Waking Up Gray (41 page)

Six months later, standing on the white sands of Portsmouth Island, a small group of people gathered before a preacher. Mary Grace and Lizbeth’s father David, Annie and her squeeze of the month, Sharon and her husband were mingled in with islanders. Along with other friends and family members, all dressed in white and barefooted, as requested by the brides, they listened as the preacher read the story of Ruth from the bible. Molly and Mazie stood beside Lizbeth. Dana was back in Texas, but Molly still made occasional, what Lizbeth referred to as, bootie calls. Mazie’s handsome husband beamed at his wife. Lizbeth loved the way he cared for her daughter. Fanny stood with Gray. Jaye was in the front of the congregation, smiling from ear to ear.

Lizbeth had smiled so much her face hurt. No one cared that this ceremony had no legal standing. It was a commitment they were making in front of their family and friends and the government had nothing to do with it, which is what marriage was meant to be in the first place. When it was time for their vows, they turned to each other. They had agreed to make them short, because Gray wasn’t really good at expressing her emotions in public and she didn’t want to screw it up. Lizbeth went first.

“Gray, I’ve loved you since the first time I ever laid eyes on you and when I close my eyes for the last time on this earth, I will still be in love with you.”

Gray grinned that raffish grin that still made Lizbeth weak in the knees. The grin slipped into a big smile when she said, “Yeah, something like that.”

It wasn’t much, but it was all Lizbeth needed to hear. She smiled up at Gray and laughed. The onlookers laughed as well.

When the rings came out, Gray had no clue what to expect. Lizbeth had the rings custom made and kept them a secret. Gray held out her left hand for Lizbeth to slide the ring on her finger. When Lizbeth let go, Gray looked down and started laughing. She took Lizbeth’s matching ring and slid it on her hand. They held them up together to show the well-wishers.

On the ring fingers of each woman were three tiny bands of gold rope shaped as if they were tied around a tree.

R. E. “Decky” Bradshaw is a native of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, now living in Oklahoma. A former university and high school theatre instructor, Bradshaw worked both on stage and backstage, as well as directing and designing during her twenty five year Theatrical career. Now writing full-time, Bradshaw debuted her first four lesbian fiction novels in the fall of 2010. Proud of her Tar Heel roots, all of R. E. Bradshaw's books, thus far, have been set in her beloved home state of North Carolina. Her love of the Outer Banks, southern traditions, and Carolina women rings throughout her works. Bradshaw and her partner will celebrate their Twenty-fourth anniversary in June 2011 and have a son they are both very proud of.