Sex IN The City…And A July Wedding (Part 2)

Posted on July 12, 2012

Okay, we’re going to go with asking you to pretend you hear Sarah Jessica Parker’s voice speaking as Carrie Bradshaw again for the start of this. Ready? Here we go…

“There are three life changing events during a New York male’s life. The first is discovering he has a penis, the second is when he learns the value of his penis and the third is when he actually goes out and starts using his penis. From then on, it’s a rat race, gay or straight, to see just how many admirers of his penis he can accumulate. And if by chance he finds he’s attracted to and compatible with one specific woman’s anatomy or one specific man’s penis, love can occur. Sometimes, this love can even result in marriage!”

Me again, so you can stop pretending to hear Sarah Jessica’s voice.

There’s something poetic and just downright proper in the universe when you get married before your friend does. We awoke, snuggled, grumbled about each other’s morning breath, got up, stretched, brushed our teeth, grumbled about the Manhattan weather forecast and got dressed in our summer wedding finest. One of us brought Lacoste, one of us brought Polo, and we both brought red. Why? Because I only own one Lacoste shirt and the hubs is the one who bought it for me. So, let’s just agree that he erred. heh heh heh

“Huh.” That’s what we both said upon seeing each other in red. The only other shirt he had with him that might have passed for slightly dressy was black. One does not wear black to a wedding on a 98 degree day. Screw it. So we both looked like golf instructors. Big deal.

Our two friends had everyone gather at Chelsea Piers, Pier 61, home to the Bateaux. It’s a boat that takes you out for a cruise around NYC while you dine and I have to say it was fabulous! Their ceremony was held on the front deck and both wore light suits with a tie matching the color of the characters they’ve been likened to in their relationship, Ernie and Bert. They performed a traditional Chinese tea drinking ceremony with both sets of parents. Their vows were heartfelt and with a hint of humor–I helped my one friend write his vows–and it was a beautiful touch that a mutual friend of theirs had become ordained in order to be the one who married them.

The food and service on the Bateaux was impeccable! If there was anything that hadn’t gone to plan, we never knew about it. One thing that struck me is how lovely it was that all the relatives flew in from Hong Kong for the event. The culture isn’t really open to this, yet they were there and supportive. My friend’s mother even took her son to buy their rings when he was overseas visiting for the Chinese New Year. And his brother-in-law? He took pictures of each guest (or couple) with the happy couple, then printed them out right there on the boat and presented us each with a thank you card with the picture inside. That’s classy!

Unfortunately, due to the heat and a certain amount of heat exhaustion and heat sickness, we weren’t able to get together with the newlyweds later on that evening. Our friends were off on a trip with family members the next day, and Ralph and I had some unfinished business once we felt better. Not only did we have to drop a pair of his favorite jeans off for some repair work, but he wanted Bon Chon again for lunch. Yes, my hubby loved our yummy, nibbly Korean chicken place.

The last thing we did that day before having lobster burgers for dinner at Rare was go to the New York Public Library. We’d been past it many times, but we’d never gone inside. It turns out they had an exhibit going on called Lunch Hour. We just happened to walk in as it was starting and woman with a wonderful New York accent spent 40 minutes taking a crowd of us through a history of lunch in NYC. If you get a chance and you’re in the area, we recommend it.

Parting thoughts.

Marriage is about two consenting adults who (hopefully) have been through enough together as a couple and want to take that next step as one cohesive unit (for those who believe in marriage). It’s not about being male/female, female/female or male/male. It’s about joining together. It’s about celebrating a union. It’s about saying “this is who we are together.” It’s not a threat to you or anybody in any incarnation.

I believe some people tend to take it for granted, which is why when two souls like our friends get married, I see a happiness in their eyes that goes a little beyond other couples. Why? Because they know how many out there don’t want them to have this and they know if given the chance, someone is going to try and take it away from them. The good thing is that we have each other, we’ll fight for each other and we’ll not let someone dismantle what’s been joined.

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Kristoffer Gair (who formerly wrote under the pseudonym Kage Alan) is the Detroit-based author of Honor Unbound, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To My Sexual Orientation, Andy Stevenson Vs. The Lord Of The Loins, Gaylias: Operation Thunderspell, several short stories featured in anthologies (to be combined in a forthcoming book), the recently re-published novella Falling Awake, its sequel, Falling Awake II: Revenant and Falling Awake III: Requiem.

4 Responses to “Sex IN The City…And A July Wedding (Part 2)”

Jeff says:
July 12, 2012 at 8:23 pm
I got a little misty eyed on the last paragraph. Another amazing example of love overcoming bigotry.

Reply
Kris says:
July 13, 2012 at 8:51 am
I originally wasn’t going to add the last bit, Jeff, but it seemed like something needed to be said. Am usually not fond of “You see, Timmy” type endings. Still…

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Dorien says:
July 13, 2012 at 2:20 am
Have I ever mentioned…or even hinted at…the fact that I envy you tremendously (if one can envy tremendously).

D

Reply
Kris says:
July 13, 2012 at 8:52 am
This from the gentleman who is on the other side of the world on a fabulous cruise? =) I’m not entirely sure what you’re envying here, Mr. Grey. I’m hoping it’s just my way of emulating Sarah Jessica Parker’s voice from Sex and the City.