Some nights are routine.
Not this one.
Saturday, June 29th was...
Eventful.
I guessed it would be odd. But never guessed HOW odd.
I had the following plans for the night: JoAnn Roberts Memorial Celebration (dress code; "tasteful") at 8PM, then go to the closing of Blue Pacific.
By closing I mean CLOSED. For good. Bye bye. Fat Lady sang.
It was a rough week. Work was busy. Other real life stuff kept getting in the way of telling Wife about transition. Mostly her mom (MIL).
Saturday was a blessing. I left work early to go to Amanda Richards for makeup. I wanted to look my best for the Memorial. I was her only client of the day, as she was also attending the event, and needed to get herself ready.
We chatted as always and listened to a live Bruce Springsteen CD I brought for her. Eventually, I was ready for the night! I wore an LBD and pumps with no corset or padding of any kind. Not even breast forms. All just Sophie. It was 95 degrees out so I was glad of that!
The drive back into the area was uneventful, but I was way early for the Memorial. I called Lorraine of Occasional Woman and asked if she wanted to join me for dinner at ShangriLa, and she agreed to meet me at 6 PM. But it was 5 PM at that time. What to do?
I know! Push back my boundaries!
I pulled into the parking lot of Morton's Steak House, and went into the bar area. The valet and hostess both said "Good evening Miss!" Yay!
I say at the bar and ordered a Pinot Grigio. Eventually, I was included in the conversation with the older couple at the bar. When I arrived, the guy was bragging about his Ferrari COLLECTION! As a group we all talked baseball and travelling to the UK.
I still have no idea how one led to the other.
In any case, I had a wonderful time there, doing something I have always wanted to do (go into a VERY fancy restaurant as a woman), and no one cared who I was. Very empowering!
I arrived at ShangriLa on time, and waited at the bar. Lorraine joined me and we had a wonderful time there as well.
At 7:45, we went to the Memorial.
It was wonderful, and out of respect for the family, I will not detail it here.
At 10 PM I drove over to Blue Pacific, parked and walked in. Once again, I was the only transperson in the room, but that was fine. Most of the booze was gone as was most of the beer. And there was a birthday party in full swing in the bar- maybe sixty people were there and most were at least tipsy.
I asked for a beer and was told there wasn't much left. I said 'whatever you have" and received a Belgian beer. Quite a good one too!
At that time, Andrew (the owner) came into the bar carrying a large cake. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to a pretty woman who was blushing like crazy. I sang along. After she blew out the candles, a blond woman approached me. She was drunk.
"Oh my God- you are SO beautiful! So wonderful!"
"Thank you! You're beautiful as well!" I said.
"Is it true?"
"Yes, you are very beautiful!" (And she was.)
"No I mean about you being, you know."
I looked at her quizzically.
"You know, you were born a guy?" she said.
I laughed. "Yes, but now I'm a woman.'
"You are sooooo brave! You are so wonderful!"
And with that she introduced me to her sister: the birthday girl, her Mother (who was at that moment behind the bar) and her father, who looked very uncomfortable, especially as more transwomen were now entering the bar from the Memorial. The Blonde (henceforth designated by the random letter K) said he's very open minded.
She asked the usual questions. I doubt she remembers any of the discussion though. I bought another beer. The LAST beer. From K's mom. Then it got weird. That's when people started dancing on the bar.
And so did I. Why not? I'd never done it before. I kicked off my heels, handed my camera to Victoria, and hopped up. Started dancing and promptly bashed my head against the ceiling. The girls on the bar seemed happy I joined them. Other people started sticking dollar bills in my shaper.
We all danced until the end of the song. Then I hopped down and back into my heels... just in time for the Bar soda gun fight. Andrew and the other bartender were spraying each other and everyone within range with the bar guns. I managed to escape, but Kristyn took a full shot in the face. Bye bye makeup!
Then Andrew and the other bartended stripped off their soaked shirts. And they are both CUT! Very muscular. The GGs went wild cheering, as did many of the TGs. They then lined up all remaining bottles on the bar, and I went behind the bar to pour myself a soda. (I used to bartend in my day.)
Andrew said take whatever I wanted, so I took the last bottle behind the bar: Macallan 18yr old Scotch. And yes, I shared. Then people started taking more pics. A Latino guy came behind me and tried to feel me up. I peeled off his fingers, inflicting more pain than needed, but, Cest la Vie.
That's when I noticed K and Victoria removing the fish from the other wall, behind the sushi bar.
So I went over to help, and was given a Blue Fish. One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, Blue Fish.
More spraying. More Bar Dancing. But I stayed in the restaurant area hanging out with new friends and old.
Eventually, the time came for me to leave. I went over to a thoroughly drunk Andrew to thank him and say good night. He hugged me tightly.
"Thank you for all of your support, Sophie. Seriously thank you." And we hugged for maybe thirty seconds. My dress became soaked with whatever liquid he was coated by... and I didn't care.
Andrew's wife was taking pictures. She wanted one of the two of us. I asked permission to kiss his cheek and she smiled. So she has a picture of Me kissing his cheek.
As I left, I encountered K outside and said goodbye. I gave her one of my business cards, but I doubt she'll contact me. that's fine. As long as she fondly remembers the night she spent with a bunch of friendly TG women, and smiles.
I'll miss Blue Pacific. There will always be Hellos, goodbyes, and fare thee wells. But Life is what happens between them. And during my times at Blue Pacific I made many friends and grew a lot as a person and a Woman.
Times that were:
Peaceful
Now our paths diverge.
Fare thee well, Andrew. I hope we meet again.
Not this one.
Saturday, June 29th was...
Eventful.
Momentous.
Surreal.
I guessed it would be odd. But never guessed HOW odd.
