In Illinois, the United States, a rush of phone calls rang, and the elderly Trinity trembled and picked up the phone, it turned out that the clinic called to explain her condition. At this time, Pat, the "close friend" next to Tri, picked up another phone with concern and told the doctor that she was Terri's "cousin".
Two elderly people over 80 years old
Having lived in this house for more than twenty years,
Of course they are not close friends,
Nor are they cousins
...
What I want to share with you today is the Netflix 2020 documentary "Hidden Love" A Secret Love.
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Tri and Pat had never felt that life was so hard in their lives.
Trinity's Parkinson's syndrome is getting worse, and Pat tries her best to take her medicine, go to bed, and cook for her every day, but she herself is an 80-year-old person who is no longer able to do it.
They have to face important decisions in life: selling a house, moving, going to a place where someone can take care of them.
Terri
Where to go? Is it North or South?
Pat was afraid of the cold, but the frail Terri was eager to move to her own relatives in Edmonton, Canada.
Both of them knew that whatever decision they made, they had to agree to it, because they had been in love for 65 years. Tri said: "I don't care where I go, as long as we're together, we'll be happy!" “
After a thousand-mile flight, the two old men finally arrive at the home of Terri's niece in Edmonton, Canada, where niece Diana and her family embrace her beloved Aunt Terry with open arms. Her aunt cared for her from an early age, and Diana hoped that she would stay in Canada and spend her old age with her.
According to Diana's account, from the very beginning of her understanding, she knew that Aunt Telly had an aunt named Pat. She had always thought that Pat was just a good friend of Aunt Telly's, a good girlfriend.
Diana
From infancy to adolescence, to marriage and children, Diana has not lacked the love of Aunt Telly in her life, and in the video, young Telly is full of vitality and she is good at all sports. The wonderful time they spent together, Diana will never forget.
Diana was young with Aunt Telly
Now that Tri is in the final stages of her life and is in pain, Diana is bent on supporting her childless aunt like a daughter.
But for Terry's partner Aunt Pat, Diana can never love, Pat always seems to want to monopolize the dear Aunt Terry, live a life of two people.
In the documentary, Diana said with a little regret: "My aunt has explained to me all her life that she and Pat only lived together to save money. It wasn't until three years ago that I understood they were gay. I'm willing to do everything for Aunt Telly, but I just want to do it for her. ”
Diana accepts her aunt's white lies hidden behind her back, but her little sister, Timmy, doesn't seem so generous. She said: "I was so surprised that they were hiding from everyone, and it was more than 60 years!" Lo and behold, this is Grandma's tombstone, who didn't know her daughter was gay before she died, and aunt Telly wrote her and Pat's name together. ”
Telly said that if her mother knew the truth, she was afraid that she would break off her relationship. Instead, her father was an enlightened man. Pat used to come to the house to play, and his father admired Pat and never pointed out his daughter's secret. After a happy party, the father said to Telly, "Daughter, I would rather you be like this than marry a man who doesn't know how to treat you well." ”
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There is certainly a reason for this lover's caution.
They have a long-time gay friend in Chicago, and every year they have a secret little party of four.
In the warm candlelight, the four recalled the rejection of homosexuals in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, and still had palpitations.
The poster of that year reads: The biggest curse in today's society: homosexuality!
Two-thirds of Americans are disgusted, upset or fearful of homosexuality. In the church, police officers can openly stand on the podium and warn the young people below: "Once you become homosexual, you will be arrested and your life will become hell!" ”
Historically, whether it is a university professor, a company employee, or a student, Chicago officials have publicly displayed the names and work places of all known homosexuals, making them unable to find employment and survive. There were many homosexuals who committed suicide for this reason.
