Love By Any Other Name

June 24th, 1964

Note: since this story takes place in the 1960s, I tried to use the language that was available to people at that time. Because of this, terms like "homosexual" and "queer" are going to be used more frequently than more modern terms.

"Lesley Gore is a lesbian, y'know."

Liliana took her eyes off the road for a quick second to gauge her travel companion's reaction. Eddie was fixated on something outside the side window, his cigarette dangling lifelessly from his mouth. Liliana shook her head and turned back to the road. A long stretch of nothingness laid before her, and she guessed it was probably another two hours or so until they reached Glenwood. She sighed.

"Sorry, but what did you say?"

Liliana jumped at the sound and looked back at Eddie. His head had fallen lazily to the side so she could see his face for the first time in three hours. As he pulled his cigarette away from him, a small cloud of smoke escaped his mouth and lingered in the compact space. Liliana tried to hold back a cough.

"If it wouldn't be a bother," Liliana responded. "I would prefer it if you smoked outside the window." She tried to make her voice as soft as possible. She didn't want to risk losing her conversation partner again to his never-ending staring contest with the cattle fields and corn farms. Liliana slowly grabbed her window handle and rolled down her window, swiftly brushing away some ash from the dashboard. Her car was practically spotless, despite being a nearly eight-year-old '56 Volkswagen.

Eddie reached his cigarette out to the window and tapped it on the ledge, letting a few spare ashes get whisked out into the South Carolina wilderness. Liliana gave a small smile.

"And," she continued, a noticeable pep appearing in her voice. "I said that Lesley Gore is a lesbian! She's the singer on the radio right now." Liliana tapped her finger against the car radio. The little white radio needle wiggled, distorting Lesley's voice into a wave of static with each tap.

Eddie examined the radio, completely unimpressed.

A lump formed in Liliana's throat. Maybe she shouldn't have said that? Was she even allowed to say that?

"And how would you know that?" Eddie said as he took another drag of his cigarette. This time he blew the smoke out of the side window. "You had sex with her before or something?"

The car swerved as Liliana jerked on the wheel. Her face flushed and she quickly recomposed herself.

"Oh, no, no," Liliana responded quickly, shaking her head. "I've never met Lesley Gore before. Besides, I believe she's only 16 years old."

Liliana rolled her shoulders to relax her body. She smiled and turned to face Eddie as she continued.

"I was reading this article that was published in The Ladder, and– oh, do you know what The Ladder is?" – Eddie shook his head – "Well, it's a magazine written by a group of lesbian women in order to educate people about female homosexuality that started about ten years ago. Incredibly fascinating, I highly recommend it. Anyway, I read an article in that magazine that talked about how lesbians can find other homosexual women in their area without risking coming out. And do you know what I found?"

Eddie lifted an eye ridge.

"Let's just say that Lesley Gore meets all the criteria," Liliana stated proudly. She then caught herself and sheepishly added, "Well, the article also mentioned that there is no absolute way to tell if another woman is lesbian because it's also a matter of personal identification. But, all I'm saying is that there is definitely something a little queer about Lesley."

Eddie snorted as he held back a laugh. Liliana quickly put her gaze back on the road and bit her lip. Okay, she probably shouldn't have said that. All these topics about sexual identity seemed so clear and concise when Liliana had read about them in her books and magazines, but talking about these things in real life was another story. Liliana focused on the long stretches of pavement ahead. The sun was so low in the sky that the fields outside were turning yellow with sunlight.