Honor Thy Mother & Thy Father Ch. 20

"Cynthia, please join us, your husband has a decision to make. I believe he will need your help to make the proper choice."

Cynthia asked, "Steve is this going to be a simple answer, or a really simple answer?"

"I don't know yet, babe. He hasn't asked me the question."

"Steve, you have two choices of schools that have great Maritime law credentials. You can go to Tulane University Law School, which is north of New Orleans; or Swansea University Law School."

"You didn't say where Swansea University was Dycke."

"Oh, did I forget that; it's 200 miles west of London, England."

Steve doubled over in pain from the punch in the stomach Cynthia gave him. While he was in this position, she kissed his head and said, "You are going to give the correct answer, aren't you?"

Payne could not stop laughing, because her big, tall, strong brother had met his match in a 5 foot tall, 100-pound package. When he was able to breathe, and stand up straight again, Steve looked at his wife and said, "You didn't have to do that. England was going to be my choice. I know you want to travel, and this would give us the perfect opportunity to do it. Couldn't you be nice to me every once in a while?"

"If I was nice you might not recognize me."

Steve moved behind his sister, and replied, "Truer words were never spoken."

Cynthia went after him, like bees after a bear stealing their honey. Steve kept his sister, between them, and when Cynthia ran out of steam, she said, "Wait until we get home mister. I am going to break both your arms."

"Babe, if you said my legs, I would worry; but my arms are so high, you can't reach them."

Cynthia screamed. "Get into your birthday present, before I kill you. It may be the last time you get to drive it."

Dycke said, "Cynthia, I need him, and if you kill him, there will be no England, for you or Jordan."

"Damn you Dycke, I don't care if you need him, but I want to see England; so you win, he gets to live."

Payne took her friend by the shoulders, and thanked her. "Cynthia, I am glad you're not going to jail for murder. Dycke and I have decided three children are enough. If you were not here, I would have to raise Jordan, also. Dycke is going to have a vasectomy to make sure we stop having children."

Cynthia turned, and looked evilly at Dycke. She looked up at Payne, and said, "I will do it for free."

Payne patted Cynthia on her head. "Why would you take your vengeance out on me; that's mine!"

"Stop patting me on my head, Payne, before I cut you off at your knees. Steve, get in the car, we are going home."

"Yes, my love."

******

"I am going to miss them Dycke."

"It will only be for two or three years, and then he will become invaluable to the company. Your father will be amazed."

"Would you have believed it, when we were in high school?"

"Yes I did. I knew he had it in him, but someone had to kick him in his ass to get it out of him. Desiree and Cynthia did a marvelous job during his time in college. Let's go home I am hungry for dinner, and my wife."

"You are always hungry for your wife."

"I hope you don't expect that to change. I knew it the first day we met."

"Me too."

85. Patricia and Stephano's Wedding

Brad and Donna pushed the Building and Zoning board to approve the plans for Patricia's new home. Even though they could not find any faults with the plans, they balked at approving it so quickly. Donna brought in their big guns to move these plans through. Aaron Goodman, the chief fire investigator, the chief of police, and the head of the fire department, descended on the zoning board. They demanded to know what their problems were with these plans. Suddenly, there were none, and the plans were approved, while these men looked on.

As soon as they were signed, Brad and Donna went into high gear. They hired construction, and steel workers; plumbers, painters, and carpenters from the surrounding area, and the four neighboring states. They did all this to make sure that everything was in readiness for Patricia and Stephano's wedding, and the start of construction on her home the next day.

Concrete companies were alerted to have to enough mix available for an 8000 square foot, 2500-psi pad on Monday, October 18, at 9 A.M. Brad told the manager not to be late, if he wanted to bid on the contracts for the walls, hanger floors, and helipads.

The manager of the company assured him his trucks would be there early.

The construction companies set up their temporary field offices on the east side of the city, out of sight from where the wedding would take place. Their men were housed in trailers, specifically for this purpose. The first item on their list was to remove the fences. Then they had to destroy and remove the original pad the old house stood on, and everything that was underneath it.

