A fictional autobiography of conjoined twin sisters Lily and Rose, in which they describe navigating life and romance in a non-conjoined world.
Part 6 includes the following chapters:
Chapter 13: Engaged and exempt
Chapter 13: Engaged and exempt
Now that we were engaged, it was time to find out what the process would be to be granted an exemption from the laws limiting marriage to only two people. The new law specified that the state Human Rights Commissioners would hear cases and make rulings about granting exemptions from unfair laws, but it didn’t specific exactly what the procedures would be. The Human Rights Commission would have to develop those procedures themselves. That hadn’t happened yet. Since we were employees of the commission, we sent an e-mail to the executive assistant to the commissioners, explained who we were and our situation, and that we wanted to request an exemption to the marriage law. We said that we knew we would likely be their first case under the new law, and that we would be happy to work with them to develop procedures and/or to actually try out draft procedures to see how workable they’d be for everyone involved.
The executive assistant responded thanking us for the information and our willingness to be guinea pigs for the procedures. The commissioners would consider what we had suggested and the assistant would get back to us once they had come up with a plan.
Meanwhile, the three of us started discussing what we wanted in a wedding. We all realized a church wedding was virtually out of the question since it would be a three-way marriage. But none of us were religious or had any church affiliation anyway, so we didn’t mind. A good number of wedding officiants for hire might also balk at conducting our wedding ceremony for the same reason. We could always get married by a judge, but they normally wanted you to do it in the courthouse during business hours, and that wouldn’t do.
We wanted a Saturday wedding at an appropriate venue, with a dinner and a DJ and the whole nine yards. Our parents, that is Lily and Rose’s parents, were willing to pay for it all, so why not? From their perspective, they were getting off easy only having to pay for one wedding for two daughters. We agreed with Nick that we should schedule the wedding for the earliest available date once we got the legal exemption and worked out all the details.
We were torn whether our little sister Daisy or our sister-in-law to be Ashley should be our maid/matron of honor. In the end, we realized it had to be Ashley. We tried to let down Daisy gently, explaining our reasons and insisting that it was nothing personal. She took it better than we thought she would. Daisy instead would be our first bridesmaid, along with our friends Gabi and Cassie. Nick’s best man would be his brother Mike, and his groomsmen would be his brother Luke, our brother Will, and his high school friend Gunnar.
About a month after we’d heard back from the commissioners’ office, we received another e-mail from them outlining the draft procedures they wanted us to follow, and we’d collectively evaluate how well they worked and suggest any revisions. They wanted us to provide the specific state law or regulation that we believed to be unfair, including everything needed to precisely identify it and its exact wording. We then needed to explain in detail our specific circumstances and why we believe the law is inherently unfair to people in such circumstances. Then, we had to clearly and precisely describe the remedy that we were seeking – whether we wanted a modification to the law or an alternative law, or if we wanted the law to simply be made not applicable and not enforceable in our case.
We were professional policy analysts. We write analyses of laws for a living, so we could practically do this in our sleep. The only problem was, many states’ laws on marriage, including ours, are vaguely worded and ambiguous, make assumptions, are full of apparent loopholes and contradictions, and are out-of-date with regard to subsequent court interpretations and rulings and federal laws. So it wasn’t as cut and dried as the commissioners draft procedures would imply. We had to address all of these nuances.
In order to potentially get around the federal marriage law, we needed a remedy that would not have all three of us married to each other, but rather one that indicated that we were each married to Nick and he was married to each of us.
There seemed to be nothing stopping us from getting two marriage licenses, one for Nick and Lily, and the other for Nick and Rose. To get them, we’d have to attest that we weren’t already married to anyone else, which would be true at the time. But in practice, we could easily see the county clerk preventing us from doing that. Likewise, there was apparently nothing stopping the wedding officiant and witnesses from signing both licenses and the officiant from submitting them back to the clerk. If they had the same date on them, it couldn’t be proven which one of the marriages was legal and which was not. But again, in practice, the county clerk would likely refuse to accept both.
So what we needed from the commissioners wasn’t really something saying that a law didn’t apply to us, but rather a clarification that it was legal in our case to issue, sign, return, accept, and record two marriage licenses, one for each of us, with the same man as our respective marriage partners, and it was likewise legal for the clerk to issue two marriage certificates with the same man’s name on them.