Now, 65 years later, illinois same-sex marriage has just been legalized, And Terry and an elderly person in the audience feel that after so many years of "marriage", loving each other is more important than everything, but because too much time has passed, a marriage contract seems to be less important. But Pat, who loved Terry deeply, raised a glass and said, "Why not?" “
The figure of a young girl on a street pulley brought the two old men to 1940, and Trinity blurted out, "Ah, I'd like to try this little car!" “
Don't underestimate the old man's ridicule. In 1946, at the age of twenty, Telly was drafted into the nation's leading women's baseball league. She was the top catcher in the league, and the radio at the time reported Onlly's standout performance.
The glory days are vivid, and until now, young baseball lovers are still excited to get the team souvenir card handed out by Telly, and at the same time ask, "Oh my God, are you really playing baseball in a skirt?!" ”
"Yeah," Telly replied with a smile, "you have to be feminine and wear a skirt when you're on the court." During the break, the official also sent someone to cultivate the social etiquette that we should have as women, which is the era. When the league was first founded, a lot of people thought it was a joke to watch women play baseball, but when they realized how well we played, they came to see the ball every night!"
Regarding the women's baseball league of that year, interested friends can find the 1991 movie "A League of Their Own" starring Tom Hanks and Madonna.
Stills from the movie "Pink League"
The documentary concludes with this passage about the baseball team:
In an era when "differences" were not accepted, members of women's baseball teams engaged in sports that only men would have played, and they had the courage to "be different." This also seems to allude to how "different" Tri and Pat's relationship is later, and it is easy to imagine how much resistance they have experienced.
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In 1947, 18-year-old Pat met 22-year-old Telly at the ice rink, and the two girls seemed to have endless words at first sight, and their laughter resounded through the snowy night of the ice rink.
One day, somewhere in the corner of the ice rink, Pat suddenly handed Tri a note, and Trinity couldn't wait to read the letter that had changed their lives in the faint light of the ice rink.
In the letter, Pat wrote:
"I'm a book lover, I've read a lot of stories, but I've never met two girls falling in love... I wish you felt the same way I did. ”
And so their emotions begin.
Both are well-known in the local area, one is a female baseball player and the other is a female hockey player. In order to avoid the world's attention, Telly takes Pat back to her hometown in the countryside, but can only introduce Pat as a girlfriend to family and friends, where they have a very pleasant time.
Pat's family affairs are worth mentioning, her parents died early, and her only brother was killed in World War II, and his brother later became estranged from her because of her sexual orientation. Before meeting Tri, Pat had 4 boyfriends, but these men were either in a car accident or had an accident on farm work, or died in a murder. Pat met Telly and finally realized, Oh my God, it seems that my fate in life is here. Who says it's not, after all, they live together to be in their 80s!
Young hearts yearn for the prosperity and freedom of the big city, and the two girls decide to work together from Canada to the United States to start a new life for two people.
They found work at the same interior design firm in Chicago for 26 years. During this time, they bought houses together, took care of each other, and were both colleagues and partners.
The two girls continue to grow up in support of each other, because they are far away from their relatives, coupled with a secret relationship, they become the only ones for each other.
Like all women in chicago, they love makeup, high heels, straight suit skirts, and there is no shortage of men's pursuits, but they all reject these ambiguities.
Pat on the streets of Chicago
During the day they are obedient girls in the eyes of men, and at night, they have a secret time with their peers who belong to that small circle.
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Back to the present day.
Trinity has been suffering from Parkinson's for some time, her physical condition is deteriorating, and she wants to return to her hometown in Canada to spend her old age. Diana suggested that her aunt and Pat live in a Canadian home for the elderly, which was close to her, so that she could visit. But Pat is not willing to move out of his home in the United States, and he is not satisfied with everything in the nursing home, and there are only a couple of gay people in this nursing home, will the other elderly accept them?
The three were unable to agree on a pension plan, and Diana had to fly from Canada to the United States to solve the problem. When she arrived in the United States, she found that her aunt was sick and unable to take care of herself, her weight was constantly decreasing, and Pat was too old to cook, and the two only ate quick-frozen food every day.
