Chapter 45

In the early evening of Valentine's day, Sid had hustled Anne out of the door of Boundless Waves. Stan had rung him to make arrangements earlier. Downstairs, in the vestibule of the building, she was surprised to find Denise and Stan waiting for her.

Stan, Anne and Denise all went in to Covent Garden, and had dinner at 'Trotters' cafe in Covent Garden. They didn't make a huge thing of it as Anne would have to be back in work the next morning, but a loving, relaxed meal was enjoyed by all three of them. The restaurant was, of course, very busy but the food was glorious and the wine chosen by the sommelier complemented the meal perfectly.

"I'm really sorry we couldn't celebrate properly," Anne said to Stan.

"Don't worry, Anne. I really enjoyed the meal, and it's just lovely for the three of us to be out together like this," Stan told her.

"Besides," Denise added, "any later than this and you'd be dead on your feet tomorrow."

"Oh, God, I'm going to be that anyway!" Anne told her.

On Saturday, the seventeenth of February, Anne, Stan and Denise attended Elaine and Susan's Civil Partnership ceremony. First thing in the morning they went to the registry office, close to the local library.

There they watched, as Elaine and Susan completed the legal formalities and signed the register. That was all they needed do to become as close to wife-and-wife as the current legal system would allow.

The registry office was actually a large room, almost a small hall, with seating split by a central walkway leading to a small lectern at the front. The floor was polished wood, the walls were a clean pale tan up to the window level, where on one side you could look out onto the parkland outside, and on the other into the library itself. There were small rooms at front and back, one for coats and such, the other a small office where the Registrar actually worked.

Elaine and Susan entered. They were wearing simple but elegant suits, and each had her hair up. They said 'Hello' to each of their guests as they slowly walked together to the front, and as Elaine passed Denise she leaned over and whispered, "I'm so nervous I'm shaking! Wish me luck?"

"Good luck, Elaine — but you don't need it. You're a winner, here. Where's your Mum and Dad?"

"They wouldn't come, they don't approve. Neither would Susan's. We'll talk about it later."

The Registrar cleared his throat, wanting to get things going. Elaine joined Susan at the front, facing him, and he began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to welcome you here to the register office today, to the Civil Partnership ceremony of Susan Seeley and Elaine Solberg."

"This room in which we are met has been duly sanctioned according to the law for celebration of Civil Partnership Ceremonies. I am now going to ask Susan and Elaine to repeat after me..."

"I declare that I know of no legal reason why we may not register as each other's civil partner. I understand that on signing this document we will be forming a civil partnership with each other."

Elaine and Susan repeated the words, watching each other, not the registrar.

"Will you both now please sign the schedule and the register?" he intoned.

Susan did so, and then stood back to be followed by Elaine.

"May I now ask the witnesses to sign?"

One of Susan's friends did so first. Then it was Denise's turn.

She had been incredibly surprised when Elaine had asked her, and initially demurred. But she had insisted, saying "I can think of no-one else I'd rather have, Denny. Please?"

So it was that Denise stepped forward and signed 'Denise Bottomley' where she was indicated. She looked up into first Elaine's eyes, then, a little tentatively, into Susan's. Susan winked at her! She looked down, breaking eye contact, knowing that she was blushing, and stepped back into her place.

"Susan Seeley and Elaine Solberg, you are now partners in law. May I offer you both my very good wishes!" the registrar said. The two ladies, now legally partners, kissed briefly. The registrar gave a momentary small smile, then turned and walked back into his office.

Everyone else there crowded around Susan and Elaine, offering their congratulations, and the two celebrants basked in their good wishes.

Elaine and Susan smiled for the photographer as they posed with the registrar, and then their guests, for a series of pictures based in the registry office.

"There'll be more later," Elaine explained to Denise, "Suze and I will go home in a minute and get changed into something a bit prettier first, though!"

Elaine and Susan had wanted more than just a simple signing at the registry office, and they'd arranged for a celebration of their 'wedding' to take place at Apricots. So everyone reconvened there a few scant hours later, along with some more of their friends.

Elaine and Susan arrived in a vintage Rolls-Royce. The chauffeur helped them out, and they walked hand in hand to the centre of the courtyard, and then turned right into the restaurant, where a small dais had been set up.

Because it was February everyone was dressed fairly warmly, but still Susan and Elaine both looked stunning. Elaine's dark blue dress was cut on the bias with a diagonal hem, her blonde hair was still up and crowned by a delicate gold tiara. Susan wore a lighter blue, with both front and back cut deeply, and the front hem slightly higher than the rear. Her hair, too, was still up, in her case in a French braid.

Denise stood with Stan and Anne, watching as the two stood while poems were read. Then Elaine turned to Susan and said, "I didn't know, at first, just what to say here. But then I thought about you, my love, and the words came." She closed her eyes, summoning the words she'd memorised.

"I promise to be there when you need me,
to fill your days with sunshine, to comfort you and encourage you,
to help you reach your goals, to be your best friend ever,
and to love you for all of my life, with all of my heart."

She was smiling as she said it, but her eyes were bright and she finished in almost a croak as her throat plainly closed up.

Then it was Susan's turn. She said, "I'm hopeless at this sort of thing, really, but I did manage to write this." She pulled a small piece of paper from her dainty bag, and read aloud.

"My love for you

Is the love

That the rain has for the sea.

You remind me of the moon

I am the tide

Begging for you

You are smooth and supple under my fingers

As though someone cast you

Around the curve of a lens

And left your skin shined by the glass.

I love you

And I have become lost in your eyes."

They reached for each other, and kissed... the kiss went on for a while. Someone coughed, gently, and they parted. Elaine blushed a little, but Susan carried it off with aplomb. Various photo flashes went off, which made Elaine blush some more. Recovering herself, Elaine called out to the crowd, "Thanks, everyone, for coming here today. Now, everyone take your seats, and we'll have a little meal!"

It was lunchtime, well, a late lunch, so it wasn't a big meal. But there was plenty, and it was up to Apricots' usual standards. Stan, Denise and Anne were placed together, with Denise at Stan's left and Anne at his right. On Denise's left was Elaine, then Susan. Their parents had elected not to attend, neither set of parents approving of their daughters' homosexuality.

Susan explained to Denise. "Both our mums and dads think we're going to 'grow out of it', that it's just a phase. Well. Hello, I've been attracted to girls my whole life, and I see no reason to change now. But my folks won't accept that- they wanted grandchildren and a nice rich hubby and a nice conventional daughter. Sorry, that's not me!"

"It's worse in my case, because I have been out with a couple of guys," said Elaine. "So they think it just wasn't the right ones, you know? Actually, they disapproved of you almost as much as Susan, Denny. Possibly more — they're convinced you 'turned' me. As if!"