Danny cut in, ‘Let me stop you there. I don’t want to hear a bad word about marriage. Not today. I’ve been telling myself those stories my whole life to take the sting out of the fact I would never be married. Today is pro-marriage propaganda only.’
Sophie accepted these instructions.
‘Got it. Positive vibes only. But that doesn’t mean you have to do this like everyone else.’
Danny disagreed.
‘Except I want to do it like everyone else. That’s the whole point. To do this by the book even if the book wasn’t written for people like me.’
On Wigmore Street they found a Swedish bakery which smelt of saffron and cinnamon. Waiting for their coffees Sophie asked Danny where they were starting their search and he suggested Bond Street. Sophie wasn’t convinced this was a great idea.
‘This is not a negative remark but a practical observation which is my job today. Agreed?’
Danny agreed. Sophie continued, ‘Those famous brands pay to be featured in romantic movies, the ones where the hedge fund guy rents the entire store and escorts the bride-to-be inside, blindfolded, and they turn on the lights and there are rows of twenty-carat diamond rings and he says pick one, money no object.’
Danny had watched all these movies.
‘And then she marries the guy with no money?’
Sophie was impressed. ‘My point is that they’ve paid to make their brands synonymous with the dream of a perfect marriage. But they’re not.’
Danny accepted this.
‘I know. It’s dumb. I’m a sucker. But I’m never going to step foot in those stores otherwise. I’m never going to have that movie moment. This is my chance. And I want theexperience of asking to see their engagement rings, having them laid out for me, even if it’s only for a few minutes.’
Sophie ventured an observation.
‘This is a big deal for you, isn’t it? I mean you could just rubber-stamp the relationship one afternoon in a simple ceremony in a town hall.’
Emphatic, Danny shook his head.
‘We’re not going to sign a few documents in the back of a rundown register office like it’s a grubby secret. I want traditions. I want spectacle. I want to a make a show out of our love story.’
Referencing his failed theatrical career, he added, ‘Might be the only show I ever get to stage.’
Heading towards Bond Street Sophie asked a question that had been on her mind.
‘Why didn’t the two of you marry when they introduced civil partnerships? When was that again?’
Accepting it was a fair question, Danny talked through the reasons.
‘The law passed in 2004. Ceremonies began in 2005. And we spoke about it. At the time. But it was strange. Speaking about it. It wasn’t romantic. It felt academic. We were going to have this thing called a “civil partnership” because the government told us we could. We couldn’t even call it a marriage. And once you start discussing it, the politics ofit, the meaning of it – there’s no spark. No fire. If we were going to do something we were going to do it because we wanted to. Not because we were allowed to or because the government permitted it.’
Sophie asked, ‘What’s changed?’
Danny stopped walking.
‘I changed. I want this.’
Sophie arrived at the most important question of all.
‘Why?’
For the first time Danny formulated his desire into words. ‘Because I want to stand up in front of all the people in my life and say this is the man I love. I don’t want to reach the end of my life never having done that.’
Caught by the simplicity of the reply Sophie fought back her tears.
‘I can’t wait to be there.’
