Fortune:

“You or someone you know will be married within a year.”

 

Our fortune came to us the way most peoples do.  Chinese take-out. My boyfriend, Mark and I ordered from our favorite place, Golden Cafe (which sadly no longer exists) and after a wonderful meal, we cracked open the cookies.  When I was a little kid, my aunt told me that if you want the fortune to come true, you have to eat part of the cookie first, then open it, so that’s what I still do to this day. My fortune read ‘You or a close friend will be married within a year.’ Well, no one I know was even engaged, and since Mark and I area gay couple, I figured the chances of us getting married were slim to none, but for whatever reason, I kept the fortune, which is something I never do.  A few months later, the mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, announced that he would be issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.   Sunned, elated, and just a little apprehensive, Mark and I decided to fly to San Francisco to get married.  We waited in line for 14 hours with hundreds of other gay couples, standing in a heavy drizzle passing protesters who said we would all burn in hell, but mostly being cheered on by onlookers who brought sandwiches, fruit, bottles of water, and distributing so many bouquets and boutonnieres that every single person in line had flowers.  I remember a high school age girl and her friends who were there. She said her dads’ got married the day before and she was so happy, but had no money to buy flowers or food for the waiting couples. So instead her and her friends simply walked down the line, giving hugs to the waiting couples.  After standing for the better part of a day in suits and dress shoes, Mark and I were still over a hundred couples away from the front when it was announced City Hall would be closing and no more licenses would be issued that day.  We were not going to give up, nor were the other couples still in front and behind us.  We had come too far to go home now.  After several hours, a representative from the mayor’s  office announced that assigned appointment times would be given to all the couples still waiting, and that we could pick the date and time for our marriage.  Exhausted, but with a firm date and time scheduled, we decided to return in two weeks to get married.

    On March 5, 2004, we returned to the City by the Bay and under the great dome of the rotunda in San Francisco’s city hall, with friends and family in attendance, my boyfriend and I were pronounced ‘partners for life.’  We became a married couple.  Of Course, after months of litigation, the courts overturned the mayors decision to let same sex couples marry.  We were subsequently sent a notice saying a refund would be issued to us if we decided to return the marriage license.  We didn’t return it.  In our hearts and minds, We’re still married.  We have the rings and license to prove it.  So now I tell people who don’t believe in fortune cookies to hang on to those fortunes, because as far as I’m concerned, the cookie doesn’t lie.”