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This story is from the memories and thoughts and words of both The Orphan and The Boot as they recall their meeting and initial courtship.
The story begins in the Lounge at Daniel’s Broiler in downtown Bellevue on the 21st floor of what was first named the Seafirst Building, in Bellevue Place across from Bellevue Square. The Lounge at Daniel’s Broiler, since 1989 the only really nice bar on the east side of Lake Washington, was and
continues to be very popular and includes an Oyster Bar and a Piano Bar.
The Oyster Bar is an extension of the long lounge bar. Its countertop faces a chef who cooks hors d‘oeuvres and appetizers and serves fresh oysters and other tidbits from the Bar Menu. The chef also waits on those people seated in that portion of the bar and becomes well known to the “regulars” who come to
the Oyster Bar to talk, meet friends, eat at the bar and drink.
The Piano Bar is a full-sized grand piano nearby with a heavy glass top and bar stools around it so people can eat and drink and listen and sing along with Wonderful Washburn the Piano Man, who plays everybody’s favorite songs and sounds like the original singers of those songs. Wonderful Washburn is very
warm and friendly and remembers everyone’s name, even if they have only visited once or many months earlier.
Both The Orphan and The Librarian knew and liked Wonderful Washburn.
The Little Orphan Granny loved to visit the Piano Bar at Daniel’s Broiler in downtown Bellevue, State of Taxes, to enjoy the piano playing of Wonderful Washburn and to cut up and be on-stage. The Orphan – with The Real Granville keeping score before too many Granny Manhattans were consumed – would often regale
young businesswomen with his antics – but always went home alone.
The visits to the Piano Bar were particularly important to The Orphan since yet another wife had reached the age of 39 several years earlier and had moved out of The Lair of The Orphan to seek a different life.
The Orphan had also retired from The Mighty Boeing and was again alone with only The Real Granville for company – except for short periods when some woman would follow The Orphan to his Lair. The Orphan always left The Piano Bar alone – but The Orphan was not always alone in his lair.
The Librarian loved to visit the Oyster Bar and to talk quietly with the many friends she had made there, including the chefs Dogfight Dave and Keen Kevin, and many other regulars who would greet each other and find companionship and conversation.
The visits to the Oyster Bar were particularly important to The Librarian since she lived alone most of the time after a divorce (her daughter now had a life of her own and was gone most of the time and was moving out to her own apartment) and sought out the liveliness and social life of Daniel’s, so she would
show up a couple of times a week to sit and talk with friends while she ate a light dinner or appetizers from the Bar Menu at the Oyster Bar and sipped merlot or champagne.
The Librarian also made a habit of always going home alone.
Sometime in mid to late 1998 when The Orphan was visiting The Piano Bar he noticed the neatly dressed, prim, bespectacled, voluptuous young woman with an erect carriage sitting at the Oyster Bar and quietly watching the crowd. She appeared to be aloof and probably out of The Orphan’s class – so The Orphan did not
dare to even make eye contact. The Orphan was reminded of Marian the Librarian from The Music Man and for a long time after thought of her as “The Librarian. ” This “no-eye-or-any-other-kind-of-contact” situation went on for at least a year.
During this same period, The Librarian would occasionally look up from the Oyster Bar to see a tall red-faced crew-cut white-haired man with big shoulders arrive in his Hard Rock Café jeans jacket with enormous grins and back-slapping and hugs and great fanfare, as he made his way to his favorite spot, the Piano
Bar. Sometimes he would sit at the far side of the Piano Bar and sometimes he would linger around Wonderful Washburn’s piano bench, always with an enormous grin and lots of loud talking and laughing.
At this time The Orphan did not know that The Librarian thought him to be an inane, silly and pretentious goofball who loved to be the center of attention -- and she sometimes said to herself when The Orphan made an entrance,
“…oh no, not that guy again…”
Much later, she told The Orphan that if anyone had asked her if she thought she would ever be involved with such a man, her reply would have been,
“…when pigs fly…”
Once, when The Librarian turned to look at The Orphan standing nearby, The Orphan -- who was most likely seriously altered by Granny Manhattans at the time and totally on his own without The Real Granville -- looked back at her, suddenly raised his eyebrows with a shocked look and grabbed his crotch.
The stunned Librarian quickly turned back toward the Oyster Bar and wondered if this rude gesture was aimed at her or if this man was just very strange, and decided not to pursue the situation further.
