Separating Riches

by Mairsile Leabhair

  “George, this is Chris. Call me back as soon as you get this message,” I said for the third time in as many tries. He wasn’t answering his phone.

  “He’s going to be sorry he missed this,” Melinda said, as she honked the horn again in fun.

  We had to park the car quite a ways back from city hall. There were so many people clogging the street that we simply couldn’t drive any further. That was all right with me. I was eager to get out there and join in the celebration. Finally, I felt like I could come out of that closet and show my pride. I had been pretty closeted ever since my picture was on the cover of the sleazy Memphis Social magazine when I was sixteen. It wasn’t a very flattering picture of me, drinking and carousing with three other girls. My parents were extremely upset by the photo, and I felt so ashamed that I had embarrassed them like that. I was in such turmoil back then that I really didn’t know what I was doing. My best friend had just died, my parents didn’t understand who I was, and I was attracted to girls. The last of which was frowned upon more in the South than driving drunk was. It was all just too much, and by the time I arrived at the debutante ball, I was completely wasted. My father wouldn’t speak to me for weeks, my mother cried a lot, and the kids at school ridiculed me unmercifully. I grabbed a whiskey bottle and walked back into that closet, locking the door behind me. It took Melinda’s love to convince me that it was safe to come out again.

  Now that I’m an adult, in love with a wonderful woman, I have emptied that mental closet of any reservations concerning my sexuality. As Melinda would say, I’m a rich-bitch lesbian, get over it. I’m proud to join with the others and celebrate being who I am. Celebrate that I am no longer a second-class citizen. Validate that I am an equal.

  The atmosphere was electrifying! We walked into the crowd and immediately were handed rainbow flags. A wave of jubilation shot through us, and we waved the small flags in the air, whooping and hollering. I glanced over at Charlotte, who held her cellphone up in the air, even as she waved the flag.

  “That’s a good idea, Charlotte,” Melinda shouted over the noise, pulling out her own phone. She tucked the flag in her back jeans pocket so she could use both hands to take pictures. She was snapping pictures of everything, but mostly of me and my huge smile. I had my phone out also, and we took so many selfies of ourselves together, that we ran out of room on our phones. That didn’t stop Melinda though. My brilliant, beautiful lover walked right over to a camera shop and bought a camera, the type the professionals use, along with five 512 GB memory cards. In five minutes, we were back out on the street taking pictures.

  Weaving our way out of the main throng of spectators and over to the side of the steps, I tried calling George one more time. To my surprise, he answered on the third ring.

  “George, where are you?” I shouted to be heard over the celebration.

  “Right behind you,” he said, and I felt a tap on my shoulder.

  “George!” Without forethought, I jumped into his arms. “Can you believe it?”

  “Yes! I’ve already ask five men to marry me,” he laughed.

  “Norma!” I yelled, realizing she was standing beside George.

  “Oh, my girls, I’m so proud for you today,” she said, wrapping her arms around both of us.

  The tears poured out of my eyes as Melinda and I kissed her on the cheek.

  “Norma, are you all right? You’re not too tired or anything, are you?” I asked, wondering if she might be over doing it. In all the time that I knew her, which granted was not that very long at all, I knew her to be a homebody who preferred to stay indoors. I was worried that all this might be too much for the eighty-eight-year-old woman.

  “No, dear. I have more energy today than I’ve had in a long while,” Norma replied, assuaging my anxiety. Norma turned toward me. “George has taken good care of me, Chris, but he doesn’t need to be shackled with this old lady on a day like today. Can’t you get him to relax and enjoy himself?”

  Just as I turned to look at George, a man who looked to be in his forties walked up and kissed George square on the lips.

  “You are divine,” George said, when they finally released the kiss. The man patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

  “Did you know him, George?” Melinda asked.

  “Never saw him before in my life,” George conceded, craning to find the man in the crowd.

  “George, I’m fine here. Why don’t you join the celebration?” Norma asked.

