Chapter Five -- Wedding Preparations
The Reverend Martin Galbraith had not changed very much in the fifteen years since Sunday School, except his hair was thinner now and showed thin streaks of grey in that dark hair. He still had that friendly, happy look on his face which had made him popular among the people, of all faiths, of our small town. Tall and with an air of 'goodness' about him he exuded all of the good characteristics of a man who understood most of humanity's weaknesses and forgave all -- he was a very nice man.
Smiling at us he beckoned us to follow him down the long dark wood lined corridor to his office at the end. Passing the kitchen I glanced in and was met with a warm smile from Suzanne who was having a quiet and very friendly moment with Ramone. 'So it's true' I thought as she turned back to her lover -- back in the friendly moment.
Three chairs had been arranged in front of Martin's desk and a pot of hot coffee and cups had been placed on a tray nearby on a small table. Like the corridor, the office was all polished dark wood that smelled of lavender wax and old books. It was the lair of the clerical intellectual -- a man with a fierce analytical brain - a thinker. And I liked him immediately.
Coffee was poured, sipped, enjoyed, and then set aside before the conversation began. I sensed that this was a deliberate move on Martin's part, and I appreciated this ploy probably been used many times before, in order to relax the interviewee before the difficult questions began.
"Haven't seen much of you recently Mary," Martin said to me, and then turning to my fiancée, "or you Mark."
"It's been a few years Reverend," I replied -- sufficiently chastened by this mild mannered cleric, who then turned to my Lover.
"And now to business," he said as he put his fingertips together as if in silent prayer, "so perhaps you would like to start please Gregg."
Gregg paused before responding. "It was all unforeseen Martin. You may recall that I told you that Terri and her husband had left and taken the baby to Toronto.."
Martin nodded, which confirmed to me that he knew more about Gregg than I had thought; but there was more to come.
"I thought that I was facing a lonely time ahead, and I was prepared for that to be my future," Gregg continued, "and then Mary came into my life. Along with her fiancée Mark."
"So you have a three cornered relationship?" Martin asked, to establish the facts of our relationship.
"Exactly!" Gregg confirmed. "And now Mary and Mark wish to marry."
"I see!" Martin said - his fingers still together in spiritual contemplation. "And what about you Mark. Do you still wish to marry Mary, even though she is now in a relationship with Gregg and will be after she is your Wife?"
"Of course!"
Martin was visibly taken aback by the strength of Mark's reply, and it showed in his next question.
"And you are content to live the life of a...." he stopped.
"A cuckold you mean?"
Again, Martin was surprised at Mark's positivity -- as I was; but Gregg just had that content smile on his face that he gets when he knows that he has given me a good time in bed. He clearly had a better knowledge of human aberrations than I.
"You know what it means to be..... a cuckold?"
"Reverend," Mark replied after a moment's hesitation, "I have loved Mary since we were children and she has only ever been the one for me. I have always known and accepted that she likes the attentions of other men, but now she has a good man as her permanent Lover and I am comfortable with that."
"Good heavens," Martin exclaimed. "And you still love her?"
Mark nodded his head emphatically and then, turning to me, Martin asked, "And you Mary. I remember you and Mark at Sunday School years ago and I always thought you were a strong-willed young lady who knew what she wanted. I don't think I was wrong in that respect, or was I?"
At that moment I was unsure if I had just been praised or insulted, nevertheless I knew what my answer was going to be.
"If being strong-willed means knowing what I want," I replied, "then guilty as charged. But I have been lucky enough to fall in love with two men - who love me in return."
"And are you willing to be the centre of this polyamorous relationship?" Martin asked me.
"Gregg and Mark are two different men completely, and I love them both equally for who they are," was my answer
And then, because I could sense a reluctance by the Reverend to accept the honesty of my explanation, I decided to go in for the kill. "Just as Susannah probably does."
The office became very silent for a second as all eyes turned to me - Mark's in horror, Gregg's in amazement, and Martin's in amused but gentle forgiveness, which made me immediately regret making personal.
"I wasn't doubting you Mary, and you are right to raise the matter of my own marriage," was Martin's response. "But before I can continue with any wedding arrangements I have to be certain that all three of you are serious about your future lives."
I shouldn't have, but I bridled again at his insinuation that we were 'not serious'.
"Reverend," I said in the voice I reserve for 'time wasters' at work, "I can assure you we are very, very serious about our new lives together. We are not children!"
Mark's face was even more fixed in horror. Gregg's countenance had changed from amazement to suppressed amusement. And Martin's was one of patience -- gentle but firm.
"I think that I should ask my Wife and her Boyfriend to come in and talk to you about our life," Martin said as he stood up and made his way to the door. "Her name is Suzanne by the way. Not Susannah!"
"I told you Mary was different," Gregg said to Martin as he went through the door. The response was a conspiratorial grin between the pair of them. And I felt sorry again.
"Mary!" Mark whispered so that his voice couldn't carry down the corridor, "You can't talk to a reverend like that."
"Why not?" was my response, "I thought he was trying to back out."
Mark was about to respond, but Gregg beat him to it. "Mary! Martin is only exercising his pastoral responsibilities," he said, as he reached out to hold my hand. "His duty of care, if you will."