12.  New Year, New Horizons

January 1957

After Christmas, Matt Wheeler noticed that his wife was only going through the motions in her day-to-day activities. Honey's illness had frightened her, and not knowing what to do had frightened her even more. Maddie seemed to be afraid to spend time with her child in case she did something wrong, or missed a problem. She had yet to regain the weight she had lost in the hospital and her appetite was nonexistent. While she had always reminded him of the beautiful film star, Grace Kelly, she was beginning to resemble the waiflike Audrey Hepburn.

He racked his brain to think of something that would help return her to the healthy outdoor-loving girl he had begun dating when they were both working as camp counselors.

Toward the end of January, he received a letter from Francois Martin, a Swiss hotelier who had sought Matthew's financial support when he wished to buy a hotel in Genoa, Italy. Matt had made a major investment in the property, and now Francois was inviting him to come to Genoa, on the Italian Riviera, and see how his investment was faring.

"…my good friend, if it were not for your help, my family could not have obtained this property. But thanks to you, we were able to purchase it, and I think you will be pleased to see how your investment has prospered. I invite you and your lovely wife to be my guests in the first week of March, for Carnival.

Please give my regards to your lovely Madeleine, and I hope to see you both soon.

Francois Martin
L'Hotel Suisse"

Matthew rubbed his chin thoughtfully. This could be just the thing, he thought. I have business in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Naples, so I need to make a European trip anyway.

Carefully, he considered the best way to suggest to Maddie that she should go with him. He jotted down several ideas that seemed promising.

"Maddie, I need your help," he began as they sat in the living room after supper. "I have to fly to Italy next month. There will be meetings in several different cities related to company business, and I'll need an interpreter for most of them."

"How can I help?" Maddie asked. "Can't Dorothy hire an interpreter to travel with you?"

"She could. But here's what I was thinking. Why don't you go with me? You're fluent in Italian, and you studied all of that art history besides. You could be my interpreter, and we could get in some sightseeing." He was going to continue, but Maddie interrupted him.

"Matt, you're crazy! I don't know anything about business. I might make a hash of everything. How long will the trip last, anyway?"

"We'll be traveling all over the country, since I have meetings in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Naples, and we'd be gone for three to four weeks. I'd miss you terribly if you stayed here, darling! And the Italians would love you. We could take it easy, spend a few days in each city. You'd have plenty of free time to shop or sightsee. And before we come back, we've been invited to spend a week at a hotel on the Italian Riviera where I have an investment."

"I see. You're making it sound very appealing – and of course I'd miss you, too. Well, I'm sure the Italian weather is much nicer than New York weather right now. I certainly wouldn't have to worry about leaving Honey in Mrs. Carter's care while I was gone. Let me think about it and I'll let you know tomorrow."

Matt knew when to drop a subject. Maddie would need some time to mull over this idea, but at least she wasn't totally negative toward it.

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"Darling, if you really think I could help you, I'll go to Italy with you," Maddie told him the following morning. "I won't be just a pretty face and a conversationalist, though. I want you to bring me home some information on the business we'll be doing, so I can anticipate some questions and answers that might come up."

"I'll have Dorothy make up a packet for you on the different meetings, with a file on each company and the top executives. You'll have two and a half weeks to study the materials."

As soon as Matt left for the office, Maddie went to the study, where her college textbooks were shelved, and pulled her Italian dictionary, as well as a grammar and vocabulary text. She had always been a conscientious student who believed in being prepared for exams. If I'm going to serve as Matt's interpreter, I need to make a good impression on the Italian executives, so I'll prepare myself as if it were another exam. I don't want Matt to be ashamed of me!

She reviewed grammar and sentence structure, practiced everyday phrases, and played some Italian language records to accustom her ear to the sounds of spoken Italian at a conversational pace. It wasn't long before she began to feel comfortable with the language she had studied intensively in college.

By the time Matt arrived from the office with his packet, she felt ready to converse at a tourist level. She greeted him at the door. "Buona sera, Signore. Vuole qualcosa da mangiare? Vuole qualcosa da bere?" (Good evening, sir. Would you like something to eat? Would you like something to drink?)

That evening, she located her passport. It was easy to find, since the Wheelers had gone to Paris for their honeymoon just a year and a half earlier.

In the following days, Maddie studied her packet and went to the library to research the companies included in the trip's agenda. She even visited her Italian professor at Radcliffe for extra practice in speaking Italian and using correct business terminology.