Sigh -- The Librarian was not the first person to see only The Orphan and not The Real Granville of the team of the two. (One reason for this is that The Obstreperous Orphan may have exiled The Reproachful Real Granville on purpose with Granny Manhattans and Martinis and other things whenever they were in
Daniel’s Broiler Piano Bar.)
So The Orphan continued to be on stage at the Piano Bar with many acquaintances and his friend, Wonderful Washburn the Piano Man. He would autograph Wonderful Washburn's CD because he was mentioned in the credits for "Walking in Memphis," lead the crowd in filling Washburn's tip bowl with wadded
twenty-dollar bills during the right moment in "Piano Man," and regale audiences with his wit and many skills including tying knots in cherry stems with his tongue.
The Librarian continued to spend mostly quiet conversational evenings while eating and drinking with her friends at the Oyster Bar.
Then the first real encounter between the two occurred.
On Tuesday, November 2, 1999, at around 9:00 pm, when The Orphan was at the Piano Bar with a former Mighty Boeing female friend, Sue, and a “Rolls-Royce” guy, The Orphan again noticed The Librarian at the Oyster Bar, remembered how attractive she was and risked a surreptitious look at her. The Librarian was
wearing a teal green sweater and scarf and –OH BOY – did The Librarian and that sweater make a TEAM!
Lo, The Librarian caught the eye of The Orphan and, giving eye contact another chance, ventured a soft smile – a smile which changed her whole demeanor.
The Orphan jumped off his bar stool, went to the Oyster Bar and told The Librarian that he would like to get to know her and would she join him at the Piano Bar. The Librarian demurred with,
“…I have just ordered my dinner and will stay here – but I will join you later…”
The Orphan was crushed and guessed that the smile must have been for someone else. The Real Granville said,
“…Orphan, see why you are an orphan. You sure ain’t any Casanova, are you? A classy woman like that will never mess with an orphan…”
However, after she finished her dinner The Librarian did indeed migrate to the Piano Bar to perch next to The Orphan. The Orphan introduced himself,
“…my name is Granny -- it’s a nickname for Granville…” and The Librarian said,
“…oh, like Granville Street in Vancouver…”
The Orphan told The Librarian that she was a smart girl. Then The Boot introduced herself,
“…my name is Mary Jane with two words -- never just Mary or Maryjane or just Jane -- always Mary Jane…”
The Orphan said,
“…it is nice to meet you Mary Jane…” while thinking that she might really be a librarian. (Actually, at one time she was a librarian – but she cured herself.)
The Orphan then told – as he was wont to do – as much of his life story as he could slur about – and even about some of The Adventures of The Little Orphan Granny and The Awesome AquaJet Shower.
This narrative story will be interspersed with excerpts from The Boot’s Dairy of her picture of the events at those times. (The Real Granville is The Orphan’s dairy -- Heh! Heh! Heh!)
Tuesday, Nov 2: After work Jack and Trevor and I had a drink at Serafina to celebrate my starting permanently at the foundation. Afterward went to Daniel’s. David at the Oyster Bar was a pill and gave poor service so I moved to the Piano Bar after dinner and talked with rogue
Granny (Granville) first time. Wanted to talk again – I suggested next Tuesday.
The Orphan ended the tęte-ŕ-tęte with a request to see more of each other – thinking seriously of breaking his habit of going home alone. The Librarian said,
“…Well I’m often here on Tuesdays – why not meet here next Tuesday and we can talk some more…”
To the snickers of The Real Granville, The Orphan suspected that The Librarian was not interested and decided to cut his losses. The Orphan did not go to Daniel’s the next Tuesday.
The Librarian went to Daniel’s the next Tuesday and stayed most of the evening but saw no Granny.
Tuesday, Nov 9: Went to Daniel’s – talked with people at the Oyster Bar and had a full steak dinner – unusual for me. No Granny.
So The Librarian went to Daniel’s on the second Tuesday as well and saw no Granny then either.
But the very next night, Wednesday, November 17, 1999, The Orphan took Resourceful Robin, the wife of The Thug (so named because he had no neck and had to wear his ties around his shoulders), who was decorating his Lair, to Daniel’s. He bought her a lobster dinner while sitting at his favorite spot at the Piano
Bar.
The Librarian was at the Oyster Bar and, gathering his courage one more time, The Orphan invited her to join them at the Piano Bar.
