Buried Memories (9 page)

“I was in the army during the Korean War.”

“Korean War? That was a hundred years ago,” Betty said.

“I’ve been with the fire department for twenty-six years. Four more and I get to retire.”

“Lucky you. Then what are you going to do, sit on your dock and fish?”

“Or in my boat.”

“I wish they’d give barmaids retirement benefits. I wouldn’t mind doing some fishing myself.” Betty gave him a long, lingering smile.

A native Texan, Jimmy Don Beets had one child, James Donald Beets III, born on December 24, 1957, who went by the nickname Jamie. That Christmas Eve was the only time that Jimmy Don ever missed a shift at the fire department. He had rushed his pregnant wife, Charlene, to the hospital only an hour before the baby’s birth. Three years after that, another son came along, but lived just five heartbreaking hours. Two years later, a daughter was stillborn. The deaths of their children left both parents depressed. Jimmy Don sought solace in alcohol. Charlene understandably objected to all the time he spent drinking after work. She didn’t like the taverns he visited nor his absence from the family. His new lifestyle proved to be the dismantling of their marriage, and he and Charlene divorced after Jamie turned nine. The divorce devastated the young child, who somehow felt responsible. He went to live with his mother until his twelfth birthday. By then Jimmy Don had remarried.

A few months after his divorce, he met Suzy Robertson through mutual friends in Dallas. He frequently ran into the tall, attractive brunette at various clubs, but at the time they both had other love interests.

Then one night after dancing and partying at one of the clubs, Suzy left and walked out to her car in the parking lot, but she couldn’t get it started. The gears were frozen.

As she tugged on the gearshift, Jimmy Don just happened to leave the club and saw her struggling. Anyone needing help was his specialty. He went to her car and made a circular motion with his hand for Suzy to put down the window.

“You look like a lady with a problem,” he said.

“I can’t get the gears to move. Otherwise, I think it would start.”

Jimmy Don opened the door and sat down, turned the steering wheel a couple of times, and after a click, shifted the gears and the engine roared to life.

Suzy’s red face showed in the lights from the dashboard. “I’m really embarrassed. You’re going to think I set that up.”

“If you did, I’m flattered. Gives us a chance to get to know each other better.” They talked for over an hour. He enjoyed her robust personality and she was taken by his sincere interest in people.

The next morning he came over for coffee, and after that they began seeing each other on a regular basis. Suzy had been married once before, but never had children. She thoroughly enjoyed the times Jimmy Don brought his son along. Suzy doted on the boy, who appeared to love all the attention.

In six months, Suzy and Jimmy Don married, and soon afterward built a home in Kemp, a small rural community north of Cedar Creek Lake. No stranger to commuting, Jimmy Don drove to the fire department each day, and Suzy willingly motored to Dallas and her job at Western Auto.

Later, they bought the blue house in Glen Oaks where Jimmy Don and Suzy were the favorites of the neighborhood. There was always a group ready to go out boating with them. They’d navigate far out into the water, tie their boats together, then have a picnic in the middle of the lake. Jimmy Don partied on his free days—either with fishing, swimming, barbecuing, or watching football.

To Jamie, life with Dad and Suzie was fun and exciting; something he would like on a more permanent basis. When Jamie turned twelve, his mother consented to let him live full-time with Jimmy Don. Jamie became close to Suzy, enjoying her frequent hugs and patient willingness to listen to him. But there were times when Jamie would pout and say, “If you don’t let me have that I’ll just go back to Mama.”

After Jamie used that threat twice, they gave him an ultimatum. He chose his father and Suzy.

Those years proved happy for Jamie as he stood on the threshold of young adulthood. He was wavy haired and handsome, in addition to being an outstanding student. He whipped off high school in three years. When he graduated ahead of time, his father and Suzy were very proud of him.

“Here’s what we do for brilliant people in our family,” his father told him. “We’re going to buy you a car; then you get to take the summer off. You won’t have to work for any spending money since you’ve worked so hard in school. What do you think of that?”

Jamie thought it was wonderful, but it proved to be his undoing. With time on his hands, he began running with a crowd that frequently used marijuana. He became enthralled with their lazy, hazy lifestyle and, as he used drugs, he mimicked his friends’ long hair and unkempt appearance, much to the chagrin of his neatly groomed father.

