“Hey, you happy to see me?” she said.

“Well, let me think it about it…”

“You’re all bastards…I’ll explain later.”

“Betty, is something wrong?”

“Nothing too serious,” she said. “Nothing worth letting the chili get cold over. Kiss me.”

By the time I’d had two or three spoonfuls of those spicy beans I’d forgotten all about it. Betty’s presence had made me euphoric-she laughed all the time, she complimented me on my beans, she made my beer foam, she reached out across the table and caressed my cheek. I didn’t know yet how she could go from one mood to another with the speed of light.

We were just finishing lunch-it was delicious-having a nice time gulping it down, winking at each other and joking around. I was looking at her, Ending her so wonderful, when all of a sudden she changed before my eyes. She turned completely white and her eyes got incredibly hard. It took my breath away.

“Like I was saying… she began. “They’re all bastards. Sooner or later it’s always the same-I find myself with my suitcases in my hands. You get the picture?”

“What are you talking about?” I said.

“What do you mean what am I talking about? Are you listening to me? I’m trying to explain something to you! Why aren’t you listening to me?”

I didn’t answer. I went to touch her arm. She pulled away.

“Let’s get something straight,” she said. “I’m not looking for a guy who just wants to fuck.”

“I see,” I said.

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing, and looked out the window. Nothing moved outside-just a few houses sprinkled with sunlight and the road going straight across the countryside into the hills.

“When I think that I stayed a year in that dump…” she muttered. She stared into space, her hands squeezed between her legs, her shoulders hunched over as if she suddenly felt very tired. I’d never seen her like that. All I knew was her laughter. I’d always thought that she could stand up to anything. I asked myself what this was all about.