Evelyn Jones

Evelyn Jones immigrated to the United States from North Korea after escaping the dire conditions in her home country. She changed her name for her own safety, choosing Evelyn because she liked the sound, Wisteria because she liked the flower, and Jones because it was a common American surname.

Throughout most of her college years, Evelyn refused to speak about her experiences in North Korea, but she wasn't hiding. She was planning her education around the goal of gaining a job within the United Nations, the better to possibly help the family and friends she'd been forced to leave behind. She met Judith Merrill during her internship and was terrified of her, at first; Judith struck her as very self-possessed, very aware of her ability to defend herself, and very tall.

She learned more about Judith as their mutual internships progressed, crossing paths often as their chosen fields interlapped. Friendship eventually evolved into love, which terrified Evelyn all over again--to be homosexual was still a terrible crime in her homeland, and she wasn't sure it was safe even in the confines of the United Nations' halls.

Judith pointed out that as a woman who looked black and was a practicing Jew, she was not exactly prime dating material, and that Evelyn could do so much better.

If Judith was trying to make Evelyn leave, it backfired spectacularly. They've been living together since the early 1980s, though only recently came out to anyone outside of Judith's immediate family.