I woke up the next morning in Mom and Dend's cabin in Ruidoso. Mom, Dend, my cousin Ricd and I all decided to go out to get breakfast. However, we couldn't get Kelz to get out of bed, so we just left her there. When we returned, Kelz had woken up and made herself some coffee. I was actually relieved, because I was afraid she was just going to run off and never come back. I expected she would have just lived off the land in the forest (or would have done some hustling around the cabins).
We left Ruidoso and drove to Artesia. The plan was for us to spend a few days with Dad and Gred and then a couple more with Mom and Dend. We arrived at Dad's house and set up Kelz in Tad's room. There was another guest room where I would stay. Kelz just went straight to bed.
One of the things Dad wanted to do was get my car checked out. We went over to the apartments. One of the tenants knew how to work on cars. Dad asked him to change the transmission oil. While we were there, I looked around at the apartments where Loyd and I spent so much time mowing and cleaning up. I was shocked at what they had become. They used to be the nicest apartments in town and now they were practically slums! Everything looked terrible! And the pool hadn't been maintained and just sat there with about three feet of murky water in the bottom. I guess he wasn't able to get anyone to work for him unless he was willing to pay them a lot more money than he paid us.
The car guy said that there were bits of metal in the oil that he took out. Dad figured this meant the car didn't have much of a life left. He said that he would get me another used car for Christmas. (Before Kelz and I arrived in Artesia, I told her that if there were too many problems with this car, Dad would probably give me the old Chevy Nova to drive. However, I noticed that the Nova was there at the apartments, apparently junking. I wasn't getting that car back.)
I don't remember much else happening the next couple of days. I know that Kelz spent most of it in the bedroom. I'm certain I drove Kelz around Artesia, showing her the houses where my family used to live and the places I went to school.
After leaving Dad's, Kelz said, "I don't like your father very much." "Okay." "He doesn't seem to think much of me." "You're probably right." We then went to stay with Mom and Dend for a couple of days. Ricd was still with them.
At one point, we were all outside with a couple of girls who lived next door. Ricd started playing with a water hose and wound up getting Kelz all wet. She didn't have any other clothes to change into at the time, so Mom offered to loan some of her clothes. While the clothes fit, they clung rather tightly to Kelz' body, and showed that she had a distended belly. I didn't hear anybody say anything at the time.
The next day, Mom and Dend offered to buy me a new pair of glasses. I had been wearing the same pair for eight years. We all went to Carlsbad to a place that could make the lenses in an hour. I chose a design that I liked and Kelz approved of. We all stayed in the waiting area while they were being made. At one point, Kelz got up and went to the bathroom. After she left, Mom asked, "Is Kelz pregnant?" "Yes." "Is it yours?" "No." Mom then made some comments about it, but I kind of brushed them off. At that point, I didn't expect to be spending much time with Kelz after we got back to San Diego.
I got the glasses. They were quite different from my old pair, a design I had been wearing since 1979. It took awhile for me to get used to the new look on my face. We went to a drug store and Kelz looked at several New Mexico T-shirts and a long one-piece nightgown. Mom bought them for her.
We left a couple of days later. Kelz and I got in the car. After we said our goodbyes to Mom, Dend and Ricd, but right before we took off, Kelz said to me, "I'm never coming back here again!" Mom then shouted at Kelz, "I want you to come back for Christmas!" Kelz was stunned. "Oh... Okay!" Mom said, "Oh, you don't mean that!" "Yeah, I mean that. I'll come back for Christmas." We started driving off. "I guess I'm coming back for Christmas." Yes, Mom tries to be hospitable, even when it's not in her best interest.
Now, Kelz and I had done something the day before we left Artesia. I try to present my story in chronological order, but you'll see that the little side trip we made deserves its own article. That's tomorrow.
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