  “Are you sure, Norma? I don’t want to leave you alone in this craziness,” he said.

  “Don’t worry about me, George. Go, have fun,” Norma coerced.

  “Norma.” Charlotte took her hand, “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay here with you. I’m feeling a little claustrophobic with all these people around me.”

  I looked at Charlotte with deep respect. She very well might have been claustrophobic; I knew I was feeling a bit overwhelmed myself. But even if it were true, I couldn’t let her sacrifice her own celebration for a person that I have accepted, or demanded, responsibility for. Norma was my friend, Charlotte was my employee, who I had given the day off.

  “Absolutely not, Charlotte, I want to stay with Norma,” I said, wrapping my arm around Norma as if someone was trying to take her away from me.

  “Oh, uh, yeah. Me too,” Melinda said, pushing George out of her way so she could stand beside Norma.

  “I volunteer!” Kate chirped in. “I’m not gay, I don’t need to celebrate.”

  Norma stepped out of my embraced and turned to face all of us. “You are such dears to worry like this. But I’m an adult and I don’t need a nursemaid. Please, all of you, go have fun. This is a historic day, and I would be so displeased with you if you missed it on my account.”

  Melinda leaned toward me and said that she would be right back. Before I could ask where she was going, she quickly disappeared into the crowd. As much as I wanted to know what she was up to, I needed to stay and take care of Norma… somehow.

  “Norma, it’s because we love you that we want to make sure you’re safe. You heard the cheers, love wins. That’s what it’s all about today. Love, and—”

  “Chris, dear,” Norma interrupted, putting her hands on her hips. “You know I love you as if you were my own child, but if I have to, I will kick your ass up those steps myself.”

  Norma’s face was stern and determined, and I held up my hands in surrender.

  Melinda ran up to us with a lawn chair in one hand, and her cellphone in the other. “Wait, no ass kicking yet. I’ve got the solution,” she said, gasping for breath. She unfolded the chair, held her hands out toward it, and looked at Norma. “My queen,” she said with a smile.

  Norma laughed and sat down, allowing her weariness to show for the first time.

  “I’ve sent for Jeeves,” Melinda said. “He should be here in about twenty minutes.”

  “Do you mean Charles, your parents’ butler?” I asked.

  “Yes. He was more than willing to come, and—”

  “No! I told you that I don’t need a babysitter,” Norma shouted, and stood back up. “If I’m that helpless, then stick me in a nursing home and get me the fuck out of your way.”

  I couldn’t smother the gasp that escaped my lips. I had never seen Norma so angry before, let alone heard her use Melinda’s favorite word. Thank God, Melinda seemed unfazed by her outburst, because I was at my wits’ end.

  “Norma, he is your number one fan,” Melinda said, holding up her hands to calm her. “That’s why he wants to be here. He even asked if he could bring along his movie magazine that has you on the cover of it. He wants you to autograph it for him. I swear, I’ve never known him to be this excited before.”

  Norma’s anger evaporated instantly. She looked serenely at Melinda. “You told him to bring it with him, didn’t you, dear?”

  A Historic Day Indeed — Melinda Blackstone and Chris Livingston

  Once Charles arrived, looking so much younger than his seventy-plus years
, Norma forgot all about us, and we each wandered off into the crowd. Chris and I, holding hands, weaved our way through the horde and up to the steps of city hall. We joined in the singing, waving our flags, and kissing, lots of kissing, and not just between Chris and I either.

  We made it just in time to hear the speeches from different dignitaries and celebrities. I don’t know that I even heard a complete sentence because of all the cheers and applause each time something significant was said.

  I snapped pictures of everything and everyone. When they draped that giant rainbow flag down the side of the building, I pushed Chris up the steps so I could get her picture. Then I handed the camera to a total stranger and asked her to take our picture together. I told her to snap as many as she could before her finger cramped. I wasn’t sure of the proper etiquette for tipping on something like that, so I just shoved a hundred at her. She seemed very pleased with that tip. When I played back the photos she had taken as a slide show, it flipped through each photo like a video, with us smiling, waving, and kissing. And then of course, I turned my camera into a camcorder and did it all over again.

