Chapter 42
“Tim, I can’t stand you going…Dr. Phil on me.” Tony replied.
Tony and Tim were sitting, eating, at one of the street cafes near NCIS. They had had no active cases this week. They were glad to get out of the office and away from all those cold case files.
Tim nodded. “Okay, then I’ll talk and you listen.”
Tony nodded and, with that, Tim began.
“Dad always put on…airs, with me and with everybody else. Everybody thought he made a lot of money. And he always acted like he did. He never made the money he thought he should.” Tim sighed. “But he moved us into a house he could barely afford, and to pay for it, he was gone all the time. So, Tony, I grew up with this…warped idea that money would solve all our problems. I thought, as a kid, if he just had a little more… Dad wouldn’t have to work all the time. He wouldn’t have to pretend to be something he wasn’t. He could be home and actually, be a dad.” Tim sighed again.
Tony nodded, but didn’t speak. It explained a lot. He had had no idea, until recently, that Tim’s childhood, his family, was anything but ideal.
“It never happened though.” Tim continued. “He was never able to gain a promotion. He wasn’t able to do anything but…pretend he was something he wasn’t.” Tim paused and took a sip of his soda. “I just grew up thinking, if we had more money, if only we had more money.“ He then looked at Tony. “Then I met you, someone who, seemed to be rich. You had all the money in the world, and you still weren’t happy. You still had problems.” Tim paused. “I’ve got admit, it threw me. I…I didn’t know what to think. I thought I had found THE solution…and that just wasn’t the case. Money was supposed to solve all our problems.”
“Money causes it’s very own problems.” Tony interjected.
“I see that, now…then.” Tim conceded, shaking his head. “I just…I saw the same type arrogance, you and my dad. I realize now, yours was confidence. His was fear. You’re good at your job. Dad was just afraid someone would find out his secret.” Tim paused, for just a moment, to look at the traffic passing by. “And there…” Tim sighed. “…this is going to sound so vain.”
“What is it, Tim?”
“I know...it…. I see how…people, women look at you.” Tim stated. “You get, ‘the cute one.’” Tim said with air quotes. “I get ’oh, it’s you.’”
Tony remembered the case Tim was referencing very well. He shook his head. “That girl was…crazy, stone-cold psycho. There are just some kinds of attention you…don’t want.”
Tim nodded. She had turned out to be just what Tony had said.
“You don’t have to…prove to people you’re…worthy of their time.” Tony said. “That there’s more to you than a…face. That somebody can…look like I do and still have a little substance. It…it causes a lot of people to underestimate me, Tim. And that…it works great with suspects.” Tony admitted. “Not so well with friends.”
Tim sighed. “What can I do to fix this?”
Tony shook his head. “Time…” He replied. “…it’s just gonna take time. You can’t equate human problems to a computer, Tim. You are NOT going to find that magical combination of key strokes that will solve this problem.”
Tim started to stand and nodded. He understood. He even felt a little better about the whole thing, just admitting it.
Tim reached into his pocket and produced his wallet. He threw enough money for the bill and a tip on the table. “I got this.”
Tony nodded looking at his watch. It was time that they got back.
TBC
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