Something like this.[A Righteous Man, forced to depend on food stamps] has noticed crowds of midnight shoppers once a month when benefits get renewed. While policy analysts, spotting similar crowds nationwide, have called them a sign of increased hunger, he sees idleness. “Generally, if you’re up at that hour and not working, what are you into?” he said."And how, exactly, did you come to see me there?" the Peer retorts...
The love of my life.
Hello, family, friends, and loved ones. We’re here tonight to celebrate the union of Erin and Marlon, who have decided that gazing at each other is nice, but that gazing outward, side-by-side, is even better.
Each of you—as friend; as family; as both—has contributed to who Erin and Marlon are as people. And the reason they’re together, and standing here before you right now, is because of who they are as people. So, if you’re wondering: the enormity of the role each of you has played in their lives—including your being here in this room with them tonight—is a big reason why they’re all dressed up and have such silly looks on their faces right now.
Who they are as people is also what lead to Erin’s idea that it might be nice to relax at night by reading aloud to each other one of her favorite childhood authors, Judy Blume. Fate being what it is, Marlon had just that day purchased an engagement ring, and the two of them had finished “Superfudge.” They cracked the cover on “Fudge-A-Mania,” which begins with the title character’s exuberant declaration…ahem…”Guess what, Pete? I’m getting married tomorrow!” (This is as far as they got that night, because Marlon, teary-eyed, leapt out of bed—greatly confusing Erin—and proposed to her then and there.)
I think this exuberance was what Margaret H. Marshall, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, had in mind when she wrote: “civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition.”
By standing here before you, both Erin and Marlon happily acknowledge just how momentous your influence has been in defining them, and how happily they now define each other by this decision to marry.
MAVIA: Marlon, please repeat after me:
I, Marlon David Hurt,/ take you, Erin Maureen Koster,/ to be my wife, my partner in life and my constant friend./
I promise to:
—love you, respect you, honor you,/ and occasionally obey you, assuming you’re in the right/
—never intentionally or knowingly do you harm/
—share my hopes and my fears unconditionally and without reservation/
— hold your hand through times of health and illness,/ elation and grief,/ big smiles and little snits
—encourage and inspire you,/ and support you in all of your aspirations and endeavors/
—continue to create our wonderful life together/
—remain faithful to these vows/
For all the days remaining to me in my life.
Marlon does.
MAVIA: Erin, please repeat after me:
I, Erin Maureen Koster,/ take you, Marlon David Hurt,/ to be my husband, my partner in life and my constant friend./
I promise to:
—love you, respect you, honor you,/ and occasionally obey you, though I’ll never call it that/
—never intentionally or knowingly do you harm/
—share my hopes and fears unconditionally and without reservation/
—encourage and inspire you,/ and support you in all of your aspirations and endeavors/
—hold your hand through times of health and illness,/ elation and grief,/ times of fun and the unavoidable times of boredom./
—continue to create a wonderful life together/
—remain faithful to these vows/
For all the days remaining to me in my life.
Erin does.
MAVIA: Who has the rings? I do!
At its simplest, a ring is a symbol of continuity. It is a circle—both finite and unending. When we exchange rings, we are acknowledging that our time on this earth is limited, but that our commitment to the growth and well-being of the one we love is not.
Mavia hands Erin’s ring to Marlon.
MAVIA: (To Marlon) Marlon, please repeat after me: I give you this ring,/ an unbroken circle,/ as a daily reminder of my love for you.
Marlon places the ring on Erin’s finger.
Mavia takes out Marlon’s ring, hands it to Erin.
MAVIA: (To Erin) Erin, please repeat after me: I give you this ring,/ an unbroken circle,/ as a daily reminder of my love for you.
Erin places the ring on Marlon’s finger.
MAVIA: By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss each other!
Mar and Er make out.
MAVIA: Alright, y'all, party! Gimme a drink! Whoo!
—Haberdashers dashed across the racks as if their hats could no longer hold the brains inside their crowns—Tailors torn from collar to crotch—Cobblers, dry tongues begging for their souls—
Agilotte arrived at the agora.
He strode through the bright bordellos of commerce much as a vintner sniffs at the corks of emptied casks. There was no water in his walk, though, just a touch of oil: he distasted mixing. He tightened his invisible hand into a fist, then rode his well-greased purse gently along the purveyors’ path, watching their stock fall like a feather.
—Carpenters’ minds warped out of joint—Smithys’ steely resolve bent out of shape—
He turned the purpose of the grand experiment on its back and tanned it in the sun until its brown was golden. Like the emerald turtles he emulated, he understood that trolling depths is only good for drowning, and who needs dip deeper than the wish of the fountain’s settled coins? After all, shallow waters are where the beasts won’t dive, and interest only flies as far as the smell of dying will take it. This is as far as Agilotte would go. But this was far enough. Nothing shiny lie farther.
He turned the corner, still intent on the baker’s dozen, the hint of special care hanging heavy on his pursed lips.
—Bankers’ reason dispossessed—
With expansive palm outstretched, he reached the store-front, but suddenly those five fingers thumbed the dim emptiness wherein the lower depths are lost every day. Agilotte had accidentally tasted the water of those currents through which no currency flows.
Being hot and cold, but not lukewarm, he spat the water from his mouth and turned his parched lips from his palm, but there was nothing there, the fare had taken all, and Agilotte, the maker of the mark, the dollar’s dolor, was left with nothing but what he thought he had bought.
—Buyer’s capital punished—
Agilotte remarked his empty palm.
