His Name Is Ron (26 page)

Fred's second marriage, 1977

Ron's high school graduation from Adlai Stevenson High School, Prairie View, Illinois, 1986

Ron and Patti with Kim at her Sweet Sixteen party, Agoura, California, December 1987

Ron and Fred at Patti's mom, Elayne's, birthday dinner, April 1993

Ron's birthday party, July 2, 1993: Lauren, Michael, Ron, and Fred

Lauren's Bat Mitzvah, November 1993: Fred and Ron jamming to “Old Time Rock 'n' Roll
” Photograph courtesy of Randy Moss/Ram Video Productions

The family at Lauren's Bat Mitzvah

Ron's family at the grave site
Photograph courtesy of Annie Leibovitz/Contact Press Images

The criminal trial prosecution team

Members of our dedicated, outstanding legal team from the civil trial
: (left to right)
Steve Foster, Yvette Molinaro, Peter Gelblum, Dan Petrocelli, Ed Medvene, Tom Lambert, Carolyn Walker
Photograph courtesy of Susan Pszonowsky

Photograph courtesy of Caroline Frye

Here was a sweater that Ron's former girlfriend, Jacqui, had given him. She had asked us if she could have it, and it was fine with us. We found his bowling ball and a few books. There were several Marilyn Monroe posters that he had collected. One of them had been a birthday present from Kim.

We also gave a bandana and a vest to Ron's friend Pete. Kim searched for a contract signed by Ron and Pete. She reminded us that Ron and Pete had joked about becoming the world's biggest gigolos. They had made a pact that the first one to get married would have all his wedding expenses paid by the other, including a lavish honeymoon. They had committed their pledge to writing and, after Kim witnessed it, it had been filed away for posterity.

Kim set aside Ron's cozy down comforter. She wanted to keep it, but was not ready to take it just yet.

We decided to give many items to the people at the cerebral palsy center and to another charitable organization where Patti had worked a few years earlier, the Coalition Against Household Violence.

After separating the items we intended to pass along to Ron's friends, we placed what remained in a trunk. It suddenly occurred to Kim and me that doing this was analogous to Ron himself. All of his belongings were now stored in this one simple place and Ron was an uncomplicated, simple person.

Kim found the bitter letter she had written to Ron in December 1993, when she accused him of taking her for granted. Had life progressed the way it was supposed to the letter would have been long forgotten, but now she agonized over the question: Is that how he remembered me? It bothered her deeply that he had saved the letter, and she wished that she had never written it.

Kim and I came across a folder labeled “Ankh” that we had previously overlooked. As I read through it, I was hit with an amalgam of emotions: surprise, pride, sadness, remorse. The folder showed, in amazing detail, plans for the restaurant or club that Ron had dreamed of opening. Architectural sketches, names of potential vendors, stacks of business cards, projected costs, and menu ideas filled the pages.

The shape of the building was unique, with a top curved portion creating a bar area and dance floor. The seating areas resembled arms, extending out on either side. The entranceway flared downward. The exterior of the club would not have a sign; it would simply have a large symbol on the door, which, in fact, was the very shape of the building, if viewed from above. It was the ankh, the Egyptian symbol for eternal life, the ornament
that Ron had worn around his neck; Kim was wearing that necklace now.