For this to go smoothly, we were going to need the cooperation of everyone involved, including the county clerk and the wedding officiant. We decided we should be proactive and contact the county clerk’s office and find out what documentation they would require from the Human Rights Commission in order to issue and accept two marriage licenses and issue two marriage certificates for the same man. We asked for, and received, permission to identify ourselves as commission employees conducting official business, rather than just private citizens asking hypothetical questions. We were sure we would be taken more seriously that way. We thought we’d start with a phone call; though no doubt they’d also want it writing, it would be less likely to be set aside if they were expecting it. To keep things simple and professional, we decided Rose would be the one to call, rather than both of us. The county clerk was a guy named Russell Pennington.
Receptionist: County clerk’s office.
Rose: Hello, this is Rose Barrett from the state Human Rights Commission. May I speak to Mr. Pennington, please?
Receptionist: Let me check if he’s available; please hold.
Pennington: Pennington here.
Rose: Mr. Pennington, my name is Rose Barrett, and I’m with the state Human Rights Commission. Thank you for taking my call. I wonder if you have a few minutes to discuss a matter of mutual interest between our agencies.
Pennington: Yes, go ahead.
Rose: You may have heard about legislation recently signed into law that empowers the Human Rights Commission to grant exemptions from state laws that are inherently unfair to people with unique circumstances. The first case the commission is hearing under this new law involves a request for an exemption from statutes involving marriage. The individuals who have made the request are residents of your county.
Rose: Assuming the commission rules in favor of the request, they’re looking to work with you and your office so that they can provide you with everything you need to be able to issue marriage licenses and marriage certificates contrary to written statutes based on the exemption granted by the commission. What they’re trying to avoid is them granting an exemption and then having your office refuse to honor it, either out of ignorance or malice, leaving the parties seeking to marry caught in the middle.
Pennington: What kind of exemption from statutes are we talking about?
Rose: The case involves female conjoined twins seeking to both marry the same man.
Pennington: So a pair of Siamese twins want to have a three-way marriage?
Rose: More or less, yes. But not all three people each marrying the other two. One man marrying two women who share a body from the shoulders down. Anyway, the commission is preparing to hear the merits of the case and will make a ruling for or against granting the exemption. If they do grant an exemption, their ruling will supersede the written statutes for this one case only. The conjoined twins and their intended husband would then go to your office to obtain two marriage licenses, authorizing an officiant to solemnize their marriages. We will provide them with copies of the law authorizing the commission to make this exemption as well as the ruling of the commission granting the exemption. What we are wanting to know is if providing these documents is sufficient for you to allow them to proceed, or whether you would need additional documentation, or would require specific wording, or anything along those lines?
Pennington: I would need some kind of assurance that this is all on the up-and-up, and that I won’t be charged with violating state law by aiding and abetting a polygamous marriage. I’m not even sure if I’m comfortable with this at all.
Rose: Yes, I understand. That’s why we’re reaching out to you proactively, rather than blindsiding you by having these people show up at your office armed with paperwork you’re unfamiliar with. Anyway, I’ll e-mail you the relevant information about the new law authorizing the commission to grant exemptions from state law so you can familiarize yourself with it. If the commission grants the exemption, I’ll then be back in touch and will provide the particulars of the case. In the meantime, please be thinking about what you would need to be assured that such exemptions are legal and that you would not be charged with violating a law to which an exemption had been made.
Pennington: Okay, thank you for the heads up, Ms. Barrett. I’ll be watching for your e-mail.
Rose: Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Pennington. Have a good day.
Lily: Wow, it’s a good thing we called him. He would have sent us packing if we just showed up to get our marriage licenses.
Rose: I think he’ll come around. But this is something that we should recommend be added to the procedures. Provide plenty of advance notice and whatever hand-holding is necessary to other agencies and officials who will be involved with accommodating the exemption granted by the commission. It’s easy to see how things would have gone south had we not done that.
Later, we talked about who should officiate our wedding. It would have to be someone comfortable with not only performing what amounted to a polygamous marriage, but also with performing a marriage in violation of written law based on a newfangled exemption granted by the Human Rights Commission. We’d already ruled out a church wedding, and by extension that also ruled out using a member of the clergy to officiate. Any elected judge or official would balk, as would anyone who aspired to an elected position. It almost certainly would be hard to find an officiant for hire who’d be willing, and we really didn’t want some rando to perform our wedding anyway.
