‘It’s alright,’ I say. ‘This was perfect.’
‘No, actually, I would quite like to marry you,’ says Dolly, standing up. ‘You did ask, and I didn’t get the chance to say yes, so this is me saying yes, with my mother as my witness.’
‘But I don’t know what the rules are. If we can’t, that’s fine!’ I say to Jane.
‘I think you should,’ insists Patrick.
‘Do you need a witness? I’ll witness,’ peeps Moira.
‘Me too,’ says my mum, which nearly knocks me out. I had been too scared to look their way, but they’re here still, aren’t they. My parents may not always understand me, but they showed up. They stayed.
‘I don’t think it’s a legally binding ceremony, is it?’ adds Del.
‘Well, you can’t get married in here,’ insists Jane, a little awkwardly. ‘You only paid for one ceremony, I’m afraid.’
‘What about outside?’ I ask. ‘On the lawns?’
‘You can’t get married without a celebrant. Or on the lawn. Legally.’
‘Oh, come on, Jane,’ groans Ang. ‘Help us out here.’
To my surprise, Reb stands up from the back of the room. ‘Actually, I’m ordained. I could marry you.’
‘Reb!’ I gasp. ‘You would?’
‘I’d love to.’
I understand this is an apology for everything she couldn’t do, everything she didn’t understand at the time, and I forgive her.
‘It wouldn’t be legal,’ sighs Jane.
‘We’ll do that after,’ Dolly insists. ‘We’ve done everything else the wrong way round. Why not this?’
I step down off the altar and take her by the hand, and together we all go out onto the lawns, families and friends together.
Reb leads the way.
My uni friends and their husbands look, let’s just say, quite baffled but then we’ve not been close for a while. Perhaps they’re realising that now. Either way, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them, in a way. They walk, in their couples, out with us.
Warren wheels Moira in her wheelchair with practised hands, though the poor man has to bend over quite far to reach the handles.
Ang and Del animatedly talk to my parents, in what I suspect is a quick run-down of not just the events of the last few weeks, but why exactly their daughter is marrying a woman despite going on a heterosexual dating show.
Jas takes Dolly’s phone and calls Whit and Malachi so they can watch, and Whit manages to add Lina in too.
Victor and Shreya follow along, like they’ve always been part of this world of mine.
Everyone carries stacks of chairs, or flowers ripped from the altar. Even Jane helps, even though she makes sure to tut enough that we know she doesn’t approve.
Our love is surrounded by love.
In the middle of the lawn, I marry my nemesis, my liar, the woman who helped me see who I really am and, importantly, wasn’t afraid of that Carys.
It turns out that Victor is right. My wife is someone who challenges me, who sees who I really am.
Under the protection of my Goddess of Wrath, I can be anyone. I can beme.
Maybe it’s silly to not think about the future, the long distance, the things we are giving up, but I don’t care.
