From Now on, Let's Just Call it Marriage

On this day in 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional, and effectively struck down the federal ban on same-sex marriage. Two years ago, I was crying.

And I'm crying today. We are finally, finally living in a country that recognizes same-sex marriage as nothing special. It's just marriage. It's strange to think about it that way, I guess. We were fighting to be like everyone else, for the things we do to just be something. Not gay marriage, not a lesbian wedding. A marriage. A wedding.

I've been crying on and off since a friend posted it on my timeline this morning. And when I heard, and it finally sank in that this was done and that this was real, not just in my state, but no matter what part of the country I was in, I heard a voice in my head. A familiar voice. One I remember from my childhood.

Well, Mr. Kermit the Frog: we finally fucking found it. The Supreme Court of the United States has made it illegal for a state to ban same-sex marriage. I don't think we're done fighting, but for now, I want to put everything else aside.

Some day we'll find it

The Rainbow Connection

The lovers, the dreamers, and me...

Voss

Oysters (In Honor of Marriage Equality)

Since the subject of marriage equality is in the air right now, I wanted to offer something up. A free (if slightly aged) piece of fiction for you. So, here's 'Oysters.'

“Fish for sale!” he screamed across the lane, the tenor echoing from the wood beams. “We’ve got grouper! Bass! Monkfish!” I stared as his lips conformed to every letter. The cracked, callused skin writhed in every possible direction. “Come on, people! This is the premier catch of the morning!”

A man in a fedora, his stippled beard flashing across his face in the blocks of sunlight, reached down to the display and tossed the mussels about without looking down. Their black ridges flicked drops of water, diamond bright, through the air onto the chunks of ice, but he passed by. I guess it was only a courtesy.

The next one was a woman. Her hair was the same color as his smock – vitriolic orange. I haven’t seen a worse dye-job before or since. The fishmonger managed to pull it off, though. “Young lady,” he lied. “Come on now. Don’t you want a nice piece of salmon for dinner? It’s fresh out of the Columbia River.” His lips and brow streaked with lines as she sashayed past. “I pulled it out of the water with my own hands!”

He grasped at more than just my heartstrings now. I would be justified to punch her, right? I don’t know how she passed him by – I hide behind this pillar every day. Is it bad that I don’t know his name yet?

“I know you want something, sir! King crab legs! Special price – half off just for you!” A man in a trench coat scoffed and walked briskly past, cancelling the echoes of the fishmonger’s voice. “Anyone?” His volume dropped and the color flushed away from the sharp cheekbones.

I marched out from behind the pillar. “Hi.” He looked down the hook of his nose at me, a smile trying to pull at his lips. “Could I get some of those oysters?

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I hope you enjoy. Equality for all!

Voss