Trucks containing thousands of yards of two by fours, and three-quarter inch plywood arrived on Tuesday, along with 350 carpenters and apprentices. They began the task of building a floor that would hold nearly 800 people. Lasers made every line on the ground straight. The two by fours were pounded 3 feet into the ground, and left exactly 2 feet above it; not a millimeter above or below.

Stephano had ordered them to build a floor approximately one half acre in dimensions. However, he ordered much more wood than was needed. The carpenters did not stop to ask any questions. They continued until the wood ran out. When it was measured afterwards, it was a little more than an acre in size.

The painters did not wait for carpenters to finish their job. As soon as one section was completed, they put the water repellent on the wood, went to the next section, and repeated the process. As they caught up to the carpenters, they returned to the first section, put the first coat of paint on it, and moved on. To the trained eye, it was a ballet. To the untrained eye, it was pandemonium. The painters finished putting the second coat of paint, on the wood, two hours after the carpenters finished.

Now came the hard part; building the intricately designed 'Cupola' Brad had designed for the couple to get married in. He had surprised him with it, when he went to tell them the Zoning Board had approved the plans for the house.

Patricia was so thrilled with it, she kissed him.

As usual, Stephano became furious with her. When she turned and saw the fire in his eyes, she shook her head and said, "Steph, give it a rest."

He was going to reply to her remark, when he remembered his own advice. "Don't piss her off." So he kept quiet, and let his temper cool down.

******

Thursday, October 14

Patty flew into the city for the final fitting of her gown. It was everything she had hoped for, and more. Carolina had taken her original drawing, brought it to life. It was fit for the cover of any magazine. While she had it on, Carolina and her staff took still pictures from every angle, as well as motion pictures. When they were done, they removed her dress, packed it carefully in a huge box, put it in the limousine, and brought her back to the heliport.

Carolina said, "I will be there at noon Saturday. Do not attempt to get into the dress without me there. I do not want anything to go wrong with it."

Patty replied, "I don't know how to thank you. This dress means the world to me. My father will be very proud to see me in it. I think my mother would be very proud to see me in it, also."

"Patricia, your mother is always in your heart. She will never leave you. You are a part of her, just like she is a part of you; that will never change."

"Intellectually, I know that, but in my heart I miss her every moment of every day."

"Patricia, it is the same way with me. My mother is my soul, and I speak to her, with my heart daily. It is the way it is supposed to be, between a mother and her daughter."

"I am sorry, Carolina, I did not know."

"There was no way for you to know. I do not carry that wound on my sleeve. Live your life Patricia; it is what your mother would want."

"I will try, I will really try. Thank you for talking to me."

******

Stephano and Brad tried on their new tuxedos, got their hair cut; nails clipped and polished, and for the first time in his life, Brad got a facial, and a massage. His only problem was the girl that gave them to him. She was gorgeous, and he had an erection that would not go down. Every time she looked at that area of his body, she laughed. Brad did not think it was a laughing matter. He had been working so hard for the past six months, he had not had time to be with any woman, and this beautiful woman was laughing at his predicament.

One hour and 45 minutes later it was over, but Brad was still erect. He followed Stephano to the cashier and waited patiently, while he paid for their procedures. The young woman, who had attended to him walked past him, slipped a card into his pocket. He waited until they were in the car to see what was on it. "Brad, you probably don't remember me, but I remember you. Thursdays were our nights together, even though I knew you were with Julie in the afternoon. I would like to take that thing of yours for another test drive. If you are interested, call me at 518- 998-9998. Bonnie"

Brad started doing mental gymnastics. "Bonnie, which one was Bonnie? Shit, I don't remember a Bonnie. I have to find my high school yearbook and see if I can remember her face. She knows I screwed around with everyone, but shit, this is embarrassing."

Stephano saw the consternation in Brad's face. He asked him what was going on. Don't try to tell me nothing or I will turn Patty loose on you.

Brad said, "The woman who worked on me today remembered me from high school. Her name is Bonnie, and I screwed her, plus every other girl in school I could. She kept laughing at my erection, because it would not go down. She gave me her number, and told me she wants to take it for another test drive. I feel like an idiot, because I don't recognize her. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Brad, you are fucking idiot. What have Patricia and I been telling you all these months. If you want to meet someone you have to be honest. If you start a relationship with a lie, she is going to wind up fucking you, instead of you fucking her."

