Today, I’m reminiscing about the eighty-something live radio interviews I had when my book, The Single Girl’s Guide to Meeting European Men, was published. One of my favorites was at the grueling hour of 3:30 am, my time, with a couple of hosts from a NYC station. Their favorite story from my book was about Betsey the Burlesque Dancer, and we had so much fun chatting that I practically forgot the time:) So today, for Travel Thursday, I’m sharing it with you.
I have this friend who is full of fun and looks like an adorable, young Marilyn Monroe with a short curly hairdo. In my book, I called her Betsey, because with her fashion sense, she also looks like a living Betsey Johnson ad all done up…
Betsey performs in a professional burlesque troupe that travels to exciting destinations like Europe. Don’t you just feel bad for her? Yeah right! One night she went out with her girlfriend Lacey hoping to make some attractive acquaintances. They didn’t find any men, but that didn’t put a damper on Betsey’s attitude. She had a blast “getting down” on the dance floor—and with her burlesque training you know she can really get down.
Even though she didn’t meet an enthralling European guy that evening, she did make a new girlfriend, Carmen. Well, Betsey, Carmen, and Lacey were on a picture-taking high that night…posing and clicking ‘til the clubs closed down. Carmen put up a picture of Betsey on her bulletin board. When Carmen’s Italian boyfriend and his dashing friend Arnaldo dropped by, Arnaldo couldn’t take his eyes off Betsey’s picture. Carmen planned to meet up with Betsey the following night and invited her boyfriend and Arnaldo to come along.
In her normal mode, Betsey is always full of energy, but when she was introduced to Arnaldo, she was frozen and speechless. He was way too cute for words. Once she realized that she hadn’t lost her voice, they got along great. When an obnoxious guy started coming on to Betsey, Arnaldo came to her rescue and suggested that the two of them go off alone. Suave move, super stud! That was just the beginning. They got along so well that Arnaldo got a work visa to Betsey’s hometown in the US. They had a sexy summer romance and then he had to return to Italy.
Was that all? OK, maybe not. About a month later, Arnaldo sincerely told Betsey that he loved her. She explained that she couldn’t say those words back to him or she would get too attached. He just kept saying them to her anyway, proclaiming, “If you feel something you should not hold back…just say it and don’t think about the consequences.” Before Betsey knew what struck, she was saying “I love you” to him. Too late to not get attached! Betsey was totally smitten and counting down the days until Arnaldo could visit her again.
In the meantime, Arnaldo sent Betsey the most romantic emails with adorations like, “The beach is melancholy without you.” How could you not fall for this guy? Betsey says she has locked in her heart two philosophies from Arnaldo: “There is always time to be romantic. No matter how busy life gets, you can pull your lover aside for a quick kiss.” And, “In my country, men take pride in the fact that we are called Italian stallions. I won’t let you down.” Unfortunately, I lost touch with Betsey, so I never heard how the story ended….that is for all you romantics to write.