We realized the best strategy would be to hand pick someone we trusted, and if they were willing, to ask them to go through the process to become a legal wedding officiant. We wanted it to be someone we thought of as an authority figure. Mr. Vernon would have been our first choice, but we couldn’t possibly ask him; doing so would end his political career. We knew he’d already gone way out on a limb for us, and we’d be forever grateful to him for that. But who else could we ask? After mulling about it for some time, we got the idea that we could maybe ask one of the Human Rights Commissioners. But we knew we couldn’t even bring up the subject until after they had reached their decision regarding our case. Otherwise, it would appear to be a conflict of interest and an attempt on our part to influence the outcome.
Even though the commissioners were familiar with us and our situation – they’d all seen us in the office at some point – they wanted to treat our case as if they weren’t. After all, it was the pilot for how they’d handle future requests where they had no prior familiarity. Doing so would also minimize them appearing to show favoritism towards us. Therefore, they wanted us, as well as Nick, to appear before them in person to make our case. They also wanted our doctor to come and testify regarding our anatomy, which was central to our case. We were welcome to bring legal counsel with us, but we saw no need for that. So we arranged a time that worked for both the commissioners and our doctor. Dr. Massey was going to charge us a pretty hefty fee for coming to testify on our behalf, but we had no choice if we didn’t want to drop the whole matter.
The hearing was pretty anti-climactic for us. We mostly just reiterated what we’d already provided to them in writing and what we had said when appearing before the state senate committee. We cautioned them that some of their questions may require us to give graphic, explicit responses in order to be complete and unambiguous. However, they avoided asking such questions, at least to us. The commissioners did ask a lot of questions about why the various options that complied with established law were either unacceptable or unfair to us. Those options included each of us marrying different men, only one of us marrying Nick and the other remaining single, and keeping our relationship in its present status – living together without being married at all.
This was Nick’s first time having to testify about his relationship with us, and he was clearly uncomfortable, especially when they began asking him detailed questions about our sex life. But Nick rose to the occasion and handled the questions well. They also asked him the same questions about the currently legal relationship options, and though his responses were from his perspective, they were consistent with ours.
The commissioners then questioned Dr. Massey. Mostly they just wanted him to confirm what we had already told them about our anatomy, and specifically about our genitalia and reproductive system. We became uncomfortable as he clinically described these to the people who were our bosses. And then it was over. The commissioners thanked us for appearing and answering their questions, and told us they’d inform us once they’d reached their decision or if they needed any additional information.
Later that day, one of the commissioners, a Mrs. Rodriguez, found us at our desk. “Lily, Rose, on behalf of my colleagues, I want to apologize for the many intrusive, deeply personal questions we asked today. We only did so in order to have as complete of an understanding of your situation and the basis for your request for an exemption as possible. I could see that some of them clearly made you and your fiancé uncomfortable, and understandably so. I’m sure your being commission employees only made matters worse. Anyway, you remained professional and answered all of our questions, as did your fiancé, which is to your credit.”
“Thank you for understanding our perspective on this, Mrs. Rodriguez,” we replied. “You didn’t have to come to us and apologize, but we appreciate that you did anyway. So what happens next?”
Mrs. Rodriguez replied, “Well, the commissioners will each individually review the information you’ve provided previously as well as the testimony from today’s hearing. We’ll meet again in a week and discuss the merits of your request. If all goes well, we’ll vote on whether to approve or deny your exemption request or to approve a modified exemption that differs from what you requested. Then one or more of us will prepare a written response to your request and a week later we’ll make any tweaks to that and vote to approve the response. We’ll then send you that written response. Our written response, assuming it’s favorable, will be all you need in order to proceed with getting married.”
Knowing it was likely we’d get a favorable ruling from the commissioners in only a couple of weeks, we turned our attention back to planning the wedding itself. By then, it would be early August. We called our first choice venue to see whether they had any open Saturdays a few months out. Unfortunately, they were booked solid until after the first of the year. However, if we could be flexible about the date, they could put us on a waiting list and notify us if they had a cancellation. We asked that they do that for any Saturday in October through December. It was the same story at our second and third choice venues. Booked through the end of the year, but we had them add us to their waiting list.
