’Til Death Do Us Part
A Naptown Tale in Seven Parts
by Altimexis
Part Three
We’re Goin’ to the Chapel and… — Kurt
“Okay, final question,” Mr. Warren began, and I think we all breathed a sigh of relief. Not that we didn’t enjoy the interview — on the contrary — Harold had a way of putting people at ease and getting us to tell him things we wouldn’t even tell our parents — but the interview had gone on for nearly five grueling hours. At least it included lunch, and several pots of much needed coffee.
“How do you all feel about the fact that you cannot legally get married back home, and that your marriage here won’t be recognized as being valid back there?” he asked.
“I’ll be happy to answer that,” David started to say before any of the rest of us could even begin to ponder the question, let alone come up with a response.
Marriage is one of the fundamental rights we share as human beings. The right to meet people, to fall in love and to marry the person of one’s choice is as much a human right as is the right to life itself. Although there are some cultures where arranged marriages still predominate, that practice, along with polygamy and forced childhood marriage, is generally seen as unethical and it goes against the very principles on which America was founded.
Whenever the question of same sex marriage has been put to the public, the public has voted it down. When it comes to gay rights in general, those who seek to deny us equal rights and protections in all other areas are rapidly becoming the minority and, yet, marriage remains a bastion of outright discrimination.
It seems strange that straight people see gay marriage as a threat when so many of them have a low regard for the sanctity of marriage in the first place. Half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. If straight people don’t see their own marriages as being permanent, I can’t fathom how the institution of marriage could be undermined by gay marriage. Relationships are basically relationships, be they between a man and a woman, or between two men or two women.
I’ve given a lot of thought to this, and I think there are a variety of reasons why people are uncomfortable with considering the union between members of the same sex to be a marriage in the same sense that it is between a man and a woman. For one thing, there is the religious aspect — people see marriage as something sanctioned by God that began in the Garden of Eden. To them, gay marriage is a perversion that makes a mockery of God’s intent.
Others see gay marriage as a deviation from the traditional family unit. In other words — and I think this is a major part of it — gay marriage taps into some of the fundamental insecurities many of us experience during childhood. With the divorce rate being so high and so many births occurring out of wedlock, a lot of kids grow up in single-parent households, and most of the rest have friends in single-parent homes. For some reason, gay marriage reinforces the sense that the family unit is crumbling, even though gay households with children are no more likely to fall apart than are conventional ones.
The irony is that there will be gay households no matter what, and those with children will, if anything, be strengthened by the institution of marriage. After all, it’s not as if the lack of an opportunity to marry will force gay people to become straight and marry someone of the opposite sex. Indeed one could argue that one of the very things that undermines the family the most is when gay people attempt to live as straight individuals. Subverting one’s innate orientation is a recipe for heartbreak.
I know this is a very long and roundabout way of answering a simple question, but it’s important to understand where I’m coming from on this issue. To answer your question, no, I don’t resent the people of our home state for failing to afford us the right to marry, or for failing to recognize a marriage when performed elsewhere. People are only reacting to what they know and what they perceive.
What I do resent is when others exploit people’s innate fears for their own purposes. Certain religious groups have, for example, inserted themselves squarely into the fight, acting as if gay marriage is a direct threat to their existence. Many religions proselytize, as is their right — that’s free speech — but when they exploit people’s fears to impose their beliefs on everyone, that flies in the face of the very principles on which this nation was founded. I very strongly believe religions that need to resort to underhand tactics are not serving God’s will. Hatred is never part of God’s plan.
Finally, I’d like to call our leaders to task for failing to act on what is right. We elected them to use their judgment for what is in their constituents’ best interest — not simply to bow to popular opinion. Leadership involves leading, which is something we see all too seldom these days. When Truman fired General McArthur, who was immensely popular at the time, he took a lot of heat from the public and his approval rating plummeted. I shudder to think, however, what kind of world this would be today had he simply caved to McArthur’s demand to use nuclear weapons against China during the Korean Conflict.
I only wish that Obama would be willing to take more of a stand for what he knows to be right. If he put one-hundredth the effort he put into healthcare reform into supporting the rights of the gay and lesbian men and women who helped put him in office, we’d be a hell of a lot closer toward eliminating the stigma of being second-class citizens.
Wow, what an answer! It didn’t go far enough in my opinion, however, and so I spoke up.
Actually, I do resent the people of our state for failing to recognize gay marriage. We’re citizens of the state just like anyone else. We vote, we pay taxes, we perform essential services and make the state a better place in which to live, at least to the extent that anyone else does.
I don’t disagree with anything David said, but I think the people are being blatantly bigoted in rejecting gay marriage. It’s outright discrimination. Marriage may have originated as a religious institution — and believe me, I of all people respect the religious aspects of marriage — but it’s also a legal framework for the raising of children and the sharing of property. Civil unions may be able to provide a similar framework, if our state were to accept even that much, however separate but equal institutions are inherently unequal.
No matter how much demagoguery the other side may resort to, the people should know better than to fall for it. As David said, marriage is a fundamental right, and it’s no one else’s business if the one I love is a man or a woman.
I’m going to be with Trevor for the rest of my life regardless — he means the world to me — so allowing us to marry, if anything, only strengthens the institution of marriage, rather than undermining it.
“If I could ask a quick follow-up question,” Harold added, “what can the gay community do to change public opinion on this very important and divisive issue?”
“Come out?” Trevor asked as much as answered. When we all laughed, he continued.
Seriously, it’s hard to hate a whole group of people when you know someone personally. Everyone knows people who are gay — they just don’t realize that they do. Nearly everyone has family members or close friends who are gay and in hiding.
The gay community has already done an admirable job of trying to put a human face on gay marriage without being ‘in your face’ about it, but the people shown on the screen are still seen as strangers — no one you’d ever know personally. We’ll never earn respect until we gain the confidence to let people know who we are.
A good place to start is in the middle schools and high schools. Most schools have anti-bullying rules in place and yet bullying remains a fact of life in school, regardless of whether you’re gay or straight. Gay and lesbian kids have it harder than everyone else, but they’re far from alone in this. Having laws with teeth that are actually enforced would go a long way to eliminating a culture of hate and fear that permeates the schools in so many communities.
We also need to bring parents to task for abandoning their children simply because they’re gay. Considering them as ‘throw-away’ kids is unacceptable. Children are not like used appliances — something to be discarded when they no longer meet their parents’ expectations. When you become a parent, you’re responsible for that child until they’re an adult. Childrearing doesn’t come with a money-back guarantee.
When parents can’t or are unwilling to provide a safe, loving environment for their gay teens, they need to be held responsible in the same way they would for leaving a child on someone’s doorstep and driving away. That’s child abandonment. For some reason, society treats gay kids the same way we treat troubled run-away teens. No one chooses to be gay, and kids often live in fear of being rejected by their parents — or worse.
You can’t force a parent to love their children, but you can hold them legally responsible for their sustenance, shelter and financial needs. If financial interests were addressed, and if the laws weren’t biased against the adoption of gay kids by gay parents, there are plenty of couples that would be willing to help gay kids in need by providing a safe, nurturing home for them. I personally know of two such couples that made it part of their wedding vows.
