habits, going so far as to blame
Gary's rejection that night on the fact that it had been the first time he'd
ever seen her in shorts.
And while she looked good-even slim at times-in her flattering
work attire, casual clothes tended to emphasize her flaws. A skewed
perception to be sure, but one whose origins dated way back to early
childhood. To this day, she bristled at the memory of elementary and high
school gym class, when she'd have to change out of her camouflaging
uniform and into exercise-appropriate clothing. Sometimes she could still
hear the taunts of cruel classmates.
Despite their continual encouragement, those who loved Maddy the
most were consistently frustrated in their efforts to reprogram her mind;
to successfully convince her to acknowledge the beautiful young woman
she'd grown into, both inside and out. In the wake of the Kenny situation,
Mom, Dad, Lori and Greg had each made even more of a conscious
effort to boost her spirits, constantly reinforcing her psyche with talk of
her accomplishments, intelligence, sweetness and physical attractiveness.
But though the genuine admiration of family members and friends
was a welcome source of comfort, it also came with the unintended
consequence of drawing an even greater distinction between life at home
and life in the outside world. And while Maddy basked in the joy of close
family ties, she couldn't quite find the same unconditional acceptance
among her peers, with a few notable exceptions. Certainly when it came to
the dating scene, encountering men of honor and integrity like her father
and brothers was becoming an increasingly daunting task as time went on.
Further, the never ending dramas of Damian and Laura and more
recently, Greg and Vanessa, had caused Madeline to retreat further into a
secret inner hiding place, where she'd store her most menacing fears and
thoughts. With two weddings looming large-Greg and Vanessa's set to
take place in a little over a month, financial pressures, upsets over the twin
grandchildren and financial as well as other assorted difficulties, the last
thing her parents needed was another cause for concern. Therefore,
Madeline held tightly to the misguided notion that submerging her
problems was an integral component in the accomplishment of a greater
good.