That summer created a chasm between father and son. Jimmy Don had no use for someone on drugs, who had no desire for either college or a job.

Like tumbling dominoes, the upheaval with Jimmy Don’s son crushed the marriage. Because of the many heated arguments over how to handle the boy, Suzy subsequently divorced Jimmy Don after fourteen years of matrimony. Once the divorce was final, it still hurt her to see him with other women.

Jimmy Don’s desire for companionship rushed him into a third marriage—only months after divorcing Suzy. Unfortunately, that rapid decision caused an even quicker divorce three months later.

But still attracted to Suzy, Jimmy Don met with her several times and began talking seriously of getting back together and possibly remarrying.

However, those conversations were permanently interrupted the night he strode into the Cedar Club and met Betty Lou Barker.

“Mama? It’s Faye. What the hell’s going on down there? I was talking to Bobby the other night and he tells me Wayne’s run off.”

“And thank God he has,” Betty said.

“I guess I agree with that,” Faye said. “You told us how badly he treated you.”

“I should have kicked him out a long time ago. But here’s what happened, honey. We had this really bad argument. Worse than any we ever had before. And he just huffed out the front door, saying he was going to get some cigarettes. Ever since, I’ve been expecting that door to open and see him come walking back in, but he never has.”

“Just like that? He drove off and you haven’t seen him since?”

“Actually, he walked away. That’s how mad he was. Even left his new truck parked in the driveway. Guess I can sell it so he won’t be a total loss.”

“Sure sounds strange that he left without his truck,” Faye said.

Betty knew it sounded strange, but she had no other explanation, so she stuck with her story.

After a brief silence, Faye said, “Well, good riddance.”

“That’s what I say,” Betty replied.

Betty sparkled when she saw Jimmy Don walk into the Cedar Club the following weekend. She stood at the bar, sliding clean stemware into the overhead glass racks as he approached.

“I’m not one to drag things out,” he said. “I’ve got the weekend off, so we can spend some time Saturday unless you’re already busy.”

“I don’t have plans.”

“I assume you just work here at night.” He pointed to the spigot for Coors draft beer. “I’ll take one of those, please.”

Betty nodded, then pulled down a mug and began filling it with the frothy brew. “I’m off until six
P.M.
every day. You know, Mr. Don, I’ve never heard of a last name like that before.”

He laughed. “I’m Jimmy Don Beets.”

“Like the vegetable?”

“Oh, great, you’ll think of me as a vegetable. Just don’t call me a fruit.”

They both laughed, and Betty enjoyed how sincere and friendly he seemed. He also appeared laid back. She liked that.

“The weather’s supposed to be good,” he said. “How about going boating? I keep my boat near my house.”

“Where’s that?”

“Over at Glen Oaks,” he said, taking a gulp of his cold beer. “It’s just a three bedroom, but it’s all paid for.”

“Well, I’m impressed. Did you win the lottery or something?”

“It wasn’t easy. Had to double up on my payments, but I saved a lot in interest.”

“Hmmm, a smart businessman,” she said, leaning toward him, letting him smell her perfume and giving him an opportunity to look deeply into her blue eyes, and other parts of her anatomy.

At that moment, three customers approached the bar, interrupting their conversation. Jimmy Don went over to shoot darts. One of the printed signs above a target read:
MY WIFE TOLD ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HER AND DARTS. I’M SURE GONNA MISS THAT WOMAN
.

Beets stayed another hour, then made arrangements to pick up Betty at ten the next morning.

It was before ten when Jimmy Don stood at the front door of Betty’s trailer. She came to the door with a smile and a wicker basket. He walked her outside and opened the door of his car for her. It took about ten minutes to drive to his house, and as soon as they arrived, two sets of neighbors who lived across the street came over to inspect the latest woman their favorite bachelor had brought home.

Jimmy Don introduced Betty to everyone.