“There needs to be a children’s bill of rights,” I added.
Children should have their own rights, since they often can’t protect themselves. Right now, parents can pretty much raise their children as they see fit, so long as they don’t ‘abuse’ them. ‘Abuse’, however, is a very nebulous term that often doesn’t go nearly far enough. A kid shouldn’t have to be brought to within a hair’s breadth of their life before society intervenes. Like Trevor said, every child has a right to a safe, nurturing environment. Every child has a right to be loved, no matter how they turn out.
When my father found out I was gay, he planned to send me to the Christian Academy, where I’d have been taught to hate myself for being gay. Even the best of such programs — those that don’t resort to physical or mental torture — treat homosexuality as a bad choice on a par with using illegal drugs or stealing.
Let’s face it, by the time a kid admits to themselves that they’re gay, they’ve already wrestled with their demons and coming out is usually the last resort. Being told they’ve made a bad choice only adds to their feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth. Being gay is not a choice.
Me — I’m glad I’m gay. It’s not what I would have chosen for myself, and it pains me greatly that I lost my father over it, but I could never have found a more wonderful person to spend my life with than Trevor Austin.
“That’s sweet, Kurt,” Trevor responded, “and the feeling’s mutual.”
“How do the rest of you feel about the issue of gay teens coming out?” Harold asked, but then there was a knock on the door. David went to the door and opened it to reveal a middle aged woman and a teenage boy.
“Hi, I’ve come to retrieve my husband,” the woman said, and then she turned to face Harold and added, “or did you forget we have tickets to a Red Sox game?”
“I guess the interview has gone on a bit longer than we’d planned,” Harold admitted sheepishly.
“Bruce, isn’t it?” David asked the teenage boy. I’d forgotten that we’d met him almost exactly two years ago at the Fourth of July celebration hosted by The Star in celebration of the follow-up article they did on gay youth. He’d been thirteen back then, so that would make him fifteen, now, and a member of the incoming sophomore class at his high school.
“Wow, you have a great memory,” Bruce answered.
“I’m sorry to cut the reunion short,” the woman interrupted, “but we really do need to be going.”
Rolling his eyes, Bruce said, “Sorry to run out on you, but it’s good to see you guys again.”
“Likewise,” Trevor chimed in.
“Thanks for the interview, boys,” Harold told us and then said, “Come on, Bruce, Peggy, let’s go.”
After saying our goodbyes to Mr. Warren and his family and showing them out the door, we quickly changed into our formalwear for the photo shoot that was to follow.
“God, I hate getting dressed up,” Trevor said as he attempted for the third time to tie his tie.
“Yeah, but this is something we’ll remember the rest of our lives — and the photos are something we’ll always have,” I pointed out.
“Why couldn’t we have done the photo shoot all at once?” Trevor complained. “We have to go through this all over again tomorrow with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Why couldn’t we have done it all tomorrow?”
“You know as well as I do that by the time we get back from the airport with the second batch of guests, there won’t be enough time before the rehearsal dinner begins. It’s prolly a good thing we split the photo shoot up in two. Tomorrow, we’ll be fresh and ready for another marathon session.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Trevor admitted grudgingly, and then he added, “you know, wearing tuxes to the prom, and then again for the wedding, we’re spending more than half as much on rentals as if we’d bought them outright.”
“That may be true,” I agreed, “but would you have wanted to wear a white jacket with black shirts and slacks to the prom? The lavender tuxes we wore at prom were perfect for the occasion, making a statement while still being stylish. Our wedding is more formal — so quit complaining.”
“Sorry, Kurt — I guess I’m just nervous,” Trevor admitted.
“Me too, Trev,” I said in all honesty.
Yeah, we’d decided to go with a more formal look for our wedding than at the prom, but challenging traditions just a bit by wearing a white jacket on top of a black shirt and black slacks instead of the more traditional black on white. We were also wearing red bow ties and cummerbunds to provide a little color, as well as blue carnations. After all, we had to wear something blue. The other males in the wedding party would wear the more traditional black tux and white shirt, but still with a red tie and cummerbund. The females would wear red dresses — a bit of a symbolic protest against the so-called abominations listed in Leviticus.
“You look fucking gorgeous!” Trevor exclaimed when I’d finished dressing.
“You look pretty good, too,” I replied with a sly smile.
“Just ‘pretty good’, huh?” Trevor asked in mock anger.
“Seriously,” I said, “you look so fucking handsome, Trev, I’d like nothing more than to rip that tux off you and fuck you silly right here and now, but you know it’d be kinda hard to explain the ruined formalwear to the others, and we don’t want to keep the photographer waiting.”
“Let him wait,” Trevor challenged, and then he pulled me to him and planted an impassioned kiss on my lips. As his tongue probed my mouth and the kiss deepened, there was a knock on the door.
“Come on, you guys,” David called from outside the door. “We’re gonna be late!”
Pulling away, Trevor replied, “Be right there!” and then he turned back to me and said, “Damn, I guess we’ll have to finish this later.”
“I’ll definitely take a rain check,” I replied with a deep sigh and a wink.
“Wow!” Trevor exclaimed when he opened the door. When I followed him into the living room, I could see why. David and Jeremy looked incredible, as in ‘super model’ incredible. “You two should be on the cover of Teen Beat or Seventeen or something,” Trevor continued, echoing my thoughts. “You could be movie stars!”
Turning red, Jeremy said, “To be a movie star, you need to be able to act.”
“Isn’t that what politics is all about?” I asked. “Acting?”
“Not if I can help it,” David answered, and then said, “Come on, guys. We need to get going.”
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Nearly four hours and I don’t know how many poses later, the four of us were back in our suite, heading to our rooms to change out of our tuxes.
“I had no idea all this shit was gonna take so long,” Trevor lamented as he removed his tie. “There’s no way we’ll make it to the airport in time to meet the plane.”
“Yeah,” David agreed, “it’s like landing in twenty minutes.”
“Dad arranged for someone to greet the passengers and get them onto the buses,” Jeremy noted, “so we’ll just have to meet our guests when the buses arrive here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” David agreed.
“Looks like we have some time to kill,” I said as I looked at Trevor and raised my eyebrows.
“Man, you two are such horn dogs,” Jeremy exclaimed.
“Like you two aren’t,” Trevor countered.
No sooner had we closed the door to our room than we were all over each other. We didn’t have a lot of time, but we had enough. It was difficult to restrain ourselves from just ripping each other’s clothes off or leaving them a crumpled mess on the floor, but we managed — barely.
Trevor may not have an athletic build like David or Jeremy, but he has the sexiest body. His shoulders are broad, his stomach is flat and his pecs are well developed, and capped by perfect, dark quarter-sized nipples. Top that off with a long neck, a beautiful, boyish face and a full head of curly reddish-brown hair, then add the most intense eyes and a set of full, pink, kissable lips, and down below add the most perfect cock and balls, so ripe for me to fondle — put it all together and you’re talking about my definition of absolute perfection. I just can’t get enough of my man.
God, I love him!
