Out and Proud

by Lisa Young

  Putting aside her search for the elusive Stripe, she mustered Alice, reminding her that they only had three weeks to go until their big day. Their first stop was to be a visit to a local wedding dress shop. There were only two in Fraserburgh, but Lottie was determined to wear a wedding dress. Although not a fan of dresses, she had baulked in horror at the poor selection of mother-of-the-bride type female suits available on the internet.

  Arriving at the Beautiful Babe Bridal Boutique, Lottie bustled towards the front counter while giving Alice a meaningful look, which communicated her desire for Alice to hold all negative opinions to herself. At the counter she came face-to-face with a heavily made-up and beaming shop assistant called Libby, who was eagerly awaiting her first customer of the day.

  “Hi, I have an appointment to try on some dresses,” she informed the youthful Barbie doll. Libby glanced past Lottie towards Alice, who stopped behind Lottie to loiter uncomfortably, hands thrust deep into her pockets.

  Although she had chosen not to speak or make eye contact with the assistant, it was very evident that Alice was not embracing the idea of hours trapped in a shop full of overly feminine taffeta gowns.

  However, determined not to let Alice’s lack of enthusiasm dampen this experience for her, Lottie decided that a distraction was in order. “Are there any women’s suits that my partner can look at while I try on some dresses?”

  Peering over Lottie’s shoulder, Libby eyed Alice with curiosity. A silent moment passed as the shop assistant appraised the situation.

  Lottie felt increasingly uncomfortable, recognising Alice’s steely glare as a sign that she did not wish to be overly involved in the process. Looking between them suspiciously, the shop assistant had determined the status of their relationship, and her disapproval was clearly evident in her furrowed brow.

  “Suits?” she questioned.

  Alice remained determinedly rooted to the spot refusing to make eye contact with either of them, and a haze of anger simmered around her.

  Lottie could feel disapproval in the air, which only served to increase her level of general anxiety.

  Seeing her commissioned sale slipping away, however, the shop assistant revived her fake smile and pointed assertively in the direction of the stairs. “Men’s suits are upstairs, love.”

  Lottie drew in a sharp breath and chanced a glance at Alice who looked crestfallen, and their eyes met briefly, with Lottie registering the pain of rejection etched across Alice’s delicate features.

  Before Alice had a chance to respond, Lottie leaned towards the startled assistant and hissed at her. “She’s not a fucking man! She’s a very beautiful woman. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  The woman stuttered an incomprehensible reply, clearly at a loss as to what she had said to evoke such a venomous response.

  Without waiting for an apology, Lottie grabbed Alice roughly and pulled her into an embrace. Lottie’s face set with steely rage. “We are lesbians and we’re getting married, whether you lot like it or not! By the way, your shop is shit!” And as if to confirm her assessment, she snatched up a turquoise taffeta off-the-shoulder number, and threw it dramatically onto the floor, before steering Alice towards the door.

  Outside, Lottie leaned against the doorway, suddenly overwhelmed and shaking. She wasn’t sure whether anger or upset was her primary emotion.

  Alice was beaming, her previously sour mood had evaporated. “My hero! Lottie, that was amazing. Men’s suits, for God’s sake. What a bloody joke!”

  Pleased that Alice had roused from her apathetic state, Lottie grinned coyly in response. “All in a day’s work for my beautiful fiancée! Stuff this, Alice. Let’s get the cake sorted and get the rest on the internet!”

  Grabbing Alice’s hand firmly, she headed for the bakery, determined to sort out at least one of the preparations on what was proving to be a long and exhausting list.

  After an uneventful conversation with their local baker, Lottie and Alice retreated to the safety of home, and peacefully decided on a variety of items to add the finishing touches for the wedding reception.

  Lottie concluded that the internet was clearly far more evolved than their local shopkeepers, and they had even found the number of a local tailor who had confirmed via e-mail that he would be more than happy to do a rushed job on a couple of matching outfits for their special day.

  Satisfied with their efforts, Lottie rang to update her mum, while Alice busied herself with the Sunday roast and the smell of crisped potatoes and a slowly roasted juicy lamb joint filled their cosy living room.