If we wanted to get married that soon, there was no way we were going to be able to have a wedding dress made in time, and we’d be cutting it close even getting one altered. That ruled out getting a dress with two neck openings, and it would be challenging to find one with one neck opening that could be made wide enough. Our easiest option would be to find an off-the-rack dress or secondhand dress that was nearly or completely off the shoulder so there was no neckline to have to modify. We both liked the idea of an off-the-shoulder dress, anyway; we thought it would call attention to our unique shape, and since we’d be surrounded by people who knew and loved us, there was no reason not to.
We had “save the date” cards and proper invitations picked out; we just needed to tell them when and where the wedding would be held. We needed to finalize the guest list, and we worked with Nick to get the names of his and his family’s must-have guests and nice-to-have guests ranked in order. We couldn’t accommodate both his and our entire nice-to-have guest lists, so we had to discuss and negotiate that with Nick. As far as a caterer, DJ, photographer, and florist went, we’d have to wait until we knew the date before we could finalize those.
A week after our hearing with the commissioners, Mrs. Rodriguez informed us off the record that they had unanimously approved our request for an exemption from the marriage laws against polygamy. We just needed to wait for their written ruling, but that was just a formality. Knowing that we had the exemption, we could proceed with finalizing our wedding.
The gods must have been smiling on us, because that very same day, our first choice venue called to inform us that they had a cancellation on the third Saturday in October if we wanted it. We immediately said yes and paid the required deposit. The venue suggested that we contact the caterer, DJ, photographer, and florist that were lined up to work the cancelled wedding, since they’d now be free. Otherwise, we might have a tough time finding anyone available on a date that close. That made sense to us, so next we called the caterer and worked our way down the list until we had everything lined up.
Next, we made sure our families and the wedding party were all free on that date. In hindsight, it might have made sense to do that first, but everyone was available so it was a moot point. We got the “save the date” cards and invitations taken care of, and we started searching in earnest for a dress. Two weeks later, we found a beautiful new dress that needed only minimal alterations.
Right on schedule, we were officially informed of the commission’s favorable decision and were provided with the written ruling. We celebrated big time with Nick that evening, starting with dinner and ending in the bedroom. The following day, we e-mailed Mr. Pennington, the county clerk, to inform him that the commission had granted the exemption request we had previously discussed, and we attached a copy of the commission’s written ruling. We asked him if to inform us, well, Rose, if he would need anything further from the commission in order to issue the marriage licenses to the people involved.
The next day he replied and said no, everything looked good and he was now on board with fully cooperating with the commission and the brides and groom to be. He just requested that we find out when they would be coming to get their marriage licenses so that he could be there personally and make sure there were no issues. Our names were listed in the written ruling, and he didn’t bring up the fact that Rose was one of the twins who had requested the exemption, which surprised us. Either he hadn’t read the ruling, hadn’t paid attention to the names, or he realized what was going on and just chose not to say anything. We waited a day to reply, and informed him that the exempt trio were planning a mid-October wedding, and since marriage licenses were only valid for 60 days, they probably wouldn’t be coming in until at least sometime in September. We would ask them to let us know the specific date and would pass it on to him once we knew.
Last but not least, we still needed a wedding officiant. We approached Mrs. Rodriguez first, since she had gone to the trouble of keeping us informed about the commissioner’s consideration of our case. She was flattered to be asked, but she politely declined. She did not think it wise to cross the line between professional and personal interaction with us, even after the ruling, and she strongly suggested that we should not ask any of the other commissioners, either. We thanked her, and took the hint and abandoned the idea of using a commissioner. That meant we were back to square one.
Nick suggested that we ask an older relative such as an uncle. We each smacked our own head, and then smacked each other’s head. Why hadn’t we thought of that? We both knew exactly who to ask. Not an uncle, but a cousin old enough to be our uncle. Cousin Tony was a lay leader in the Metropolitan Community Church, which is a pro-LGBTQ+ denomination. Certainly Tony wouldn’t have a problem officiating an unconventional marriage.
Right then and there, we contacted Tony, and explained our intention to both marry the same man, as well as our success in being granted an exemption from state law banning polygamy. Tony knew that exemption was a huge victory for us and congratulated us for our perseverance in seeing it to fruition. We then asked Tony if he’d consider going through the process to become a state-authorized wedding officiant and perform our wedding ceremony. Tony replied, “I can do even better than that. I’m already an authorized officiant, and I would be honored to conduct your wedding.” We thanked Tony profusely, hung up, and hugged and kissed Nick. “Thank you for making that suggestion,” we said. “It was perfect. We’re embarrassed that Tony didn’t even occur to us.”
