Madison
Madison threw supplies into her backpack with more force than necessary. Link was already walking one load of stuff up the trail to the cars. Her eyes watered and she swiped her T-shirt across her wet cheeks before tossing it into the bag. Oh hell. She sat on the empty platform bed and let the tears fall. Link wasn’t a bad guy, but she knew she was already in too deep. She couldn’t risk becoming like the girl in Watt’s “Found Drowned” painting. The woman in it portrayed a broken shell of her former self. That sort of sad desperation had been her mother’s fate too many times.
She recalled the night stepfather number three left many years ago.
Deep sobs came from the small bathroom. Madison crept from her room clutching her stuffed bunny. Floppy would keep her safe walking the dark hall. She stopped at the open bathroom door. Mommy was in there crying. She had all the grown-up medicine bottles scattered about the sink. “Mommy, are you sick?”
“Yes, I’m sick of living. I’m sick of men. Your good-for-nothing daddy left. He found someone else and he left us for her. I don’t know what to do, we can’t afford to stay here, I don’t, don’t…” Susan sobbed and scooped up a handful of the pills, chasing them down with water from Madison’s Big Bird plastic cup. “Go back to bed, Maddie. Mommy needs to be alone. Mommy always winds up alone.” She collapsed onto the towel-strewn bathroom floor.
Madison tried to pull her mother up but she was too heavy. She looked for Daddy in the dark apartment but he was gone. It was just her and Floppy and her mother asleep on the floor. She started to cry, but stopped when no one came. She cradled Floppy tightly to her chest and watched her mother sleep.
She awoke on the floor to a terrible sound. Her mom really was sick; she was vomiting all over the towels. Her mom cried for days after that. She was sent to live with her grandmother for a while. It was okay though because Izzy was staying there too.
Madison blew her nose. She had to pull herself together. She threw her hair up into a messy ponytail and went back to packing up. She was being silly; there was no way she could be pregnant just from being off by a couple of pills. Her period would come next Sunday night right on schedule. Besides, that wasn’t what was bothering her. She was wound up because Link had gotten back under her skin. She knew how loving a man like him could hurt her. She’d seen what it was like when they left. She'd always been so responsible with her heart, but there was something about Link Jacks that just made her lose her head.
Damn it, she did need to get back to New York and get some job applications out. She couldn't hide forever. By now her sister was probably getting worried. She really had expected to be back by Sunday night, but Link had proven to be a very diverting companion. He was just so easy to talk to, and, let's face it, he was pretty easy to love. She couldn’t stop touching him or listening to him. She had it bad, but she’d settle back into her life and work it out. Once he got back to the city and started going out again amongst his own beautiful people, he’d move on and stop calling her. She’d let herself have a good cry and pull it together. She’d always counted on herself. She wasn't her mother; she didn't need a man to take care of her, to make her feel important.
By the time Link got back from his first trip she had the rest of their stuff all lined up waiting on the porch. "You need a break or some water before we grab this stuff and head out to the cars?" Maddie asked as she motioned to the duffel bags and backpack spread out.
"No. I'm new to this camping thing, but the exercise part is familiar territory." Link assured her and made some muscle poses before laughing at his own antics and grabbing the bags. They set off to their cars at an even pace, Link excitedly talking about how wonderful the Caribbean was and Maddie lost in her own worries.