King County Courthouse is located between 3rd and 4th streets in Downtown Seattle. The two streets run tangent to the steep slope that separates them–consequently the courthouse entrance on 3rd street is a full floor below its exit on 4th. If you’ve been to the downtown branch of Seattle public library, you should know what I mean.
This afternoon I attended a hearing at the courthouse. Short and ending in my favor, my lawyers and I exited the hearing in good spirits. We took the elevator to the familiar STAR-1 floor with intent to exit the building. When the elevator door opened an attractive woman walked past in the direction opposite of our usual exit. I remembered this lady from my previous court session months ago; she was an attorney for another case. Captivated, I decided to follow her through the building to the 4th street exit–it was in the direction of my parked car after all. I rationalized that cutting though the building’s interior should save me the effort of walking around its exterior.
Trying not to be obvious (or too creepy), I followed at some distance hoping to be inconspicuous. I studied her curves as she swaggered down the doorless, fluorescently-lit corridor in front of me. Elevators and a security station awaited us at the end. I nodded to the guard as I cued an elevator to take us to ground level.
In the elevator, on reaching STAR-1, she turned toward me and spoke: “Ugh. It’s been a long day… Are you familiar with this building at all?”
Smiling, I replied: “No, not really.”
“There is supposed to be a Department of Licensing on one of the floors above.”
“Um, I know there is a DMV in the building across the street.”
She smiled back at me, seemingly amused, and warmly told me to have a nice day.
When I finally made it outside, I found myself on the other side of 4th street–I had exited from the very building to which I had directed her. The long corridor through which I followed must have been a tunnel underneath 4th street. Nothing like revealing both my California nativity and complete disorientation in one brief statement. In hindsight, I am grateful that she didn’t laugh (at me) out loud.