House of Sand

"About what?"

"What made you different than your parents? You thought you were straight. And do you remember when you thought you offended me after I said I slept with a congresswoman? You were very quick to apologize. You were turning red and everything. Would your parents have reacted in the same way?"

"No," I answered harshly.

"Then what made you different? Usually, people are like their parents. They believe the same things as their parents. But you're different."

"I don't know," I answered. "Maybe I'm just different. A younger generation? Or maybe I've been unconsciously gay this whole time."

She grinned, "unconsciously gay?"

"You know what I mean.

She noted, "but they won't be at the wedding, so it doesn't matter at this point."

I questioned, "you don't think it matters that my family won't be at the wedding?"

"Hmm," she grunted. "Your family will be at the wedding. I'm your family. My parents are your family. If your parents are not supportive enough to come to your wedding, then forget about it."

"Oh," I hummed, my heart fluttering.

"Also," she added, "we need to consider what we're going to do with our names -- our last names."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I've been quietly thinking about that for a while."

Anna presented, "so, I'll do what you want to do. Some people change nothing, some people hyphenate, and some take the last name of one of the--"

My words forced their way out without hesitation. "I want your last name. Let me change my name."

"Are you sure?" Anna halted. "You don't have to do that if you--"

I interrupted again, "yes, I want your name. Sorry to interrupt you, but I want your name."

"Maddison Levitsky?" Anna grinned.

"Yes, Maddison Levitsky." I considered, "as opposed to Maddison King, Maddison King-Levitsky, or Maddison Levitsky-King. I'll take Maddison Levitsky."

"Are you sure," Anna repeated slowly. "It's a big decision."

"Why would you think I'm not sure?" I squeezed her shoulders. "Yes, honey, I want your last name."

"Okay, okay," Anna acknowledged. "It's just that it's a serious thing. There's no going back."

"I'm as certain as I can be," I gleamed. "Nothing will make me regret it. I know I'll have to mail a hundred letters to the government, DMV, the University of South Carolina, our school district, and whoever else has my last name as King. But it's worth it, baby. I'm serious."

She went on, "then I guess that's settled. And apparently, we need to get a marriage license in Pennsylvania if we are getting married at my parents'. Virginia won't give us a license if we get married in Pennsylvania."

"Seems weird," I murmured. "It still works the same, right?"

"Yeah. A marriage license is a marriage license no matter where in the United States you are. The Constitution protects that, Article 4, Section 1. It's--"

She paused when I snickered. She wrinkled her nose, "what?"

"I can tell you teach American government," I joked. "Article 4, Section 1?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "oh, lord." She continued, "it's just the red tape we have to cut through. But the catch with Pennsylvania is that there's a three-day waiting period. I guess that's to make sure people aren't drunk or high and getting married without thinking straight. So if we want to have the license issued the same day as the wedding, we have to go early and apply."

"I want it issued on the same day," I declared. "I don't want to be unofficially married for a while."

"Do you want to stay at my parents' the three days before the wedding? We can apply for the license then help set up."

"Yeah," I sang. "Sounds like a plan." My mind burbled with anticipation. I bit my lip seductively and looked at her. "Though, are we going to go those days without sex?"

Anna smirked criminally, "we can fuck at my parents' house. We just have to be quiet."

"You don't find that weird?" I asked. I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about my parents in the next room.

Anna scoffed, "I don't think about my parents when I'm having sex."

I scrunched the muscles in my face, but I couldn't conceal my laughter. "You know that's not what I meant, jackass. I mean that they might hear us doing our thing."

"That's why we're going to be quiet, Blue." She pointed accusatorially at me, "and you're the one who gets loud, remember? And it's not like I haven't already fingered you there."

"I know, I know," I flaunted. "Of course, I want to fuck. But I can't control myself."

"Well, then they can listen," she joked.

"Oh, my god. That's definitely weird." She kissed me, seducing me into another frenzy of arousal.

"We'll have to be quiet," she whispered, her warm voice flowing over my skin. "But now we can be as loud as we want." She kissed me again. "Let's fuck now."

Chapter XVI - The Wedding

- The Farm -

September

The farm, calm and serene, rested beneath the grandeur of Pennsylvania's rolling hills. The atmosphere shaped the declining light into a brilliant pattern of red and orange. A breeze crawled over the land without haste while the evening birds and insects sang in anticipation of nightfall. The wedding was neither extravagant nor expensive, and there were few people in attendance. Mom and Dad were absent. Anna's family did not extend beyond her parents. Nazis. Among the handful of friends we invited, Jim, Ellie, and Becca were present. A small semi-circle of chairs formed around a glorious oak, and we decorated the area with only a few wreaths of flowers and an electric keyboard.

Anna's parents hung to one another in fervor, and our friends' faces were jubilant with grace. I was clad in a modern wedding dress: snow white with spaghetti straps and a floral-pattered fabric reaching to my feet. Anna sported a white pants-suit, boasting a shallow v-neck. At the base of the oak tree, a friend of Mr. and Mrs. Levitsky led the wedding. He read words of welcome before reciting some ceremonial customs.

Next, Anna waltzed to the keyboard, on which she played Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime." She performed as delicately and charmingly as ever, pouring her all into my heart. She never took her eyes from me; every riff of music from her fingers translated into profound love. I nearly burst into tears when a drop fell from her eye onto the keys. She finished the song with the final lyric: "Everybody loves somebody sometime / And although my dream was overdue / Your love made it well worth waiting / For someone like you."

She returned to the oak where I slobbered onto her lips; the time for kissing hadn't come, but I didn't care. Tears streamed down her cheeks as we embraced, and it was all I could do to hold back mine. We exchanged vows, both promising to live our lives in service to one another.

Anna's hands, informed by labor, situated the wedding band onto my finger. She whispered so low that only I could hear, "I swear to you that I will do right by you, that I will care for you, and that I will always love you." Her eyes shuddered as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine, and whereas our first kiss declared the intensity of our love, this kiss proclaimed the measure of our devotion.

- Abbigail Ray

Author's Note

If you read this far, you have my thanks! Please let me know what you think. I'm interested in chatting with people or receiving feedback. This adventure comes from my heart and is very much reflective of my life, and I'm sure that many, many people share a similar story.