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Irene and I met for the
first time on October 31, 2003.
While on our rounds that Halloween night, Greg Moore, dressed as a
dread pirate and I, Maximus the gladiator, decided to stop in at one
of our favorite local taverns – the R Bar, a San Francisco landmark
for over three years.
There we ran into Michael, Greg’s brother, and his roommate, Irene.
Michael was dressed as some sort of rhinestone space cowboy. It was
as if Glenn Campbell and Liberace had morphed into one. Seriously!
 Irene wore a sexy pink and black (I think) dress, a tiara,
long gloves, boots and a
sash emblazoned with the words, "Drama Queen." It was obvious that
Irene was having a very good time in this costume.
I was having a very good time in my costume as well. How could you
not when everyone chants, "Maximus! Maximus!" when you walk into a
room? Sweet costumed affirmation. I had the guns and the Mo haircut
going. Nobody wanted to face me in the Coliseum that night, at least
not in my mind.
Now, I happen to think that your Halloween costume says something
about you. You know, you dress as a firefighter because that's what
you wanted to be as a kid. Same thing goes for a cowboy or a playboy
bunny, but a "Drama Queen?!"
Now I'm not saying that I
wanted to be a gladiator as a child, far from it. I wanted to be
Evel Knievel, but a gladiator seemed like a reasonable substitute.
Think about it, performing in a big stadium before thousands of
people, all of whom showed up to see you meet your maker… but I
digress, a Drama Queen?!
If you’re not familiar with it, Fernet-Branca is a liqueur, and an
especially diabolical one at that. Greg and I had had plenty before
Irene and Michael showed up. My inner voice said, "Careful, Tim.
Caaaaaareful."
The first thing that struck me was Irene’s smile. It was sweet and
mischievous all at once, and accompanied by a noticeable twinkle in
her eye. Just seeing it warmed my heart and made me want to smile.
The second thing that struck me was… well, let’s just say that the
entire Victoria’s Secret catalog came to mind. C’mon. I had to read
the sash, didn’t I?
Little voice, "Careful, Tim. Caaaaaaareful!"
But aside from the smile, aside from the (ahem), what really struck
me was her "what you see is what you get" attitude. As a confirmed
bachelor, at times, you're confronted with this attitude and you
immediately turn and run for the hills - I've got plenty of
splinters to prove it - but this time something was different. I
couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but this time I wasn’t running.
I was hooked. As Kevin Costner said in the movie Tin Cup,
"There’s something about that chick."
We celebrated Halloween together at the R Bar for a while longer,
partying, people-watching and making general costumed fools of
ourselves. We snapped a few photos, then Greg and I were on our way
… I wouldn’t see Irene again for nearly four months.
The next time we met was
at a Daytona 500 "Redneck Barbeque" at Greg's house in San Rafael.
Irene was in full flirt mode. Noticing this, Greg asked me
afterward, "So, what do you think about Irene?" I told him I didn't
know why, but I was pretty sure I'd end up marrying her someday.
We wouldn't go on our
first date until a year later. Three years later we're getting
married.
I love being right.
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