The women are both 49 now and have been together for 29 years. One is a state employee, the other is mentally ill and is cared for by her partner. They used to wish they could hold hands in public without drawing stares, but after years of repressing the urge, they don't think about it anymore. But they doubt they'll ever be more public than that about being lesbians. They live in a rural area near Roanoke and don't know their neighbors well.
People sometimes ask about their obvious closeness.
Backstreet Cafe shooting One man killed, six others wounded in Roanoke in what national activist groups say is one of the worst anti-gay attacks in U.S. history. Photos, stories and more .