Jeremy and I celebrated our seventh anniversary on the 10th But that is not the whole story, because we have been together for nearly 17 years. We could not get legally married until 2015. And then we were only recognized by the state of Kansas. It would be another five months before the Supreme Court of the U.S. recognized gay marriage.
I was single back in 2006. I had been single pretty much my entire life. I dated a few guys, all very good men, but they weren’t the right guy for me. I had given up the hunt, I was over 30, and figured I would just be a bachelor for life.
One night, my friends, Rod and Jon, said, “Kevin, you are one of the nicest guys we know. And we want to introduce you to the other nicest guy we know.”
I thought, Ok, sure, why not.
March 2006, Jon, Rod, and some other friends and I go to dinner for my birthday. We stopped by J’s Lounge afterwards for a few drinks. That’s when they introduced me to Jeremy. He jokingly threatened to steal by pride bracelet. We chatted a little, then we exchanged phone numbers. I wanted to call him when I got home. But I didn’t not want to appear desperate.
The next day, I called the number. It was a fake number. That hurt a little. Turns out, he gave me the correct number, his phone was just cut off. I still tease him about giving me a bogus number.
He got his phone turned back on and we chatted a few nights. I asked him out on a date. We went to Carrabba’s. He flirted with the waiter, although he denies it. The waiter took our drink order and I said, “Makers and diet.” I looked at Jeremy, “and for you?” He looked at the waiter and said, “vodka.” I was like, “Vodka and what?” He looked out me like I was crazy, and responded, “ice.” That night we went back to his place. I met his cat Max, and he dragged out his mattress to put on the living room floor. He told me he was not trying to seduce me. I wasn’t sure how to take it, but I was just happy to be in his company. We watched Million Dollar Baby. I was so close to falling asleep about halfway through, I decided to leave. By May we were spending all our free time together. He met some of my friends, and I met several of his friends, (most of which threatened bodily harm, if I ever hurt him) On May 13th, he finally allowed me to call him boyfriend. That was our anniversary until we got married.
I proposed to him, more of a commitment, in May 2008 during our 2nd anniversary trip to Kansas City.
That’s how this whole thing started. I am grateful to have Jeremy in my life. I am grateful for his friends who accepted me into the herd, and I am grateful to our families for their understanding and love. I am also thankful for my friends and all their support. At our reception we were surrounded by those we loved, and those that supported us, the party was to celebrate our marriage, but it was also a chance to say thank you to all those people in our lives that made our journey special.