The two couples, the Burtons and the Leonards, had known Jimmy Don through his three marriages, and had told him how they wished he’d find someone to settle down with who would make him happy. Had they been polled, they’d probably want him to still be married to Suzy, someone they felt comfortable to be around. Now they took long, lingering glances at Betty, who wore tight-fitting clothes and had hair much lighter than anything they had seen outside of their youngest grandchildren. They appeared fascinated with the little woman they would soon take to calling “Blondie.”

“This is some man here,” Russ Leonard said, nodding toward Jimmy Don.

“Now careful,” Jimmy Don replied. “Don’t give out any secrets.”

“I’m not going to tell her the racy stuff until I know her better,” Leonard said, laughing. “I just want to tell her about Dub. He lives over there,” he said, pointing to a house across the street. “Been blind since the Second World War. Jimmy Don had a little heart attack a while back after laying a concrete driveway for him. Then while he was recovering, he went back over and fixed Dub’s screen door. That’s the kind of man this is,” he said, clapping an embarrassed Jimmy Don on the back.

“Shall we see about getting your boat?” Betty asked him. “I brought us a picnic lunch.”

The couples took the hint and turned to go back to their houses. Betty overheard one woman say, “Did you see that figure? It’s just not normal for a woman her age to be so trim. Why she can still wear her blouses tucked in.”

Betty was glad to see them go for she had tired of the small talk. Besides, she didn’t need anyone to sell her on Jimmy Don. He was just the man she had been looking for.

Jimmy Don’s house didn’t front on the lake, but his friends’ houses across the street did and everyone had a long dock and a boathouse. Since many of his neighbors were beholden to him for his many favors over the years, he had several invitations to tie his boat at any one of their docks.

He carried the picnic basket and ushered Betty across the street to his boat. Once there, he frowned and retrieved a soft cloth from the boat’s cabin to remove a smudge from its side. “Someone must have stepped aboard with a dirty foot.” He stood back a moment to admire the shine of his nineteen-foot Glastron. He had traded a smaller boat for it, and even though the Glastron had been used, it appeared brand new and Jimmy Don kept it looking that way. He enjoyed puttering with mechanical things too, and took pleasure in spending his leisure time maintaining the motor in perfect condition.

Once on the water, Betty stood behind Jimmy Don’s leather captain’s chair and spoke in his ear over the roar of the motor. She frequently massaged his shoulders. When he shut down the boat so they could eat lunch, she sat close to him, laughing at his jokes. She affectionately patted his hand. “You know the best stories,” she said. “You are so much fun to be with.”

“I’ve never known anyone more positive than you,” Jimmy Don told her. “Here you are supporting yourself and you never complain about how hard you have to work. Carrying all those heavy trays. Having to clean up trashed-out tables after people leave.”

“I like my job. I like being with people. What’s there to complain about?”

He reached up and took her hand. She followed his cue by pulling herself onto his lap. Then she placed her hands on his face and kissed him passionately. After a lingering stare, she told him, “I get all cozy inside when I’m with you.”

That day, Jimmy Don Beets fell in love. He adored the way Betty smothered him with affection—frequently sitting on his lap, or at least being close enough to stroke his back or kiss his cheek. She behaved the same way whether they were alone or with his friends and neighbors.

At first the neighbors appeared uncomfortable with her public displays of affection. Then the displays became a source of humor.

“You better watch out, Jimmy Don. No woman can keep that up forever,” J. R. Burton said. “Just wait till the other shoe drops.” The neighbors laughed heartily, but Betty only smiled.

She seemed bored when the neighbors bragged about their grandchildren. Jimmy Don glanced around his family oriented neighborhood and realized Betty was as out of place as a brass band at a funeral.

After a month, Jimmy Don had partially moved in with her, spending a week at a time in the trailer. Since he wasn’t living full time in his blue frame house in Glen Oaks, Betty was able to nudge him away from his friends and more into the crowd she liked.

He knew he had found the woman who would keep him company during his retirement years. For a man who loved people, being alone was anathema to him. In fact, he blamed rushing into his brief third marriage on the fear of being alone, especially as he faced retirement.

Then when he repeatedly heard Betty say, “Jimmy Don’s the man I’ve been looking for all my life,” it seemed only natural to ask her to marry him, and she enthusiastically accepted.