  Wedding Eve

  THE EVE OF the wedding arrived, and Lottie opened the front door to a hyperventilating Linda Lovely, who was buried beneath a mound of rainbow bunting and two parcels, which Lottie hoped were their wedding outfits. Not waiting for an invitation Linda collapsed onto the sofa breathless and squealing with delight under the weight of the parcels.

  “Well, my lovely ladies, tomorrow is the day!”

  Lottie nervously returned her smile, her eyes drawn to another colourful T-shirt. Slightly too small, it hugged Linda’s unforgiving curves. Peering for a closer look she noted the inevitable motto, Marriage is about love not gender! Meanwhile, Linda, oblivious to the names on the front of the parcels, ripped the first one open, and squealing followed as she fingered the material of the tastefully crafted, last-minute suits that had been express-mailed to them.

  “Oh look! Just look. These are delicious!” she cooed, her face flushed pink.

  Lottie was fairly sure that there was a blood pressure issue that she should be concerned about and, anxious to calm the Bridezilla before she had a stroke, she gently retrieved the suit and hung it on the back of the door for closer examination.

  Gently fingering the cuff of the jacket, Lottie felt a surge of excitement.

  “I’m getting married tomorrow!” she whispered to no one in particular.

  Joining her from behind, Alice gently kissed the nape of her neck. “I’m getting married to my best friend tomorrow, too,” she affirmed, causing Lottie to giggle.

  Another knock at the door announced the arrival of an excited Pru, who immediately launched into a vivid description of her media fame since the infamous YouTube video.

  Lottie, having recovered from the guilt she had felt about forgetting to contact the help desk about removing the post, couldn’t help but feel amused that Pru had chosen to view her media success as something positive, ignoring any derogatory commentary that had followed on Facebook and beneath the video clip.

  Breathless with excitement as she recounted the response of her public. “I simply can’t even go to Waitrose anymore for my chai tea without being accosted by the locals. I tell you, Charlotte, I’ve had so many hits on my website as the paps have tracked me down. It will do my business profile the world of good!”

  Lottie smiled, but secretly doubted that Pru’s debauched act with a not-so-famous stripper was likely to do her credibility as a therapist any good, but she chose not to challenge her on it. The woman was clearly deluded with a sense of her own importance.

  Alice appeared from the utility room where she had been tending to Boots, who was still licking his wounds after his recent encounter with Alice’s surgical skills, after she had finally persuaded Lottie to allow her to neuter him. Since the op, Boots had indeed seemed slightly less psychotic.

  Stripe had remained in hiding until Archie had returned home from his weekend visit to his dad, whereupon he miraculously reappeared, sticking determinedly to Archie. Intuition seemed to be his friend, and he somehow seemed to know that soft-hearted Archie was his only chance of escaping rehoming. It had taken Archie some days before he was able to forgive the pair for the disappearance of his cat children, and he had belligerently carried Stripe around the house with him until Lottie had relented and agreed they could keep him.

  “I really think the signs are good,” Alice mumbled to Lottie as she passed, studiously avoiding ey
e contact with the evereager Linda whose eyes glistened with excitement at the thought of adding Alice to her newfound collection of gay friends.

  Lottie cautiously ventured into the utility room, where Boots met her gaze and gave a meek pitiful mewl. Encouraged by his attempts to communicate with her, she tentatively reached out and Boots rose to greet her hand, vigorously rubbing against it. Lottie felt a warmth towards him and reached to stroke his underbelly. He rolled to allow her access and she squealed with delight at the apparent reformation of his character.

  The front door slammed, and Lottie’s mother appeared dragging behind her a suitcase that represented the essentials that she needed for her week-long stay to babysit the boys, while Lottie and Alice disappeared for a honeymoon in Venice. A short, but important, break for the pair, who had been determined to go somewhere neither had been before, and to discover it together.

  THE REST OF the day seemed to pass in a blur of last-minute arrangements, and the trying-on of outfits. Family members came and went as they gathered for the wedding, and Lottie’s phone chimed regularly with well-wisher messages. Linda Lovely and Virginia had been tasked with the decoration of the village hall where the ceremony and reception would take place, and the hastily constructed guest list had proved to be a successful mix of friends and family, eager to attend what was, for most, the first same-sex union they had ever experienced.

