Betsy
- 2 years ago
- 31
- 0
Betsy opened the door to her condo and said, “Come on in, Sally.”
Sally took one look at Betsy and then asked, “What happened to you?”
“What?”
“You’re glowing,” Sally said.
“I had a date last night,” Betsy answered grinning broadly.
“You had a date, and you didn’t tell me?” Sally asked feeling a little hurt.
Betsy shrugged her shoulders and said, “According to my staff, I was in a tizzy.”
“A tizzy?”
“Yes,” Betsy said while stepping back so that Sally could enter the apartment.
“I kind of know what they mean. I think I was in one when Steve and I went out the first time,” Sally said while entering the apartment.
She had been rather distracted and confused. She remembered running around the bedroom trying to decide what to wear. She had tried on every outfit she owned trying to pick the perfect one. She wondered if guys went through the same thing when getting ready for a date. She made a mental note to ask Steve, but he tended to grunt and avoid topics like that.
Betsy said, “I guess I wasn’t quite my normal calm self.”
Sally burst out laughing as she replied, “Your normal calm self can hardly be described as calm.”
“You’re right.”
“So did you and he kiss?”
Sally had actually giggled like a school girl when asking the question. For her, dating was still a new thing and she knew that it was just as new for Betsy. Despite being in their mid-twenties they still acted like teenagers about some things. Boys was one of those topics where their immaturity came to the forefront.
Turning slightly red with embarrassment, Betsy answered, “Oh, yes. We’d probably still be on the porch, kissing, if Gary hadn’t turned on the lights and opened the door.”
Grinning broadly, Sally said, “You went at it hot and heavy, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Did you like it?”
“I had no idea that kissing was so...” Betsy waved a hand around as if she couldn’t find the words to describe what she meant.
“Yeah. I know what you mean,” Sally said with a grin.
Betsy said, “We’ve got another date next weekend.”
“Good for you.”
Sally had followed Betsy over to the sofa and sat down. Betsy sat down beside her. The young women faced each other, leaning forward in a way that increased the intimacy of the conversation.
“I’m happy,” Betsy said. “I learned that Chuck has been trying to get my attention for months.”
“Really?” Sally asked shocked to learn that.
She knew how desperately Betsy had been trying to find a man to notice her. It was kind of ironic that there was a guy out there who had been trying to get her to notice him.
“How did he succeed in getting your attention?”
“I tripped and fell flat on my face. He helped me up,” Betsy answered somewhat meekly.
“You tripped?” Sally asked.
Sally had a hard time believing that Betsy had tripped and fallen. As far as she knew, Betsy never tripped or had a misstep. Running parkour had trained Betsy to move fearlessly through the environment with grace. She could manage obstacles that would deter most people.
“Yes. It was the first time in my life that I’ve ever tripped,” Betsy said.
“The first time?”
“Yes. I’ve got a feeling that the Two-Sided One was involved,” Betsy said.
It was more than just a feeling. That little laugh from nowhere was kind of a clue that was difficult to ignore. She was happy the Two-Sided One was finding her love life amusing.
“At least you’ve got a God working on your side,” Sally said.
Betsy grinned at Sally and then asked, “You don’t think the Two-Sided One was involved in getting you together with Steve?”
“Well, maybe,” Sally admitted.
In point of fact, that whole evening in which she met Steve seemed choreographed to her. The weird feeling when she had promised to stay at the party for half an hour, her initial introduction to him, the strange wall of fire that prevented Steve from helping Betsy, and the sudden appearance of Druids right after the event felt contrived. Even William’s statement that she and Steve were a couple was weird.
She didn’t know what to think about Gods and Goddesses meddling in the affairs of men and women. It seemed to her that people in ancient times tried to avoid coming to the attention of the Powers that Be. She shook her head trying to avoid thinking about what it might mean if they became interested in her.
Sally asked, “What does this guy do for a living?”
“He manages investments,” Betsy answered.
“Like William?”
“William does a bit more than just manage investments,” Betsy said.
She didn’t want to get into how William was able to manipulate the future with judicious investments. It was something that others didn’t need to know. Her brother had enough enemies as it was.
“Like what?” Sally asked.
“Actually, I’m not quite sure all that he does,” Betsy replied. Changing the subject, Betsy said, “I’m going to be away all this week. The boat is ready, and it’s time for me to get on with my research.”
“I know you’re looking forward to it,” Sally said recognizing that Betsy was trying to change the subject away from William and his mysterious service to the Two-Sided One. There had been hints that his service involved seeing the future, but she wasn’t sure what that actually involved.
Betsy said, “I am. I would also like to be at my main house dating Chuck.”
Sally said, “So tell me more about this guy. What does he look like?”
“He’s a little taller than me and pretty well built. You know, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He’s got brown hair that he wears a little short. His hairline has receded a little for a guy his age, but not too noticeably.