Diana is distressed by her aunt and is determined to convince them to stay in the nursing home even if she tears her face this time!
In the video, Pat has his back to Diana and Telly getting up and leaving. On the one hand, she doesn't want to leave the love hut she's built with her lover all her life, and she doesn't want to face the fact that she can't take care of Terri; on the other hand, she understands that Diana is only willing to tolerate her for Terri, and all she can do is do her best.
Diana patiently gave the two elderly people, especially Pat, enough ideological work, and finally, they chose an old people's home in the United States. But after hearing the price, Pat and Telly both dropped their jaws! One bedroom, one living room, two people, $7,000 a month, and $84,000 a year!
Pat said, "It's too expensive! The discussion of the three people reached another stalemate.
In the night, Telly whispered to Pat, "I want to tell Diana what I have." Pat hurriedly stopped: "No, don't tell her. ”
What are they referring to?
Early the next morning, Diana's emotional cry came from the kitchen: "I really don't understand, you have so much savings, but why do you refuse to go to the nursing home?" Have you known me all your life and not trusted me? I don't have any intentions, I just want to take care of her, Pat, you don't understand how much I love Aunt Telly!! ”
It turned out that Telly told Diana that they actually had $1 million in the bank and could actually afford the expenses of the nursing home. This makes Diana feel that Pat did not trust her before, preventing her from intervening in the private world of the second elder.
Eventually, Pat got up to comfort Diana, who didn't want to hide it, but didn't think it through. Diana also said that she wanted the two old men to be happy, and knew that Pat cherished Terri like gold.
This heart-wrenching quarrel actually brought Pat and Diana closer, Pat saw Diana's sincerity, both of them loved Telly deeply, if so, why can't they break the defense line and take a step forward?
Pat finally agreed to stay in the nursing home.
The smile on the faces of the three people again was the day of the move. They invited neighbors and friends to help inventory the treasures of the family accumulated over the past 70 years, and each one was full of memories.
Come on, Aunt Telly, play baseball!
Pat took the old picture of Terri and said, "Look how cute you used to be, honey."
Old cardboard boxes were piled high with Pat's love letters to Telly. Pat read the letters again, and Tri said playfully, "It's wonderful, isn't it?" ”
Diana asked, "Why is the money dropped for every letter torn off?" ”
The two old men replied, "Because we can't let people know who wrote it, we had to be very careful back then." In case something happened to us in the early years, we didn't want our family to know about the two of us. ”
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Finally, Terri and Pat walked into the local nursing home hand in hand, playing games with other elderly people, taking care of food, clothing, and living, and eating fresh food.
They seem to be very satisfied with life here, and they deliberately make the room messy, thinking that it feels more like home.
Pat thanked Diana frankly: "I feel like we made the right choice, and it was Diana who led us to this point and helped us make up our minds." ”
On this day in 2015, Tri and Pat finally came to the pastor, surrounded by all their relatives and friends, solemnly swore that they would never abandon each other for the love of their lives, although they had been keeping this promise for 65 years.
The pastor said, "Congratulations, from now on, you don't have to call each other cousins." Please put rings on each other. ”
This moment has been waiting for a lifetime
"Are you happy?" "Happy!"
In this regard, they hid their love for nearly 70 years before they could be officially declared and generously displayed.
Two years later, the old couple decided to accept the call of their loved ones and return to Telly's hometown in Canada.
In the company of family,
Tri and Pat had another two happy years
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Telly ends the film by saying, "I have no regrets in my life. Love is love, and if I were to live again, I would still choose such a life. ”
The final deadline for filming was March 14, 2019, when Tri died at the age of 94.
Her partner, Pat, has accompanied her through 72 years of her life.
Pat is still alive and lives in Canada with Diana and her family. The documentary was directed by Diana's son Christopher Bolan.
Tri's last gift to Pat is the family who love her, and they will accompany Pat to the end of her life like Atelie.