As the night gathered around them during their first meeting, Raoul had suggested to Bette to visit again the next day, and not to rush into deciding whether or not she would acquire the painting he was selling. He’d also invited her to enjoy watching the famed Acapulco sunset from the terrace, since they had stayed inside the house that day, engrossed in conversation, when the sun had set. With the warmest smile she could manage, she’d thanked him and had agreed to visit the next day.

And so a pattern was established, with Bette coming over in the late-afternoon, having swum in the bay in the morning, and, at times, driven a speedboat around the bay with some of her friends who also happened to be in Acapulco, later in the morning through the early afternoon. At first, Raoul had thought that Bette would only come over a few times, following that initial visit, and would politely begin to disassociate herself from him, to be able to enjoy more of the beach scene in and around the resort she was staying in, perhaps, or socialize with others closer to her age.

But the brunette had expressed her appreciation to him several times of how their growing friendship had been helpful to her, as she’d struggled with something that clearly weighed on her.

Bette had also said that she’d enjoyed learning from him what was really going on in the European art scene during the various trends in art that peaked following the war, as well as how things worked, behind-the-scenes, in European finance, and central bank policy.

For his part, Raoul had confessed that to him, Bette had increasingly become kin that he had never had, since he’d been an only child, as did his wife, and said often that he’d wished that his wife had still been around, certain that she and Bette would have hit it off, as well.

During one particularly reflective conversation the previous night, Bette had began to open up, and mentioned to Raoul how she’d helped to restore some art to their rightful owners through a case she’d been co-opted into, describing her sense of obligation, almost, towards them, as the main factor that had driven her even during the most trying times of the case she was helping in. She’d admitted feeling a sense of trepidation for her safety at certain moments during the case, but said she’d pressed on nevertheless, whenever she’d felt this. While Bette had not fully described her role in the case Raoul had guessed the emotional investment she’d made to fulfill her part of that case had to have been significant, and reverberated still inside her.