  After the speeches, I noticed couples had begun lining up on the steps to get married. The county clerk was on hand to issue the license, and there were several deputy marriage commissioners available to perform the ceremonies. I couldn’t help but be swayed by the emotion of it all and grabbed Chris’ hand, holding it to my heart.

  “Baby, let’s do it. Let’s get married,” I said, holding my breath for the answer.

  Chris looked at me, and then up at the rainbow flag. “You’re right, Melinda. Let’s do it,” she said breathlessly.

  I almost jumped for joy, I was so excited. We got in line and the couple behind us told how they had been waiting for this moment for thirty years. We congratulated each other, and I took their picture with the flag in the background.

  “Next,” the county clerk shouted.

  I pulled out my wallet and paid the fee, and in a matter of seconds, I held the license in my hands, giving me the legal right to marry Chris. It was nothing short of magical. Not only because marriage equality finally happened, but because I was actually getting married. Something I vowed I’d never do because there were too many fish in the sea, and I loved to go fishing, metaphor implied. But meeting Chris changed all that, and I’ve never been so happy. In fact, I was so happy that I pulled out ten one-hundred-dollar bills and offered to pay for the nine other couples waiting in line behind us. I told the clerk to keep any change left over, but she refused because it would get her in trouble. So I pulled out a credit card and asked her to swipe it nine times for the exact amount, if that’s what she needed to do. I never knew it would be so troublesome to do something nice for people. We finally got it worked out to her satisfaction, and by that time, two more couples joined the line, so I paid for them also.

  “Oh, honey. You are so wonderful,” Chris stated, grabbing me for a kiss.

  George came walking out of the crowd and waved his hands in the air. “You’re getting married without your best man?” he asked indignantly.

  “George, perfect timing,” I said, slapping him on the shoulder.

  “Any idea where the others are?” Chris asked, looking around.

  “I’m right here,” Kate said, coming up beside us.

  “That’s one. Let me call the others,” George said, taking his cellphone from his jacket.

  “Thank you, George,” Chris said, pulling her own vibrating phone out of her jeans pocket. She looked at the caller ID and answered it immediately. “Mom! Mom guess what? I’m getting married!”

  I could only hear Chris’ side of the conversation, but could tell that her mother was not pleased by the announcement, if the frown on Chris’ face was any indication.

  “What did she say?” I asked.

  Chris held the phone away. “She said we can’t get married without them here.”

  “Oh, shit,” I grumbled. I did not want to wait, not now. This was not what I wanted, and I always got what I wanted.

  “Blackie, don’t do it,” George whispered in my ear.

  “Don’t do what?” I retorted defensively.

  “Don’t think about yourself for a change. Think about her,” he stated, nodding at Chris.

  I was so furious, I could feel my cheeks flush.

  “You’ve got some set of balls on you, George,” I fumed.

  “Thank you,” he said dispassionately.

  I stared at him blankly, and then I laughed. George was that inner voice in my head that I never wanted to listen to before. But now, I couldn’t block it out. He was right. As much as I wanted to get married, I had to consider Chris’ feelings too. Of course she’d want her parents to be at her wedding. She liked them as much as loved them. I wish I could say the same about mine. She deserved the wedding of her dreams, with a beautiful gown, and her family beside her. I doubt this was something she had dreamed about, being surrounded by people she didn’t know, on the streets of San Francisco.

  “It’s okay, Chris. We don’t have to do this today,” I told her, although I wasn’t sure she heard me.

  “Mom, I understand how important it is for you to be with us,” she said into the phone. “I want that, too, but don’t you understand how important it is to us to be married on this day of all days?”

  I looked into her liquid eyes and my heart melted. “No, Chris,” I said, moving very close so that her mother could hear me over the phone. “We don’t have to get married today. It’s really okay.”

