A More Perfect Union

by J. Scott Coatsworth

  Because could this really be happening? After all these years, was the impossible happening?

  Dalton pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a small black box. The kind that could really hold only one thing.

  And that part of Lucas that felt like he might be on Altair IV was quite suddenly a whole lot closer. Maybe even in the room.

  “Lucas Arrowood,” Dalton said, his voice clear and strong (but still cracking slightly on “row”) and his beautiful brown eyes shimmering with tears (Dalton? Tears?), “you are the love of my life. For years I said I would not marry you unless it was legal across this entire country. And now it is. Therefore, Lucas, it is long past time for me to ask. I shouldn’t have waited for the Supreme Court to give me permission.”

  And now he was coming out of whatever strangeness—fog, high—had fallen over him for that endless moment because—Oh God—years from now he would want to remember every single second of this.

  “That young man loves you so much” came the echo of his mother’s voice from years before. “And it’s going to work, baby. It’s going to work. I know a year seems a long time, but years and years from now when you look back, you will know it was worth it.”

  Dalton opened the box, and yes, it was a ring. A man’s ring. A gold band. And Dalton knew him; there was some bling too, wasn’t there? He looked up from the row of small diamonds and into Dalton’s handsome face.

  “Lucas, will you marry me?”

  And thank God he could speak, and the words came out of his mouth even as his vision blurred as tears filled his eyes.

  “Oh, yes. Yes, Dalton. Yes!”

  A cheer filled the room.

  It joined the one echoing across the world.

  2

  “WE ARE gathered here today,” said the Reverend Alice Arrowood, “to bring these two men together in legally wedded—”

  (and there was much emphasis on the word “legally”)

  “—and what I know to be holy matrimony.”

  Lucas’s heart began to pound. Began? Hell, it had been pounding all day and all last night as well. He hadn’t slept but an hour or so. Partially it was Mother’s and Marcus’s very uncomfortable sofa bed—she’d insisted he and Dalton not sleep together the night before they were to be wed—

  “I don’t care if you’ve slept together for ten years. It’s bad luck. And unseemly!”

  —and in part because he’d been way too nervous to sleep.

  He was so nervous right then he didn’t know how he was standing.

  No. He knew.

  He glanced next to him. Sam was right there. His “Best Person.” Who else should stand next to him?

  Then he shot a quick look to the man standing next to Dalton.

  Diego Hernandez. At one time that was the last man Lucas would have wanted to see there on this very important day. But life changes people; Diego’s husband was sitting in the front row.

  Lucas looked up at Dalton now, and a rush swept over and through him, and his heart skipped a beat. Dalton was so incredibly handsome in his tux. And the way Dalton was looking at him! Lucas thought he might faint.

  He forced himself to turn to his mother, who looked radiant in her robes and stole. She’d made them both and designed a stole with symbols, religious and otherwise, sewn down either side. Christ believer she still was, but she’d accepted New Age teachings with open arms, and she wanted all people to feel comfortable when she performed their weddings. It was the reason she’d nixed using rainbow fabric. All people meant all people—straight as well as another orientation, sexual or otherwise. So instead the long scarf-like piece of deep blue fabric had a pink triangle—point upward—among the other emblems.

  “But you know,” Lucas’s mother continued, “these two men became bound a long time ago with one little boy teaching another little boy how to tie his shoes. More than Keds were tied that morning. I think that maybe their hearts were as well.”

  Lucas turned back to Dalton, his focus shimmering in and out, and he thought he could almost see that boy right now.

  “‘Mamma,’ Lucas said to me. ‘I’m going to marry that boy someday.’ It caught me by surprise. This was 1990…’91?” She nodded. “Yes, 1991. And not 2015, and I was all discombobulated.”

  Laughter rippled gently across the room.

  “‘But boys can’t marry each other,’ I foolishly said, and Lucas looked me in the eye and asked why not, if they love each other.

