The wedding

A good friend of mine tied the knot recently. I wasn't surprised when he called to invite me to his wedding. This guy is one of those you'd know would marry as soon as a girl says yes. The reason why it took so long was because he was always in a relationship with women who'd use him as a rebound guy.

We go a long way back when we were in college. While the rest of us just wanted to score at parties and get wasted on weekends, all the while passing just enough to graduate, he was steady and in tune with the idea of settling down. I believe it must have been at least five times that he told me he found The One, and at about three times when he said "I'm so marrying this girl." He's like a girl with a dick. It was always about marriage and family that he talked about if and when we hung out.

So when he called to say he's marrying this girl he's known less than half a year, I couldn't help myself from chuckling. He expected it of course, but insisted I gave him my address so he could send me the invitation card. Three days later, I sat on my favourite couch with a bottle of beer on one hand and his wedding invitation in the other, while the radio was playing Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees.

I've loved a girl enough to want to spend the rest of my life with her, but where marriage is concerned...I guess I'm not too overwhelmed. Ain't it just a piece of paper to tell the law that if I screwed up, she'd get half of my property, or if I died, she'd be a filthy rich widow with the value of insurance I took of myself? Marriage is so archaic I don't see a real purpose of it anymore. The way I see it, if you really love someone, you don't need papers or a fat diamond ring to prove it.

After all, I have never been the one backing up on love before.