“Back in my day,” Bjorn said, “this would never have happened.” He missed the old days when things were simpler. He had understood the rules back then. He wasn’t always tripping over his tongue, saying the wrong thing.
He wished Mac hadn’t asked him to speak at the wedding. At least he wouldn’t get the name wrong. He’d heard that was a big problem for a lot of people.
“I’m not good at giving speeches,” he continued. “But it was important to my grandson...” he continued, relieved to have not screwed that up, “…to have his grandad give the toast.”
“Like I said, this wedding would never have happened in my day. Two guys getting married wasn’t a thing. And for a trans man to marry anyone…” Bjorn paused, then said, “I’m so proud of you Mackenzie, for being who you are. You’re honest and brave and you never ever compromise your principles. You’ve made me a better man. I’m grateful to your mom and dad as well, for calling you Mackenzie, so I didn’t have to learn a new name for you.”
That drew a laugh from the wedding guests. Maybe Bjorn wasn’t doing so badly after all. He turned his attention to Kendal. “I couldn’t ask for a better spouse for my grandson.” Got it right again. He was almost there. “You’ve been part of our family forever. I know you always hoped you two would get together, even before…”
Before he could make things any more awkward, Bjorn raised his wine glass. “To the happy couple. I’m so happy to officially welcome you to the family, Kendal. We love you both.”
With that, Bjorn sank into his seat, relieved to have made it through without any major gaffes and without letting slip his own secret. It may be a new day, but even though Marjorie had been gone these last six years, he wasn’t ready to come out of the closet. Not yet. For now, he’d just be happy for the kids. This was their day.
Micro 2 Go has shifted again, with a new publication whose sole purpose will be to provide daily prompts. This only started yesterday, so I wrote a story based on a different prompt for today. It was a first line prompt, beginning, “Back in my day.”
I keep a file of prompts. I’ll create a section for the daily prompts and choose one each week to write for Tuesday publication. For now, I hope you enjoyed today’s story.
I'm so happy times have changed. The world still isn't perfect but hopefully, one day, the colour of someone's skin or who they love will be no more important than the colour of their eyes (to misquote Bono). Nice story ❤️
Loved the twist ending! Great story, Dascha.