Bette heard laughter spilling out of the second floor corner room that they normally used as a studio/guest room as she crossed the vestibule of their duplex.

She smiled as she looked up in the direction of the room that was fast-becoming a family favorite as the weather had warmed up over the past couple of weeks.

Soon, she heard a new song blare out from the room while she ascended the staircase to reach the second floor of the duplex. Tina had recently installed a new sound system in the room through which they could add wireless speakers to corners surrounding the rooftop terrace of the duplex, which was accessible through the room’s sliding glass doors that framed one of its walls. The blonde had figured the speakers would come in handy for parties the couple anticipated having throughout the summer. Indeed, Alice had called already to ask if she could throw one such party for her New York-based social media contacts when she and Shane were planning to visit in a couple of weeks.

“If you love somebody better tell them while they’re here … take it in but don’t look down. I’m on top of the world, eh!… I’m on top of the world… Waiting on this for a while now…I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a child … Get up now! Get up!”

Angelica loved that song, she thought, humming along to the happy tune as she climbed the stairs.

“Hi, baby! I thought you were in a meeting?,” she asked as she pulled the door, already ajar, wider.

She saw Tina and Angelica sitting in the middle of Tina’s pilates-cum-exercise mat as she stepped into the room with a wide smile. She was surprised to see Tina in a running outfit, although she saw the blonde had stripped down to a sports bra and spandex capris. Tina’s sports sunglasses and iPod were lying on the floor at the other end of the exercise mat. Angelica was leaning slightly against blonde, blowing on Tina’s fingers. The toddler’s cheeks were puffed out as she drew a breath in before blowing air out.

The couple’s manicure set was lying next to Tina, and from the faint smell that hung in the air, Bette figured out they’d just finished applying a fresh coat of nail polish on Tina’s toes and fingers. Bette chuckled at the cerulean blue shade, undoubtedly selected by Angelica, for the obviously impromptu manicure-pedicure session of mother and daughter.