Larissa took notes of every time the women smiled but knew she’d be able to pick it up on the recording later, no matter what, because their tones, when they talked about how they met and fell in love, made itsoundlike they were smiling.
“We walked in a big square repeatedly, basically,” Jessie added, laughing.
“I think it was one in the morning before I walked you to your dorm.”
“About that, yeah. Then, I asked you to come up, but you said no.”
“Why?” Harlow asked.
“Because I knew what would happen if I went up. She’d already told me her roommate was out of town for the week, taking care of a sick family member.”
“You knew you’d have sex?” Harlow asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Gloria replied. “By that time, I knew I was wildly attracted to her. If we had ended up in a dorm room with a small twin bed and nowhere else to sit, we would’ve ended up making full use of that bed. So, I left her outside her building.”
“Not even a kiss?” Harlow pressed, laughing a little.
“Nope. She didn’t even kiss me goodnight that night.” Jessie looked over at her. “But she wanted to.”
“I did. You know why I didn’t.”
“The TA thing?” Larissa asked.
“I’m not out,” Gloria answered. “Yes, I was her teacher, but only for another couple of months, and no one would’ve accused me of giving her an unfair grade if they looked at her work. She had clearly earned her A. It was that I wasn’t out. I’m still not. She’s not my student anymore, and it’s fine that we’re together now. Frowned upon, yes, but we’re technically not breaking any rules. I’m just not out.”
Larissa recognized this as a moment she might be able to use some of the follow-up questions she had sent to Della and Murphy, but as she was about to open her mouth, Harlow asked one instead.
“Jessie, how do you feel about that?”
“Honestly, I hate it. She knows that. I came out at fifteen and knew my family would be fine with it. I have an older brother who’s gay, and they were fine withhim, so I felt like they’d be okay with me, too. They were, and I never looked back, but for Gloria, it’s different. I get that. I just want to be able to tell people that I have an amazing girlfriend, that I’ve been with her for about a year, and that I love her like crazy. I want us to live together after I’m out of the dorm this year. I have a part-time job, and I’ve been saving up for my half of the rent and the security deposit. I’m planning a life with her, and for us to have that, she needs to tell at least some of the people inherlife that we’re a couple because she knows I won’t pretend to be her roommate.”
Jessie glanced over at Gloria.
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you not feel comfortable coming out to your family? Or is it a work issue?” Larissa asked.
“My family is pretty religious. I didn’t know I was gay until a few years ago. I had a long-term boyfriend before that, and they assumed we’d get married. He proposed. I said no. It was a whole thing. I want to tell them, but thinking about how they might not ever want to talk to me again makes me not want to do it at the same time. Jessie wants a life with me, and I want one with her, too. She’s been very patient about it. She’s not pressuring me or anything. She just wants what she wants, and I want her to have it.”
“I want her to be happy,” Jessie said. “Preferably, with me, of course, but I just want her to be happy in general, and I knowshe’s not because her family is important to her, and they’re missing out on this really important part of her life.”
“I will,” Gloria said. “I’ll tell them. When we first admitted how we felt and decided to call the next time we got together a date, I wasn’t sure how it would go. I needed us to be careful around campus for obvious reasons. It would look bad for both of us if we got caught, but it took me a couple of months to realize that it was serious and that I wanted to be with her.”
“We were exclusive after that,” Jessie shared.
“Were you not before?” Harlow asked.
“We were because neither of us was dating anyone else, but the day of the final exam – practically right after I turned mine in, actually – I told her I wanted her to be my girlfriend and that I didn’t want anyone else.”
“How did that feel?” Larissa asked.
“Like I didn’t need to worry anymore because she said yes. We’d been walking on eggshells everywhere in town, but then, I wasn’t in her class anymore, so I finally felt like we could just be. Later that night, though, at her place, she told me she wasn’t out at work or at home and that we needed to keep it that way until she at least told her parents.”
“You didn’t know?”
“I knew they weren’t exactly in the loop; I just didn’t think it would be an issue on campus now that we weren’t teacher and student anymore.”
“I’m working on it, babe,” Gloria said. “I’ll tell them, I promise.”
