When you are in the book business you meet a lot of writers and a few celebrities.  Some signings I have fond memories of, others I would rather forget.  One signing I really enjoyed was with Lauren Bacall.  She arrived with a pretty small entourage for someone so famous.  Well, not really an entourage – just the publicist.  Sans the “Demand List”, too.

During the signing I asked her if she would like anything to drink.  Her gravelly voice cheerful requested a cappuccino.   I ran downstairs to the cafe to ask Blair, the cafe manager, if he could make one for her.  He was beside himself with excitement and wanted to deliver the drink himself, which he did.

Blair made a great cappuccino.  Pretty much anything Blair did was great.   A small built man with a powerful creative presence. 

Lauren LOVED her drink – best she ever had, she told me.  After the signing I took her downstairs to say goodbye to Blair.  We stood at the counter, I called his name and he emerged from the backroom wiping his hands on a towel. 

“Blair!” Lauren exclaimed “That was the best cappuccino I ever had!”

With the publicist off looking at books, I left these two extraordinary people leaning towards each other over a cafe counter talking as if they had known each other forever.   Since then, I’ve always thought of Lauren Bacall as a very classy lady.