Forever, Part 2

When Tim walked in at a quarter past six – nearly an hour late – I was expecting him to look sick, or at least bedraggled. Hell, I'd been creeped out enough the night before I'd nearly expected his body to show up on the morning news. That's what I get for taking a drunk lady's rants too seriously. I'd lost some sleep worrying and I was sure it showed.

Tim, on the other hand, looked great. His eyes were bright and he was smiling like I'd never seen him. That was almost scary in itself, seeing a six-foot-five slab of muscle beaming like a little kid. He was a sweetheart, though, so mostly just felt glad for him.

“Hey, Tim,” I said, waving. “Everything okay? You're not usually late.” The place was empty. It never really picked up until seven, which is why I wasn't really mad at him. Everyone should be forgiven some lapses once and a while.

“Sorry, Bill,” Tim said. “I kind of... well, overslept.” He snapped on his name tag before settling down to his usual spot.

“What, you slept until six?” I asked. “That's a bit more than oversleeping, buddy. Sure you're okay?”

Tim blushed. Actually blushed. Bright red cheeks and all, so bright I could see it across the room in the bar's dim lighting. “Well, it's was a hell of a night... and morning... didn't really get to sleep until noon or so.”

I laughed. I couldn't help it. I mean, good for him! I knew he'd been going through a dry spell. “Who's the lucky one?” I asked.

“Well, you remember that lady from last night?” he asked. He was looking away, avoiding eye contact.

“What, the demon lady?” I shrugged and went to polishing the bar. Tim had never struck me as the one-night-stand type of guy, but I guess we all look for it where we can.

“Yeah. Her name's Lily.”