Mrs. and Mrs.

I remember shortly after Jimmy and I started dating, I confided in my friend Macie about him. Well, "confided" might not be the word. I do believe I bored her senseless with schmoopy declarations of how perfect he is. You know what happens to people when they're in a brand-new relationship. My friend Woof calls it "new relationship syndrome." Symptoms include gushing, random smiling, your feet don't touch the ground and you bore the hell out of your friends.

I told Macie all about Jimmy, and she grinned knowingly at me, as most of my friends were doing. I finished by telling her that he was even an Episcopalian, just like both of us.

"Do you know how hard it is to find a single Episcopalian man in my age bracket?" I asked her.

Macie leaned over and said, "Not as hard as it is to find a Christian lesbian."

I looked over at Macie's partner, Gail, and laughed my ass off. "You win!" I replied.

In the early years of Jimmy's and my relationship, he had made it clear that he had, quote, "honorable intentions." I was decidedly dishonorable, and intended to stay that way. In a hilarious reversal, it was Macie who huffed at me about making Jimmy an honest man. She pointed out that legally she could not marry Gail, while I had the freedom to marry Jimmy any time I wanted.

So I made Macie a bet: I'd marry Jimmy when she could marry Gail. After all, it wasn't fair for me to get married when she couldn't. She pointed out that Illinois was well on its way to civil unions; I declared that I meant in her home state of South Carolina. "Honey, I'm not going to live that long," she told me. There might have been some reference to hell and ice skates, I'm not sure.

Time changes everything, and people change too. We evolve, as a society and as individuals. Ask me three years ago if I'd be engaged, trying on wedding gowns and interviewing florists, and I'd have laughed or punched you (even odds). But I've grown as a person, and dealt with many of the fears and baggage that I carried with me for so long. Many other things have changed as well.

Still, none of us would ever have guessed that Macie would marry before me.

Today I am happy to announce that Macie and Gail eloped to New York City, where they were married. I wish we could have been there, to sing and celebrate and throw environmentally-conscious rice. We had some fun guessing at which name(s) they would keep, and the hotel was likewise confused, sending them a bottle of champagne for "Mr. and Mrs." I guess Emily Post has to write a new book.

Before they left, Macie showed me the rings they'd picked out, and I teased her about getting married before I did. She admitted she never thought it would be possible. Evolution.

Congratulations to Macie and Gail, who have committed their lives to each other (again). We love you both, and wish you the best of happiness.

Comments