Now, everything was in place for our wedding. All we still had to do was go get those marriage licenses. We didn’t want to get it too soon, to give us time if the wedding had to be postponed for some reason. But we didn’t want to wait until the last minute, in case there was a problem obtaining the licenses. A month prior to the wedding seemed about right. I, Rose, contacted Mr. Pennington, the county clerk, and informed him that the trio with the exemption wanted to get their licenses during the third week in September, but were flexible as to what day and time. I worked that out with him and told him I’d pass the information back to the trio. Mr. Pennington asked me to tell them to ask for him by name when then arrived. He then wondered out loud how his staff would recognize them, because people asked for him by name all the time for no good reason, and they were trained to say he wasn’t available.
I laughed out loud. “Mr. Pennington, how often do conjoined twins walk into your office and ask for you?” Pennington also laughed at himself. “Good point! I don’t know what I was thinking! I look forward to meeting them.”
On the appointed day, Nick and we went to the county clerk’s office and asked for Mr. Pennington as we’d been instructed. All of his staff openly stared at us as we were escorted to his office. Mr. Pennington stood as we entered his office. “Welcome! Come in, come in,” he said. Nick introduced himself first. “Hi, Mr. Pennington, I’m Nick Spencer, and these are my fiancées. I, Lily went next. I always go before Rose when we’re being introduced because I’m the one with the right hand. “Hi, I’m Lily Barrett,” I said. Mr. Pennington frowned. “Barrett. That name rings a bell,” he said. I, Rose, then spoke up. “That’s because I’m Rose Barrett. We’ve been speaking on the phone and exchanging e-mails. It’s nice to meet you in person.”
Mr. Pennington frowned even more. “Wait a minute. What’s going on here? You’ve been representing yourself as an employee of the Human Rights Commission, but you’re obviously the one seeking to get married contrary to state law. You know you can get in a lot of trouble for impersonating a state official, and you almost got me in a lot of trouble for authorizing a polygamous marriage. I suggest you leave immediately before I call the police.”
That went south very quickly. I, Rose, tried to explain. “Mr. Pennington, Lily and I really are Human Rights Commission employees and I contacted you strictly in the performance of my duties and with the full knowledge of my superiors. Here’s my employee ID. Everything I told you and sent to you was completely legitimate. I would have done so exactly the same way if the case had involved other people. We’ll wait while you contact our supervisor to confirm everything. I’ll gladly give you his name and number. We can also put you in touch with Senator Vernon, who sponsored the legislation authorizing the HRC to grant exemptions from state law. We have his personal number.”
Mr. Pennington still looked skeptical. “If you don’t mind, I’ll contact the HRC through the main number rather than a number you provide.” He then called out to his assistant. “Please get the state Human Rights Commission on the phone for me. No, no one specific. Just the main number.” A minute later the phone on his desk rang and he picked it up and turned on the speaker. “Mr. Pennington, I have the HRC on the line,” his assistant said.
Mr. Pennington then spoke to the HRC person who answered the phone. “This is Russell Pennington, county clerk for Capital County. Do you have a Rose Barrett working there?” The HRC receptionist replied, “Yes, we do. Just a minute and I’ll connect you to her.” “No, that’s not necessary. Instead, may I speak to her supervisor, please?” “Certainly. Just a moment,” she said.
We could hear a phone ringing, and then our supervisor answered. “HRC Policy Analysis, Kevin Robinson,” he said. “Mr. Robinson, this is Russell Pennington, county clerk for Capital County. Are you the supervisor for a Rose Barrett?” “Yes, sir,” replied Kevin. “And is she a conjoined twin?” “Yes… May I ask what this is about?” “She and her sister are in my office trying to obtain marriage licenses to marry the same man. She’s been feeding me information trying to convince me that there’s a new law that gives the HRC authorization to grant exemptions to state laws, and that they’ve obtained an exemption to the laws prohibiting polygamy.”
“Everything that you’ve just said is completely true, sir,” said Kevin. Pennington asked, “Was she authorized to contact me regarding her own case?” “Yes, sir, she was. I was under the impression that everything was in order. She and Lily took off work to go get their marriage licenses,” said Kevin. “Yes, they’re here in my office right now, trying to do just that.” “Is there a problem, sir?” Kevin asked. “Yes, there’s a problem. The problem is that she’s been the one feeding me this cockamamie story about polygamy being legal in her case.”