"Can't I just go to the school library and check my yearbook to see who she is, so I can jog my memory and tell her I remember all about her."

"Is that the truth, or is it a lie?"

"Can I take the Fifth Amendment on that?"

"Do you want 'Timeless' to visit your car?"

"No, I guess not."

"Take out your cell phone, tell her you would love to take her out to lunch or dinner, her choice, but honestly, you don't remember her face."

"Do you realize how hard it is going to be for me to tell the truth?"

"Do you remember the last time you told the truth willingly to a girl?"

"Willingly, I don't think I ever have. This will be a first."

"There is a wedding Saturday, and you don't have a date."

"Stephano, you are out of your mind. I can't do that, my mother will be there. She would see me with a girl, and ask her about grandchildren."

"It is a chance you'll have to take, but there is always tomorrow to break the ice."

"How many times have I said that Patty, and you are nuts?"

"Make the phone call, and join us at the funny farm."

Brad made the call, and Bonnie said 'yes' to lunch. Lunch lasted three hours. As they were leaving the restaurant Bonnie asked him, "Why are you grinding your teeth?"

"I want to ask you something; I know your answer, and it is very logical, from your point of view. However, if you answer the opposite way, my mother will embarrass you in a way you cannot imagine. So I am caught between a rock and hard place."

"Do you want to part company here, and leave that question hanging in the air, unasked, or do you want to man up and ask me?"

"Okay, just remember, you asked for this. Two friends of mine are getting married tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock. I would like you to come with me, as my date."

"Is that it; is that the whole thing?"

"No, that is only the first half. Depending on your answer, I will either tell you the second half, or I can leave that alone."

"So if I say no. I will not know the second half of the question. If I say yes you will tell me; is that it?"

"Yes, that is it, in a nutshell."

"Brad, I would love to accompany you to the wedding."

"Bonnie, my mother is going to have a field day with you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Every time my mother sees me with a young woman, she grabs her by the arm, tells her what a wonderful catch I am, and asks her how many grandchildren she can expect."

"On a first date?"

"My mother would not care if we were talking to each other in the aisle of the food store, or if you were a hooker I hired for the day."

"Your mother must be awesome."

"If you think my mother is awesome, wait until you meet my grandmother."

"Wow, I think I need something stronger than a Diet Dr. Pepper. I make a mean margarita, are you interested?"

"I don't want to take advantage of you on our first day together."

"Boy have you changed. The first time we met you had my panties off in less than 10 minutes."

"A friend of mine told me if I wanted to start a relationship, I had better control myself."

"Oh, is that what we are doing, starting a relationship?"

"I am not seeing anyone, and I don't believe you are seeing anyone. Would you like to give it a try? I have never tried it with anyone else."

"A few hours ago, you didn't even remember who I was."

"Six months ago, I was a lying sack of shit. My life's ambition was to become a gigolo. My friends had more faith in me, than I did. As part of my service to them, I have to learn to tell the truth, and that's all I have done today. It's the first time I have ever done it, while I was talking with a woman."

"What do you mean, part of your service to them?"

"I made a bet with a genius, and naturally, I lost. I was to be her indentured servant for the next year of my life. It is not as bad as it sounds. She had me draw up the blueprints for her new home. I had just graduated, with a Master's Degree in Architecture, so it wasn't a bad thing. I also have to look after her 35-acre property. When my mother found out about this bet, she took away my Corvette, tied me to my chair in the office, and never let me out. I haven't been on a date for six months, until today that is. I have six more months to go on my contract. The man I was with yesterday is going to be her husband, and I am going to be his best man. The three of us have become very good friends."

"How should I dress for tomorrow?"

"Wear a nice simple dress. I will be in a tuxedo, but that does not matter. About 200 firefighters, police officers and their families are going to be there. They are going to be dressed as casually as you are. There are also going to be a lot of people that are politically connected and very wealthy. It is a very eclectic group. Don't let it frighten you, because there is a huge dance floor, and there is going to be a ton of food. The children have a separate play area, the dignitaries are coming in by helicopter, and everyone should have a blast."