“He has green eyes.”
Sally said, “Would you say he’s handsome?”
“He’s manly, but not in a GQ sort of way. He’s more like a normal guy,” Betsy answered. “He kind of reminds me of Daddy Ed, but not quite as sunbeaten. I guess you could say that he’s handsome.”
“What was he wearing on your date?”
“Dress pants, a white shirt, and a sport coat ... no tie,” Betsy answered.
“That’s rather tasteful for a first date. I mean, he could have shown up in jeans,” Sally said.
“He looked good in it,” Betsy said.
“What did you wear?”
“A Navy blue skirt and light blue blouse,” Betsy answered.
“That’s a nice outfit. Did he complement you on it?”
“Yes, he did.”
Sally asked, “What did you do on the date?”
“We ate, and then went dancing,” Betsy answered.
Sally hesitated before she asked, “Did you eat a lot?”
“Yes, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He told me that his roommate in college was a long distance runner, and would eat huge meals before a competition. He figured that I would do the same considering how much I exercised,” Betsy answered.
“That’s a relief. I know some people get a little freaked by how much you can eat,” Sally said.
She had actually meant to warn Betsy that she might want to eat a full meal before going on a date and treat dinner as a snack. A lot of guys wouldn’t be able to afford feeding Betsy on a date, particularly when she ordered two or more meals. Of course, it wasn’t one of the topics that came up in a normal conversation and the opportunity had never arisen to mention that. At least, it didn’t appear to have been a problem with Chuck.
“I did warn him, and he just laughed it off,” Betsy said.
“So there were no problems?”
Betsy said, “You wouldn’t believe what Gary, Stacy, and Charlie did when he came to the house to pick me up.”
“What did they do?”
“They sat around cleaning their guns, and making threats about what happened to people who didn’t treat me well,” Betsy said.
“They didn’t?”
“They did.”
“I would have been mortified,” Sally said.
“Chuck took it pretty well. He laughed about it when we got outside,” Betsy said.
“That’s good.”
“I would have killed Gary if he had chased off Chuck,” Betsy said.
Sally laughed knowing that Betsy wouldn’t do any such thing. “You said that you went dancing after dinner.”
“Yes. It was a really great place that had a good mix of music,” Betsy said.
“Did you do any slow dancing?” Sally asked.
“Uh ... well ... yes,” Betsy answered with a slight blush blossoming on her face.
Sally grinned fully aware of what caused that reaction. “He got excited, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Betsy had wondered why he kept pulling back from her during the slow dances. When she pressed against him, she discovered the reason. For a minute or two, she had no idea what to do. Of course, he probably felt her bullets pressing into his chest. She finally just pulled him in closer and enjoyed the feeling.
“And?”
“What?”
“Is he ... you know?”
“Big?”
“Yes, is he big?”
“I’d say so,” Betsy answered turn bright red.
“You’re so lucky, girl,” Sally said with a giggle. “Steve is big. I like it a lot.”
“I don’t know. You know, I’ve never...”
“Are you on the pill?”
“Yes,” Betsy said.
“I guess you will know for sure just how big he is, next weekend,” Sally said, licking her lips suggestively.
“Maybe,” Betsy said feeling a little flutter of fear in her stomach. It was a feeling she hadn’t had too many times in her life.
“Scared?”
“Yes.”
“I was terrified. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be any good that I nearly froze up. Steve did a pretty good job of warming up my engines. By the time we got to the actual deed, I was just ... well ... I don’t know what I was doing, but it all felt good.”
“I hope Chuck is understanding,” Betsy said.
“I’m sure it will be okay,” Sally said.
“I’m a little afraid that I’ll lose control and break him or something,” Betsy said sounding worried.
There was a rather effeminate laugh from above. Betsy looked up at the ceiling.
“Break him?”
“You know ... hurt him, somehow,” Betsy said.
“Why would you worry about that?” Sally asked.
“I’m kind of a physical person, you know. People tend to get hurt when I get physical around them.”
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t think about that,” Sally said.
She looked over at Betsy and realized her friend was serious. Betsy was truly afraid that she’d lose control and hurt Chuck. It would be easy to laugh it off as a non-issue, but Sally knew it was pretty easy to lose control at the height of passion. Frankly, she hadn’t given much thought to what Betsy could do at that moment, but she could understand her friend’s concern.
Sally had come to take for granted Betsy’s confidence in everything she did. The insecurities that were emerging presented another facet to her friend. In their short friendship, she had seen Betsy go through things that would have beaten down another person who was less strong. An attempted rape, a criminal vendetta, and a plane crash were pretty traumatic. Still, there had always been that underlying vulnerability that kept Betsy human.
Doing her best to reassure her friend, Sally said, “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“Maybe I should have him restrain me somehow the first few times until we know how I react,” Betsy said biting her lower lip.
