Exerpt from "Internet Date"

And now, because I feel like I'm lagging & want to have more than one post for June, I'll include an exerpt from the piece I worked on today:

"Life is a series of accidents in some way, and we are sometimes surprised to find ourselves part of someone’s sacred and solemn life passage when that wasn’t our intent at all. I had a friend in a meditation group once who was planning a big wedding with a man for whom she was head over heels. I didn’t know her that well, and I don’t remember if my son, my partner and I were even invited to the wedding. It was getting down to a couple of months before the ceremony, and Lily happily took her two chosen bridesmaids to the shop to have their gowns fitted. Or so I heard later. One of the bridesmaids, also an acquaintance of mine, flipped out when she saw the style of dress that Lily had chosen for them—a bubble-gum-pink floor-length sheath that of course put every pound you carry on lurid display. The bridesmaid flat-out rejected the dress, accused Lily of trying to make her life miserable, and dropped out of the wedding party. Bridesmaid number two supported number one, and Lily was suddenly left without any women to support her on the happiest day of her life.

A few weeks later, Lily approached me with her request. The dress wasn’t all that bad, and would I take a look at it for her, and tell her what I thought and since she knew I didn’t have any money, she would even pay for it herself, if I’d just stand up with her. Lily’s hairdresser came along as new bridesmaid number two. I felt so sad for Lily, and knew that she really needed someone she could trust to help her. The dress was hideous and I was bigger than the bridesmaid Lily had first chosen—I was going through a period of a lot of stress eating. But it was a matter of honor to me. When a woman is going through a sacred ritual like menarche or marriage or childbirth, you need to be fully present to their needs, you need to be like their handmaiden—the woman’s handmaiden—to serve them and support and accompany them through the gateway, into the new world beyond. That is how I felt with Lily and I stood up for that dear woman,"