5 Flights Up Page #6

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Daddy was in the hospital.

Well, because she likes the

dog more than she likes me.

Some days that's for sure.

Here we go.

Table's ready. Come, come.

You should leave something.

I forgot to tell you!

I'll take care of it.

It's on the bill.

We had the open

house this morning.

People came?

They came.

They came in droves.

Small droves.

Okay. Small droves.

- Okay. I'm sorry.

- Should we tell them now?

- Sure. Why not?

- Yeah. Might as well.

Tell us what?

I'm making Jackson my new

partner in the gallery.

Really?

Yes.

Fishman and Son.

Partners.

50-50.

That's terrific.

Thank you.

- Isn't that wonderful?

- Yeah, it is. Yes.

Jackson will bring a more

youthful take on things.

Anyway, we were talking today

about your show.

Well... You tell him.

We love your stuff, Alex.

Everyone does. I mean...

You've been successful now, what?

Thirty, 35 years?

But?

But right now your

work is a hard sell.

I mean, the market

is skewing younger these days.

Portraits are not high

on people's shopping lists.

They'll come back. Sure.

But right now they are not

moving like they used to.

And the bottom line is,

you wanna sell your stuff. Don't you?

I'm sorry, Jackson.

I don't know.

Are we talking about selling

art or selling stuff?

Don't shoot the messenger.

No, because artists really don't

paint to satisfy "the market."

You see what I mean? Artists actually

paint to satisfy themselves.

And if you're

going to run a gallery,

you know, it's something

you need to know.

Relax, Ruth.

Yeah, I will.

Jackson is running a business.

Don't worry.

Exactly. Exactly.

See, a gallery is a business.

I get what you're saying.

You're saying that Alex should paint

what people want him to paint.

That's right.

That's right.

And then maybe when you have

a prospective client lined up,

you and Alex can go and you can

visit the client's apartment.

And you can see the room where

they want to hang the painting.

And you can get some color

samples of the wall paint.

Fun.

No, that's not what I meant.

Jackson? Jackson?

Ruth is pulling your leg.

No, she's not.

No. I'm not.

I'm not.

You were hard on Jackson.

Well, he better get used to it,

if he's going to

work with artists.

He's just like Lily.

He just wants us to go away.

Okay. Well, if they do,

then it's up to us to let them know

that we're not

gonna go anywhere.

I don't wanna move to Florida

and play shuffleboard.

Or live on some

bullshit golf range,

a million miles from

everything we know.

Nobody's gonna go

live in Florida.

Then where are we gonna go?

We don't wanna wake up and find

ourselves out on the street.

For God's sakes!

Nobody's gonna wake up on the streets.

Alex, why do you always have to

be so melodramatic all the time?

I just don't like our lives being

in the hands of somebody else.

Well, then fine!

Let's do something about it, all right?

Let's take things

into our own hands!

All right.

How do we do that?

Look at us. We've always done

what we wanted to, haven't we?

Yeah.

Right? We got married when it

was still illegal in 30 states.

And people kept staring at

us in the other 20. Right?

So tell me, what's finding an

apartment in comparison to that?

So let's just go get

ourselves a newspaper

and start looking.

And what are you laughing at?

What are you doing?

Why are you laughing at me?

You're reminding me of

that girl with the glasses

that I painted so long ago.

Yeah?

Yes.

Well, here she is.

And I'll tell you one thing.

You're not gonna get my clothes

off so easily this time, mister.

Wanna bet?

- I've got it.

- Okay. All right.

I've got it. Take this.

I got it, I got it.

Wait a minute now.

Yeah. What do you think?

Where is...

No, no. Look at this. No.

No.

Where?

Here. Here. Here. Here.

It says this one's...

Franklin Street?

"Cute"? What's that mean?

That means it's small.

So wait a minute.

What about over here?

No. Here's one.

Here's one. Here's one.

Look at this one in Brooklyn.

It's in Brooklyn.

Two bedrooms, lots of space

and light. Old world charm.

That sounds great, doesn't it?

That's our listing, Alex.

Well, in that case,

we should be able to get it cheap, right?

You think?

Yeah! Why not?

Don't get smart.

What did Dad say?

Your father.

He's unsettled.

He's unsettled?

Honey, he thinks

you're too young.

I'm older than you were

when you got married.

And what about you?

What do you think about me marrying Alex?

I don't have an opinion.

Of course you do.

What is it?

I'm satisfied.

You're satisfied that

I'm getting married?

What do you want?

I want you to be satisfied with

that sundae that you're eating.

You know, I want you

to be satisfied

with the soda

that you're drinking.

But you're my mother.

So I want you to be overjoyed

that I'm marrying Alex.

You know, at least,

I want you to be happy for me.

I'm trying.

Try harder.

Mom is only trying to say that this

marriage is gonna be difficult, Ruth.

And what marriage isn't?

There's still so

much prejudice, and...

Really, Sarah?

Thank you for telling me.

Think of your children.

Think of your children.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, sweetheart.

You can tell Dad that he

doesn't want to make me choose

between my family and Alex.

Because if he does,

you can tell him

that my choice is already made.

"And foolish though

it may seem to me."

This one sounds

really nice. Listen.

"Dazzling sun-filled corner two-bedroom,

built-in bookcases,

"window seats,

soaks up the morning sunshine."

That's nice.

Yeah.

Where is it?

It's on 73rd and First.

Do we want to live in Manhattan?

Well, I mean,

I think it would be a good change for us.

And we'd be close to Larry

and May's place, too.

And how much is it?

It's... Well, it's a lot. It's one million,

one hundred thousand dollars.

Okay, but...

We can't afford that.

Yes, but there's no harm in looking, honey.

No harm in looking.

Look at her.

She recognizes us, honey.

Look at this girl.

Hello.

She hasn't walked yet.

But she's obviously

happy to see you.

Of course she is!

Of course she is!

Hey. Hey.

Look at her.

She's bandaged up.

Can I touch her, Doctor?

Yeah, of course.

Yes.

You're so good.

You hang in there, kiddo.

You hang in there, you hear me?

You're such a good girl.

Hang in there.

Good girl.

That a girl.

I know she's gonna walk.

I know it.

Of course she is.

She's a fighter like you.

Like us.

So what's a junior bedroom?

What do you mean?

Does it have bunk beds?

Well, if it does, you get the top one.

Okay, honey?

This is it. This is it.

You're kidding.

Yeah.

No, this is it. It sure sounded

better in the paper, didn't it?

We're wasting our time.

No, come on. We're here.

Well, let's just look. Okay?

Wait a second. Which...

It buzzed.

t did. Okay. Got it.

4C. 4C.

4C?

Are you sure?

That's what the sign said.

Okay.

That's the...

Come on.

Okay. All right.

I'm coming. I'm coming.

Wow.

Don't even bother.

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