Trevor looked at me and gave me the cutest, coy smile. Embracing, there was no denying the excitement as we felt each other’s arousal between our bodies.
Bringing lips to lips and tongues to tongues, our passion nearly exploded from our kisses alone. There was so much more we wanted to do, even though there wasn’t much time.
Coming up for air, Trevor said in the sexiest, husky voice, “You want to bottom this time, Kurt?”
Grinning, I replied, “I’d love to.”
Usually, Trevor liked to bottom, riding me. Although I absolutely love to watch him this way — particular when I enter him and his face scrunches up and gets the most intense look of pure pleasure — I love the feeling of being the bottom every now and then. Trevor’s dick is long and thin, so there’s absolutely no discomfort. He sure knows how to use it, too.
Grabbing the lube, I squeezed some into my hand and then lovingly smeared it on his tool. Lining himself up and pushing forward, Trevor slowly entered me, sending the most incredible sensations through my very being.
With the most intense look on his face, Trevor began to take long, slow thrusts, hitting my prostate on nearly every stroke. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to mine and our tongues began a slow, rhythmic dance in synchrony with each thrust.
I used my hands to rub his back, his armpits and his nipples as the passion rose between us, flooding us with emotions only true lovers could understand. Usually we would try to pace ourselves, but today we were short on time, and so Trevor steadily increased his rhythm to the point that I could no longer hold back.
Breaking our lip lock, I cried out in ecstasy as I came between us. Trevor came at the same time, as I heard him screaming out my name, and then he collapsed on top of me.
Once we’d recovered, Trevor said, “I think we’d better take a quick shower,” with a laugh. No doubt about the need — we were both sweaty, and my cum was smeared between our bodies.
Fifteen minutes later, we were in the living room of our suite, dressed in casual clothes and waiting for David and Jeremy to finish whatever they were up to. While we waited, we couldn’t help but start making out all over again. Trevor was just sooo sexy.
“I see they’re still at it!” boomed out Jeremy’s voice, seemingly from out of nowhere, causing me and Trev to separate with a loud smack.
“You’re just jealous ’cause Kurt’s a better kisser,” Trevor challenged.
“Nuh uh,” Jeremy countered. “No one’s a better kisser than David.” And then, as if to prove his point, Jeremy pounced on his boyfriend and what started as a quick peck became an all-out lip lock. When they finally came up for air, David had a dreamy look on his face. It was a rare sight indeed for Jeremy to be the aggressor in their relationship, whereas Trevor and I seemed to have a much more equal relationship, in spite of our age and size differences.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, and pretty soon we were all in hysterics.
When we finally started to regain our composure, David said, “Man, I really love you guys. It’s so great to be able to share my life, not only with my wonderful soon-to-be husband, but with two close friends. You guys mean the world to me.”
“Ditto,” Jeremy said, in full agreement with his fiancé.
“We feel the same way about you guys,” Trevor chimed in, expressing my feelings as well.
“Not to change the subject, but how much time do you think we have before the buses arrive?” I asked.
“Talk about killing the mood,” Jeremy sighed. “Even taking into account the time for people to fetch all their luggage and everything, it could be any time now.”
“Do we even know if the plane landed on time?” I asked innocently enough.
“Good point,” Jeremy noted as he took out his iPhone. I couldn’t tell much from just his side of the conversation, but a minute later, he put his phone away and added, “Looks like we’ve got a bit of a wait. I just spoke with the charter company, and they had to go into a holding pattern ’cause of ‘air traffic congestion’. They didn’t land until ten minutes ago.”
“Shit, we could have made it to the airport after all,” David said, failing to state the obvious — that we prolly should have checked the flight status before we decided to pursue more pleasurable activities.
“Yeah, but the last hour was a lot of fun,” Jeremy chided his boyfriend.
“Definitely!” my Trevor chimed in, and then he added, “You know it’s funny, but as much as other gay kids like to confide in me about anything and everything, you guys are the only ones I feel comfortable discussing Kurt’s and my love life with.”
“Same here, Trev,” Jeremy agreed. “Maybe it’s ’cause we spent so much time around each other being naked and all last summer during our time in Washington.”
“Perhaps, but I felt close to you guys, even before last summer,” Trevor countered.
“Speaking of which,” I started to ask, “how are we gonna handle sharing an apartment together. I mean, we’ve all seen each other naked, and with hard-ons, but now we’re gonna be together all the time, and we’ll be having sex all the time with our husbands.”
My face heated up when I asked that, and Trevor said, “You look so cute when you blush.”
“What exactly is it you’re asking, Kurt?” David asked. “Are you suggesting we all have sex together?”
Man if I thought my face was hot before, it was now positively on fire. “No, no!” I responded. “No offense, Dave, but I’m not interested in having sex with either of you. Trev’s my one and only. I just wondered how we might handle situations when the four of us are together, showing affection to each other, and we become — you know — aroused.”
“How so, Kurt,” Jeremy asked.
“Well, for example,” I started to explain, “sometimes Trevor and I like to undress completely and snuggle up in bed while we watch a movie.
“We like doing the same thing,” David added.
“Well, sometimes we like to do more than just cuddling together,” I explained. “We may start making out, or just stroke each other’s chests and thighs, or even fondle each other, and sometimes that leads to out-and-out raw sex.” God, I must have been as red as a tomato by now.
Trevor confirmed it by hugging me and saying, “God, you’re so adorable when you blush like that.”
“So how will that change when we’re all living in the same apartment?” Jeremy asked. “I mean, how’s it differ from having Sam and sometimes Paul in the next room, and Trevor’s parents down the hall?”
“Well, Trevor and I hardly ever watch a movie with his parents or brother,” I elaborated, “but we probably will with you guys — all the time.”
“Hmm — I hadn’t thought of that,” David noted. “Yeah, we prolly’ll do all sorts of stuff together — the four of us — but I’d hate to give up snuggling naked with my honey just ’cause you guys are in the room. But I have no interest in group sex or anything like that and, frankly, sex between me and Jeremy is something we consider private — at least I do.”
“Definitely,” Jeremy chimed in.
“I think I can safely say the same for us,” I added, “but if we’re in the same room and all and we start to get aroused, how are we gonna handle it?”
“Making love in the same room and at the same time as you guys could be hot,” David said as he blushed a deep shade of red, and he almost never blushes. “Seriously, though, perhaps when things go beyond a serious make-out session, it’ll be time to retreat to our individual bedrooms.”
“Works for me,” I agreed.
“Not that I’d want to make a habit of it,” David added, “but if there’s anyone I could have sex in front of, it’d be you guys — The thing that scares the crap out of me is what might happen in the heat of the moment if we carried things too far. What would it do to our friendship if we started fooling around with each other? What might happen if, say, Jer and Trevor were alone and horny…”
“Hey!” Jeremy interrupted. “I’d never do anything with anyone besides you, Dave. You know I wouldn’t.”
“And I sure as fuck wouldn’t touch anyone but Kurt,” Trevor also objected.
