Tim (Part 2)

After meeting Tim, and eventually moving in with him and my boyfriend, I realized what a great guy he was. He was a southern gentleman. He worked for my favorite chef (K-Paul) in his home town of New Orleans. He would make the best food, I will always remember that. We spent a lot of time together, and I loved it.

We were both under 21 at the time, but there was a bar around the corner from the apartment and we got in there, and always got served. We spent so much time there playing exotic photo hunt with occational help from Al the bartender. Sometimes my boyfriend would come out, but he was not a very social fun loving guy, he was kind of old, even for his age he was old. After drinking we would walk to another bar where I knew the bouncers, plus I used to be a promoter, so getting in was easy there too. My boyfriend would give Tim some cash and tell him to buy me some drinks.

Tim and I would drink and dance all night long. I did my best to be a good wing man for him. I knew when to dance with him to get attention from girls, and when to walk away so they could step in. It was a really great relationship. Overtime, our friendship turned into something a little bit more than that, at least for me.

I remember during a break, I think it was during the winter, I was sitting at my favorite dive diner with my ladies. I was texting Tim, and then he called me. All of a sudden it was like I was in elementary school all over again. I was giddy, to say the least, when I finally calmed down, and got my friends to calm down, I answered the phone. I told him that I liked him, ya know, like that. He said that he knew.

Obviously there was the whole boyfriend thing, so Tim and I stayed strickly friends. Though my (ex)boyfriend admitted at one point that he thought I was having an affair with Tim. There was one time when the boy was going out of town and I was going to stay at the apartment with just Tim anyway, and when I came back after work, the boy was there. He obviously didn't trust me enough to leave me there with him. Our friendship made him uncomfortable.

I know it's not really appropriate to tell someone you have feelings for them when you're in a relationship, but I don't regret it. In fact, I'm greatful that I had the balls to do it at the time. If I hadn't told Tim about my feelings, I would have regretted it to this day. I mean, only a few months after I told him, he passed away.

I have a heart shaped pillow on my bed that he gave me, which reminds me of him every day. Every time I make chicken with Chef Paul's Poultry Magic, I think of him. When I take a shower, and see my tattoo that I had made, especially for him, I think about him. I think that it was the perfect tribute. I didn't get his name tattooed on me or anything, I had a tattoo designed for him, that would make me think of him. Since he was from New Orleans (which he did teach me how to pronounce like a local) I have a marti gras mask, that is bright and vibrant like he always was, and it has ribbons on it in case I decide to put his name in it later. It's perfect, and as they say, only the good die young, and Tim was a pretty great guy.