“Kinky!”
Betsy blushed when she realized what she had said.
“Maybe that’s not such a good idea.”
“I don’t know about that. I might suggest it to Steve. I’ll let you know how it works out,” Sally said, and burst out into laughter at the shocked expression on Betsy’s face.
Betsy realized that Sally was joking. She appreciated how Sally seemed to know how to take the edge off of situations about which Betsy was uncomfortable. There weren’t many people who were willing to really listen to her problems. Her problems were often so different than what other people experienced that it was hard to find a sympathetic ear. Sally never really joked about the important things except as a way to lighten up the atmosphere. Betsy truly appreciated that.
The two young woman talked late into the night covering a wide variety of topics. There was a lot of girl talk about dating, but there was also a bit of talk about their research. It was one of the more pleasant evenings of Betsy’s life. Sally ended up spending the night with Betsy.
The next four days were spent on the Bloated Shark. Although the first trip had been cut short by a day, they had accomplished a lot more than had been hoped. They were very productive days in terms of furthering her research.
Betsy swam with the sharks every day. She managed to tag three mako sharks and collect DNA samples from each of them. They were very large and healthy specimens of their species. She had immediately named them Alphonso, Beatrice, and Claude knowing that in her papers she would probably refer to them as specimens A, B, and C.
One of the concerns that Betsy had about putting the tracking devices on the sharks was that the electronic signals would cause a problem with the sharks. It was well known that sharks were very sensitive to minute electronic signals. They would attack underwater telephone cables thinking they were prey. In swimming with the sharks, she could see that the devices were not causing any problems. In a way, it was a major relief.
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The modern person, who has lived a significant percentage of their life in a digital economy, can not imagine what life would be like without checks, credit cards, debit cards, and online banking. Mortgages, rent, utilities, and insurance are paid with check or by electronic transfer. Large purchases and consumer goods are paid with credit cards, or checks. Plastic is not reserved only for big items. People will whip out a credit or debit card to pay for a five dollar lunch, or a cup of...
With Sally away on her honeymoon, Betsy was at loose ends. After Chuck’s kidnapping, she just didn’t want to take off for the ocean for a week at a time. At this point, it wasn’t necessary. She had all of the biological data necessary for her dissertation. All that was missing was sufficient tracking data to support her arguments and time would take care of that. She didn’t need to tag any more sharks since she had already tagged far more of them than was necessary for her dissertation. For...
Ling said, “You look like hell.” “I’ve been around your daughter for a couple of days,” Gary replied pointedly. He tried to count the days, but they all ran into a blur of move and move and move. He had never been so tired in his life. Trying to keep up with Betsy was a constant effort. She was always in motion and that required him to always be in motion. The normal human being wasn’t built for that level of activity. “You should get some rest,” Kelly said. Gary pointed at Ling and said,...
In what has to be one of the greatest plays on words of all time, Mark Twain wrote: ‘Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.’ “This can’t possibly be happening. It’s impossible. I just won’t accept it.” Everyone has observed denial at work. Everyone has experienced denial for him or her self. Denial is a universal experience. One can deny it, but that denial rather proves the point. Denial is an unavoidable consequence of how the human mind works. The human mind makes gross generalizations...
In the short time she had worked for Betsy, life for Charlie had been interesting. Still unable to get around with any kind of ease, Charlie was more than happy to sit behind the desk and take care of the hundreds of little things, that had been ignored by Betsy. She’d been stunned to discover that Betsy hadn’t even bothered to open a local bank account. She had been shocked one day, to discover a past due statement buried with the stack of mail that had accumulated over a couple of weeks....
Betsy was pacing around outside the construction site. The site engineer (Stan Kubrick) and one of the foremen (Jim Franklin) were there with her, wondering why she had literally dragged them away from their homes. Chuck was standing under a palm, enjoying the shade, while George was nervously licking his lips. A man wandered by and stared at the group for a second. Finally, he approached and said, “Hey, Jim!” “Hello, Kirk.” “What are you doing here?” Kirk asked. He had been working on...
Betsy stood in front of the little stand that was selling meat. The stand had once been a little souvenir hut that had sold glitzy trinkets to tourists. It had a fake grass roof, giving it a kind of hokey appearance that tourists expected of a tropical island. She wondered where it had come from, but wasn’t interested enough to ask. A bird flew overhead and landed upon a branch of a nearby bush. She turned to look at it. It was a red crested cardinal. Like many of the more common birds on...
Betsy skipped down the hallway pausing to read the sign on each door. The other students in the hallway would move over to the other side to avoid getting hit by the jump rope. She stopped in front of one of the doors and read the name off the nameplate aloud, “Sally Tilton.” She stepped back nearly hitting a student with her jump rope and read the sign on the door aloud, “Keep out.” She stopped swinging the rope around, but kept up the jumping motion while knocking on the door. She called...