  She shook her head. “Listen, Mom. We can still have a wedding when we get back, and I hope you’ll help me with it.”

  We moved up to third in line to be married, and I knew that I had to do something in a hurry to appease both of them, but I didn’t know what. Then an idea popped into my head.

  “Chris, I have an idea. Tell your mother that you’ll call her right back. Then I’ll conference her in with your father on FaceTime, and that way they both can be at our wedding.”

  Chris grinned and kissed my cheek. “Hang up, Mom, and I’ll call you back.”

  It was a little trick I’d learned from one of my father’s young secretaries, right after we had made love. Father had demanded that I join a conference call he was in, and she showed me how to do it. I knew my new cellphone couldn’t be much different from what I had back then. I was wrong.

  “Kate, help!” I pleaded, holding my phone out to her. I knew that she knew how to make conference calls using FaceTime. I provided her with the latest cellphone when we hired her, and instructed her to learn how to use it, just in case. Smartest thing I had ever done. Well, except for today.

  Kate laughed, took the phone from my hand and began making calls. While Chris gave Kate the phone numbers to call, I took Chris’ phone and called Charles. I didn’t know if they’d be able to get here in time, but I did know that Norma would kick my ass if I didn’t let her know about the wedding. I smiled at that thought, and then I called Charlotte next. We moved up to second in line, and no one was there yet. I was getting anxious now. I wanted Norma with us as much as Chris wanted her mother to be with her. Maybe I could stall the proceedings with some money?

  Chapter Five

  Do You Take This Woman? — Chris Livingston, Melinda Blackstone, and all of San Francisco, California

  Melinda was craning her neck trying to find Norma in the crowd, but Norma was nowhere to be seen. She pulled out her wallet and was about to hand the commissioner five hundred dollars to stall the proceedings, when I pushed her hand away.

  “Melinda, do you want to get married from jail?” I asked. “You can’t bribe a city official.”

  “Sure you can, if you have enough money,” she stated.

  I am always amazed by the way Melinda thinks. She has no barriers to tell her whether she should do a thing or not. I found that as intriguing as I did scary.

  “Let the couple behind us go first,” I said. “That will give us—”

  “There the
y are!” George shouted, waving as Charles and Norma walked up beside us. “And Charlotte’s with them.”

  “Kate, would you take pictures for us?” Melinda asked, handing her the camera and showing her how to work it.

  With the tension removed, the excitement became even more intoxicating. The deputy commissioner called for the next in line, which was us, and we practically skipped like schoolgirls over to her. Most of the couples being married today were like us, a spur of the moment decision with no time to prepare. There were one or two couples who were wearing wedding gowns and carrying flowers. I had a twinge of envy.

  Melinda handed our license to the deputy commissioner, and then took my hand. I also held Norma’s hand. Charlotte took my phone and turned it on us so that Mom and Dad could watch the wedding.

  “Thank you for allowing me to officiate over your wedding today,” the Deputy Commissioner said happily.

  Charlotte turned the phone toward the commissioner, who waved to my parents. I couldn’t see them, but I knew that my mother would have waved back.

  “I’m so glad to see that your family and friends are with you on such an auspicious occasion,” the commissioner said.

  “Thank you. We are truly blessed,” I said, my heart so full I thought it would burst.

  “We meet here today for the purpose of joining this loving couple,” she paused and looked at the license, “Melinda Kay Blackstone and Christine Dolores Livingston, in matrimony.” She lowered the paper and looked at both of us. “Will you be exchanging rings today?”

  I looked at Melinda, who shook her head. We didn’t even think about getting a ring.

  “No problem,” she said. “Would you like to exchange vows?”

  I knew this commissioner was different from the others because she refused to rush through the ceremony, but unfortunately, we were not prepared for any of it. Sadly, I shook my head.

  “Mom.” Melinda looked straight at the cellphone. “Please make a note for the next wedding.”

  Mom laughed, as did I, and we looked back at the commissioner.