Kevin became more assertive. “Sir, I’m telling you that the HRC, in accordance with state law, has determined that polygamy is legal in their case.” “How do I know that you’re not in cahoots with these two and are just feeding me the same line of B.S.?” asked Pennington. “Sir, that’s a very serious allegation you’re making, and I resent the insinuation that I’m doing something illegal or trying to get you to do something illegal. I assure you that neither is the case here. If you’d like to hold, sir, I’ll try to reach someone higher in the organization who can vouch for them, and for me.”
Kevin put us on hold for a few minutes. He then returned and said, “Mr. Pennington, I have one of the commissioners on the other line. Just a minute while I connect you.” After a momentary pause, he said, “Mrs. Rodriguez, are you there?” “Yes,” we heard her say. “Mr. Pennington, are you there?” “Yes,” he said. “Go ahead, then, sir,” he said. Pennington then asked, “To whom am I speaking, please?” Mrs. Rodriguez replied. “This is Human Rights Commissioner Elena Rodriguez.” He then said, “Ms. Rodriguez, I’m sorry to have to drag you into this. I have Rose Barrett and her sister Lily in my office trying to obtain marriage licenses contrary to state law, and I’m trying to get to the bottom of this.”
Mrs. Rodriquez wasn’t going to take any crap from this local yokel. “Mr. Pennington, have you been provided a copy of the state law authorizing the Human Rights Commission to hear cases and grant exemptions from state laws that we determine are unfair to specific individuals with unusual circumstances?” “Yes, ma’am, I have,” replied Pennington. “And have you been provided with a copy of the commission’s ruling on the case involving the Barrett sisters, granting an exemption from the law prohibiting polygamy in their case only?” “Yes, ma’am.” “So there should be no problem, then. Why are we even having this conversation? Please issue them their marriage licenses without any further delay.” “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Pennington hung up the phone. He had been put in his place.
He glared at us. “I still don’t like that you were the one providing me with information about your own case,” he said to Rose. “It’s too easy for someone to alter a document, changing a word here or there and making it appear to say something completely different.”
I, Rose, conceded the point. “In hindsight, you’re right; that wasn’t the best strategy. We got carried away with our enthusiasm. We did get permission to contact you about this in our official capacity as commission employees, but we should not have sought that permission, and we definitely should not have been given that permission. We should have had someone else do it. But regardless, I assure you that we provided you with completely correct information and unaltered documents. I encourage you to verify them yourself, so that when the marriage licenses are returned to you with all the signatures, there will be no problem for us to obtain our marriage certificates.”
“I intend to do just that,” replied Pennington. “But in the meantime, I guess I’ll just have to trust you on this.” He then proceeded to issue two marriage licenses, one for each of us to marry Nick.
When we got back to the office, Kevin, our supervisor, asked “What was that all about? I thought he was on board with accommodating you.” I, Lily replied, “We thought so, too, and he was, until he realized that Rose was the commission employee who had been in contact with him about this. He was afraid we were trying to pull a fast one on him.” I, Rose, elaborated. “We need to add to the exemption procedures that any employee personally involved with a case must not be the point of contact for other government agencies. It would have gone as smooth as silk if, say, you had been the one communicating with him rather than me.”
“But your names were on the ruling that you provided him over a month ago. He had plenty of time to question whether everything was above board,” Kevin pointed out. “Yes, but apparently he never noticed our names, or didn’t make the connection, until we were there in person. In all fairness, we never pointed it out to him, either. Once he did realize it, it immediately became a showstopper. But thank you for intervening on our behalf and getting Mrs. Rodriguez on the phone. We would have left empty-handed had you not done that.”
Chapter 14: Finally
And so the big day finally arrived. After the marriage license fiasco, everything else had fallen into place without a hitch. The guests had all arrived and been seated, and then Nick’s brother Luke escorted their mother to her seat, and our brother Will escorted our mother to hers. Nick and our cousin Tony entered the front of the hall through a door and faced the guests. Next the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered, first Cassie and Gunnar, then Gabi and Will, then Daisy and Luke, and finally, our matron of honor Ashley and best man Mike, Nick’s brother and sister-in-law. Then the flower girl, our niece Mia, walked the aisle sprinkling flower petals as she went. Finally, it was our turn, and we were escorted down the aisle by our father. We noticed that many of the guests were visibly emotional and some of the women had tears running down their cheeks. We couldn’t help but get emotional as well. At the front of the room, our father kissed each of us, and sat down as Nick moved to stand by our side.
