Farewell, my Friend

I work at a super-de-duper small business. For the longest time, it was just me and my two bosses. They brought in another boss/partner. Then, they hired a photo editor who is super nice. It was getting more crowded and more fun to be in the office.

When one of the boss-men told me that there would be a new editor moving in, I was wary. This wasn't just any guy. He used to be that bosses' partner. After hearing stories involving adoration and genuflecting, I developed an image of him in my head that made him seem kind of like Steve McQueen of the editing world. Or maybe Ganesha. Or maybe an an eight-armed Bullit?...Whatever. Anyway, this larger-than-life guy entering my workspace was a daunting prospect. What if he was a total dick? Whåt if he made me look bad? And worst of all, what if he actually Worked All The Time? I was worrying myself sick.

When David got here, within the first thirty seconds of meeting him, my fears were assuaged. He was a nice, normal guy (only two arms, not eight). He stood around with his hands shoved in his Sean-John jeans pockets--except for a firm handshake here and there. He made inappropriate jokes. He gave my boss a hard time about smoking. And best of all, he immediately wanted to go to lunch.

Over the next few weeks, I discovered that David is really phenomenal. He sems to effortlesly walk the fine line between being a sensitive, caring guy, and a totally charming retard who isn't paying attention to what you're saying. It works for him. He is incredibly intelligent too, and has a penchant for understanding politics AND the reason that I like having my nails done.

We had some good times. We caught some flicks together, and got a pint of Guinness at a favorite bar. We treated each other to lunch. He got me a rockin' Christmas present (and I messed his up by making it while I was drunk). We complained, laughed, and indulged each other's tales of love and sadness. I had a really great time while he was here.

But you see, my darlings, David was always destined for other things. These other things involved him coming to LA, making me adore him, and then leaving to NYC to go back to school. What a jerk.

He's gone now. And the office is feeling REALLY empty. I sit here alone, wishing that we could have hung out more, or made just one more Office reference. Maybe gone back to my fav restaurant KoTo (Korean Tofu) to return that roll of Scotch tape they gave us so we could wrap Mark's Christmas present. I would really like to have one last ride in his rented Hyundai that consists of him making a mess with his egg-and-cheese croissant and me silently judging him.

The next time I'm in a store, I'll be waiting for his voice to break through the silence, louder than is necesary, repeating "Grae? Grae?" over and over until long after we've spotted each other and I'm laughing too hard to answer.

Have fun in NYC, you little presh. "Keep the windows up and your thoughts pure."

Big ups. g