  “And now, today, a far wiser woman, I am blessed to preside over the celebration that recognizes that love. Today they promise before us all to dedicate themselves to each other completely. In body. In words. In mind. And in heart.”

  Lucas wiped at his eyes, saw Dalton do the same and—God!—the love shining in his eyes! Unbidden, Lucas’s filled again and tears spilled down his cheeks. My love!

  “These two men already have love and a wonderful relationship. So now I only remind them of what they already know. Lucas? Dalton?”

  They both turned to look into her shining face.

  “Your marriage today is one that you created. I do not do this. You create. I tell you to create something wonderful. Something good. A good marriage is in the small and in the big and knowing that in God’s eyes, in Love’s heart, there is no small or big. It is all the same. It is listening to everything your partner says… and hearing it. It is never being afraid or too old to take each other’s hand in your own, no matter where you are. It is saying ‘I love you.’ Every. Single. Day.”

  For one second her eyes flashed to the front row. He knew who she was looking at. Marcus DeWolf, the man who insisted she had no more than a week to marry him after today.

  And right next to Marcus was Diego Hernandez’s husband. And next to him a surprisingly adorable young lady named Jill. She had an orange streak in her hair, and from what she had told Lucas, she loved Sam very much.

  Boy! You never knew what could happen in life.

  In the end, it made Lucas all the happier.

  “Loving someone is never going to sleep while you are angry,” Lucas’s mother continued. “Kissing every time you part. Every time you see each other again. Standing together against a world that at times will not understand you. It is forgiving… and forgetting. It’s allowing each other to be separate as well as together. Letting them grow into what they will be and not be encased—frozen in time. It is not only taking the right person unto you, but by being the right person for him.

  “Now repeat after me….”

  Lucas did. And he heard Dalton chorus the words with him and was filled with utter joy.

  “I, Lucas, take you, Dalton, to be my lawfully wedded husband—”

  (and there was much emphasis on the word “lawfully”)

  “—my partner, my one true love. I will honor and trust you. Laugh and cry with you. I will be at your side at the best and worst of times, whatever may come. Today, tomorrow, and forever.”

  Forever! Yes, forever. And a feeling swept over him that felt like the end and the beginning of the world at once—and in a way, it was. It was the end of one world…

  …and the beginning of another.

  “Do either of you have anything to add?”

  Lucas froze. Add? Hadn’t they decided to go with classic vows? He hadn’t written anything—come up with anything. His mother had promised to take care of everything.

  But then he looked up into Dalton’s beautiful eyes, and he knew he had to say something, and before he even realized it, the words came, easy as could be.

  “Dalton, I have loved you nearly my entire life, and all I’ve ever wanted to do is marry you. But the world? The world said I couldn’t. That my love—the only love I’ve had or wanted—wasn’t good enough. I had faith, though, even if there were times when it was almost impossible. I held on. I knew. I knew that one day I would be your husband. And that you would be mine. Because you know what husband means? It means caretaker. And isn’t that what we do? Take care of each other?
>
  “I knew one day we would be married. I would will it into being if I had to. And I have heard that ‘where attention goes, energy flows.’ That’s what Mama has been saying these last few years. And that ‘thoughts become things.’ And finally, it has happened. We can get married. We can take that piece of paper that I believe is so much more than just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of our love. And I love you, Dalton. Today, at long last, despite all the couldn’ts and shouldn’ts and can’ts, today I make you mine and give myself to you—forever….”

  Was it good enough, he wondered. Had it sounded stupid?

  There was a sigh through the room.

  Dalton’s eyes were glassy with tears, and oh, oh, oh, the love shining there.

  I said the right thing.

  How have I been so lucky to have this man?

  Lucas’s mother cleared her throat. “Dalton? Is there anything you want to say?”

