Laura's Big Win (33 page)

“Yes ma’am, please?” and in the door
they shot like bullets. In the meantime, Vinnie and Ryan continued
with the introductions, finding himself comfortably among friends
here, all of whom seemed to be as caring and concerned about
Alice’s well being as he could ever ask. Vinnie was equally
impressed with the preparations that had been made to receive him
and the mammoth motor home. Franz had dozens of questions, but was
outflanked when Vinnie produced a set of compartment keys and
simply told Franz to open up whatever he would like to
investigate.

“And when you get that far, my friend,
if you like engines, pop the hood on this thing and take a look.
Had it modified so it would fit this chassis; nothing like having a
Caterpillar if you’re driving something the size of an
earthmover.”

True to form, Franz headed for the
engine cover and was duly impressed by the big v-8 diesel, with a
blower. It reminded him a lot of what semi rigs used for the long,
heavy haul, and his appreciation of Vinnie notched up considerably,
from a rich guy who was stealing Alice away to a consummate
consumer of heavy iron.

The motor home itself had been custom
built for long term comfort, everything from the powerful diesel to
handle any hill, to the six way power seats, to the popouts that
made it even larger when parked. Franz admitted he had never seen a
motor home with a bogey axle to help carry the weight of the large
unit, but was curious, as was Dennis, about the absence of a small
car for convenience.

“Not something I have ever done,”
Vinnie confided. “Towing something is a pain in the butt; you can’t
see where it is without a remote monitor, and you can’t back up
more than a few feet. I tried it once and gave it up. Now, once my
route is set, I call ahead and have a car delivered to wherever I
decide to spend time. Works for me. But say, Alice hasn’t told me
much about this operation. Looks pretty exclusive to me. How about
I get a couple or three Iron City’s and we chat a bit?”

As Dennis and Franz would discover,
this man traveled well, and made it clear he traveled sober but was
always well prepared for the night’s rest. Neither had ever imbibed
an Iron City, and both were impressed with the new aluminum bottle.
Truth be told, Vinnie knew how to win friends and keep them. It is
possible things would have deteriorated, but the arrival of another
guest changed the direction of the festivities to a more serious
note.

Judge Harry Comstock would not have
missed this moment for anything, but came with a surprise of his
own. Apparently, he had invited an associate to participate in the
festivities. Parking clear of the crowd around the motor home,
Harry and associate quickly joined the ranks.

“Morning Ryan, Laura, and the ever
beautiful Ms. Hamilton. I see the kids have you in
custody.”

Jack and Amanda remained a little in
awe of this man, as much for the tone of authority in his voice as
for what had been explained to them about how he had helped their
mother through the recent bad times. They had just finished their
tour of the motor home and were waiting not so patiently to tell
their mother all they had seen inside. Still, they would not
interrupt this person, not Judge Harry. An accomplished reader of
people, Harry sensed the kids excitement and granted them freedom
as quickly as he could. “Tell you what kids; you tell these two
what you saw in there while I have a short business conference with
Ms. Alice here. Okay?”

“Yes sir” came the quick response. They
weren’t really afraid of him per se, but their respect was quite
healthy. Anyway, relief had been quick in coming and the words came
tumbling out to Ryan and Laura, as Harry and Alice turned to meet
his associate.

“Alice, I’d like you to meet Father
James Jesse from Saint Matthew’s, and no smart remarks about the
name. I don’t know all the details here since Ryan was a little
sketchy on the phone. All I know for sure is you landed a trophy
fish and you want us to help you fillet him; right?”

“Father, the pleasure is mine, in spite
of the company you keep. What has this madman told you in error so
far, besides everything?”

“Ms. Hamilton, Alice, Harry is a near
and dear friend of mine for many years, back when we were in high
school together. I preach goodness on Sunday, and he scares the
hell out of ‘em the rest of the week. Anyway, he brought me along
as a back-up; promised me I’d have a good time, he did. Neither of
us knows where either of you stands with religion, so Harry figured
if you wanted something with a little more God in it than is in his
normal routine, I’m his resource. I’d be happy to oblige, and by
the way, being Roman Catholic is not one of my requirements for a
wedding. So, there you have it. I’m at your service.”

“And I could not be more pleased with
you being here. This may sound a little nutty, but we actually like
Harry too for some reason. Would it be out of line if you two did a
duet, or is that asking too much?”

“You up for this Harry? Dog and pony
show? How about I do a little reading or two, quote some scripture,
we’ll skip taking up a collection this time around, and you follow
up with the civil stuff?”

Never one to waste an opportunity,
Harry replied: “Great, but are you sure about skipping the
collection? May have to run an extra night of Bingo this
week.”

“Heathen.”

“Do gooder.”

Father James pressed on regardless:
“I’m in. What’s show time, Alice?”

“We’re working our way around to that.
Come over and meet the catch of the day, and of a lifetime for
me.”

As the three went in search of Vinnie,
the crowd continued to swell by twos and threes as word spread and
people arrived: Roger and wife, Cal and family, Alicia and her
husband, Fernando plus children as summoned by his wife, and others
from the Windmere family and close associates. Half an hour later,
Doris sought out Roger as CEO and told him dinner would be ready
about 1 PM, if they intended to have a wedding first. And with the
authority vested in him simply because these people all liked him
on this highly unofficial but perfectly delightful occasion, Roger
checked with Alice for confirmation, and confirmed to the assembled
gaggle, now numbering well over fifty and still growing, that there
was “about to be a weddin’ hereabouts”. In the meantime, Laura and
Alice had retired to her cottage for a minute or two to get ready,
Vinnie ducked into the motor home to change clothes, and Franz and
Dennis found a makeshift riser of sorts so everyone would have a
good view. Harry and Fr. James reviewed their routine, thought it
would go well in harmony, considered floating it as a Broadway
musical, and decided they would behave and do what was asked
without undue hurrah. Since he had heard that Ryan was probably
next in line for this sort of adventure, Vinnie had asked him to be
a witness for his side, while Laura would stand by Alice. Roger
would be the escort of record for the bride, and for an impromptu
and mildly unorganized gathering, the event took shape of its own
accord, there being no “his side” or “her side” to deal with, just
a lot of good and caring friends.

