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"Tell me about when you got married? "
Carly, age 10 (and a half, thankyouverymuch), was being watched by her favorite neighbors while her parents were on a well-needed break from her incessant questions, although Carly was still feeling a little salty that her parents went to Costco without her. It did, however, give her an excellent opportunity to find out more about her latest obsession - weddings.
It was all grand though because Auntie Tara and Nanie Darcy had one of her favorite houses to visit. Tara gave the absolute best hugs. And Darcy would sneak candy and $5 bills in her pocket when Auntie Tara wasn’t looking, while putting their finger to their lips as though it was their shared secret.
“Which time?” Auntie Tara laughed.
Carly’s eyes got big. “You had more than one wedding?”
“Well, no,” Darcy clarified, “but we did get married more than once.”
“I don’t understand?”
Darcy pulled an album off the shelf, and settled down on the couch. “Come look,” they said, as they began opening the scrapbook. “Our wedding was wonderful. We had it in one of our friends’ backyards, and we did a pig roast and a huge bonfire, and Tara wore a beautiful sundress with yellow flowers, and carried a beautiful yellow bouquet. She was stunning.”
Tara looked at the two of them, and smiled. “Darcy was dashing. They had a soft grey suit, and a yellow tie and handkerchief that matched perfectly.”
“But, did you get divorced? Why did you get married again?”
“Ahhh… no, we’ve been together since high school. But our wedding was in 1995, and it wasn’t legal yet in Ohio for us to be married. Turn to the end of the album.”
Carlie turned each page, glimpsing photos of people dancing, and wonderful smiles, and made a note to turn back to those after she saw this last page.
There, tucked into the end of the album, was a scrap of newspaper, and a much older Tara and Darcy were in grainy black and white, kissing on the steps of a large building.
“I don’t understand?”
“Well, you were just a baby when this was taken. Look - June 26, 2015,” Darcy said, pointing to the date on the newsprint.
Carly scrunched up her face, doing the math. “I would have been, six months old. That’s almost exactly ten years ago then!”
Tara looked over Carly’s head at Darcy, and reached over and put her arm around their shoulders.
Mushy grown up stuff, Carlie thought.
“So this picture, this is our legal marriage. It was actually illegal before then for us to get married in this state, before this day. There were other states where it was legal, but not in Ohio. And look, we made it into the newspaper!”
A loud beep filled the air, and all thoughts of weddings and laws fled from Carly’s mind. “The cookies are done!” she cried, running into the kitchen.
Tara got up slowly, and helped Darcy up.
“Happy ten year faux-niversary,” she said, pulling her spouse in for a hug. “Now, let's get these cookies out of the oven, and celebrate in style.”