“I’m not saying you would — that any of us would,” David continued, “but once we start breaking down barriers, remaining faithful to our own husbands becomes less sacrosanct, you know? Something like that could screw up our marriages and our friendship. Besides, can you imagine what would happen if the news media got hold of any of it? If you guys think it was crazy last year during the prostitution scandal, can you imagine the field day they’d have if there really were something to report?
“No, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that when it comes to having sex in front of each other, we just shouldn’t go there. Showing affection in front of each other is one thing, but once it goes beyond making out or innocent touching, we should retreat to the privacy of our own bedrooms.”
“I feel the same way,” Trevor acknowledged.
“God, this is sooo embarrassing,” I exclaimed.
“Well, you’re the one who started it!” David laughed.
“Yeah but — err, never mind,” I finally said in exasperation, “but you're right, David.”
“It’s gonna be great living together, though,” Jeremy related, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, that’s for sure,” I agreed. “I really do love you guys, and if there was anyone I could do stuff with Trevor in front of, it would be you two. However David’s right — let’s keep it in the bedroom.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jeremy agreed. Looking at the time on his cell phone, he then said, “Well, I guess it’s time we really should get down to the lobby. It won’t be long now before the buses arrive.”
Actually, it was another half hour before the first bus pulled up, and then pure pandemonium as the passengers got off and everyone wanted to say hello to us. Taking a page from Randy and Altaf’s wedding the previous summer, we’d arranged for everyone’s room keycards to be distributed on the buses, saving a lot of time and inconvenience in having people check in. We’d also made arrangements for everyone’s luggage to be delivered directly to their rooms, so no one was inconvenienced by waiting around.
Still, everyone wanted their five minutes with us, which meant that the second bus had already arrived before the first one finished clearing out. With all the shaking of hands, kissing of cheeks and catching up with friends and relatives we hadn’t seen in weeks, months or years, we were all exhausted by the time the last bus emptied out.
Yet to come were relatives and friends who didn’t live in our hometown, who would be arriving via commercial flights and trains over the next day or so. Among the four of us, we had relatives arriving from sixteen different states and three countries outside the U.S.
We were particularly looking forward to seeing Will and Brian, who were flying in from Chicago later that evening along with Tim and Larry, who got married over the winter holiday. Paul Levine and his boyfriend, Sam, were flying in from Rochester, New York tomorrow morning. Randy and Altaf would be arriving tomorrow from New Haven by train.
Because the rehearsal dinner was not until tomorrow evening, we hosted an informal buffet reception for today’s arrivals. Originally scheduled for ten, it didn’t get underway until around midnight, thanks to the flight delay. With soft music playing in the background and servers circulating with trays heaped with a wide variety of hors d'oeuvres, we all had a chance to mingle with our guests.
I almost did a double take when I saw Zach Taylor with his boyfriend, Kevin Williams. Zach had grown a good five or six inches since the last time I’d seen him, and he was now just about as tall as David. With his long dark hair and his green eyes, he was sexy as hell, perhaps even more so than David, which was saying a lot. Not that either of them could compare to Trevor in my book, but even I had to admit that Zach looked astoundingly handsome. Kevin wasn’t half-bad looking, either.
It was nice catching up with them on everything going on in their lives. They’d been a serious couple since last October, and like David and Jeremy, were as nice on the inside as they were attractive on the outside. Zach had recently been elected the vice-president of the sophomore class at Carmel High, and Kevin had been elected the vice-president of their school’s GSA, so it was evident they were both quite popular.
Trev and I also ran into Debbie and Cathy, and had a chance to chat with them about what was new with them. Their son, whose first birthday was only three days away, was looking cuter by the day as evidenced by photo after photo Cathy showed me on her phone. I couldn’t help but remember the circumstances of little Larry’s birth at Randy and Altaf’s wedding last year.
Cathy suffered a placental abruption during the reception, and Altaf ended up rushing her to Emergency at Yale University Hospital. Cathy nearly died that day, and she easily could have lost her baby, too, but quick thinking by Altaf’s mother, a pediatric nurse, saved them both. As it was, Cathy had to undergo a hysterectomy to stem the bleeding.
We all ended up staying an extra day so we could visit Debbie and Cathy at the hospital, and make sure everyone was okay. Then we came back less than a week later for Debbie’s and Cathy’s own wedding, which they planned pretty much on the spur of the moment. After nearly losing her, Debbie realized she couldn’t live without Cathy in her life, and proposed on the spot. It was a happy ending to a nearly tragic story.
I think our guests would have liked to have partied all night, but we wanted to get up early enough to catch the second charter flight when it arrived at Logan International Airport in the morning, so we excused ourselves and headed to our suite at around three AM. For the first time in a while, neither Trevor nor I seemed to have any interest in sex — we were just too tired.
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We almost changed our minds about meeting the morning flight when the alarm went off on Trevor’s phone scarcely four hours later, but then David came bounding into the room to make sure we were up. Actually, he was the one who was ‘up’, his morning wood leading the way, but we’d seen both him and Jeremy with early-morning piss hard-ons so many times that we scarcely noticed it any more.
“Come on, you dip-shits,” he started. “If we don’t get going, we’ll never make it to the airport in time to greet the flight.”
“Mmph — go the fuck away,” Trevor mumbled into his pillow. His were my sentiments exactly.
“Do I need to come back here with a bucket of ice to get you guys out of bed?” he asked innocently enough.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I challenged him.
“Try me,” was his response.
Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, Trevor responded, “You are pure evil, David Reynolds.”
“Like you guys wouldn’t do the same to us,” David replied.
Pulling myself out of bed, I answered, “That’s different.”
“See you two in a half-hour,” David laughed just before he closed our door behind him.
After David had left, Trevor said, “Wow, my bride-to-be is looking particularly sexy this morning.”
“Bride? I’ll show you who’s the bride,” I responded as I leapt on top of my fiancé and proceeded to wrestle with him. My dick was already hard as could be from my full bladder, and the extra stimulation from rubbing against Trevor was too much. Within seconds, we were both spewing our seed between our bodies.
“Short, but sweet,” Trevor acknowledged, and then he kissed me.
“Eww, morning breath,” I said as I scrunched up my nose.
“Like yours is any sweeter,” Trev countered, and then he gave me another quick peck. “Come on, let’s piss, shower and shave before David and Jeremy come barging back in here.”
“I thought it was supposed to be, ‘shit, shave and shower’,” I challenged.
“Feel free to shit if you need to, sweetheart, but I already shit last night,” he said with a smug smile.
“You are too funny, honey,” I replied with a laugh as I hauled us both out of bed.
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in the living room area of our suite, dressed in polo shirts and khakis, waiting for David and Jeremy to join us.
“Don’t you guys look preppy?” David asked as he and Jeremy walked out of their room.
Since they were similarly dressed, I replied, “Like you don’t!”
“Touché,” David said in agreement. “You guys ready to greet our second load of guests?”
“No, but it’s all part of the experience,” Trevor replied.
Before heading to the airport, we stopped for a quick hot breakfast, served with lots of much-needed coffee. About an hour and a half later, we were greeting our arriving guests as they exited the Jetway at Logan International Airport. I was surprised we were allowed to go right up to the plane like that, but apparently the rules for security aren’t nearly as strict for charter flights.
