Manhattan

“Oh, hey, Jackson! This a social call? I should let you know I could be leaving soon, though,” Bette answered Jackson over the speaker of the security system by the gate that opened to the path leading to the front door of a four-storey mansion where their duplex was located in. Bette’s and Tina’s duplex occupied the top two floors of the mansion; the first floor comprised a small lobby and a spacious 3 bedroom apartment being rented by Jacques, a tenor in the Metropolitan Opera, and the second floor was another three bedroom apartment that had long ago been purchased by Kara’s father from Luke Skinner’s family. Kara was living in the second floor apartment now while she worked in a Manhattan law firm. Bette and Tina had purchased the top two floors several years ago, and had remodeled them into a duplex, added a terrace, and rehabilitated the façade of the whole mansion.

“Yeah, I know. I dropped by for a quick word, if that’s alright? Before you go?” Jackson asked and waved at the camera.

He heard a gentle buzz and a click from behind the metal gate, which indicated the gate had been unlocked. Bette called out over the speaker, “Okay, the front door will be unlocked, and so will the elevator.”

Tina greeted him a few minutes later as she opened the door to their duplex, “hi, Jackson.” She chuckled when he stepped closer after some hesitation and then bent to give her a tentative peck on the cheek. Jackson seemed to have reverted to his usual formal demeanor over the last few weeks, and still hadn’t gotten used to the more casual and warm attitude Bette and Tina displayed while greeting people they’d considered friends.  

Mindful of his discomfort, Tina stepped back and to the side to give Jackson ample space to enter their home and step into the vestibule.

Bette was on the phone, exiting her office, heading towards them, as he walked in.

She pointed to the phone and mouthed, “Just wrapping this up. Be with you in a sec.”

He nodded and then turned to answer Tina after she’d asked whether he wanted a drink. “Oh, thanks, Tina. Please don’t bother. I wasn’t intending to stay. I just wanted a word with Bette before she left.”