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.Neither of them had brought boots.They went to get fresh cups of coffee and joined Katharine and Owen who were sitting in the den with a roaring fire and an old movie on the television.The movie was 'Bringing Up Baby' with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant."That's what this house reminds me of!" Emily exclaimed as Hepburn and Grant ran around the aunt's farmhouse."I think my father was secretly in love with Katharine Hepburn," Katharine said.'He's not the only one,' Emily thought.Katharine continued."He had an architect design this house after that one, and I was named for her.I inherited the farm when he died, and we've lived here ever since.""I think your father knew what he was doing," Owen observed."You certainly had her red hair and, uh…""Independence," she finished for him."I was going to say stubbornness," Owen laughed, "but independence is a good word."Emily blushed and Ann laughed as Owen put his arms around his wife and gave her a kiss.Emily genuinely liked them.They were obviously very much in love, and she could see where Ann got her openness, but she wasn't accustomed to such displays of affection.Her parents were very reserved in comparison.They all settled back to watch the remainder of the movie.When it was over, Owen and Katharine said goodnight.Ann turned off the television and the lights, and put another log on the fire."Your parents are great," Emily said as Ann sat back down beside her on the sofa."Yes," she agreed, "I think I'll keep them.""They seem to be very much in love.How long have they been married?""Thirty-three years." Ann looked into the fire."That's the kind of relationship I want, one that grows stronger with time."They were silent for a while, watching the light of the fire flicker on the furniture and listening to the popping of the logs."Why aren't you dating anyone?" Emily asked.They hadn't talked at all about Ann's relationships."I haven't met anybody recently that I care to date," Ann shrugged."The last man I dated steadily was another Peace Corps volunteer.We were pretty serious while I was in Africa, but he just wasn't someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.""Ann," Emily started, and then hesitated, "you must have been told often how beautiful you are." She swallowed."You must have men constantly asking you out.""Yes," Ann replied honestly.Emily appreciated Ann's lack of false modesty."But after a couple of dates, when you expect to be getting to know someone, I still catch them looking around to see if other men are noticing." She stirred the fire and then sat down again."Paul, the guy I met in Africa, was probably the closest I've come to someone whom I felt really got to know me," she paused, thinking, "but something was missing.I don't even know how to articulate what it was, but I knew I wanted more." Something flickered across Emily's face, as if she were going to say something, but changed her mind."What about you?" Ann asked, changing the subject."Have you ever dated men?""Nope," Emily answered, shaking her head."I think I've always known I was gay.Even when I was too young to have words for how I felt, I knew it was women I was drawn to emotionally.There were crushes on other women, but Caroline was my first relationship.""Did you feel completely fulfilled with her?" Ann looked over at Emily."I thought so," Emily said, trying to recall."I mean, we were twenty when we met, so our early years together certainly had moments of immaturity.And the strain of hiding our relationship was becoming greater as time went on." She was silent for a moment."I've been thinking about the questions you were asking me last weekend.I feel kind of guilty even saying this, but I think her family would have forced her to choose between me and them at some point…," she looked at her hands, "and I honestly don't know that she would have chosen me," she finished, very softly.Ann looked at her.The firelight was throwing golden highlights on Emily's curls, and her face looked austere in the dancing light."I think that would have been very foolish," Ann murmured.Her pulse had quickened a little, and there was a strange fluttering in her stomach.Emily looked up, and their eyes locked.Ann's seemed light grey in the dim light, but Emily's were large and very dark.For several seconds, neither of them looked away or spoke.Finally, Emily turned back to the fire.Despite the warmth, she was shivering.They sat in silence, watching the fire burn down, each lost in her private thoughts.Finally, the newest log burned through and fell off the grate."Why don't we head upstairs?" Ann said as she rose to close the glass doors of the fireplace.Emily stood and followed Ann up.Owen had carried their suitcases up for them and had set them in the hallway.Ann flipped on the light in her room.It was decorated with simple cherry Shaker furniture.A double bed was along one wall with a long dresser on the adjacent wall
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