Tony then addressed the guests. “Family, friends, and honored guests, welcome as we witness the ceremony where Lily and Rose Barrett are joined in matrimony to Nick Spencer. As you well know, Lily and Rose are most unusual and remarkable young ladies, and so this will be a most unusual wedding. Until a couple of months ago, it would not have been legal for them to both marry the same man. But Lily and Rose, with significant help from others, including some that are present today, have moved mountains to obtain an exemption from the law that would have prevented this double wedding. I’d like to recognize two in particular – state Senator Walter Vernon – please stand up, sir – and his daughter Gabi, who’s in the bridal party.” Mr. Vernon stood and Gabi waved. Tony had to pause as the audience applauded them both. “So, to be clear, everything you’re about to witness is completely legal and their marriages will be recognized by the state as legitimate. Let us proceed. The groom and brides will now exchange vows.”
We had decided in advance that we’d do the vows in this order: Nick to Lily, Nick to Rose, Rose to Nick, and Lily to Nick. This would give Lily as much time as possible to gather her wits after hearing Nick’s vows to her. We turned to face Nick and he turned to face us. Nick then held my, Lily’s, hand in his two, and gave me his undivided attention. “Lily, my love, if there’s such a thing as love at first sight, I experienced it as I sat in that conference room and listened to you and your sister that day over two years ago. Since then, my love for you has only grown deeper as I’ve come to know you better and better, and I cherish your love for me as it too has grown. There is no one on earth I love more than you, and there never will be. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. To the best of my ability, I will always provide for you, always protect you, always encourage you, always be open and honest with you, and always put your well-being above my own.”
Nick then released Lily’s hand and took my, Rose’s, hand in both of his, and gave me his undivided attention. He then repeated the same vows verbatim, only substituting Lily’s name with mine. We continued to hold hands and gaze into each other’s eyes, and I then addressed the man I was marrying. “Nick, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a man, and in a husband, and then some. You’ve been nothing but kind and gentle and patient and supportive and strong and loving, and I’ve fallen madly in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life as your devoted wife. I pledge to you my complete and undying love and respect and loyalty and commitment.”
Nick then released Rose’s and took my, Lily’s hand again as he again gave me his full attention. “Nick,” I said, but it sounded like a squeak as I was so choked up I could hardly speak. I paused and tried to relax. “You know how hard this is for me to say, but not because I don’t love you or don’t want to be your wife.” I was speaking so high-pitched and softly that probably no one but Nick and Rose could hear me, but Nick was all that mattered. “I love you, Nick, more than I could imagine was possible, and I want to be your wife more than anything in the world. I promise to be the best wife I can possibly be, now and forever.” Nick continued to hold Lily’s hand and give her his full attention.
Tony then asked, “Nicholas Alan Spencer, do you take this woman, Lily Grace Barrett, as your beloved wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall live?” “I do,” replied Nick.
Nick then shifted his hands and his attention back to Rose, as Tony continued, “Nicholas Alan Spencer, do you also take this woman, Rose Hannah Barrett, as your beloved wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall live?” “I do,” replied Nick.
Tony asked, “Rose Hannah Barrett, do you take this man, Nicholas Alan Spencer, as your beloved husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall live?” “I do,” I, Rose, replied.
Again, Nick returned his attention to Lily. Tony asked, “Lily Grace Barrett, do you take this man, Nicholas Alan Spencer, as your beloved husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, as long as you both shall live?” “I do,” I, Lily, managed to squeak out.
Nick pulled a ring out of his pocket and slipped it on my ring finger as he said, “With this ring, I thee wed.” Nick pulled a second ring out of his pocket and placed it on my, Rose’s finger, and repeated the same words. Ashley then handed me a ring, which I placed on Nick’s right ring finger and also repeated the phrase to him. Ashley then handed me, Lily, a second ring, and I placed it on Nick’s left ring finger as I squeaked out the same phrase.
Then Tony said, “By the powers vested in me by this state, I now pronounce you husband and wives. Nick, you may kiss your brides, in no particular order.” The guests all chucked at that last bit, and then applauded as Nick kissed each of us.
Then Tony addressed the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my great privilege to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs., and Mrs., Nick Spencer!” Again the audience laughed and applauded, as the three of us walked back down the aisle and out the door.
THE END