Wedding Bell Blues - [8]

first grade I’d never marry a man.”

“It wouldn’t be like a real marriage. I’m not gonna take advantage of your virtue or anything. Theone time I tried to have sex with a woman, I threw up on her.” He sat back down next to Lily. “Here’swhat I’m thinking. We get married, we move to Faulkner County for the time being, convince my parentsour marriage is the real thing, give them time to fall in love with Mimi. And that won’t take any time atall, because they’ve got grandsons out the wazoo, but not one granddaughter. We’ll have the case triedthere, get joint custody of Mimi, then we can move back here to our respective condos. We can staymarried for the insurance benefits or get a divorce, whichever you want.”

Lily’s heart was racing. “You make it sound so easy, but this ...this goes against my wholepersonal philosophy.” She rolled up her sleeve to show her woman symbol tattoo. “When I got this tattoo,I was nineteen years old. I swore then that I’d always be true to my lesbian identity ... that I’d never closetmyself, or use vague pronouns, or —”

“That’s all very moving, hon. But is your pride worth allowing your daughter to be raised aSouthern Baptist?”

Lily collapsed with her head in her hands. “Oh god.”

“If it helps, you can think of this as a subversive act. We’ll not just be lying out of self-protection;we’ll be beating the straight people at their own game.”

Lily sat in silence for a moment. Hellish as the plan was, it was the only course of action she couldthink of that might give them a chance of success ... if they could pull it off. “I won’t have to, like, wear awhite dress or anything, will I?”

“Hell, no. We’ll just have a justice of the peace do it. You can wear jeans and a Lesbian AvengersT-shirt for all I care. The thing is, though, in front of my folks and the judge, we’ll have to make it lookreal. We’ll have to be affectionate with each other, and in order to play well in Faulkner County you’llhave to take my name —”

Lily started laughing so hard she couldn’t get her breath. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“What is it?” Ben asked.

“I don’t fucking believe it,” she said when she could finally speak. “My whole life I’ve swornnever to let men influence my identity, and now I’m going to be named Lily McGilly.”

CHAPTER 4

Ben’s Lexus sped along the interstate, taking Lily into a world so different it was hard for her tobelieve they’d been in Atlanta a scant fifty minutes ago. The only traveling Lily had done in the pastseveral years was for book signings. She’d drive to the Atlanta airport, board a plane, and be depositedinto another metropolitan area. A native Atlantan, Lily had seen little of the expanses of country that laybetween major metropolitan areas.

She looked behind her, where Mimi was snoozing away in her car seat. As always, Lily sawCharlotte’s face in Mimi’s. She hoped she was doing the right thing.

They passed a green sign that read FAULKNER COUNTY. “Last chance to back out,” Ben said.

His tone was only half-joking.

Lily replied, “I’m willing to go through with it if you are. Although I must admit I’m surprisedyou’re willing to go so far to help Mimi. I mean, you don’t even like kids.”

“Look, I know I’m not the most touchy-feely person in the world, but Dez meant a lot to me. Hebrought me out into the gay world, and even after we weren’t lovers, he was my best friend. Babies arenoisy and erratic and have no control over their biological functions, but that baby in the backseat carriesDez’s genetic material, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna see her raised in a way Dez would disapproveof.”

“So,” Lily said, “which are we gonna do first, go see your folks or get married?”

“Oh, get married, definitely. If we don’t, Mom’ll try to rope us into having a big church wedding,and I don’t think either of us is up for that.”

“God, no. Weddings are barbaric. I’ve never understood why people think they’re romantic — allthat heavy-handed symbolism about virginity and fertility ... it’s about as romantic as throwing a virgininto a volcano.”

Ben laughed. “Well, we’re lucky. In Faulkner County, they have this deal where you can getmarried in a day. The blood test, the license, the ceremony... you can get it all done in about an hour, if it’snot too crowded.”

“Instant heterosexual respectability in an hour, huh? Pretty amazing.”

Ben put on his turn signal as they approached the exit sign marked VERSAILLES.

“Versailles?” Lily asked.

“Actually, everybody pronounces it Ver-sales. Trust me; it’s more appropriate.”

The interstate exit for Versailles was home to only two businesses, a ramshackle fruit stand sellingGeorgia peaches and boiled peanuts, and the Lazy J Truck Stop, which, according to its sign, offered bothFRIED CHICKEN AND HOT SHOWERS.

Downtown Versailles was a scant block long. All the businesses seemed to be lost in the early

‘60s. The window of the La-Di-Da Dress Shop displayed pastel suits that looked like bargain basementversions of what the queen of widows had worn before she was given the moniker “Jackie 0.” Next door