After we finished greeting everyone and seeing to it that they and their luggage were loaded onto the buses we’d chartered for them, we headed back to the hotel, took a short nap, grabbed a quick lunch and then got dressed back in our formalwear for an afternoon photo session. This time, we were photographed with all our relatives, who’d arrived from out of town.
“Man, I think I have permanent spots in front of my eyes,” Jeremy joked when it was all over.
“Yeah, the photographer from the Star sure took a lot of pictures,” David added, “but you know it’ll have been worth it when we look back at our wedding photos some day.”
“For sure,” I agreed.
Our rehearsal dinner was scheduled for seven, and by the time the photo shoot was over, we barely had time to change out of our formalwear, grab a quick shower and put on our regular suits.
Dinner that evening reminded me a lot of the dinner held at the Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C. the night before I received my Congressional Gold Medal. There were several courses, including two main courses. The food was incredible — as good as any I’d ever tasted.
Before the festivities of the evening began, I had an inkling some of our family members would be making some prepared remarks for the occasion. What I didn’t anticipate was the number of our good friends that had been invited to participate in a roast.
The first person to speak was Brad Reynolds, David’s younger brother, whom I also considered a very good friend. I knew Brad was smart and that he exuded confidence in public situations not unlike the way David did, but I had no idea just how funny Brad could be. He was a riot!
The next person to speak was Trevor’s foster brother, Sam. Sam didn’t have Brad’s sense of timing, but he’d really come into his own and had some pretty hilarious anecdotes to tell. I nearly died of laughter when he recalled the time Trevor and I threatened to strip him and Paul and lock them out of the house, and how they chose to do just that themselves anyway, spending an afternoon skinny dipping in the pool rather than having a vendetta hanging over their heads.
Will Kramer went next, telling some funny things about what happened to us in Washington last summer — things that happened before the alleged prostitution scandal hit — ’cause what happened afterwards was anything but funny. He certainly managed to get even with me for some of the comments I made at his wedding last Thanksgiving.
I never realized that Altaf had a wonderful, dry sense of humor, but his deadpan speech on how we paved the way for him and Randy to live as openly gay teens was hilarious. He made it sound like we were literally paving a road. He said that they eventually got tired of waiting for us to finish the road, so they hopped in Randy’s SUV and drove ‘off-road’ all the way to Connecticut to get married before we did.
At the end, however, he got serious and spoke of how, if it hadn’t been for Dave and Jer’s fight for the right of same-sex couples to dance together at Homecoming, he and Randy might never have had the courage to come out to each other. He thanked the four of us for making his life with Randy possible — something for which he would always be thankful.
I got tears in my eyes thinking about how much what he’d said applied to my life as well. Had it not been for that homecoming dance and Trevor inadvertently outing himself by dancing with David, my dad wouldn’t have singled out Trevor in his sermon, and we wouldn’t have met when Trevor rode through my neighborhood. Who knows if we would have ever gotten together. A life without Trevor is something I didn’t even want to contemplate.
“Are you okay?” Trevor asked me as tears made their way down my face.
“Now I am,” I replied. “I’ll always be okay as long as I have you by my side.”
Trevor pulled me into a sideways hug and we turned our heads to give each other a quick peck on the lips. Yes, all was right in the world.
After Altaf finished, Paul Levine tried to tell the crowd how we’d all wrecked the GSA that he and his boyfriend, Sam, had worked so hard to build. It was all tongue and cheek, though. They knew as well as anyone that Trevor had made the GSA what it was today. No one could ever doubt the critical role Paul had played in laying the foundation for Trevor.
Billy Mathews talked about how we were all ‘wiggers’, ’cause we all went with him and his boyfriend, Rick, to a sports bar in Greenwich Village in New York that catered to a gay African American clientele. He was pretty funny, too. Will Smith spoke of how we’d corrupted his brother, Barry, turning him from being a normal, red-blooded homophobic teenager into a ‘fag-lover’. Hell, he was even the president of the GSA, horror of horrors! Will and his boyfriend, Jamie, would never live it down.
Lance Cohen, the kid who talked his father, a senior editor at The Star, into doing an article on gay youth, joked that we had a plot to take over the city’s sole newspaper, given all the times we’d been on the front page. Gary Phillips told of how he and his best friend, Darren, along with their girlfriends, Lisa and Mary, first met Dave and Jer outside El Torito’s by the Fashion Mall Keystone at the Crossing. It wasn’t funny at the time, but Gary did a great job of bringing out the humor in the situation.
Zach Taylor told the audience his own coming out story, which had happened in New York when we were all attending a Fourth of July party. The story was funny as hell. Jer’s old friend from middle school, Henry, told about how he and his girlfriend, Pauline, had become friends because of Jeremy’s wanting to escape the clutches of Heather, his square dance partner in gym class who obviously had the hots for him. “’Course we all figured it was ’cause she was a little overweight at the time — not because she was a girl,” he said in conclusion, which just about brought down the house.
Cathy Andrews was the big surprise of the evening, however. She told the story about how Trevor and I broke the news to her and Debbie that their parents had hired Trevor’s father’s firm to spy on them. The whole affair was pretty tragic, actually, but the whole evening, which was the night of the homecoming dance, was a series of missteps that, in retrospect, were funny as hell. Her delivery was flawless, and she did a great job of roasting all of us.
In all, I think maybe thirteen or fourteen of our friends participated in the roast. We all had a great time.
Again, we didn’t get to bed until well after midnight. Trevor and I were utterly exhausted by the time we hit the sack.
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Fortunately, the wedding wasn’t until the early afternoon, and so we were able to sleep in for a change. We were far too nervous to even think about sex when we got our wakeup call at ten o’clock. Instead, Trevor and I spent a half-hour just cuddling in the Jacuzzi, relaxing and letting the water soothe our jumbled nerves.
At our parents’ suggestion, we had room service bring a large Sunday brunch to our room while our guests enjoyed their own Sunday brunch in the room where our wedding reception would be held later that day. We’d originally planned to have brunch with them, but our parents made a very compelling case for spending the morning away from them. We’d been spending every moment with them this weekend, after all, and would be spending the entire afternoon with them as well.
We desperately needed some downtime before the big event, and a leisurely brunch in our own suite was the perfect way to calm our jittery nerves. We let Tom Kimball pick out the menu, and we were not disappointed.
It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, I’d never even eaten half the stuff we had for brunch that day, but I’d been very naïve when it came to ethnic foods of any kind. Now, thanks to my friends, my culinary horizons had expanded and were much more worldly.
Our brunch menu included a huge buffet of fresh fruits, smoked whitefish, lox, bagels, blintzes, potato pancakes, boiled shrimp, crab cakes and the best lobster bisque I ever tasted.
As we got started, a chef came up to the room and made us each an omelet of our choosing! Man, that was sweet. Trevor and I both had western omelets with ham, bacon, green and red peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms and cheese. They were a bit on the spicy side, but were they ever good.
David had a vegetarian Greek omelet with olives and feta cheese that he said was the best he ever tasted. Jeremy had a smoked salmon omelet with lox and capers that even I had to admit smelled heavenly.
