"Sarah and Sister Theresa" by Ann Douglas (AnnD55@Pipeline.Com). Nuns have always interested me. In my days as a Catholic school student I hated the bitches because they were so petty and self-righteous and admired them because they were so pretty and so dedicated. In my adult days I have easily reconciled these conflicting images by realizing that the nuns I knew had individual personalities just like anyone else. One of my closest friends became a nun (actually, a sister - there's a difference, she tells me) and subsequently quit her order and got married. She's about as normal as anyone else. She still goes to meetings of ex-nuns and continues to meet with her friends who are still nuns; and she says that ex-nuns are about the same as ex-golfers, ex-engineers, and ex-politicians.

She assures me that the stories about secret passages between convents and rectories and about aborted children of illicit unions between priests and nuns being buried in secret basement cemeteries are essentially vicious rumors. However, she hastens to add that she knows very little about bishops and popes, and so these rumors may be true about the upper hierarchy. {My friend has very little respect for upper hierarchies}. My friend tells me that there seem to have been two main reasons for women her age (currently 40+) entering the convent: dedication to the service of others and an inability to get along with men. Actually, my friend feels that the reasons acted jointly: many women who had trouble getting along with men would find the convent an honorable way out - becoming a dedicated nun seemed a lot more honorable than becoming a lesbian or an old maid. My friend thinks that lots of young men became priests for the same reasons.

My friend tells me that ex-nuns (and presumably real nuns) are not especially inclined to be lesbians. She believes that about 20% of her friends who have left the convent are practicing lesbians; the rest have either remained celibate or have entered heterosexual relationships. While in the convent, nuns are required to avoid relationships with men (because of their vows of celibacy/virginity), and so whatever relationships they do develop are likely to be with women. However, genital contact is considered sinful; and an active lesbian would be booted out of most orders. They're supposed to sublimate (as Freud would put it) or be a bride of Christ (as mother superior would put it). My friend maintains that the avoidance of sex or the clandestine practice of sex turned some women into real bitches; but many others were (and are) exceptionally intelligent and dedicated people. It is my own opinion that lots of ex-nuns read the stories on this newsgroup; they just don't advertise that fact.

I told my friend she should write a book. She says maybe she will; but I don't think she'll post it on this newsgroup. So I thought I should share this information with you as an introduction to this repost of Ann Douglas's excellent story. Too often people post stories about nuns in which either (1) the nuns are in heat, trying to seduce little kids, or (2) a bunch of sinister studs rape the nuns. These stories may be enjoyable in their own right, but I like an occasional story about normal people who are in love. The character portrayed by Ann in this story is more in line with the dedicated nuns my friend knew.

In this story, Sarah is a young woman who teaches in the same school with Sister Theresa, a young nun who had been Sarah's teacher several years earlier. In fact, it was partly because Sarah had spied on Sister Theresa in the shower that Sarah had come to the conclusion that she was herself a lesbian. At the end of a long school day Sarah's car breaks down; and she has to spend the night at the convent, sharing a room with Sister Theresa. In the middle of the night, Sarah awakens to find Sister Theresa masturbating and calling out another nun's name in her sleep. You'll have to read the story yourself to find out what comes next. Right now I'll just assure you that it's hot and romantic but not sleazy.