Lo, she accepted and sat between Resourceful Robin and The Orphan. (The Librarian was initially confused, not having met Resourceful Robin before, because she thought a guy who was hitting on Resourceful Robin was The Thug – but, as often happens with a gorgeous woman like Resourceful Robin, it was just a guy
hitting on her. If The Thug had been there he would have been hitting on the hitter.)
The Librarian archly said she had been in Daniel’s on the appointed Tuesday, November 9, as well as the next one and – no Granny either time. The Orphan explained that he hadn’t come in the week earlier because he was in Waco, Texas. Something about a shower …
Resourceful Robin told The Librarian about The Orphan’s mother living with him and about The Orphan adopting the son of one of his ex-wives and how wonderful The Orphan was.
The Orphan talked in a Granny Manhattan style called “…woggle-woggle…” and told of his precious two-year-old granddaughter who slept on his
lap while holding his finger tightly. He hooked his index finger in the corner of his mouth and imitated a two-year-old and said many silly things while trying to explain that he really enjoyed a family life.
The Librarian thought that The Orphan had many defenses and mannerisms and personas to protect himself, but she also understood much of what he was trying to say.
All three decided it was time to leave so they walked out together but when the three got out of the first elevator to transfer to the garage elevator and The Orphan was going to suggest a nightcap at his Lair, The Librarian escaped by fleeing back up to Daniel’s to get the remains of a forgotten bottle of wine
she had left with Keen Kevin from her dinner at the Oyster Bar. The Orphan went home alone.
Wednesday, Nov 17: To Daniel’s and talked with Granny who is so silly because he seems afraid to be real around me. Gave him my card but I doubt he can deal with me one-on-one.
The Orphan kept the card but did not call.
The third encounter ten days later was the charm.
The Orphan liked to dance and party. Delightful Dina had been The Orphan’s “…secretary…” (read “…ran his whole work life totally…”) at The Mighty Boeing and later, after The Orphan retired, was a student of The Orphan while he was a Professor at The University of Washington.
Delightful Dina was an excellent dancer and would go with The Orphan to formal dances given by the Town and Gown, a long-standing dinner-dance club formed one hundred years ago and seemingly still with many of its original members.
After the one of the dances – this time on Saturday, November 27, 1999, just after Thanksgiving -- The Orphan and Delightful Dina went to the Piano Bar to show off and to have a nightcap – and, of course, were still in their finery. The Orphan was in a custom-made tux with gold and diamond studs and cufflinks
and Delightful Dina in a “naked-girl-with-a-dress-on” dress.
When they arrived, The Librarian was seated at the Piano Bar. The Librarian caught his eye and smiled.
The Orphan immediately grinned his enormous grin and went over and asked if she was alone. She countered with,
“…Yes, are you…?”
The Orphan explained that Delightful Dina was his former secretary and was getting married soon and they had just been dancing. He then introduced Delightful Dina to The Librarian.
So The Orphan sat down on a bar stool at the Piano Bar next to the Librarian with Delightful Dina sat on his other side.
Once, when the right leg of The Orphan and the left leg of The Librarian were close together and touched, The Librarian started to move her leg and The Orphan blurted,
“…put it back…”
The Librarian smiled and put it back.
Delightful Dina, who probably knew both The Orphan and The Real Granville better than anyone else in the world, shrewdly eyed The Librarian with her big half-Iraqi Arab and half-Danish brown eyes and said the immortal words,
“…You are what Granny needs. You two should get together…Granny, I would let you bring her to my wedding…”
The Librarian replied that she had been trying (news to The Orphan) but The Orphan never made a move.
Delightful Dina expostulated,
“…Granny will never make a move or ask you out – he doesn’t know how. It is closing time here and we have to go to Granny’s house now so I can change clothes and get home. You follow us to Granny’s house and I will chaperone you to see that you are comfortable. Come on now and follow us…”
So The Orphan wrote down his address and drew a little map on his Daniel’s Broiler napkin.
Wonderful Washburn the Piano Player overheard and said to The Librarian,
“…I know you’re wary of men, but he’s OK…”
So The Boot drove her own car and arrived with The Orphan and Delightful Dina at The Lair of The Orphan. The three of them went upstairs to the bar of the Orphan and talked for a while. Delightful Dina changed out of her dress, which the Librarian thought was a beautiful mermaid dress with blue and aqua and
lavender sequins. After assuring herself that all was OK, at about 2:30 a.m. Delightful Dina left the two alone.