  “Yes,” Dalton replied in a voice that was so quiet Lucas could barely hear him. His eyes were full now. He too cleared his throat, and then he spoke…

  “Lucas, I stand here today in front of all our friends and family of choice…”

  His voice hitched, and Lucas could only guess it was because his parents were absent, even though they’d been invited. The two of them hadn’t even bothered to refuse to come. They had simply not replied at all.

  “…and…. And I want to tell you I’m sorry.”

  Lucas started. Sorry? What? Why was he sorry?

  “I’m sorry this day took so long in coming. So long. You wanted a Holy Union, and I wouldn’t give it to you. You wanted to fly off to Massachusetts and get married, and I wouldn’t do it. I told you I wouldn’t marry you unless it was legal everywhere and not just in one state. I told you we didn’t need to get married anyway because a marriage license was just a piece of paper. And I was wrong and I was wrong and I was wrong. I should have given you that Holy Union. Because what we have truly is holy. The only holy thing I’ve ever really believed in. I should have married you in Massachusetts. And California. And Connecticut too. Any damned state you wanted. To show the world and our government and everyone we knew that I was very serious about our love.

  “We moved to Oakland, California. I should have married you that day! We could have moved anywhere, and so what if our marriage was only legal in a few states? Because we would have already been spiritually married when we had our Holy Union! And now I know that our marriage is legal? Now that we have a license? You are so right, my love. It is more than a piece of paper. You’re right. It is a symbol. Like the American flag is more than pieces of red and white and blue fabric stitched together. And our license is more than a piece of paper. More than words on paper. It is a symbol that now—at last, after a thousand years and more of our love not being recognized as real—now it is real.

  “As our president said, now we’ve made our union a little more perfect. And now that it is, why, I would marry you in any state you wanted. I’d marry you in all fifty of them if you wanted. So I could show the whole country that you’re mine.

  “And baby? There is nothing that I can think of that is more perfect than being in a union with you.”

  Another sigh went through the room. Someone sobbed.

  Lucas could only stand there, stunned. It was taking everything out of him not to burst into tears. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Dalton—Dalton—who was rarely the most demonstrative person, and certainly not in front of people, saying such words?

  Lucas’s eyes blurred again as they filled once more with tears. His throat seized up, and his tongue lay useless in his mouth. He found it was all he could do not to throw himself into his man’s arms.

  “Can you forgive me?”

  Forgive? Forgive what?

  “Can you forgive me, my love?” Dalton asked again.

  Lucas stood for what seemed like forever, trying to speak, knowing he had to respond.

  “Forgive me for making you wait so long for this day?” A tear rolled down Dalton’s cheek.

  Lucas’s heart swelled until he thought it might burst. “Oh, Dalton….” He swallowed hard. Oh God. He took a deep breath. “Forgiven…,” he managed. “And forgotten.”

  Now someone really was crying, and he wanted to tell them to please stop because it was all he could do to hold himself together. There was still more to go!

  Lucas’s mother took control then, saying those very important words.

  “Now do you both have the rings?”

  Lucas grinned and reached into his pocket—remembering Dalton reaching into his such a short time ago and watching him do it even now—and he pulled out Dalton’s ring. Just the way Dalton wanted it. A solid gold band. Simple. No bling. But it told the world that the only thing it could be was a wedding band.

  “Wedding rings represent an unbroken circle of love,” Lucas’s mother continued. “Love has no beginning and no ending. It is forever. May these rings forever remind you of the vows that you now give.

  “Now, Lucas, place your ring upon Dalton’s finger. Lucas, do you take Dalton to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  “I….” This was it! He took Dalton’s big beautiful hand in his own and slipped the gold band upon his finger. “God, yes. I do.”

  “Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding on to only him?”

  Yes. Oh, yes! “I do.” Now he couldn’t help but cry.

  “And Dalton. Place your ring upon Lucas’s finger.”

  Once more Lucas’s heart began to pound as Dalton took his hand and slipped that lovely ring on his finger. This was it. This was it!