  Robbie appeared in the doorway anxiously clutching the ring cushion.

  “Mum, I don’t know whether to put the rings on this thing now, or take them down in the box. What would happen if I lost them? You do have spares, don’t you?” His face furrowed with worry.

  Jumping up from the sofa, Lottie gave him a heartfelt hug.

  “Keep them safe in your pocket, and put them onto the cushion when you get down there. Gran will help. It’ll be fine, promise!”

  His frown dissolved into a grateful smile, and clearly assured that he was capable of great responsibility, he resorted to a grunt in response before disappearing back upstairs to his man cave. Hot on his heels was his now-permanent girlfriend, Annabel, who shot her an apologetic smile.

  Lottie had warmed to the girl during the past few months deciding she was a genuine and kind-hearted soul who seemed to have a very good effect on her sometimes-wayward son. She worried about the amount of time they were spending in his bedroom and Alice teased her about the number of impromptu visits she made to the said bedroom to deliver drinks and biscuits, while firmly wedging the door open as she left.

  Elspeth appeared in the doorway. Lottie smiled, genuinely pleased that her mum had made the return trip to be there on their special day.

  “Thanks, Mum,” she said simply, her mum giving her a coy wink in reply. Elspeth had never been one for outbursts of emotion, and the fact that her mother had travelled so far was all the affirmation Lottie required that she loved her and supported her in getting married.

  Breaking the moment, John, Lottie’s brother, joined them in the kitchen. Lesley loitered behind him, and Lottie caught her disdainful appraisal of the wedding suits. Choosing to ignore her, Lottie rushed forward towards John, planting a kiss firmly on his bristly cheek.

  “Kids, Uncle John and Auntie Lesley are here!”

  Archie thundered down the stairs to greet his uncle with a round of high fives and rough-man wrestling. Robbie appeared at the bottom of the stairs shortly afterward, and the pair hugged. John had provided a much-needed male presence in the boy’s lives, and Lottie was thankful that the calm and placid nature of her brother provided them with an excellent example of what she would consider to be a good man. Lesley still loitered uncomfortably in the doorway and, feeling sorry for her, Lottie moved towards her and the pair exchanged an awkward hug.

  “So, Lottie, tomorrow’s the big day,” said Lesley, as she shuffled from foot to foot.

  Smiling, Lottie responded. “Yes, I can’t believe I’m getting married. It’s so exciting!”

  Lesley looked momentarily perplexed. “Married?” she queried. “I didn’t think we were going to the church!”

  Lottie’s facial muscles tensed. Why did this bloody woman continue to make an issue of everything relating to her sexuality? Taking a breath, she explained patiently. “Yes, married,

  Lesley. You don’t have to go to church to be married. It’s a civil ceremony rather than a religious one, but it means the same thing really.”

  Lesley frowned, but knew better than to express her confusion.

  Archie appeared at her side. “Come on, Auntie Lesley. I want to show you my Lego Death Star. It took me three weeks to build it!”

  As they passed, it was not lost on Lottie that Lesley rolled her eyes at John, who gave her a warning glare before turning back to talk to Elspeth. Lottie sighed. Thank God that friends outweighed family at this wedding. Hopefully, someone would educate Lesley about the new laws for gay marriage and save her the laborious task. She made a mental note to text her sister Amanda after she arrived tomorrow, and ask her to keep Lesley away from the more radical attendees, especially Pru.

  Dusk settled on the small village, and the family gathered around the kitchen table with a Chinese takeaway. An easy silence ensued, interspersed with commentary on their final preparations and responsibilities.

  Archie took the opportunity to hold centre stage, announcing with some gravity that he had a surprise for the pre-nuptial couple. Lottie and Alice waited patiently as he disappeared to his room, reappearing with a disgruntled Odie, who was sporting a rainbow bow tie. The group laughed raucously, more at the discomfort of Odie, than at his new attire.

  Archie laughed too, announcing his delight. “A rainbow tie for the wedding. He’s going to wear this when I take him into the hall.”

