I first met Betz when Saqd invited me to come over to her apartment and hang out. Betz opened the door when I knocked. She was Hispanic and had long, black hair. She was also noticably overweight, but it actually looked good on her. I didn't get to interact with her very much during that first meeting. All I found out was that she was a year younger than me, had been married and divorced and had a five-year-old daughter who lived with her. They lived with a roommate.
Sometime later, she called me at the radio station and we started talking. She mentioned something about having to go to Fort Sumner. I told her I was born in Fort Sumner. She said she was born there, too. We determined that our mothers had been in the same high school graduating class there. The prospects for this turning into a relationship looked promising.
But Betz always went back and forth between wanting to start something up and trying to avoid me. I was definitely getting mixed signals. I asked Saqd what I needed to do to get Betz to go out with me. She advised me to get her a bottle of her favorite perfume. I did that and she seemed like she really appreciated it. But I still could not get her to commit to going out with me.
One night, I was downtown when people were cruising up and down Main Street. I saw Betz there. She invited me to ride with her in her car. (I'm counting this as a date!) We drove around for about an hour and talked. It was nice because she didn't have her daughter with her. (Actually, I got along really well with her daughter.)
A little while after that, I came by her apartment and got to hang out. We were up past midnight playing Monopoly. I kept hoping that her daughter was going to go to bed so we could have some alone time, but she stayed awake until 4am! I knew the chances for a little snuggling went out the window when Betz started taking off her makeup.
After that, Betz just turned really cold and I don't know why. Anytime I tried to call her, she would just hang up the phone. I came by her apartment right about the time that she drove up. She saw me and just kept driving. I tried to chase after her, but I lost her.
When I knew I was going to be moving to Denver, I called Betz one last time. She picked up the phone, but said nothing, not even "Hello?" She knew it was me. I said, "Betz, I'm leaving forever. Bye!" and hung up the phone.
When I returned from Denver six weeks later and ran into Saqd, she told me Betz was concerned that I had committed suicide. Betz noticed that after I'd told her I was leaving, she didn't hear me on the radio anymore and didn't receive any more phone calls. Saqd told me Betz and her daughter had moved in with her mother. She gave me the phone number there.
I called Betz and she said I could come over and see her. I got to meet her sister at the house. I hung out with her for awhile and asked her if I could write her. She said I could. However, after I returned to Denver, I became involved with my next girlfriend, so I never did write Betz. That time in Clovis would be the last time I saw her.
I found her Facebook account. She still lives in Clovis. I saw a photo of her with someone who appears to be the daughter I knew. There was another woman in the photo, but they were not identified. I don't know if she had another child, but it could be her niece. She also appears to have a couple of grandchildren. I don't think she got married again.
I have to admit that she looks very much the same as the last time I saw her 27 years ago. It's nice to know that if I had wound up with her, I would have continued to find her attractive. But I don't think she ever found me attractive and maybe that was the problem.
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