"Are you going to pick me up, or do you want me to drive there by myself?"

"What type of cad do you take me for? Of course I'm going to pick you up."

"Wouldn't it be a good idea, if you knew where I lived?"

"If I didn't know where you lived, all I would have to do is ask Patricia to find out. In less than five minutes, I would know more about you than your mother."

"I take it she's the one you lost the bet to?"

"Yes, she is. Every time the government needs her, it cost them $1.4 million a day. She has three cookbooks memorized down to the last gram. I told her she was lying about the money, and it was not possible to memorize the cookbooks. I actually spoke to the director of the FBI, and he asked me how badly did I piss her off. When I told him, he called me an idiot, and verified the amount of money they paid her.

She bet me $100,000 against my Corvette that she could name every item in any recipe in each of those books. Making a long story short, I lost. I couldn't give her the Corvette, that's how I became her indentured servant."

"I wonder if she can organize my recipe cards."

"I wouldn't know; she doesn't use them."

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

Stephano was kicked out of their house at 6 PM. He didn't understand the rationale behind it, but when Patricia said leave, you left in a hurry. He was sound asleep at 5:30 AM, the next morning, when the phone by his bed rang.

Sleepily, he said "Hello."

He drew the phone away from his ear, as Patricia's tirade began.

"Can't you do anything I ask you for right? You son of a bitch, I am going to murder you. I am not marrying you today. Call everyone and cancel. I am leaving you. I am going to start my bus, and drive away. You will never find me again. Goodbye."

Stephano said, "Before you leave me, would you at least tell me what I did to deserve this?"

"Look outside you asshole."

He did, and he could not see one foot outside the window. A dense fog had settled into the deep green valley. He closed his eyes and said, "Oh God, don't do this to me; not today."

He returned to the phone, and cheerfully said, "What are you worried about, it's a morning fog it will burn off by 10 o'clock, and you will have a bright sunny day, just like you wanted. Haven't you ever heard the saying, "Wet grass in the morning means no rain during the day?"

"You are lying through your teeth. The weatherman said it was going to turn into thunderstorms this afternoon."

"Patricia, how many times has the weatherman been right this year?"

"Give me a minute and I'll tell you." She went to her computer, did her magic, and came up with her numbers. "The weatherman has been correct. 62.325% of the time this year."

"That means I can be right 37.675% of the time. In baseball, that's one hell of a batting average. In football, or tennis, 62.675% is a mediocre average."

"Yes, but in baseball, it makes you a god. I'll give you until 11 o'clock, and if the fog hasn't lifted, I am gone."

"What will you do if your mother comes looking for you at noon?"

"You are not fighting fair Stephano."

"I will do anything I have to do to keep you here, so I can marry you, and give you the spanking of your life. Right now that is what you need. You are acting like a spoiled brat. You can't have your way, so you are throwing a temper tantrum. Relax baby, go back to sleep and relax."

"You are not here, how am I supposed to relax."

"I wanted to stay, but you kicked me out, remember?"

"The bride and groom are not supposed to see each other, the night before the wedding."

"We have been living together for more than 7 months. Not seeing each other is an old wives tale, when the bride's parents wanted to keep her a virgin, until her wedding night."

"Mister Valentino, may I remind you that I am a virgin."

"Miss Patricia Laura Garrett-Parent Zabo; might I remind you that is not your parents that have kept you a virgin."

"Stephano, come home, please; I need you."

"I will be there in 30 minutes baby."

When he walked in the door, she nearly knocked him down.

"I guess you're happy to see me."

"No. I just wanted you closer in case the fog doesn't lift. If it's not clear by 11 A.M., I'm getting my gun and shooting you."

"Can I get some sleep first? Some idiot woke me up at an ungodly hour, and I believe it was you. If you're not careful, you won't be able to sit, during your own wedding."

"I'm going to bed, are you going to join me?"

"Are you going to be naked?"

"Are you going to be good?"

"No, I'm going to be great."

"I hate you, Stephano."

"I can't tell you how much I hate you, Patricia; but I can't stay away from you. Get in bed before I take you on the floor."