  “Dalton, do you take Lucas to be your lawfully wedded husband?” She smiled.

  “I do,” Dalton said, his voice so strong and sure and deep.

  Lucas trembled.

  “Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding on to only him?”

  Lucas and Dalton locked eyes.

  “I do,” Dalton said.

  God! Oh God!

  Heart pounding!

  Heart pounding so hard!

  “And now—”

  And now? And now? Lucas glanced at his mother. What was that twinkle in her eyes?

  “—before my pronouncement—”

  Wait. What? Before…? He narrowed his eyes.

  “—there is one more thing.”

  One more thing? Mom!

  “Dalton, take Lucas’s left hand in your right.”

  Lucas looked at Dalton, who gave a slight shrug, then did as he’d been asked.

  “Now hold them up.”

  They did as bid.

  And then she pulled something from a pocket in her robe Lucas hadn’t noticed. What was it? String? Was it a piece of—

  Then he knew.

  God, he knew.

  It was old and tattered and gray….

  Quick as a wink she tied it around their wrists. If it had been an inch shorter, it wouldn’t have fit.

  “And now… with this Holy Shoelace… I pronounce you husbands.”

  Husbands? This was it? This was it!

  “Well, boys, you may now kiss.”

  And they did.

  God, they did.

  3

  THEY CHOSE Provincetown for their honeymoon. Dalton had insisted, even though it could have been Boston. It surprised Lucas. Provincetown was so… gay. And Dalton wasn’t much for waving rainbow flags or holding hands in public.

  P-town turned out to be gorgeous.

  And they did walk down the streets hand in hand.

  “I promised your mom, after all,” he said. “No. I promised you.”

  Then they kissed. Right there on the street.

  They stayed at Romeo’s Holiday—which was purported to be the gayest B&B in the country. They had breakfast at Joe Coffee & Espresso Bar and dinners at the Lobster Pot at Crowne Pointe, and of course they didn’t forget to eat at the Crown & Anchor’s patio caf�
� at the Central House Bar & Grille—all very gay. They shopped and went to art galleries. And they swam at Herring Cove Beach—it was Dalton who talked Lucas into getting naked, and Lucas was surprised at how freeing it was. Swimming naked in a pool years before was one thing. Swimming naked where people could see you was something else. Of course he was with the sexiest man on earth, so that had helped.

  But the biggest surprise of all was when Dalton asked Lucas to go to the courthouse with him.

  “But…. But why?” Lucas asked.

  “I want to marry you,” Dalton replied, staring into his face, eyes once more ashimmer.

  What? “But we’re already married, Dalton.” At last. At long last.

  “Did you think I was just blowing hot air when I said I’d marry you in all fifty states? That I wanted to show the whole country that you’re mine?”

  Lucas’s eyes went wide, and as it was wont to do where Dalton was concerned, his heart started to race. “Y-you mean it?”

  “I do.” Then he grinned and chuckled and said, “I do.”

  “Oh my God, Dalton….” Lucas was all but speechless.

  Dalton pulled something out from under the bed and had Lucas sit down. He placed it in his lap. It was a photo album. The picture on the cover was from their wedding (and how he’d gotten it already Lucas didn’t know). A picture of their hands with their wedding rings.

  “Open it, baby,” Dalton said.

  So Lucas did. The first page had their names in a lovely script and the words, “Lucas Arrowood and Dalton Churchill’s Big Album of Wedding States.”

  What? Lucas wondered.

  He turned the page, and across the top was written, Alabama. The second and third pages said Alaska and Arizona respectively. It was on page five that he found their portrait from their wedding. Above it was the word California, of course. Lucas’s heart began to race all the more. Did this really mean…?

  “We’re already married in California. Now let’s get married in Massachusetts, like we should have a long time ago. What say you, tiger? Marry me?”

  Lucas looked up from the album into Dalton—his husband’s—face.