Picture Perfect

by Hayden Hunt

  I didn’t want to address this in the cab, though. It’s not the kind of conversation I wanted to have in front of a cab driver.

  We were early to the airport, though, so we had some time to chat anyway. We went over to the food court to grab some dinner. They had what looked like a decent deli, so we went with that.

  As we sat down, I popped the question.

  “So, this is what you really want, right?” I asked him between bites.

  “To marry you? Uh, is there really any doubt of that in your mind?” he laughed, and then his eyes went big and his face got serious. “Wait, this is what you want, right?”

  “Yeah, of course, no! That’s not why I’m asking, I have no second thoughts, don’t worry. I just… I wanted to make sure this wasn’t something I was pushing you into. Like, maybe you really want a wedding and I’m kind of forcing you into this…”

  He smiled. “Honey, no, you’re not at all. I would definitely rather do this than have a wedding.”

  “Really?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, of course! Seriously, do I seem like wedding kind of guy? A big crowd, all eyes on me, while I tell you my most intimate feelings?”

  “No, I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  Now that I was thinking about it, I guess that didn’t really seem like it was up Rich’s alley. He was introverted to the core. If anything, I’m the kind of person you’d expect to want all eyes on me.

  But this was what I wanted, too. And now that we were definitely on the same page, I felt even better about it.

  It was a smooth flight. Just a couple hours, though, it did tire me out. By the time we had gotten a cab to take us to our hotel, I was god-awful exhausted. I was hoping to stay up late tonight and enjoy Vegas with Rich, but there’s no way that was going to happen. It’d be an early night for me.

  Though, I guess that’s better. It’s probably not a good choice to go out on the strip the day before we’re supposed to get married.

  I had a friend in college who did that, actually. She eloped with her boyfriend in Vegas, and they got a little crazy the night before. Evidently, she woke up naked on the bathroom floor the day they were supposed to get married. She felt absolutely sick from the hangover. She bought a dress and everything for it, but she didn't end up wearing it. She felt so bad she put on some sweats and a t-shirt and got married in that. It made for a good story, but it wasn’t the classiest of ways to get married.

  And, I definitely wanted to look nice. If nothing else, for the pictures. I really wanted to look good in our wedding photos. That’s going to be what we show our kids someday!

  We had only loosely discussed children, but we both knew we wanted them. Not sure when, not sure how, but they were in our future. And now that we were getting married so soon, they’d probably come sooner than later. The older I got, the more I realized how badly I wanted to be a father.

  But, like I did with commitment, I do have some fears about fatherhood because of my mother. I just hope so badly that I don’t end up like her, that I’m not as selfish of a parent as she is. I don’t think I ever could be like her, but you never know. They say you follow in your parents’ footsteps a lot of time.

  Since I was exhausted, when we arrived at the hotel, I let Rich do all the talking. He had us checked in, he had our bags brought upstairs, all I had to do was follow him into an elevator and let him walk me in.

  “Baby, I’m sorry,” I said as we approached the room.

  “For what?” he asked.

  “For being this exhausted. I’m not going to be any fun on our first night here.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Who ever said watching you sleep wasn’t fun?” he grinned.

  God, he was so sweet. What did I ever do to deserve him?

  We walked into the hotel room, and it was gorgeous. It had a full bathroom with a jacuzzi tub, a king-sized bed, and there was a bottle of champagne chilling on the table that was apparently complementary.

  “Holy shit,” I muttered, as I walked in. “This must have cost you a fuck ton of money.”

  “It wasn’t cheap.” he admitted. “But it’s our honeymoon. And our wedding, actually. So, of course I had to splurge.”

  I kissed him, “Thank you.”

  “Are you going straight to bed?” he asked.

  I honestly didn't want to. I looked over at the tub, which had fancy bath salts sitting on the rim, and I was tempted to run a hot bath and enjoy it with him.

  But I really was way too tired. The bed was looking equally as comfortable to me.

  “Babe, I’m sorry, I don’t think I can stay awake for anything,” I told him, as I rubbed my eyes.

  “Sweetheart, it’s okay. We have the whole week. I want you to be well-rested tomorrow, anyway.”

  I looked around the room. “You can have some fun, though! Drink some champagne, have a nice bath…”

  “No, absolutely not.” he said sternly.

  "What? Why not?”

  “Because I want to share all those experiences with you. Don't worry, I have no problem climbing into bed and watching some television until I fall asleep. I’ll be happy to be next to you.”

  I smiled and stripped down into some pajamas. We both climbed into the bed, which was unbelievably comfortable, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

  I woke up the next day to Rich shaking me awake.

  “Babe, honey, get up!” he said excitedly.

  “Huh, what?” I said, as I rubbed my eyes.

  “Baby, gotta get up,” he told me.

  “But why?” I asked, half asleep.

  “Because it our wedding day!” he said excitedly.

  The excitement didn’t dawn on me yet, though. I was too tired and rolled over in bed.

  “Aw, honey, I know you're tired. I’m sorry, I’d let you sleep in, but I can’t. We only have an hour and a half to get ready.”