I had the following plans for the night: JoAnn Roberts Memorial Celebration (dress code; "tasteful") at 8PM, then go to the closing of Blue Pacific.
By closing I mean CLOSED. For good. Bye bye. Fat Lady sang.
It was a rough week. Work was busy. Other real life stuff kept getting in the way of telling Wife about transition. Mostly her mom (MIL).
Saturday was a blessing. I left work early to go to Amanda Richards for makeup. I wanted to look my best for the Memorial. I was her only client of the day, as she was also attending the event, and needed to get herself ready.
We chatted as always and listened to a live Bruce Springsteen CD I brought for her. Eventually, I was ready for the night! I wore an LBD and pumps with no corset or padding of any kind. Not even breast forms. All just Sophie. It was 95 degrees out so I was glad of that!
Tasteful Enough?
The drive back into the area was uneventful, but I was way early for the Memorial. I called Lorraine of Occasional Woman and asked if she wanted to join me for dinner at ShangriLa, and she agreed to meet me at 6 PM. But it was 5 PM at that time. What to do?
I know! Push back my boundaries!
I pulled into the parking lot of Morton's Steak House, and went into the bar area. The valet and hostess both said "Good evening Miss!" Yay!
I say at the bar and ordered a Pinot Grigio. Eventually, I was included in the conversation with the older couple at the bar. When I arrived, the guy was bragging about his Ferrari COLLECTION! As a group we all talked baseball and travelling to the UK.
I still have no idea how one led to the other.
Bartender was kind enough to take this for me
In any case, I had a wonderful time there, doing something I have always wanted to do (go into a VERY fancy restaurant as a woman), and no one cared who I was. Very empowering!
I arrived at ShangriLa on time, and waited at the bar. Lorraine joined me and we had a wonderful time there as well.
At 7:45, we went to the Memorial.
It was wonderful, and out of respect for the family, I will not detail it here.
At 10 PM I drove over to Blue Pacific, parked and walked in. Once again, I was the only transperson in the room, but that was fine. Most of the booze was gone as was most of the beer. And there was a birthday party in full swing in the bar- maybe sixty people were there and most were at least tipsy.
The Liquor selection when I arrived
I asked for a beer and was told there wasn't much left. I said 'whatever you have" and received a Belgian beer. Quite a good one too!
At that time, Andrew (the owner) came into the bar carrying a large cake. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to a pretty woman who was blushing like crazy. I sang along. After she blew out the candles, a blond woman approached me. She was drunk.
"Oh my God- you are SO beautiful! So wonderful!"
"Thank you! You're beautiful as well!" I said.
"Is it true?"
"Yes, you are very beautiful!" (And she was.)
"No I mean about you being, you know."
I looked at her quizzically.
"You know, you were born a guy?" she said.
I laughed. "Yes, but now I'm a woman.'
"You are sooooo brave! You are so wonderful!"
And with that she introduced me to her sister: the birthday girl, her Mother (who was at that moment behind the bar) and her father, who looked very uncomfortable, especially as more transwomen were now entering the bar from the Memorial. The Blonde (henceforth designated by the random letter K) said he's very open minded.
LtoR: K, her mom, Angela, Me, Victoria, Kristyn
She asked the usual questions. I doubt she remembers any of the discussion though. I bought another beer. The LAST beer. From K's mom. Then it got weird. That's when people started dancing on the bar.
And so did I. Why not? I'd never done it before. I kicked off my heels, handed my camera to Victoria, and hopped up. Started dancing and promptly bashed my head against the ceiling. The girls on the bar seemed happy I joined them. Other people started sticking dollar bills in my shaper.
That's "Exotic Dancer" to you
We all danced until the end of the song. Then I hopped down and back into my heels... just in time for the Bar soda gun fight. Andrew and the other bartender were spraying each other and everyone within range with the bar guns. I managed to escape, but Kristyn took a full shot in the face. Bye bye makeup!
Then Andrew and the other bartended stripped off their soaked shirts. And they are both CUT! Very muscular. The GGs went wild cheering, as did many of the TGs. They then lined up all remaining bottles on the bar, and I went behind the bar to pour myself a soda. (I used to bartend in my day.)
Andrew said take whatever I wanted, so I took the last bottle behind the bar: Macallan 18yr old Scotch. And yes, I shared. Then people started taking more pics. A Latino guy came behind me and tried to feel me up. I peeled off his fingers, inflicting more pain than needed, but, Cest la Vie.
That's when I noticed K and Victoria removing the fish from the other wall, behind the sushi bar.
Grand Theft Fish
So I went over to help, and was given a Blue Fish. One Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish, Blue Fish.
More spraying. More Bar Dancing. But I stayed in the restaurant area hanging out with new friends and old.
Eventually, the time came for me to leave. I went over to a thoroughly drunk Andrew to thank him and say good night. He hugged me tightly.
"Thank you for all of your support, Sophie. Seriously thank you." And we hugged for maybe thirty seconds. My dress became soaked with whatever liquid he was coated by... and I didn't care.
Andrew's wife was taking pictures. She wanted one of the two of us. I asked permission to kiss his cheek and she smiled. So she has a picture of Me kissing his cheek.
As I left, I encountered K outside and said goodbye. I gave her one of my business cards, but I doubt she'll contact me. that's fine. As long as she fondly remembers the night she spent with a bunch of friendly TG women, and smiles.
Captain, this lifeboat is a bit small...
I'll miss Blue Pacific. There will always be Hellos, goodbyes, and fare thee wells. But Life is what happens between them. And during my times at Blue Pacific I made many friends and grew a lot as a person and a Woman.
Times that were:
Real
Subtle
Peaceful
Now our paths diverge.
Fare thee well, Andrew. I hope we meet again.
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