About Voices of Joy and Gladness, of the Groom and the… Groom

by E. M Ben Shaul
19 pages / 8000 words
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc

Avi Levine and Dani Perez decide to get married on their tenth anniversary, wanting to do something special to commemorate the day they met. They know their family and friends will support them, even though their Orthodox Jewish community may not really understand. Can they pull off a wedding as a surprise to their anniversary party guests and make sure everyone has a good time?

Sample

"You know, Avi," Dani said as we flopped down on our newly placed couch in our newly purchased house, "today is ten years to the day since we met."

I turned my head to look at Dani but didn't move any other part of my aching body. "We should do something."

"Huh? I can barely move a muscle right now as it is."

"That's not what I mean. Ten years -- it's a milestone. We should do something. Rent a hall, throw a party. Or, if you want, we can do it here, given that we have a new home and all. We could tie it all together -- housewarming and anniversary party all in one."

"Mm," he said, and then was silent for a long moment before he finally said, "Motek?"

"Mmm?"

"We did the right thing, right? I mean, you're happy with what we've done, yeah?"

"Huh?"

"Buying the house, moving, settling down like this."

"Of course, Dani."

"We could've stayed in the condo. It's not like we're going to need all the extra space for kids, after all." It was phrased as a statement, but there was a question underlying it.

I sat up and shifted so that I was facing Dani.

"Where's this coming from, chamudi?" I knew it wasn't about the house specifically. We'd been talking about buying a house almost from the day we bought the condo we'd just moved out of. We knew that was only a temporary residence and that, some day, we'd want something more permanent.

"It's just that...buying a house is very blatant. It's us saying we're part of the community, we're here and everyone's just going to have to deal with it and us."

"And buying the condo wasn't?" I was confused -- I would've thought all of this would have come out when we'd originally bought the condo, six years ago.

"Not as much, really. In our old building, we were just one of seven sets of residents. It wasn't so obvious that we were coming and going to the same residence every night. And, since most of the units weren't owner-occupied, people could just write us off as roommates, not as co-owners. But this...the house, us both sharing yard duties, only our names on the mailbox...it's big. In this neighborhood, especially, when everyone knows you, has known you since you were a baby...you don't feel like I've pushed you into making a statement you weren't ready for, right?"

I reached out and put my hand on Dani's shoulder, exerting sufficient pressure to turn him to face me.

"This community knows me, yes. Which means they know that I make my own decisions, and I live my own life. You didn't pressure me into anything! I love you, even when you're being an idiot, and I wouldn't trade these last ten years for anything! You got that?"

"Got it." Dani was smiling again. "Wow, motek, you haven't been that pissed off with me about anything for a very long time. Pushed a button, did I?"