  This perked me up. “An hour and a half?! Babe! Why didn’t you wake me earlier?! We need to get tuxes and—”

  “Honey, relax!” he said quickly. “I took care of it.”

  I stared at him, “You did?”

  “Of course, you didn’t think I’d leave that to the last minute, right? While you were asleep, I found a place that would deliver them and gave them our measurements.”

  “A place that would deliver tuxedos?!” I asked, completely surprised.

  “Yeah, I know, Vegas, right? It wasn’t cheap, but it was convenient. Now, come on! We need to get showered and get down to the chapel.”

  The nice thing about being gay is there was no weird wedding superstition about seeing the bride before the wedding. We could see each other all we wanted today. And good thing, too, because I loved staring at his naked body as he showered.

  I made sure I was looking my best. I perfectly tousled my hair and very carefully put on my tux so that it didn’t wrinkle in any way.

  It was a handsome tux, too. It was black with dark gray pinstripes that were so thin that you wouldn’t even notice them if you weren't up close.

  Rich looked pretty fucking handsome, too. And we each had matching red pocket squares in our pockets.

  I kissed his cheek, “Honey, you look fantastic.”

  “So do you,” he kissed me back, this time on the lips. “Are you ready to go?”

  “I am,” I nodded.

  “You sure, you don't want to back out?” he gave me a cheeky grin.

  “Positive,” I nudged him. “Come on.”

  We could have walked to the chapel, but we didn’t feel right walking down the street in our tuxes, so we opted for a cab anyway. It was a quick ride, though.

  When we walked in, a young receptionist greeted us with a smile.

  “Richard and Patrick, correct?” she asked.

  “Yes, that's us!” Rich said excitedly.

  “Fantastic, follow me.”

  To my surprise, the chapel actually looked pretty tasteful. I was expecting a cheesier vibe. Rich must h
ave picked this one on purpose. It was like him, to do his research before he picked a place and a hotel nearby.

  “Hello,” an officiant in a tux walked out, “my name is Jeremy, and I’ll be officiating your wedding today, if that’s okay.”

  “That’s great!” Rich said.

  “Fantastic. I have a boiler plate speech that I use, I assume that will suffice?”

  “Yes, absolutely, we’re not picky,” I answered.

  “Fantastic, then, we’ll get started right away.”

  As we stood there, staring into each others’ eyes as the officiant gave his speech, I was filled with only love.

  I couldn’t believe I was here. Now, none of what my mother said bothered me. Why should it? She may be bitter, but I’m… happy. Completely, totally, content in everything in my life.

  “Would you like to repeat vows, or do you have vows of your own?” The officiant asked us.

  We both looked at each other expectantly. We hadn’t discussed this.

  “Well, I don’t know if Pat does, but I’d like to say something of my own, if that’s okay.”

  The officiant smiled and gave a short nod.

  Rich cleared his throat. “Pat, before you, my life never felt quite complete. There was always something missing. I never knew what it was, but I felt like I was constantly searching for it. For a long time, I thought it was my divorce that would make me feel whole. Then, when that didn’t work, I believed that switching jobs would complete me. But, now I know, nothing was going to work. Because you’re the only one who can truly complete me. Standing here, I am whole. Thank you for coming into my life, thank you for fulfilling it.”

  It wasn't just my eyes that were filled with tears, I could see the officiant was getting misty-eyed, as well. I didn’t know how I was going to compete with that on the spot, but I was damn well going to try.

  I took a deep breath before speaking.

  “Rich, I never saw myself as a guy who was looking for commitment. I didn’t believe in love anymore. I was just dating to date. Then, I met you, and you changed something in me. You made me believe love could be real. Through your art, through your soul, it was so easy for me to fall head over heels for you. You are a fantastic, beautiful person, and it’s still hard for me to understand some days how lucky I am to be with you. But, I’m hoping to show you every day for the rest of my life how grateful I am for it.”

  Now, Rich was tearing up. Without thinking, we both reached for each other and kissed.

  “Woah, woah, not time yet!” the officiant laughed. “We’re almost there.”

  We both pulled away, blushing, as the officiant finished his speech.

  “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss the groom.”

  We both leaned in for an excited, passionate kiss. It was filled with love, filled with happiness.

  I’d never been sure that I was ever actually going to reach this point. I’d meant what I had said in my vows, I hadn’t really known if love could ever be real. And if it was, I hadn’t thought it would have found me. Or that I would have been open to it if it had.

  And, I guess, initially, I wasn’t. But, through Rich, I have learned openness. Through him, I have learned love. And for the first time in a long time, I am finally beginning to feel like I deserve it.

  So, you know what? Fuck my mom and her attitude. Fuck anyone who thinks that Rich and I shouldn’t be together.

  Because we should. This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and likely ever will be. I know, in my heart, that I am going to be better with him than without him. I know that I am making the right choice.

  And, hell, even if it’s the wrong one and we do end up divorced one day, fuck it. Because in this moment, he is my whole world. And I wouldn't trade the time I get to spend with him for anything. Not even if it means I have to get hurt later. I don’t care, as long as I’ve got him.

  When we finally broke our kiss, I could see that Rich was grinning from ear to ear.

