Katherine - or Kate - or Katie - Wolfe is an only child born to Rev. Clayton Wolfe, and his wife, Abigail.
The couple quickly married after it was discovered that Abigail was pregnant. She miscarried, though. She then suffered two more miscarriages. Another one before Katie, and one after. Since they were given only one child, they watched over her tremendously.
The couple moved to Iowa nine months after Katie was born. Clayton was offered a position with a small congregation, but it was the perfect opportunity. It was a good place to raise a family, and he found a church where he could - and would - preach for years.
Katie's life was a quiet, simple one, but it was a good one. Her parents doted on her. She always felt very loved. Her parents could be quite strict, but they were far from abusive.
Katie met a girl named Samantha in elementary school. Sam's family had just moved there from Nebraska. The girls hit it off right away. Not only were they classmates, but Sam's parents attended Katie's father's church. The girls were always seen together.
They had an amazing friendship. They understood each other, they never judged each other. They could be silly little school girls one minute, and quiet, caring friends the next. Katie and Sam were two peas in a pod.
As the girls grew up, Katie began to notice something different about herself. Though all of the girls in school would talk about cute boys, Katie was anything but attracted to them. Instead she found herself fawning over other girls. When in the presence of other female classmates, Katie would feign an interest in the boys. When she and Sam were alone, though, she didn't have to put on a facade.
She didn't understand what it was, so it took her quite a long time to tell Sam. Not because she was ashamed, but because she kept expecting her attraction to the other girls to fade away. That never happened.
When the girls were sophomores in high school, Katie told Sam that she found herself to be more attracted to girls than boys. Katie's access to books, articles, magazines, newspapers, and such was very limited by her parents. So Sam would look for information for Katie. Together, Katie was able to understand that she was gay. She told Sam because she knew she could trust her. Indeed, she could. Sam kept that secret perfectly.
In school, they helped to balance each other out. Katie excelled at math and science. Sam was much better in English and history. They studied together, and they tutored each other, and they were both able to do well in school because of it.
Katie's strong science and math skills gave her the opportunity and desire to pursue a career as a veterinarian. Sam thought about becoming an English teacher, but college was far too expensive for her. She didn't get scholarships like Katie did. So it seemed that her college dreams were put on hold.
Katie supported and helped Sam as best she could while she worked her way towards college. It had been such a battle to get her parents to accept that she wanted to go to college. After conversation after conversation, and argument after argument, Katie's parents reluctantly agreed to let her go to college. She had been given a nearly full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The thought of Katie being so far away was awful to her parents. They couldn't keep a close eye on her. They wouldn't know or be able to find out about whatever was going on in her life. Clayton and Abigail hated the idea. She wouldn't even be in the same time zone! Because she received such a large scholarship, though, they acquiesced.
Throughout her time in high school, Katie had a crush on the most beautiful girl in school, Jackie Thompson. Jackie was tall and beautiful She had sandy brown hair and amazing green eyes. It was impossible to find Jackie not beautiful.
We meet Katie in her senior year of high school. She is over at her friend, Stacy's house. Katie had always been very sheltered. Sleep overs were few and far between in her childhood. That made this sleep over that much greater. Not only was Katie outside of her controlling parents' house, Jackie Thompson was there. As so many kids do, the girls were playing Truth of Dare. Katie took a dare. As if it was a sign from Heaven, her dare was to kiss another girl in the room. How perfect! Her opportunity to gain Jackie's attention - and hopefully her affection. With all the courage she could muster up, Katie kissed Jackie. It was a dream come true.
That dream, though, turned into a nightmare the next day in school. Rumors were flying - and they weren't very nice. Katie felt as though the world was watching her as her hopes and dreams were dashed with Jackie's vindictive words. More than anything, Katie feared any repercussions from her parents. If they were to get wind of this, what would they do? Would they stop her from going to U Penn because of all this? Would all of her hopes and dreams come crashing down? What was going to happen? Katie's moment of glory turned into an episode of dread.
There was one very positive outcome to all of this, though. Sam finally came out to Katie. She had felt the way Katie had for all those years, but she was too afraid to say anything. Fearing that she might lose Katie's heart and attention to Jackie, Sam finally came clean.
Their friendship turned into a teenage romance. Their bond became even stronger.
Unfortunately, their timing was rather poor. Katie quickly found herself leaving for college in Philadelphia. Their separation tried them both in many different ways.
Katie worked towards her goal. Sam worked to work. As Katie progressed through her program, Sam progressed through the societal expectations that had been placed on her. The longer they were apart, the greater the divide between them.
There were times that Katie felt that she was the only one hurt by the dissipation of their relationship. Sam sent letters, though, and they mirrored Katie's feelings. Eventually, though, they became nearly toxic for each other, and what was once a great kinship suddenly turned into something nonexistent.
While in Philly, Katie began to learn who and what she was. She studied and worked hard, but she also allowed herself some freedom to experiment and discover herself. She tried everything from soda to alcohol to cigarettes to study aids. The world was her oyster, and she wanted to explore every nook and cranny.
While she did, she still had to answer to her strict parents. They seemed to be getting worse - more controlling. Katie did the best she could to appease them, do well in school, and still be true to herself. It was an incredibly difficult balance to find.
It became even harder to manage when Katie met Linda. Linda was a tall, lean, beautiful lesbian who grabbed her attention while waiting in line at the pizzeria where Katie worked. By some miracle, they bumped into each other again when Linda was leaving. Katie got Linda's number, and she was ecstatic.
Their romance blossomed right away. Linda and Katie were meant for each other. They met in October. By semester's end, Katie moved in. It was perfect. This was the life and love she had dream of for so long. This was perfect.
Her excuses for moving out of her student housing did not fare well with her parents. Things had been strained for a little while. They did not approve of her job at the pizza parlor. When she was on one particular break, she discussed evolution. Now she had suddenly moved in with a woman who had a rather deep and raspy voice. Clayton and Abigail were anything but happy.
Everything came crashing down during her summer break. Linda wrote to her daily. Katie's access to the outside world was nearly nil thanks to her parents. It was a long, strenuous, painful break. Katie could not return to Philly soon enough.
This was where things got odd. Suddenly, there were issues with Katie's school schedule and registration. Her tuition payment had been stopped - and not by her. Telephone conversations with her mother were dreadful. Things became worse and worse, until her parents came to Philadelphia and did the unthinkable.
Having a friend who was a cop was the only reason Katie was saved from her parents. Donna was her knight in shining armor. She rescued Katie, reunited her with Linda, and got them both the medical attention they desperately needed after the ordeal.
Despite it all, Linda and Katie were completely devoted to each other. Their love was something out of a fairy tale. What they had in each other was simple extraordinary. When their wedding day finally came, they both changed their surname to Wolfescott, the perfect blend of Katie Wolfe and Linda Scott.
Small but feisty, Katie is an amazing young woman who is bright, brilliant, resilient, and remarkable. Katie is the heroine of her own story.
Favorite quote from Katie: "No Dad. I was on your path. Doing what you wanted me to do; being what you wanted me to be. But it wasn’t me. I just did that because I had to. But for myself - all I ever wanted was to be a vet. And to live somewhere real. Not out in the middle of nowhere. To be a vet and to meet a nice girl and live the kind of life I want. Not what you or anyone else wants. What I want."
Happy reading!
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