For the first time I could remember in a long time, there was actually food left over from our brunch. Imagine four hungry teenagers leaving food behind!
After the remains of our brunch had been carted away, we retreated to our rooms to finish getting ready. Although I generally didn’t need to shave every day, I certainly did today. I wanted to look absolutely perfect for our wedding.
Trevor and I helped each other put on our tuxedos, our bow ties and cummerbunds. Once again, I couldn’t help but marvel at how incredibly fucking handsome my fiancé looked in his tux. From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he felt the same way about me!
As the time for the wedding drew near, I began to wish I hadn’t eaten so much for brunch. I was still stuffed to the gills, and with my nerves making my stomach do flip-flops, I feared the contents would make a hasty reappearance during the ceremony. Fortunately, Trevor did a great job of making me feel at ease. He seemed to be so calm and collected. Only later would I learn that he was as nervous as I was.
At the appointed hour, we all made our way to the top floor, where the wedding and reception were being held. The view was phenomenal with the floor to ceiling windows that extended around the rooms on all sides — it almost felt like an outdoor wedding. It was a bright, sunny day — it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Sighing, Jeremy said, “Let the circus begin.” Yeah, we’d all have preferred a much simpler wedding and thought the amount of money being spent on it was obscene. I knew that Jeremy was particularly self-conscious about the whole thing, because much of the lavishness was his father’s doing.
I had to admit, however, that even as overdone as things might have been, our parents had put together something special for us. It would be a day we would cherish for the rest of our lives.
For the wedding itself, we’d hired a six-piece flute and string ensemble to play light classical music while the guests were being seated, and selected pieces during the ceremony itself. Our favorite rock band from back home, Benny's Benders, would provide dance music during the reception afterwards.
With all of our guests seated and everything in place, the members of the wedding party took their places at the front of the room while the ensemble played the hauntingly beautiful second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. Although designed to be played by a full orchestra, it sounded lovely as a chamber piece.
Since the bridal march was obviously inappropriate for our wedding, we ended up choosing Bach’s Air on a G String for our stroll down the aisle. The ensemble segued seamlessly into the piece as we made our entrance. First went David, followed by Jeremy and then Trevor, and I went last, with each of us on our own mother’s arm.
We’d decided to enter in order of decreasing height, primarily so that my relatively short stature wouldn’t be quite as obvious as if David had gone immediately before or after me. We arranged ourselves at the altar in the same order from left to right, again to minimize the apparent height differences.
Our mothers stood with our fathers — except for mine — behind the minister, who was the Canon Precentor of the National Cathedral in Washington. I’d met her last summer at the Congressional Medal award ceremony dinner at the White House. Her influence had helped to accelerate my education so I could attend school with Trevor in Boston. She didn’t hesitate to officiate when we asked her.
Arrayed on the sides were our ‘best men’ — Brad and Cliff standing beside David and Jeremy, and Sam and my brother, Jeff, standing beside Trevor and me.
I hated to appear to be playing favorites with my brothers, but we all agreed to use our brothers as best men so as to avoid the appearance of favoring any of our friends over the others. For Jeremy it was a simple matter to choose Cliff over his natural brother, or his sister for that matter, since he and Cliff were much closer in age. Additionally there was the matter of Cliff’s AIDS and that being best man would mean much more to Cliff than to Jeremy’s natural siblings.
In my case, however, I was equally close to both of my brothers, and so we ended up tossing a coin to decide who would be my best man. Jeff joked that he lost the coin toss, but I knew he felt honored to be up there with me.
We had quite a guest list of people attending our wedding. In addition to all of our friends and family members, both of our state’s U.S. Senators were in attendance along with their wives, as was the Congressman from our district and the mayor. Even the Governor, whom I’d never met before, managed to get himself invited and was attending with his wife.
We’d also invited President Obama and his wife and children but, for obvious reasons, he had to decline. It was July 4, after all, and he couldn’t exactly skip out on the festivities down in Washington.
As I took my place at the wedding altar, the music came to an end and the Canon Precentor began the ceremony.
Dear friends, relatives and honored guests. We are gathered here today to celebrate the love and union of two couples this afternoon — the union of David Reynolds with Jeremy Kimball and the union of Trevor Austin with Curtis DeWitt.
This wedding is unique in many respects, not the least of which is the fact that all four young men arrayed here today before all of you and before God — are men. It has only been in recent times that same-sex relationships have been fully legal in all fifty states, and same-sex marriage is still only permitted in a handful of states.
The fact that we are holding the wedding here in Boston and not back in their home state only serves to highlight that fact. Although it seems likely that they would have chosen to go to school in Boston regardless, the fact that their marriage will not be recognized in their home state undoubtedly did play a major role in their selection of schools.
Lawmakers take note — some of your best and brightest constituents are gay and regardless of how you feel about the morality of homosexuality, the failure to extend equal rights to all your citizens is costing you. Here you have four National Merit Finalists who have chosen to leave the Midwest. These four young men represent a substantial brain drain from their home state.
God, this was embarrassing, but with some of our top lawmakers present, the message was an important one to convey. The precenter continued.
Providing ministry to politicians, I often find myself preaching and politicking at the same time. Please forgive my indulgence — I’m probably preaching to the choir.
Besides this being a double gay wedding, we are also blessed to be uniting four unusually young grooms. Trevor is eighteen, and Curtis is just sixteen. David and Jeremy are both seventeen. It is rare that I recommend that couples marry at such a young age, but I truly believe that some couplings are meant to be, and represent God’s will.
These two couples have been together in monogamous relationships for two and three years. These are loving, committed couples — high school sweethearts, if you will. They are truly soul mates. After this much time, I’m sure their relationships have already been blessed by God. The purpose of today’s ceremony is to acknowledge their unions in front of friends and family.
With that in mind, each of these four young men has prepared his own vows for this very special occasion.
David went first, and recited his vows to Jeremy.
In just a couple of weeks, Jeremy and I will celebrate the third anniversary of the day we met. Actually, we were already casual acquaintances, and even had some classes together in middle school but, until that time, we barely knew each other.
Three years ago on a hot, steamy day, Jeremy Kimball and I were caught in a downpour. With no place else to go, we made a beeline for his house but, no sooner had we dried ourselves off, than the power went out. The rest, as they say, is history.
Turning to face his fiancé and taking Jeremy’s hands in his own, David continued.
Jeremy, when we met, I was a confused, painfully shy, lonely boy. For a couple of years I’d been wrestling with the realization that I was gay, and I’d slowly withdrawn from life. I had resigned myself to a future without friends, and without love.
But you changed all that! You not only challenged my fear of being gay, but you convinced me that it was better to be out than to live in fear, and in hiding. More important at the time, you extended me your friendship — your unconditional friendship. First came friendship, and then came love, which made our relationship so special.
You also challenged my fundamental ideals, and much to my parents’ dismay, I’ve become a staunch Democrat.
That remark got a round of laughter from our guests.
I’ve even talked my brother into it. After all, none of the principles on which this nation were founded mean anything if we as a society fail to protect the little guy, and to make certain that all Americans share in the same basic rights.