  “We did it!” he said excitedly. “We got married, you’re my husband! Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re my husband.”

  I gave him a quick peck, “Sure am, baby. Shout it from the rooftops. Because I’m yours, forevermore.”

  Epilogue

  Rich

  “On the 28th? Oh, no, I’m sorry we’re booked already. Yep, I’m sorry about that. I can refer you to another very reputable business if you’d like? Okay, well, have a great day.” I hung up the phone and closed my planner.

  As awkward as I felt telling people no, it also felt damn good to be fully booked for every weekend in December. Our business was thriving, and I took a lot of pride in that.

  It took years to build this business the way we wanted to. And I only started it after spending a year as a senior photographer at my old business.

  Admittedly, it was a little nerve-racking telling my boss, who had taught me everything I know, that I was going out and opening up a competing photography business, but he was very supportive of it.

  It’s kind of expected in the photography world that people will branch out into their own businesses. It’s what every photographer wants to do, run a business of his or her own.

  It helped that our businesses wouldn’t be competing too much. My old boss focused mainly on senior portraits and high school prom commissions, stuff like that. That was what he preferred because it was guaranteed income every year. And, ultimately, it was very organized and easy to plan.

  And, while I liked the experience I got shooting senior portraits and the like, I knew that’s not what I wanted to do long-term. Ultimately, I decided to go into the wedding business.

  Not just because it’s extremely lucrative, though, it definitely is. But, because I wanted my job to feel good. And giving somebody gorgeous photos of the best day of their life… well, it doesn’t feel much better than that.

  Pat felt the same way. Of course, I consulted with him on every aspect of the business. Because while I had been the one with the capital to start it, the plan had always been always for it to be our business.

  We’d even timed it perfectly. It wasn’t until Pat was done with school that we began taking wedding shoots. We went out together each time, we coordinated with each other, and I loved every second of it.

  I know people sometimes suggest that you don’t want to work with your spouse, but I couldn’t disagree more. I loved getting to spend so much time with him. I wouldn’t have been happy with it any other way.

  Besides, people really seemed to enjoy us. We were a couple doing couples’ photography. I feel like that made it a lot more fun for all parties.

  As I put my planner away, I redirected myself to my computer where I was touching up a photo of a wedding we’d shot last weekend. About ten minutes into it, I heard the front door open, and Pat walked in with groceries.

  “Hey, so they didn’t have that soup you wanted. I don’t know if it’s just out of stock or if they don’t sell it anymore or what.”

  I shrugged, “Oh well, it wasn’t my favorite or anything just thought I’d throw it on the list for a day I didn’t feel like cooking. Thanks for running errands today.”

  “No problem,” he smiled.

  We usually switched off on doing errands. Neither of us liked shopping, and both of us loved working on our photographs, so the only way to settle the dispute was to switch off every time. But this was technically my turn to do grocery shopping. Pat only went because I had woken up with a headache, and he was a sweetheart and didn’t mind doing it for me this time.

  “Your father called,” I told him, after he walked in.

  “Oh, thanks for telling me, I’ll be sure to call him back.”

  Patrick has maintained a healthy relationship with his father over all these years. But, his mother, not so much. They still haven’t spoken since the day we got married, but, honestly, Pat seems mostly okay with it.

  “Guess what Linda asked me?” Pat smiled.


  Linda was a cashier at the grocery store. She was a total sweetheart, and we always got into her line, even if it was a little longer than the others, because we liked chatting with her.

  “Well, first, she asked if we’d shoot her engagement photos…”

  “She did?!” I gasped, “She’s engaged?!”

  “Yep! How cute is that?”

  “Adorable!” I said. “We’re doing it for free, right? We’ll give it to her as a wedding present?”

  “Of course!”

  This was a gift we could easily afford to give. Our business had been doing great. In the first year, we’d struggled a bit while we got the word out and built clientele. But now that we were booked every weekend, I was making more than I had as an electrician.

  “She also asked if we’d heard back from the adoption agency yet…” he said, slowly, “Have we?”

  “Not yet, babe,” I told him. “I’m sure it’ll be any day now.”

  He sighed, and I understood his frustration. For a year now, we’d been trying to adopt a baby, and it wasn’t easy. We were waiting to hear back from one mom right now. She was very young, only eighteen, but a total sweetheart. During our interview, I believe we made a real connection. But, I’m sure she saw a lot of prospective parents, so it’s hard to know how much of an impression we had made.

  “Honey, no matter what, we’ll get our child eventually,” I told him. “And the baby we finally do get will be the one that’s meant for us. We need to be patient.”

  He nodded, “You’re right, I know you’re right, patience just isn’t a big virtue of mine.”

  I smiled, “I know, so this is good practice for you. Because, uh, parenting takes quite a lot of it.”

  After he put the groceries away, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Oh, that looks amazing!” he said, when he saw what I was working on.

  “You think?”

  “Absolutely. They’re going to love it. This may be your best work yet.”

  I leaned my head up and gave him a quick kiss. I hope he’s right. I’ve never had a client complain about my work thus far, but I really hoped it wouldn’t happen because it would crush me.