Aziraphale was sat comfortably in his favourite chair at the club. A glass of a half decent champagne held lightly in his hand as he read his book and relaxed into the hum of music and soft chatter. In a rustling of fine silks, a familiar figure seated in front of him
“Ummmm.... I don’t know if you remember me....” Aziraphale looked up, recognising, despite the fact his temples were now grey against the dark curls, the fact he had a few more crows feet than before. That wonderful mouth had aged well.
“Yes, yes I do. As I recall, you gave me your real name, and I mine. Rather a faux pas on both our parts, that.”
“Yes.... you use Alexandria, right?”
“I do indeed.”
“Like the library?” Aziraphales eyes lit up.
“Indeed. I am a great lover of books, you see. You?”
“Oh, I am quite fond of books, oh.... OH you mean.... yes, you can call me Ruth.”
“Very pleased to ‘meet’ you Ruth. A biblical name. A biblical name for a bibliophile. ”
“Yes.....” The silence between them was a little awkward. Aziraphale wondered if he wanted to hook up again. Because he would be in the right sort of mood to comply. But the spark of before wasn’t there between them, really. It had been something of a perfect storm, the last time. His own turmoil and loneliness. Charles and his undeniable attractiveness and sweetness. The paint under his nails had done something for him. He noted how much neater and better maintained they were now.
“Now, was there a reason you decided to come to me tonight?”
“Yes..... yes, and I know the circumstances of our meeting make this strange. You have always struck me as a beautiful Soul. Your..... spirit... it’s something so holy and so precious. That was what drew me to you... and the thing is.... the thing is......” His voice trailed off.
Aziraphale laid a soft hand over his knee.
“And the thing is, Aziraphale... Alexandria I mean.... I am engaged to be married.”
“Oh” He said softly “And you don’t love her” It wasn’t a question.
“I don’t NOT love her. We have been close friends since childhood. I’ll be honest, I do believe her tastes lie elsewhere. But we are close, and I would never want to hurt or humiliate her. She is sweet, and kind, and funny. And her family insist she marries and bears children, as do mine. And we do both love children.....”
“I understand”
“I DO love her. Dearly. As a friend. And our families have both lost patience with the fact that neither of us have settled down, you see. They both demand marriage, and children if God wills it.”
“So, you wish to ask something of me. And I don’t know what that is.”
“I love her for who she is, and I know we can be happy together, or at least as happy as a man like me and a woman like her can ever be in this world. Neither of us can have what we truly want, but we can have a.... a caricature of a normal, happy marriage with neither of us being hurt.... but....before I swear an oath to her... I love another, you see”
“I understand”
“Do you? You see, we, my Fiancée and I, we talked about this. We can both love who we love, but we must also love each other, which we do, even if not.... like that. We can please our families. We can have children. We can be happy. But neither of us will stop us seeing our lovers.
“And your lover?”
“Our stablehand. Oh... Azira...Alexandria. Oh he’s so beautiful. I have painted him over and over. Painted him as an Angel or a Saint. He is kind, and strong, and funny, and I love him so. We have agreed, he will remain in my employment. And …. well, she loves another. And we will employ her as our governess, as soon as we are blessed. So I do hope, I so hope, we will be happy, as much as we can be”
“but?”
“if I am to promise myself formally to her, I wish to ask God's blessing on our union first. Mine and his. George, his name. He has the most beautiful warm Hazel eyes, and his hair is..... oh like the sunset on ripe corn....and ….. I know we can never marry. Not truly. Not legally. But... you seem to have so much divinity in you. I knew when I first laid eyes on you. If someone had told me you were an honest to God Angel, I wouldn’t have doubted them for a moment.
would you bless us? Me and him? If I must promise myself to a woman I love platonically, then surely I must first pledge my heart and my soul to him.”
“I understand. And I would be honoured to have the almighty bless you both. Bless all four of you...... What happened before between us... I wish I could find a way to show you how much it meant to me. I was so lonely, that night. And you were there for me. And I will be there for you. And your beloved Charles. Is he a member?”
“No... he is just a stable boy”
“then I will personally pay his guineas. And I will marry you both. I can’t legally marry you, but I …. I feel like I have a good connection with her upstairs, and I will ask her blessing. And I am certain she would give it”
“She?”
“Yes She. She birthed all of creation, after all. And what so many have forgotten is that all of us, we were created to LOVE. Mankind calls us sinners. But God sees love, and love is all.”
It was weeks later. The member Ruth arrived with the new member, Charlotte. They decided to allow a few female guests that day. Just the two. The Fiancée of one of the grooms, and her lover. And Aziraphale decided that after this service, he would offer them the same. Aziraphale had dressed formally for the occasion, and his heart thundered seeing them in the corner of the room, embracing, whispering sweetly each to the other. The tenderness of a brush of fingers to the line of a jaw.
He had set up a table. A table on which he had laid a white cord. A bowl of honey. A loaf of good, yeasty bread. Some bitter herbs, steeped in vinegar.
And so began, the first 200 guinea union. It would not be the last. A perfect light and peace infused the room, as Aziraphale stood, his eyes closed. Charles and George approached the table.
“Dear friends” he began “I cannot begin to make this world a fair place, but God sent mankind forth to love and be loved. And here, among friends we celebrate the love between these two men, known to us as Ruth and Charlotte. Known to the mother of us all as Charles and George.
“Love is the most powerful force in the universe. It makes the cowardly strong, and the fierce soft. I call upon the almighty now” He raised one finger on one hand high, and the light from the leaded windows behind him seemed to flare “I call upon the almighty to bless this union of true love between these two, who love with pure hearts.”
he dipped his finger into the vinegar.
“As these herbs are bitter, as this vinegar is sour, you will face adversity. You will weather the sour and bitter together. And you will each find strength in the other” Aziraphale dabbed his finger to each set of lips. Soft and yielding. “and you shall mark this with a kiss, in your commitment to weather the hard times”
the two kissed tenderly. tasting the bitter herbs and sour vinegar on their lips.
“ and you shall each sustain the other, through life in its daily challenges. You shall sustain each the other, and give strength and warmth. This bread...”he broke the loaf “you share now, between yourselves, and those friends present, for your love will sustain more than just the two of you.” the couple tore a chunk each from their halves of the loaf, and passed it among the friends gathered with them.
Aziraphale took up the white silk rope, and he bound it around their wrists.
“while you may not wear rings, God herself recognises the binding of this cord, and in her name, I, Aziraphale of the Eastern gate, bind the souls and hearts of Charles and George for all of eternity. May their lives be blessed with love and sweetness.” Aziraphale dipped his fingers into the golden honey, once more annointing the lips of this pair. “and may the sweetness of their blessings overflow. May they know great happiness. May they live ever in your Golden light, Mother.”
once more, the couple kissed. They kissed deeply, seeking the sweetness of the honey between them.
“and so you are blessed of the Almighty! She will guide and protect you against all adversity, she will strengthen your love, and smooth your path together. May you live in sweetness for the rest of your days.
Charles. George. You are now bound soul deep each to the other, and no laws of man are greater than your commitment this day. In the name of the Almighty God who created us all, I declare you bound as husbands”
they kissed again. After a time, Aziraphale repeated the ceremony for the two women present. And then he needed to retrieve his notebook, as many members came to request the same.
~
And as the years passed, Aziraphale performed many marriages. And each time he blessed them to be happy. To love dearly. To avoid detection by those they needed to avoid detection by.
and they stopped calling him Alexandria. Now he was known by most as ‘cupid’ and he could live with that. He was just happy to help.