In those days, Luanne, her partner, was still living mostly In New Jersey where she had a career and two kids to raise. Having successfully discharged those responsibilities, she is now in Provincetown year round. They make a gorgeous couple, and to see them again after an absence of several years is grand. (Kelly is on the left in the above photo.)

Kelly has written a book called Jack of Nine Tales. It is about her cat, Jack. I who am not at all a "cat person" love this cat. Jack would frequently saunter into my garden and leap up onto my shoulder to watch me grill a piece of salmon. Other times, he'd come over while I would have a book in my hand. He would collapse on the sunny stones of the patio next to my chair and stretch himself out with all paws in the air, as if to say, "I am bored. You got new?"

Jack had charm and I often found myself talking to him, I am sorry to have to admit. I'd ask him where he had been and for details about what everyone else was doing. When I opened the sliders, he was in the house in a flash, and I knew that he was familiar with the interior of every other house in the vicinity and that it was probably a good thing that he could not talk.

Jack is still living with Kelly and Luanne. In addition to his book, there are "Jack" stuffed animals and a line of "Jack" accessories.

Some folks are fond of talking about the differences among LGBT people. About the differences between the gay men and lesbians who live in Provincetown. About who has control of the town today. About how the lesbians kept the place alive during the earliest years of the AIDS epidemic. About how the east end is for them and the west end is for us. These two beautiful, wonderful women prove that this is worthless chatter, and more than the sky and the sea and the wealth, Kelly and Luanne and Jack are what this town is all about, and why I still miss it.