Betsy paced the floor, criss-crossing the living room in her house. Fortunately, the house was built with a wide open spacial style that allowed her a lot of room to move. If the room had been a bit smaller, she would have been bouncing off the walls ... literally, not figuratively. Not for the first time since returning to the house that morning, she asked, “Where is he?” “I don’t know,” Charlie answered without having to ask who he was. “Why isn’t Gary here?” “He had to go to the...
With the destruction of the economy, a number of things had changed in the world. One, which almost no one would even think about, was the disappearance of certain specialty shops, of which bridal stores were a good example. There just wasn’t a place to buy what had become a traditional wedding gown. What few dresses had remained on the shelves of stores at the time of the collapse had long since disappeared. Young couples getting married now tended to wear nice dresses and suits. The new...
The desert stretches from horizon to horizon, existing in both time and space. One man gazes upon it and sees paradise. Another man gazes upon the same scene and only sees desolation. One desert, two men, and three entirely different worlds. It is not a mystery why people argue and bicker over nearly everything. If two people can’t agree on something as vast and as timeless as a desert, why should it be a surprise if they can’t agree on much of anything? The variations in preferences of even...
Charlie was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair. As with a lot of patients, she had argued that it wasn’t necessary, except that it was. Her prosthetic was packed away in her luggage, which Betsy was carrying. Either the infection had been a little more aggressive than she had thought, or she had really been a lot more tired than she had felt. She was so weak that she was afraid that she might not be able to use the crutches she’d been given. Once they were outside, Betsy handed the...
Tight-lipped, Ed stared at the man. Talking with him was a constant assault on his truth sense. The longer he talked, the worse the lies got. It was as if one lie emboldened the next. Ed said, “She was drugged.” “The test results were lost,” the man said with a smirk. Ed’s truth sense stabbed him in the brain upon hearing the lie. He said, “Quit lying.” “I’m not lying. They were lost.” “She was drugged, and you know it!” Ed shouted. The man replied, “She chewed his arm off and beat him...
Chuck wandered over to the security center and office building construction site, searching for Gary. The building was still a long ways from finished, but he could imagine what it would look like when it would be completed. The foundation was in place, the framing was complete, and some of the exterior walls had been added. Chuck found Gary inspecting the building. Gary was checking to make sure that nothing that didn’t belong had been added to the walls. There were folks who would be...
Chuck was seated in the backyard passing the time by watching a couple of birds working together in building a nest. Watching them build a structure for the results of their mating reminded him that he was going to be married soon. He was looking forward to the event without the kind of nervousness that plagued many grooms. There was only one downside – he wished his parents were still alive to see him get married. He wished his parents could have met Betsy. He was sure they would have loved...
Sally walked into the room thinking that she had made a horrible mistake. There were a lot of people, none of whom she recognized, moving around. She grabbed Gary’s arm to prevent being separated from him. Betsy had disappeared somewhere into the heart of the party. It was a typical frat party – a lot of testosterone driven young men, scantily dressed young women, too much booze, not enough light; and loud music, which made talking impossible. The air had the lingering hint of a sickly sweet...
The sound of waves crashing along the beach provided a background noise that Betsy found particularly relaxing. She was sitting tailor fashion on the beach, looking out across the ocean at the distant horizon. This was about as calm as Betsy could appear to act. It truly was an appearance of calm rather than true calm. She was digging two holes. She was excavating one hole with each hand, and using the sand in the other hand to fill it in again. The strength required to shove her hands into...
By the morning after the altercation with Kyle, the swelling in Carl’s face had reduced to the point where he could see again. His nose was still tender, but most of the pain was gone. It was hard to believe that Kyle had been able to hurt him so badly, with just two punches. He’d been beaten up a few times in high school, but that had been nothing compared to the previous day. He had awakened that morning to find Betsy, wearing a knee-length skirt and white blouse, seated in a chair reading...
Ling, pulling Cal behind her by his ear, followed Millie and Melvin out of the plane. Betsy was inside with Kelly and the rescuers planning how to free the two men trapped in the chairs. Jimmy was over by the fire piling branches on it after getting it restarted. Ed was with him giving him pointers on the care and management of a good campfire. Ling threw Cal to the ground. Looking at Millie, she asked, “What’s the story with him?” “He’s an asshole,” Millie answered. “I figured that much...
“I agree. I will see what I can do to convince a certain young man to become a caretaker.” Harry stood behind the young man watching him. Unable to keep silent any longer, Harry said, “You’re talking to a mongoose.” “I know,” the young man answered. “They don’t talk back,” Harry said making reference to the weird one sided conversation he’d been listening to. “You don’t know that. In fact, she’s quite talkative,” the young man said while rising from his kneeling position to face...