William & Patty: Chapter Seven

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In November 2001, William received a 30-day eviction notice from his care home, mostly caused by a clash between his newfound social life and the care home's rules. The first call he placed was to the Jasmin house.

As Sandra talked to him, she marveled at how calm he seemed for a man possibly facing homelessness. Though William and Patty never admitted it, Sandra believes it was part of an elaborate scheme.

A scheme that played out masterfully.

When Sandra mentioned the idea of William moving in with them, Patty emphatically agreed. The Jasmin house had an extra bedroom. And because Sandra's Home At Last certification essentially allowed her to operate a care home for two people, the transition was rather smooth.

On Dec. 12 that year, William moved in with everything he owned: a television and two plastic garbage bags full of belongings.

The fireworks started immediately.

Any time Sandra went outside to smoke a cigarette, she could look through the window and see William and Patty kissing passionately, holding each other tightly. Before long, they simply made out endlessly on the couch while Sandra sat there watching television.

On his second night there, William proposed to Patty in the living room. That touched off the weeklong nightly ritual. By comparison, the proposal played out a bit more smoothly than the day William asked Ken for his sister's hand in marriage.

William and Patty had ridden with Sandra to Ken's Portland home. Once there, the group decided to go out for pizza in separate cars, providing William a chance to ask his question while he and Ken rode to the restaurant.

But William froze. An uncomfortable silence built. As Ken drove, he looked over several times at William, who smiled and fidgeted, far too nervous to speak. Finally, Ken bailed him out.

"William, are you going to be good to my sister?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to take good care of her?"

"Yes."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

By the time everyone reached the restaurant, Ken had offered his blessing and William had relaxed. Eventually, the wedding was set for Valentine's Day 2003. The next day, William began getting to know Patty's family. Sandra took some time for herself.

She strapped on her leathers and tucked her long red hair into a helmet. Then she climbed aboard the Harley Davidson she had towed behind the car and disappeared into the highways of the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

The crew returned home a week later.