Finally, she visited her hairdresser and purchased several new outfits at Bergdorf Goodman. She would need both daytime suits and evening gowns, and the store had an atelier of Sorelle Fontana designs. Maddie wanted to make a good impression on her Italian hosts by wearing designs from the Italian couturier who had dressed Princess Grace of Monaco, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ava Gardner, and Audrey Hepburn.

At the end of two and a half weeks, Maddie felt that she was as ready as she could possibly be.

***********************

Matt and Maddie's trip was a great success for Wheeler International. Everywhere they went, the Italians congratulated Matt on his beautiful and intelligent wife. He began introducing himself as "the man who accompanied Madeleine Wheeler to Italy."

Maddie found, to her surprise, that she thoroughly enjoyed the business meetings. "It's such a challenge – it really makes me think and concentrate on what I'm doing. I feel as if I'm finally putting my education to some use," she told her husband. As Matt had promised, there was also plenty of time for sightseeing and shopping, and Maddie was able to find quite a few presents to buy for Honey, as well as gifts for her mother and Natalie and her family. Each time she saw a baby, she missed her own child, but she reminded herself that Honey was in capable and loving hands.

The beautiful countryside was healing to her spirit, and the mild weather was such a pleasant contrast to cold, damp New York that she quite enjoyed walking along the piazzas with Matt in the evenings. As a result, her appetite improved and she regained some attractive color in her complexion.

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March 12, 1957

"Oh, I've enjoyed this trip so much, Matt," Maddie told her husband on their last night at L'Hotel Suisse. Thank you for suggesting I could help you. But I can't wait to be back home with our daughter! Darling, do you suppose Honey will have forgotten us?" She felt anxious; they had been away for just over three weeks.

"Of course not," Matt responded. "But if she has trouble readjusting, we'll be able to spend plenty of time with her when we get home. She'll soon get used to us again." Matt didn't want to admit it, but he was worried, too. This was the first time since Honey's birth that he had gone more than twelve hours without seeing and touching his beautiful baby daughter.

***********************

March 14, 1957

The Wheelers let themselves into their apartment, and after removing their coats, went straight to the nursery, impatient to see their daughter.

Eight-month-old Honey was sitting unassisted on the changing table as Mrs. Carter combed her hair. She was cooing and playing patty-cake while Mrs. Carter recited the words to the old nursery rhyme. Matt coughed to get the nurse's attention, and she turned around to greet her employers with a pleasant smile. Maddie noticed that she kept a hand on Honey as she turned away from her.

"Welcome home! I hope you had a good trip," she said. "I wasn't sure what time you'd arrive, but Honey has just had her bath and gotten dressed. Look, sweetheart, here are your mama and daddy!" She lifted the baby in her arms and turned her to face her parents.

Maddie stepped forward, eager to hold her child. Honey stared at her for a moment with an uncertain smile, but when Maddie reached out her arms to take her, she turned her face away from her mother, clung to her nurse, and began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Wheeler. I think she's reached that ‘stranger awareness' phase," the older woman apologized. She tried to loosen Honey's grip on her sleeve, but the baby kept her face averted from her parents.

Matt put an arm around his wife's waist. He could see that she was struggling with tears. "Come, darling, let's get out of these travel clothes. We'll give her a little time to get used to us again." He led Maddie back to their bedroom, trying not to let her see that he was equally shaken.

The rest of the day, Honey remained wary around her parents. Although she would look at them without crying, she would not allow them to feed her, change her, or even hold her. Maddie felt rejected by her daughter, although she was able to visualize the exact page in Dr. Spock's book where he discussed developmental changes related to "stranger-awareness." She had awakened to a new interest during her trip with Matt. She had succeeded in the task he had asked of her; the task she had set herself. Here was something she could do well! To accompany Matt on more business travels would mean spending more time away from her child. But Honey didn't miss me! She loves Mrs. Carter, and Mrs. Carter knows how to take care of her better than I do!

Maddie's heart was heavy in her chest. It was hard to draw a deep breath. Maybe I don't have to choose now, but I will have to choose between being with my husband or my child soon. How can I choose between them?

She picked up the baby book she had been keeping for Honey and opened it. As she stared at the pages, which so carefully recorded her child's infancy, a few tears fell onto the pages.

 

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