By Ben Suazo
This is a photo of the ring. The actual rings are being engraved B&D for David’s and D&B for my ring.
Took a walk this afternoon to Tiffany’s to meet my partner David to purchase our wedding bands. For several weeks now I have been feeling anxious about this day but not for the reasons one might immediately assume. Two men walking into Tiffany’s shopping for wedding rings. Would they stare? Maybe we would be ignored? What about all those customers, what would they think? I have been creating and imagining all sorts of things. When I arrived, David was already there. He told me that the wedding section upstairs had some 50 people – all men and women…. straight couples!
I have to admit that I was too busy looking to see if anyone was staring and so was David. Maybe we were being silly, after all, this is “gay marriage” New York? Not surprisingly, we were the only gay men choosing rings…. and as with many instances in our lives, like attending PTA meetings or little league games we are always coming out and the only gay men. They are little courageous steps that challenge us to live freely and be our true selves. It can sometimes be an isolating feeling which only bonds my partner and I even more. Our son will be our ring bearer and I made sure to let the staff know this. It turns out David was feeling the same way. They were wonderful, by the way and we purchased our wedding bands. But, one day it will be nice if we didn’t have to have these concerns.
Ben Suazo is Gay Parent magazine’s Marketing and Administrative Assistant.