I may be an idealist, and you are more of a pragmatist, but we share the same sense of fundamental justice, and the same dedication to bringing fundamental change to the world.
We’ve already served as White House interns,” and chuckling, he added, “and we’ve learned first-hand how much Washington loves a scandal. Soon we will attend one of the best universities in the world, and then we will go to law school together. But above all else, you and I are committed to a lifetime of public service.
However, none of that would mean anything without you at my side, and so I dedicate my life first and foremost to you, my love.
Pausing for several seconds and swallowing deeply, David continued.
Jeremy William Kimball, in front of our families and our friends and, most importantly, in front of God, I pledge myself to you as your lifelong mate. I promise to love, honor and cherish you, no matter what the future may bring our way. I promise to recognize and support your career goals as you support mine.
I cannot promise you a lifetime of happiness, as only God knows what fate has in store for us, but I can promise to be there with you, every step of the way, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until I take my last breath on earth.
I dedicate my life to you, and to our future children, even as I dedicate myself to the service of humankind.
Wow, what incredible vows! We’d all gone over our vows with each other, but I was still in awe of David and the way he delivered them. He had a presence unlike anyone else’s. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house after hearing David pledge his dedication to Jeremy.
Jeremy then went next and said his vows to David.
David, when we met three years ago, I too was at a low point in my life. I’d outed myself a few months before and although at the time I thought it was an accident, I now accept that what happened, indeed happened because I’m gay. Suffering the torment of my peers and my own self-doubt, I was petrified of what lay ahead of me in high school.
On that hot summer day, in the midst of a torrential downpour and a power outage, you single-handedly changed everything. I was a coward — I was already out and had little to lose, but you agreed to come out with me as a couple. You supported me and gave me strength. You showed tremendous courage as we both came out to our families that evening. As you already said so eloquently, you gave me your unconditional friendship even before you gave me your love.
Laughing, he continued.
I was always a Democrat, having inherited my parents values and ideals. It’s easy to support liberal principles when you have the financial resources at your disposal that my family has. Before I met you, however, my ideals lacked conviction.
The thought of actually dedicating myself to public service rather than simply going into business as my father did, or medicine as my mother did, had never entered my mind. You have shown me another way — a way to give back to the society that has made us what we are today.
Yes, we have already experienced things that few have experienced at such a young age. We served as White House interns and, thanks in large part to the efforts of your brother, survived a scandal that would have brought most people down.
Turning slightly to look Brad in the eyes, Jeremy continued.
Bradford, you will always be my brother, and a best friend, too. You are an exceptional young man and you will always have a special place in my heart.
Returning his gaze to David, Jeremy began his formal vows.
David Alexander Reynolds, in front of our families and our friends, and especially in front of God, I hereby pledge my life to you. I promise to love you always, to honor and cherish you, no matter what the future may bring. I promise to recognize and support your career goals as you do mine.
I may not be able to promise you happiness, as only God knows what fate has in store for us, but I will be there by your side for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, until the day I take my last breath.
“I dedicate my life to you, and to our future children, even as I dedicate myself to the service of humankind.
Damn, Jeremy’s vows were every bit as moving and emotional as David’s were! I always knew that Jeremy was as capable a speaker as David was, even if David was more spontaneous, but he sure proved himself today.
And then with a hint of nervousness in his voice that probably only I noticed was there, Trevor began to express his vows to me.
Kurt, I too met you at a low point in my life, exactly two years, six months, and one week ago. I’d managed to out myself in public that fall, and even managed to come out to my parents. Although David and Jeremy had already become my best friends and my lifeline, I was terribly lonely.
Just when I thought I was getting my life together, the pastor at my church, your father, attacked me in his sermon and began a petition drive to disband our school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, to remove gay references from the curriculum, and to recall the school board.
Looking at his parents, Trevor continued.
Mom and Dad, I don’t blame you for having supported the Reverend DeWitt in his efforts at the time, as you truly felt you were doing what was in my best interests. You’ve certainly made up for it since then, and no parents could have been more supportive of Kurt’s and my relationship than you have.
Continuing his words, Trevor went on.
I felt incredibly alone and depressed at that moment, and so I went for a bike ride on that cold December day, and it was while riding my bike that a boy who looked to be no more than twelve, rode up to me on his bike and got my attention. I later found out that you were fourteen. You were adorable, and you captured my heart on the spot.
Turning to me as I turned to him, and taking both my hands in his, Trevor continued
Kurt, it truly was a matter of love at first sight, but at the time you were still in middle school and I was two years ahead of you in high school, and I had the misguided notion that you were too young for me. It took me six months to realize that you were very mature for your age, and that age truly doesn’t really matter when it comes to love.
That summer when we both served as volunteers at a church-run camp for underprivileged youth, I fell hopelessly in love with you. Unfortunately, it took tragedy to cement our relationship.
Kurt, you are selfless. You never lost your faith in me. You put yourself at significant risk to prove my innocence, and nearly lost your life in the process. You also put the lives of the campers ahead of your own, but when the opportunity arose to catch the real perpetrator, you didn’t hesitate to act. Very few people I know of could have displayed such courage.
To me, even more significant than that, you sought to insure that the needs of the abused campers were met. When you found out that four of the campers ended up being HIV-positive, you made sure that the two of them who were without a home, my brother, Sam, and Jeremy’s brother, Cliff, were placed in good foster homes — the homes of your friends. Sam is now my adopted brother and he means as much to me as if he were my own flesh and blood.
Getting tears in his eyes, Trevor continued.
Kurt, I know I’ve said it before, but you are truly one in a million. You mean the universe to me, and not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for bringing you into my life.
Curtis Jonathan DeWitt, in front of family, friends — and God, I pledge my life to you. I promise to love you until my dying day, to honor you and to cherish everything about you, no matter what the future may bring. I promise to support you in your career goals, just as you support me in mine.
I cannot promise you happiness, for only God controls what fate may bring our way, but I will be there, by your side every step of the way, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until the end of our days on earth. I dedicate myself to you in love, and to our children, and to raising them in a loving, Christian home, free of judgment for simply being who they are.
Wow, as Trevor liked to say, he was abso-fucking-lutely amazing. But now it was time for me to state my vows. Just as had the others, I’d prepared my own remarks and vows to mirror theirs, but all of that went out the window when I first attempted to speak. Me, Kurt DeWitt, the boy with a photographic memory, couldn’t remember his own wedding vows! I think Trevor could sense that I was trembling when I finally did open my mouth to speak my words of a lifetime of devotion to him, with tears in my eyes.
Trevor, I love you! You are my life — my soul — my very being. You say that I am one in a million, but it is you who is truly remarkable. You have done so much for others. You have given selflessly, counseling gay youth, running the Gay Straight Alliance, and by building a phenomenal website. The school chose well when they honored you with the Outstanding Senior Award.
For a computer geek, you’re pretty okay.
That last remark got a laugh from our guests.
You mean the universe to me.
Seeing you every Sunday when you sang in the church choir, you had the voice of an angel, but there was something more. Somehow I knew that you were someone special — someone I truly admired. Growing up the son of a preacher, I was terrified when I realized that I’d long had a crush on you. It was then that I realized I was gay.