No one ever figured out how Franz had
managed to get the wedding march played over the temporary
loudspeakers mounted in the carriage house, but it carried well
toward the cottages and had the desired effect. Everyone moved into
place, and Roger with Alice on his arm started their short walk
from the cottage. Video cameras hummed from multiple locations, but
without disturbing the proceedings. It was a scene to be recalled
later with fond memories by all the assembled guests: Alice looking
radiant in her happiness, Vinnie reflecting her joy, Harry in a
judge’s robe and Fr. James in his cassock, sun beaming down on the
assembled party. Whether it was in a church or wedding chapel or a
field, nothing could have been more perfect for these two people.
Fr. James held his own, but kept things reasonably short, then
deferred to Harry for the legal ceremony. The pleasure they took
from performing this ceremony was evident, down to the moment when
they jointly presented the newly married couple to the
gathering.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we take great
personal pleasure in presenting to you Vincent and Alice Lupinacci.
Sir, you may kiss your bride.” Vinnie complied with enthusiasm,
matched by Alice, to the wild applause of the crowd. It may have
been unprecedented in the annals of Windmere history, but it
certainly set the tone for the rest of the day. As the
congratulations were extended, Roger gently noted that dinner was
being served somewhere inside, exactly where being unknown to him
in that he didn’t know exactly what was being cooked, by whom, or
for how many. But, everything else having carried the day, there
was no reason to believe the dinner would be anything less than a
match for the other events. Not to be outdone by the Harry and Fr.
James duet, Doris and Marie were prepared to the gunnels, each in
her own area of expertise, and with Roger’s blessing to use
whatever they wanted for the meal. It would be the wildest
combination meal anyone had ever seen, and was in itself memorable
for the range of edibles. Both women hauled out their favorite
recipes, Doris from her New England cookbook and Marie more from
memories of her Mexican heritage. The combination of two cultures
produced scents that by themselves could make a mummy hungry. Alice
had told Laura a little secret about hosting high level cocktail
parties and avoiding problems with drinking guests: keep food,
really good food, in front of them and they’ll be too full to drink
much. Not that it would have been a problem with this group, but
Laura noted the menu for future reference, and watched as notably
picky eaters were stuffing with gusto.

With deference to those assembled, Fr.
James gave the blessing, which was notably short, then got out of
the way. Sidling up to the Judge, he commented “You’re right about
this place Harry; it may seem a little scary to the uninitiated,
but these are wonderful people. What I heard about Laura and her
kids, the deal with the homeless shelter, things like that, makes a
better believer out of me. By the way, that Dennis fellow, is that
his girlfriend I see him with? I’ve seen him around, and I know her
from visits to the shelter, but I didn’t know they were an item.
Maybe I need to get out more.”

“You got me. I think maybe this is
somehow related to that sacrifice to the food gods they put on at
the shelter; Roger and I were having a cup the other day in town
and he said something in passing about Windmere suddenly becoming
more alive than it had been in years, at least for the staff. They
have a habit of making money, and evidently going out of their way
to lend a hand to deserving people. I hear they took in a girl and
her newborn from the shelter just the other day. And then there’s
Ryan and Laura. That sort of started things off. Nothing has been
quite the same since that girl came here, and it’s about time Ryan
got on with his life. We know there’s going to be a wedding, and I
would guess pretty soon. Maybe you can get in on that action, too.
Should be a little more organized, and quite a bit
bigger.”

“Sounds good to me. Really, the thing
about all this is that there are all sorts of people here who seem
to be a family, getting simple joy just from knowing each other,
and seeing one of their own make a large step forward. I mean, have
you ever had a soft shell taco with New England smothered beef
filling, or seen an Iron City can sitting alongside a Tecate
bottle? It truly does restore my faith in mankind, and womankind if
you want to get picky about it.”

“Truly does. But for now, where’s one
of those brats with the TexMex chili on it? Gotta die from
something, and I think maybe this will do it. Cheers,
Father.”

The festivities continued unabated for
hours. Alice had been right; keep the food coming and no one can
get tanked. Not that considerable amounts of beverage were not
consumed; they were in general, and in particular during the
multitude of toasts given and received. The container rebates alone
could have made a considerable sum, something not lost on Jack and
Ernie. Ever aware of impending opportunity, they made it a point to
offer to run drinks for people, and since it was all free, and even
more especially since Judge Harry let them bring him a drink, it
was all sanctioned; the boys made a point to salvage all the
aluminum containers and recyclable bottles, generating a sizeable
pile by the end of the day. Cash-in time would see them well
rewarded.

And finally, as a gesture of his true
appreciation for all these people and the love and kindness they
had shown him and his beloved, Vincent Lupinacci stood on his chair
and declared himself the happiest man on earth, surrounded by the
best people he had ever met, and truly fortunate to find a love of
his life in these later years of life.

“There can be no greater feeling of
love and belonging than I have right now; I have more happiness
than I have seen in years, and I owe it to this woman, who I love
very much, and to all of you who have made this possible. Is there
a man here who could be happier? I believe not. I thank
you.”

With those words, things slowly wound
down, with the newlyweds retiring to the motor home for their first
married evening, where a small package from Wendy’s Works remained
to be opened for a trial run. It had been a memorable day in every
respect, but more was to come in the next few weeks.