Friends at the Crossroads
A wedding brings more than just the bride and groom together.
This story inspired by the below prompt:
Two best friends attend a wedding, only to find out they both have feelings for the bride.
“Oh my God! You know Alex?” Me and my bestie Samaya both said in the parking lot of the Odin Oak Retreat Center.
“Yep. We hung out a lot at University. I was among the few women in the Computer Science department. I liked Alex because he — or, ah…well, she was ‘he’ at the time — had a great fem vibe. I kinda figured Alex was gay.”
“Interesting. We were gal pals when we both worked at sAInt solutions. And yeah, we were the only two female software engineers there.”
“Please come and form the Wedding Circle!” the pastor, or officiant hollered. This being my first pagan wedding, I didn’t know the terms.
Sam and I found a spot in the circle and waited for things to begin. We were both cold, dressed in semi-formal clothes without any jackets. Everyone else dressed warm for the cool Autumn afternoon.
I admired Sam’s heavily tattooed brown skin on display in her sleeveless red maxi-dress. People have told me that my pale skin would be a great canvas for tattooes, but I don’t think I have the courage to do that.
The officiant blew a Norse horn and the Circle broke to let in the bride and groom, Alex and Andrew. Alex wore a white woolen robe and a golden circlet on her brown-haired head. Andrew’s robe was brown and his crown was more substantial, and his dark, full beard added to his manliness. They looked like some Viking royal couple.
A tear rolled down my cheek, remembering all the times Alex and I hung out together, and how my crazy Christian indoctrination prevented me from asking another woman out, let alone a trans woman.
Sam said, “Damn, Cecily, look at Alex’s glow up! Stunning!”
The officiant called for the gods to bear witness, bla, bla, bla. I couldn’t pay much attention as all I could do was think about the missed opportunity of connecting with Alex. After we both left sAInt solutions, we pretty much lost touch. Then I met Sam.
An idea popped into my brain. It was a crazy idea, an idea I shouldn’t entertain in the middle of our mutual friend’s wedding. But another part of me wanted to do it, and to do it now. My heart thundered in my chest, but I said, “Hey, Sam — ”
“Isn’t it remarkable how much estrogen can do to a person?”
Sam and I looked at each other, and a light bulb went off in both of us. “Are we into Alex?” I asked.
Sam nodded. “I think so. I always wanted to explore my lesbian side, but my faith…”
“Same. So what’re we going to do about it?”
She shrugged. “Well, she’s getting married, so nothing we can do about that. But maybe we…”
I grinned. “Yes. We can still explore that.”
Sam grabbed my hand and we intertwined our fingers. A giddiness rose in me at doing this “forbidden” act. Then I had to remind myself that it was almost a quarter into the 21st century and gay women weren’t forbidden.
“And lastly,” the officiant said in her loud soprano voice, “I call on the Goddess of the Crossroads, Hekate, to bless this marriage!”
Alex and Andrew said their vows and exchanged rings. Then the officiant wrapped their hands in the hand-fasting cord and tied the knot to symbolize their union. They kissed passionately and the crowd cheered. Sam and I shouted our own whoops of joy.
The circle broke and people began dancing. One of the guests pulled out his lyre and sang. Others brought out grills where hamburgers and hotdogs were being cooked.
I wandered about in a haze, ideally listening to conversations. Was it real? Did I actually have a girlfriend now? We’ve been practically dating since we met six months ago, but if we were officially a couple, that might mean other possibilities. That thought generated tingles down below and even made me a little wet.
“Hey…” Sam said. “Let’s talk.” We walked to an area of relative quiet from the festivities. “You avoiding me?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Just, lots on my mind.”
“Tell me about it. So, what do you think? You want to be…you know…a couple?”
“Yes,” I said, without hesitation. Then, “well, only if you want to.”
Sam laughed. “Of course I want to. That’s why I asked, silly.”
“Yes,” I said again, with more gumption. “Let’s do it.”
“You wanna make it official?”
“How so?”
“Like this.” Sam grabbed my face and we locked lips.
Instinctual fear caused me to pull back slightly but then I heard the cheers from the crowd, and I leaned in and embraced the kiss. These people were not the conservative Christians I grew up with.
We broke our kiss. Not a small part of me wanted to tear her clothes off right there.
“Come on, Babe. Let’s grab some food.” She grabbed my hand and we walked to the food line. I saw Alex sitting with her husband at a table. Grinning, she raised her beer to us.
“Well, it looks like Alex approves,” I said.
“Indeed,” she said.
In the line, someone said we made a cute couple. Someone else joked there was going to be another wedding soon based on that kiss. I mumbled “thank you” a few times and felt the heat of the extra attention in my face, despite the chill of the setting sun. Even though my blue dress was long-sleeved, it was too thin to be of much help. A couple came by to loan us their overcoats, insisting we accept by bragging that they both participate in the polar bear plunge. Sam got a beef hotdog and I a hamburger. A large guy with an expansive red beard and a huge smile handed us beers. “Ain’t exactly a tankard of ale,” he said with a chuckle, “but it’ll do!”
