William & Patty: Chapter Six

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Patty had spent 18 months away, and she wasted little time getting comfortable in her home again. She did things differently the second time around.

Sandra had heard that Patty liked to spend a lot of her time alone in the back of the house. Yet with Sandra's laid-back style taking the place of Patty's strict father, Patty began spending most of her free time in the living room with Sandra.

Patty attended classes and worked at Howard Training Center in Ceres, while Sandra worked at English Oaks Convalescent Hospital in Modesto. The two went out to dinners and movies. Sandra helped Patty with her homework. Sometimes at night, Patty climbed into Sandra's bed and the two shared girl talk.

They often discussed what was missing in their lives: men.

That quickly changed.

Before long, Sandra and Patty began swinging by William's group home to pick him up for nights on the town.

The three of them often went dancing at Crocodiles, a Modesto nightclub. As William and Patty danced to Elvis songs, she rested her head on his chest while he looked straight ahead, serenading her in a deep voice:

Wise men say only fools rush in

But I can't help falling in love with you

One Valentine's Day, Crocodiles revelers voted William and Patty the most romantic couple there. Watching them together, Sandra realized she was seeing something beautiful unfold. In fact, she was fostering it.

"It makes me feel good that I, a simple woman, can drastically change the lives of two people who otherwise would never have had the opportunity for love," she said. "Their relationship is probably the best relationship I have ever seen. They treat each other with total kindness and respect and dignity. They admire each other. They protect each other.

"Patty knows where her man's buttons are, but not so she can punch at them or poke at them. She has learned where his buttons are so she can protect him from other people."