The Orphan and The Librarian sat across the Orphan’s bar from each other and talked of many things.
After a while, The Librarian said,
“…I like you…”
And The Orphan replied,
“…I like you too…”
The Orphan told of his marriages and his children and grandchildren, and his many years at Boeing and his recent title transfer of his last wife to his friend the Giant, at which p0int the Librarian asked,
“…and how did you handle that…?”
And The Orphan replied,
“…I have to think about how to answer that question…”
The Orphan had removed his tuxedo and dress shirt with the diamond studs some time earlier and was wearing no shirt. The Librarian was wearing an ivory wool sweater and slacks (again a GREAT team).
The Orphan and The Librarian eventually decided to sit on the couch very near each other. The Orphan then asked permission to undo her bra and fondle her breasts. The Librarian demurred with an “…I don’t think so…” The Orphan replied that he needed to feel skin. So The Orphan pulled up the sweater a little
bit and pressed against her. The Librarian didn’t flinch – so the two cuddled and talked ‘till 5:00 am.
The Librarian wondered,
“…who is this man and what is he looking for…” although it was already clear what was on his mind in the short term.
Saturday, Nov 27: Watched football half-heartedly then went to Daniel’s about 8:30. Granville came in about 10:30 in his tux from dancing with Dina so I met her and we three talked till closing, then went to his house where I stayed talking and snuggling with Granny till 5:00.
The Orphan liked The Librarian and called her the next day to invite her to join him that afternoon at Daniel’s with The Giant of Industry and The Mysterious Eastern Woman. She accepted and met them there, where the four had appetizers and wine.
After about an hour, The Giant and TMEW left and The Orphan and The Librarian moved to a little table next to the piano. The Piano Bar was covered and had no stools, even though Wonderful Washburn was playing the piano. Instead of playing alone on Sunday nights, Wonderful Washburn was part of a jazz trio
including Gentleman Jack the Drummer.
The Orphan was so happy that at one point, he grinned an enormous grin, jumped up and down and turned in a circle. The Librarian later said she thought it was charming for a man to show his emotions like that.
Afterward the two went to The Lair of The Orphan and hugged and talked ‘till 1:00 am.
Sunday, Nov 28: Relaxed a while and got some things done. Granny called and wanted to get together with Phil Condit (CEO of Boeing) and Geda (Granny’s ex-wife and current wife of Phil Condit). Met at Daniel’s and had hors d’oeuvres and wine. Condits left and we stayed later, then
went over to Granny’s till about 1:00.
On Monday, November 29, 1999, it was “Gramma’s” (the name of the Mother of The Orphan after she became a grandmother) 89th birthday. The Orphan does not celebrate occasions -- even birthdays -- so Gramma stayed home with her visiting sister Earlene. The Librarian and The Orphan went alone to a dinner
at Teo’s Mia Roma in Kenmore, State of Taxes. Gramma appeared amused but Aunt Earlene was highly critical.
Then The Orphan went with The Librarian to her house for the first time and spent the night.
The Orphan had the best religious experience of his life and is still trying to get The Librarian to tell him which specific pair of her black lace panties it was that she doffed, so he could frame them and hang the framed panties in The Orphan’s bar. He claimed that the panties were made of a material so strong
it could be used somehow in airplane construction.
The next morning The Orphan’s cell phone rang. It was his 89-year-old mother, wondering where her son was and if he was all right. Being gone all night caused Gramma to regress and wait up
for The Orphan and got him another ass chewing by Aunt Earlene.
The Orphan was 65 at the time and made it clear to Gramma that it was OK for him to stay out all night.
When The Orphan and The Librarian were showering and The Orphan saw all of this gorgeous woman, her permanent name became “The Boot” – partly for the same reason that Jazmine Lee Edwards, The Orphan’s youngest granddaughter, was nicknamed “The Bootie” when The Orphan was changing
her diaper – only The Boot was full scale.
Monday, Nov 29: Had only 5 hours sleep last night. Hectic as always at work. They canceled work for tomorrow due to WTO so went out with Granny to an Italian place in Kenmore – good food but it was empty. Came back to my house and stayed and listened to Marlene Dietrich then he
stayed and was just going to hold me but it felt right so he stayed. I do not understand why I am so attracted to him.
The Orphan and The Boot were always together from that time on.
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