Chapter 3

After the season ended, we had the usual round of talk shows in New York, along with the Championship Banquet; The Championship was worth another million in my pocket. Made up for what I paid for the house, I guess.

It was New Year's Eve, and the wedding was two weeks away; Patty and I spent the evening with the throng on Times Square, waiting for the ball to drop. When it started making its descent, the crowd started winding up. When it hit bottom, all hell broke loose. I'd never seen such antics in my life. One couple was actually fucking against a street light pole; even Patty chuckled at that.

"I'll bet she's got a cold ass," she said.

"Wouldn't it be a bitch if her ass got frozen to that pole?" I asked.

"Ouch; I don't even want to go there," Patty replied.

We made our way back to the hotel, where we found that the management had placed a very expensive bottle of Champagne in our room, compliments of the house. We made a toast to each other, and went to bed. Our lovemaking was sweet, tender, unhurried; We did our best to crawl inside one another, to enjoy each second, each nerve ending. Sex with Patty is unbelievable.

The next afternoon, we caught a flight back home to Indiana For a couple of days, and then I had to fly down to Miami for a couple of days of testing. Patty had enough to do, getting ready for the wedding. I was starting to get the matrimonial jitters, and getting in the car was what I needed to get rid of them. The new cars were great; more horsepower, more driver controls, more sensitive to what the driver wanted. Patty and Tracy would love them.

The rest of those two weeks flew by and, before I knew it, we were standing in Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral; Patty's Maid of Honor was her younger sister, Elizabeth. My Best Man was who else? Ronnie. True to his word, the good Archbishop was standing there with me when Patty came walking down the aisle on her father's arm.

"Oh, my, dear, God" was all I could say; she was stunning in her white satin gown.

The Archbishop said, "My son, God has blessed you with a beautiful bride today."

"Yes, Your Excellency, He certainly has."

"Ladies and Gentlemen," His Excellency started,"We are gathered here today to join John and Patricia in Holy Matrimony. Over the past year, I've grown to know these two people as the most selfless individuals I've ever had the privilege to know. Do you, John, take Patricia as your lawful wedded wife, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer, 'til death do you part?"

"He already has", replied Patty, before I had a chance to answer.

"Do you, Patricia, take John to be your lawful wedded husband, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, 'til death do you part?"

"I certainly do", she replied softly.

"By the power vested in me by the Holy Catholic Church and the State of Indiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife. John, you may kiss your bride."

As the ceremony ended, the bells were ringing madly.

At the reception, there was a mountain of gifts; I always considered it tacky to not open the gifts at the reception and acknowledge the giver, and by God, we were going to open every one if it took all night. We went through several piles of gifts and cards, when Ronnie took the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the newly-wedded couple will be leaving for their honeymoon tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. sharp; the only twist is that they have no idea where they are going. You see, I've arranged a private jet to pick them up and take them to their destination, without telling them where they are going."

When we got to Ronnie's gift, I told him that he'd done far too much already, having paid for the wedding, reception, and honeymoon.

"Nonsense", he said. "Now, open it."

I opened what appeared to be a box similar to what a shirt would come in, but found documents inside, One item, a framed certificate of incorporation, read, "JPR Performance, Inc." Attached to it was a letter from the Secretary of State's office, which read,

"Dear Mr. Langley:

Per your request, we have dissolved the corporation of Langley Racing, Inc., and have formed the corporation of JPR Performance, Inc. Officers are to be Mr. John Carpenter, President and CEO; Ms. Patricia Dannon, Vice-President and COO; and Mr. Ronald Langley, Secretary-Treasurer and CFO. Furthermore, per your request, Mr. Carpenter and Ms. Dannon shall have 51% ownership, and Mr. Langley shall have 49% ownership. Upon the death of either Mr. Carpenter or Ms. Dannon, the surviving spouse shall become the majority owner; upon the death of Mr. Langley, Mr. Carpenter and Ms. Dannon shall become sole owners of said corporation. I hope that this transaction complies with your wishes."

"Ronnie, why?" Patty asked.

"When you get back, we talk; today, we celebrate," he said.

After we opened all of the gifts, everyone started to trickle out; Patty's parents said that they'd move all of the gifts to the house the following day after we left. We went back to the house, and just collapsed. One round of lovemaking and we were ready to go to sleep.

As I held Patty in my arms, I said, "I love you, Mrs. Carpenter."

"And I love you, Mr. Carpenter," she said.

The next morning, precisely at 11:00 a.m., a Cessna Citation X taxied up to our back door; per Ronnie's instructions, we were to simply get on the plane, no luggage, no questions asked. We took off, and flew. It was a beautiful day for flying, even though we had no idea where we were going. Finally, the pilot set the plane down and said,"Welcome to Aruba."

We spent the next two weeks on the beautiful island, surrounded by crystal-clear water.

When our two weeks were up, the pilot returned for us and returned us safely to our back door. I didn't realize how convenient that back-door aircraft ramp would be until now.

When we got settled, I called Ronnie to let him know we were back. I invited him for dinner; we'd kept the chef on an on-call basis. He had a schedule of when we would be home, and would arrange his schedule accordingly. The housekeeper came in daily to tidy up, and to change the linens and clean the bathrooms.

While we were waiting for dinner, Patty and I set about putting away the mountain of wedding gifts. Many were envelopes of money, which totalled well into several thousand dollars.

When Ronnie arrived, I noticed he didn't look like he felt well.

"Ronnie, are you OK?" I asked him.

Patty was sitting with me when he said, "Actually, no, I'n not OK; I'm dying."

"WHAT?" Patty blurted out.

"John, Patty, I'm dying. I have Pancreatic Cancer, and there's nothing they can do for me. I've known about it for several months now, but didn't want to tell you until after the wedding. They figure I've got about a year and a half, at best."

"Oh, dear God," I said. Patty was crying.

"John, that's the reason I changed the corporate papers, so that the team could go on after I die. I'm not going to be able to be at the track as much as I used to be, and I needed to know that the team would be managed the way I wanted it to be."

"You realize that this is a lot of faith you're putting in me," I said.

"If I didn't think you'd do it, I'd have made other arrangements."

"I'll do my best to make sure you're proud of your team," I said.