Monday, January 3, 2022 - TriBeCa, New York City, United States

Charlie’s place in TriBeCa was just across from the Roxy Hotel. Ella and Jade made quick time from the Chinatown subway stop and to an unassuming door. Charlie buzzed them in and they walked through the narrow entry and hallway, past the stairwell to the elevator and hit the up button.

The decor was plain and nice but typical converted building with a row of steel mailboxes on one side the walls and railing festooned with old decorative touches that had been painted over in white or black.

In all it was a typical New York developer converted building.

The elevator came and they pulled aside the old elevator cage door to cram themselves in.

“1… 2…. 3… ah here we go, up to 4, second from the top.” Ella said brightly. Jade had been quiet all day and Ella had responded by maintaining a relentlessly optimistic vibe.

The elevator started a slow ascent up and they were treated to a succession of short stubby hallways leading to various doors for apartments.

Until they got to Charlie’s floor. A single door faced them right outside the cage. They pulled open the door and Charlie swung open the door.

“Guys. Ummm… come on in. And, umm, don’t judge or anything.” Charlie seemed nervous. Which was entirely out of character for her.

Jade, as out of it as she was, even picked up on it and hurried to reassure Charlie, “don’t worry. You’ve seen our place, right? It is like one room we hung curtains around for privacy.”

If anything that made Charlie look worse. She moved out of the way and they saw inside.

A huge two story, marble lined foyer greeted them. With elegant wrought iron stairs leading to a balcony where double doors stood.

“Holy shit Charlie! What the hell os this place?” Ella stood frozen.

“Umm. I don’t think I hid my dad was rich. But maybe I played it down a bit.”

“Yeah.” Ella said weakly.

They both stood right at the entry and stared around. It was glitzy. It was expensive. It was a bit tacky.

“Ok. Come on in. Confession time.”

Charlie pulled out some gin, vodka, and another bottle of something and poured them into a shaker with ice and started vigorously shaking them. She poured the drink out into three martini glasses and handed a glass to each of to them.1

“Take a drink and let me talk.”

Each took a careful sip, and it was good but all alcohol so they were worried.

“No,” Charlie said, her voice having gained back some of her normal intonation, “take a real drink of this. Oh… and by the way Ella… next time you reveal earth shattering secrets, I expect a drink or drugs or something.”

They both took a swift gulp.

“So… my dad is the one of the most successful commodities traders in the country. And my mom comes from an old rich family in Boston. Like descended from John Adams old.”

Charlie paused. “And my dad, like, bought this place when I said I was going to school here.”

Charlotte’s accent was thick now, Ella noted.

“So back at Yale… why were you living in the dorms?”

“Because I didn’t want to be different!” Charlie exclaimed. “Some of the rich kids there I knew from before but I just wanted to have a normal college experience. No fucking summers in Nantucket or skiing in damn Gstaad. I had enough of that shit when I was young.”

“Plus my mom is all old school marry some inbred dumbfuck.” She paused and shuddered. “Nope. I want to be my fabulous self.”

“So… your dad just bought this place?” Jade was looking around a bit wide-eyed.

“Ummm… okay. He actually bought the building…. and the one next to it.”

Charlie reached out and grabbed both their hands and dragged them along for a quick tour.

“Powder room is there. But no powder, you know? I stay away from the hard stuff. The living room is here. We can watch some movies later. Kitchen over there. Never go in there. Ever.” Charlie’s shift in tone was so severe that both girls felt goosebumps.

“Why not?” Whispered Jade.

“I left some Congee Village in there. Like a year ago. It is probably alive.”

They laughed and she continued the tour.

She had five bedrooms. Each was palatial. One she had converted into a home gym with an exercise bike, a multi station weight machine, and some yoga mats.

“Is this why I have never seen you workout?” Ella asked.

“Nah. I just am not into being cut like you. Wait. Now I think I am. But I just counted calories and a lot of them were liquid on the weekend. No drinking during the week though.”

“How did I never know any of this about you? We’ve known each other for like five years now.”

“Oh no. Miss fancy pants physicist doesn’t know everything!”

“Hey. You are like a financial wizard aren’t you? I remember that asshole Professor Dalton trying to get you to switch to math. ‘You’ll win a Fields Medal. Why waste your life on Wall Street doing coke and meaningless, empty sex.” Jade reminisced, mimicking the pompous tones of their undergrad differential equations professor.

Charlie took a stance with her head tilted up and reached up to something ephemeral, “And that is when I truly knew my future. My destiny. To snort coke off of good-looking jock investment bankers bodies, to have empty and meaningless with anything with a tight body… and to look hot doing it.” She stuck out her chest and then licked her lips lasciviously at Ella.

“Hey. Cut that out…” said Jade crossly.

“Oh… Jadey, I didn’t meant to leave you out. You are fine. But it isn’t fun to tease you since, you know, you swing that way anyway.”

“More like both ways,” put in Ella.

“Well better than the revolving door that is your bedroom Charlie!” Jade threw out.

“Shit girl. That is a great idea. I’ll tell Daddy to get one put in.”

And maybe that bit of banter loosened them up enough to relax. And maybe it was enough for them to forget for a moment Ella’s revelations and the events of the past day.

a Vesper

3 oz Broker’s or Ford’s London Dry Gin 1 oz Vodka 1/2 oz Cocchi Americano Blanco Aperitivo Fresh lemon peel

Toss the liquids in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake. Pour out, twist the lemon peel a bit to express the oil and garnish Drink