When you came out, it was a miracle come true, but I was still the son of a preacher. How could I reconcile my growing feeling of love for you with what I’d been taught about homosexuality?
My father settled the matter and, given the choice between the love I felt for you and the hate he preached, I realized I had an easy choice — I chose love. Finishing middle school as an out gay boy was interesting, but with a ‘take me as I am’ attitude, no one gave me flack for being true to myself.
Trevor, you spoke so eloquently about the events of the summer in which we fell in love, but I feel I only did what I had to do — what was right. The most important thing that happened by far that summer is that we admitted our love to each other. That alone made anything else that happened that summer insignificant but worthwhile.
As the words came back to me, I continued.
Trevor Sinclair Austin, in front of our friends and family, and in front of the Almighty, I hereby pledge my complete and total dedication to you. I promise to love, honor and cherish you ’til my dying day, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, come what may.
I cannot guarantee you happiness any more than you can to me — our fate is truly in God’s hands — but I will be there, by your side, supporting you in your career as you support me in mine. Together we will raise a family in the traditions of Christian love — a love that is accepting.
Two are as one. We were meant to be.
“May we have the rings, please?” the Canon Precentor asked, and my other brother, Ben, came up to us with a long jewelry box and opened it to reveal four identical gold rings, sized to fit each of us. Around the outside of the rings was an intricate design consisting of two entwined vines, linked to another set of two entwined vines.
David and Jeremy truly were our best friends, and they would be lifelong friends. We certainly weren’t a foursome, but we weren’t exactly two independent couples either. Trevor and I would always be faithful and true to each other alone, but we would never be far from David and Jeremy. This double wedding was a symbol of the shared love between us as couples, and our selection of wedding rings would always serve as a reminder of our shared love.
Once we all had retrieved the appropriate rings, at the Precentor’s instruction, we placed the rings on our partners’ ring fingers. The Canon Precentor then said, “I now pronounce you husbands in holy matrimony. You may kiss one another.”
Trevor and I closed the gap between us, and boy did we kiss!
To conclude our ceremony, we’d decided to do something different. Trevor had an absolutely stunning voice and, as it turned out, Jeremy was a decent tenor himself. We therefore turned to face our guests, but then I nearly panicked. Standing in the back of the room was my father! What the fuck was he doing here?
But the wedding had to go on. As the ensemble started to play Leonard Bernstein’s sensational music, David began to sing in his rich baritone, Stephen Sondheim’s immortal words of the song, Somewhere from West Side Story:
There’s a place for us
Somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us somewhere
And then Jeremy sang:
There’s a time for us
Someday a time for us
Time together with time to spare
Time to look, time to care
I think Trevor brought tears to everyone’s eyes when he sang the refrain in his angelic voice:
Someday, somewhere
We’ll find a new way of living
We’ll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere
Regaining my composure, I sang my part in my adolescent, squeaky voice:
There’s a place for us
A time and place for us
Hold my hand and we’re halfway there
Hold my hand and I’ll take you there
And then we all joined in harmonizing the last line:
Somehow, someday, somewhere…
The ensemble continued to play selections from West Side Story, which we’d all seen on Broadway in December, segueing seamlessly from the closing notes of Somewhere into the song Maria, followed by One Hand, One Heart, I Feel Pretty, Scherzo and lastly, Tonight. As the music played, we slowly made our way back down the aisle and prepared a reception line for all our guests. When everyone started to stand, however, I lost sight of my father. By the time we reached the back of the room, he was nowhere in sight. He didn’t appear to be in the reception hall, either.
“Mom, did you see…” I started to ask, but she interrupted me.
“Kurt, yes, I did see your father,” she answered. “He showed up just as David began to take his vows. I had no idea that he was coming, and I have no idea where he went.”
I hoped against all hope that my father would stay, and that I’d get to see him at the reception or at least after the reception. There was so much that I wanted to say to him, and to ask him. Unfortunately, I never did see him before we left on our honeymoon.
The reception was absolutely unbelievable. The place was packed to the gills, barely leaving any room for dancing. The meal, which had fifteen courses, was unlike any I’d ever had. It was beyond a doubt the best meal I’d ever had. Our wedding cake, which was the biggest wedding cake I’d ever seen, was delicious, and of course it was topped by four grooms — grooms who bore a striking resemblance to the four of us.
Trevor’s and Jeremy’s parents had spared no expense in making this day special for all of us. The reception even beat the one held in the East Room of the White House for my winning the Congressional Gold Medal, and that’s saying a lot. Beyond any doubt, it was over the top, but our wedding day was truly a day we would always remember.
At the appointed hour and with stomachs that were painfully full, we all made our way to our suite and changed out of our formalwear into more casual clothes. Grabbing two large suitcases apiece that we’d packed in advance, as well as our backpacks, we checked out of the hotel and headed by limousine to Logan International Airport, where we would board a flight to London.
Back on the top floor of the hotel in Boston, our guests would enjoy a spectacular view of the Independence Day fireworks from the reception hall, but we’d have never made our flight if we’d waited around to see them ourselves. Taking our honeymoon was a much higher priority and, besides, we’d be in Paris during Bastille Day and would see plenty of fireworks then.
As the limousine left the hotel, I noticed that there was a large crowd of protesters across the street, holding signs with messages of hate. Why was it that in simply trying to live our lives like anyone else, all the crazies came out of the woodwork to tell us how evil we were? Did my father have any influence on them? I hoped not, but I’d never know. They were truly the followers of Satan — not us. Hate is Satan’s path — God’s path is filled only with love, so why couldn’t they see that? We were all glad to leave them behind.
Thanks to Trevor’s parents, we flew business class to London, which was a lot nicer than flying tourist. As transatlantic flights go, it would be a relatively short flight of only five hours, but we would lose five hours of potential sleep, thanks to the difference in time zones.
As we were settled into our oversized seats and with the cabin lights dimmed so that those who wanted to attempt it could sleep, Trevor leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You know, Kurt, it’s our wedding night.”
My eyes opened wide as I realized just what it was Trevor was suggesting. “The mile high club?” I exclaimed in a whisper. “I could never do that.”
But Trevor put his hand on my knee and started gently rubbing my inner thigh. Suddenly, I felt consumed by desire. This was my husband, after all.
“Okay, let’s do it,” I whispered, and then I made my way to the lavatory. A minute later, Trevor joined me.
No sooner was the door latched than we were making out with unmatched passion. Slowly and lovingly, we removed each other’s clothes and hung them on a hook on the back of the door. Magically, a small packet of lube appeared. Trevor had planned this!
Space was tight, but we managed to work out the logistics of our coupling, even in the confined space of an airplane lavatory. We didn’t dare take as much time as we’d have liked, but as horny as we were, we wouldn’t have lasted long in any case.
When we finished, we cleaned each other up, got dressed, and headed back to our seats, one at a time. When I returned, Jeremy gave me the cutest smirk and a wink.
After I was comfortably strapped back in my seat, Jeremy got up and made his way to the lavatory, followed a moment later by David.