On Gay Marriage – ‘The Doe’

‘I was working from home on a weekday afternoon when a friend dropped round in the hopes I’d be able to entertain her, despite the work piling up on my desk and the unanswered emails screaming in my inbox. We sat down in the living room, where I curled my legs underneath me and watched her warm her hands on the cup of coffee I’d just made her. 

As I half-listened to the stream of mundane information coming out of her, I made a to-do list in my head: reply to Cathy, make notes for tomorrow’s meeting, read that student’s draft. By the time I returned to what she was saying, she was discussing marriage. Someone she worked with had recently ended their 14-year marriage after an affair. It was messy: hurt egos, kids caught in the middle and a rising financial cost. 

“I’ll never get married,” I said, without a thought.’

---

You can read the full (technically anonymous) essay here.