  Despite her reservations about whether it would stay that long on the wriggling creature, Lottie congratulated Archie on managing to add the finishing touch to their wedding party. Full of pride, Archie removed himself and Odie to the living room, where he proceeded to prep him on walking with decorum for their audience.

  A short time later, when everyone else had gone to bed and they had finished tidying up, Alice held out her hand to Lottie.

  “Bed?” she enquired.

  “Bed!” Lottie agreed, although whether she would be able to sleep, was a different matter entirely.

  Happy Ever After

  LOTTIE AWOKE TO see a naked Alice attempting to tease up the sash window, which subsequently revealed the sounds of the seagulls, and the waves drawing in and out on the small beach below. Despite the time of year, the sun shone and Lottie could smell the salty air as the breeze filled the room. She glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was almost ten. They’d slept in despite her fear about not getting any sleep.

  Slinging on a shirt, Alice leaned through the window to get a peek at the village hall farther down the road, and squealing with delight, she insisted Lottie join her for the view. Along the narrow street was rainbow bunting leading down towards the hall, which was just in sight from the window.

  Breathing deeply, Lottie savoured the coolness of the sea air before shrieking when she saw what Alice had noticed. “Oh my God! I can’t believe they’ve done all that! The bunting Alice, and look at the beach. It looks amazing!”

  Peering against the sun, they drank in the view of the scene that had been lovingly created by their friends the evening before, after they both had been banished inside the cottage with Lottie’s family. On the lower beach, just outside the hall, their friends had erected an open-sided gazebo which was decorated with lanterns, and entwined around the supporting posts were strings of red and cream roses.

  Alice’s grin was immense and her eyes sparkled with excitement as she clutched Lottie’s hand, and they leaned farther through the window to drink in the view.

  The chatter from below indicated that their wedding party was up and breakfasting, so they threw on their casuals before rushing downstairs to enjoy every moment of th
eir long-anticipated day. The delicious smell of warming pastries greeted them, and a cheer went up from the waiting party as they appeared.

  Lottie’s mum was busying herself preparing endless cups of tea, as Robbie and Archie, oblivious to their arrival quietly bickered about who was assuming responsibility for Odie. Linda Lovely hovered anxiously at the edge of the scene, clutching an official clipboard which she periodically glanced at as she muttered last-minute amendments to nobody in particular. In the living room hovered Lottie’s sister, Amanda, who was anxiously signalling for Lottie to join her. Reminded that she needed to ask Amanda to monitor Lesley’s interactions with the guests, she hurried to greet her.

  Weaving her way past those assembled in the kitchen, she smiled warmly at Linda. In the hallway, Amanda immediately set upon Lottie, babbling about Tony and his new look. Looking over her shoulder into the sitting room, Lottie took a sharp intake of breath. In the chair sat Tony, Amanda’s husband—at least she thought that’s who she was looking at.

  Her brother-in-law grinned back at her. The first thing that struck Lottie was the flamboyant floral shirt and rainbow bow tie, not unlike the one that Odie was currently sporting. Working her way up, she noted that the previously traditional Christian boy haircut had been transformed into a perfectly coiffured gayman’s hair, styled to within an inch of its life. She also noticed that he had a diamond stud in his right ear and, wait…was that a tattoo peeking above the collar of his shirt?

  Hastily, Amanda tugged her to one side whispering furiously. “I think he’s having a mid-life crisis, Lots. I mean he looks...well I don’t know—”

  Lottie laughed. “Gay?” she offered.

  Amanda snorted with derision. “Goodness me. Of course not!

  Just a little over-dressed. It is a gay wedding, after all!”

  Lottie experienced an unsettling flashback of the dating profile picture of Tony that she had not yet discussed with her sister. While she had felt it was somewhat cowardly not to face that conversation, after discussing it with Alice, she had decided that it wasn’t her place to meddle in her sister’s relationship. She knew that it was unlikely her sister would accept or understand the issues with Tony, and she didn’t want to hurt her unnecessarily. In the end, Alice had been the voice of reason assuring her that if, as Lottie suspected, Tony was on the turn, sooner or later the unfortunate news would reach the ears of Amanda and Lottie’s job should be to support her sister at that time.