We sat at a table alone — because we didn’t know any others besides the bride — and ate silently, probably each processing the thoughts stirring in our heads.
Alex came by. “Hey, you two!” she said in a sweet and mellifluous voice. “Great to see you both here!” We half-stood to give her a hug, then sat back down. She continued, “And that kiss! I think it had more oomph than Andrew and me!”
I blushed. Sam said, “Thanks. I think that was stirring in the back of our minds for quite some time, but your nuptials made us realize it.”
“So glad I could help.” Alex chuckled. I was always impressed with how well Alex did a fem voice. “I know we drifted apart in our friendships, but when I saw you both still lived in the area, I just had to invite you. Part of my intention to inviting was to reconnect.”
“That sounds awesome,” Sam said. “I’d love to catch up. But at least I don’t have to remember a new name.”
“Well, I did have to change the ‘der’ to a ‘dra.’”
My eyes began to water. I’m sure a relationship with Sam would be awesome, but I’d miss that I couldn’t do anything with Alex.
“What’s wrong, Cecily?” Alex said to me.
“Ah…nothing. Just a lot of emotions.” How could I tell them I wanted to be with Alex instead of Sam?!
“Well, your kiss gave me an idea,” Alex said. “Would you two be interested in exploring a throuple?”
The word was unfamiliar to me, but I could guess what it meant. At first, I was shocked she would suggest such a thing. Then anger boiled up in me.
“I can’t speak for Cecily,” Sam said, “but I mi — ”
“How dare you!” I shot back at both, pointing my finger like a school marm, and loud enough that others turned their heads. “To even suggest…” I got up, feeling the rage consume me. “And on your wedding night?!”
I walked away from them, not sure where to go, but I had to move
“Babe,” Sam said, “I don’t think you under — ”
“Don’t you ‘babe’ me,” I screamed. “Whatever we were going to have, it’s over!”
Most of the people had eyes on us. As my mind roiled, I realized I was causing a scene, and perhaps destroying the newlyweds’ marriage just as it started. But Andrew deserved better than a cheater.
Alex ran up to me. “Listen, Cecily, take some deep breaths. I’m not proposing what you think I’m proposing. Okay? Just take deep breaths, let the emotions flow through you. It’s okay. Everything is okay. You’re among friends.”
Alex was always so good at calming me. One of the many things about her that I love. Toward the end of working at sAInt solutions, when management thought they could just lay us off and let AI write the code, Alex was a rock when I blew up.
Andrew was now by Alex, their hands intertwined, like nothing was happening. Alex said, “It’s my fault. Sometimes I assume people know this about us; we’re polyamorous.”
“Polyamorous?” I’d heard the term but didn’t know much about it. With the daily grind and everything, I just assumed it was some form of cheating.
“An open relationship,” Andrew said. “Totally open, consensual non-monogamy. No cheating. No lying. Everyone involved with it is cool.”
“Andrew currently has a boyfriend,” Alex said. “I don’t have any relationships besides him at-the-moment, but when I saw you two kiss, I ran the idea by him and — ”
“Wait,” I interrupted, “you asked Andrew if that was okay?”
“Yep,” Alex said.
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked Andrew.
“Of course!” he said with a giant grin.
“You gotta understand something about Andrew…” Alex began to say. “…there’s a word in polyamory called compersion. It’s basically the joy a person gets in seeing their partners enjoy other relationships, even if that person’s not in the relationship. For Andrew, he spells it c-u-m-persion. Cumpersion. He’ll get off — only if we all want it, of course — he’ll get off. So…”
My mind reeled. Tonight, I finally admitted to myself that I was gay. And now this? Could I? It didn’t seem right. But I was done with religious indoctrination. There was no Natural Law that said only two people can be in a relationship. The thought that both Samaya and Alexandra could be my girlfriends, that tingled me in new and profound ways. “Yes!” I hollered.
The whole crowd cheered.
I apologized profusely for my outburst, but everyone was so kind about it. I learned the only true reason Alex and Andrew got married is so Andrew could get Alex’s employer benefits. By the end of the festivities, Alex, Sam, and I were practically inseparable, stealing kisses at every opportunity. Sam and I tried giving the overcoats back but the couple insisted we keep them as mementos.
As we three drove off, leaving Andrew behind, I had the wherewithal to come out of my carnal fantasizing to say, “You sure Andrew’s okay with this?”
Alex said, “Cecily dear, we’re gonna have so much fun tonight. And because of that, Andrew is gonna have so much fun with his vibrator. It’s truly a win-win.”
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Thanks to Ravyne Hawke and the other editors for Promptly Written. The prompt can be found here:
