Lin and I ran errands together Sunday afternoon while the little kids were still away.  They needed some more clothes and basics like shampoo, diapers and wipes.  We'd also decided we needed to be better about meal-planning.  I'd planned out a week's worth of lunch and dinners and had written down all the ingredients.  Lin pushed the cart and read off what we needed as I picked and chose.

"A bag of frozen peas and frozen corn," he read out as we reached the frozen section.  I surveyed the selection and found the store brand bags, then tossed them into the almost full cart.

"Should we get Green Giant?" Lin asked.  "Isn't that healthier?"

I gave him a look.  "Lin, they're the same.  You're paying extra for the brand name."

Lin shrugged and accepted my answer.  He'd done the family shopping before and had spent over $200, mostly because he bought brand name food instead of the store brand alternative.  Thank goodness he had me.

I saw Lin grab a bag of Pizza Bagles and I wondered whether they were for him or the kids.  They weren't on the list.  I didn't say anything I we picked up the last couple items, then went to the checkout counter.  We both helped unpack the cart and the worker scanned all our items.  Our total came to just over $150.

Since we had so many bags, we hailed a cab to get home.  Elliott was still on the couch, stuffing his face now with Cheetos.

"Will you come help please?" I asked him as Lin and I set the bags on the counter.  He reluctantly stood and helped unpack and put things away.

"Have you gotten a start on your homework?" I asked him as we finished.

"Nope," he said unapologetically.

"Why don't you start now.  You still need to get those grades pulled up," I reminded him.  He hated me nagging him but I had to.  Steven sure didn't.  I was all the heavy.

"Mom, would you quit reminding me?" he groaned rudely.  "Jesus."

"Hey!" Lin gave my son a look and Elliott looked a bit stunned.  I was a bit stunned myself.  We'd been living together for a couple weeks now, but neither of us had corrected each other's children before.

Elliott sighed and grabbed a Vitamin Water from the fridge.  "I'll get started on biology."

"Thank you," I told him as I started to organize the pantry.  Call me a control freak, but I liked to have things in a certain order.  All the soups were separated from the canned vegetables and others.  Grains were grouped together.  Snack foods grouped together.  Elliott at least was used to my organization.

"Is he at his dad's at all this week?" Lin asked, pouring himself some water.

"No, Steven's going on a business trip.  He'll be here until next Sunday," I reported, moving around some cereal boxes.

Joey walked out in running shorts and one of her practice soccer jerseys, looping her hair up in a ponytail.  "I'm going for a run," she told her father.

"Okay," Lin said.  "Have your phone?"

She pulled up a shirt sleeve to show a workout band with her iPhone attached.  Joey took off as Lin as I settled on the couch.

"I wish Elliott was half as motivated as Joey is," I said, plopping down.  Lin smirked a little.

"She has her own challenges," he mused, taking a gulp of water.

"Yeah?  How so?"

"She gets too intense," Lin said, rubbing at his eyebrow with his thumb.  "Gets worked up about things.  Sometimes she doesn't know when to stop."

"She's motivated," I told him.

"She can take it too far sometimes, like her mother," Lin told me.  I sensed some tension there.  We hadn't really talked about our exes much.  When there were kids involved, unfortunately exes would always be part of the picture.

"What happened with you and Clarita?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to overstep my bounds.

He sighed and settled back.  "She's a great woman," he told me.  "But she wasn't married to me.  She was married to her work.  Couldn't leave it alone.  We argued all the time about it."

"Is she any better now?" I asked.

"I don't think so," he said.  "Not from what Joey says.  Works 80 hour weeks.  No personal life."

"Hmmm," I tucked my legs up to my side.  "And they don't get along?"

"No, they're too much alike," he smiled a little.  "Neither will back down from an argument, and they argue about everything.  Clothes, school, boys."

"Boys?  Is Joey dating?"

"Not that I know of," he said.  "Have you heard anything?"

I shook my head.  Joey was a beautiful, intelligent girl.  I thought she'd be fighting off boys.  They were probably intimidated by her.

"That's fine with me," he said, then took another drink.  "She can be my little girl forever."

We were silent for several moments, and the discomfort between us was palpable.  We'd kissed last night, and while it seemed like we'd both wanted it at the time, I wasn't sure if he'd regretted it.  We'd avoided the subject all day.

"About last night," he said out of the blue, looking over at me.  "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable.  I feel like I overstepped."

He was giving me an out.  A relationship between us would be...difficult.  It wouldn't be able to develop the usual way.  We had four kids between us.  They were our primary concern.  Plus, it was kind of hard to go out on dates and do other things with two teenagers lurking.

"Oh..." I said, readjusting myself.  "No, it was...fine."

He looked almost offended.

"I mean...more than fine.  I...I liked it," I stammered.

"Did you?" he asked.

"Mmmhmmm," I nodded, biting my lip a little.

"I know this isn't great timing, but..." he he looked down at his linked hands.  "I think I'm starting to get a little crush on you."

"A crush?" I asked him.  He looked at me, his dark eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," he said.  "I mean, I have for a while.  Ever since the show."

"When you tried to kiss me?" I reminded him.

His face flushed a little and he looked away, embarrassed.  "Yeah.  Sorry about that.  I was drunk and out of line."

"It's not that I didn't want to kiss you," I explained.  "I just didn't want our first kiss to be a drunken one."

He nodded in understanding, studying me.  "And what did you think?"

"Of what?"

"Of our first kiss?" he asked.

I flushed myself, looking away, and he scooted closer to me.  When I didn't answer, I felt Lin's fingers gently turn my cheek so I was looking at him.  His eyes darted to my lips, then back up to my eyes.  He waited for me to make the next move.  I closed my eyes and leaned in until our lips connected again.  Almost instantly, our mouths opened and our tongues danced together.  He tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss as my heart started pounding.

His hand traveled to the back of my head, raking his fingers through my hair as we continued to make out.  I felt my body responding, wanting more.  I let my hands rest on his shoulders and rub at his chest as we kissed deeply.

After a few minutes, we pulled away and I caught my breath.  He let his forehead rest against mine, his hand on the back of my neck.

"What is this?" I asked him quietly.  He pulled back, lovingly stroking at my hair as he looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing ever.

"I don't know," he said.  "But I'd like to see where it leads."

"We have four children between us," I reminded him and his hands dropped to my knees.

"Yeah," he acknowledged.  "We'll still focus on them.  But maybe we can find some time to go out sometimes?"

I liked that he wasn't trying to rush into anything.  Our living arrangements were complicated.  Three families rolled into one place.  I felt a smile creep to my face and I nodded.  His face lit up with a smile and he kissed me again. 

I'd been down for weeks.  For the first time I felt a hint of excitement.  Hope.  I was excited to see where this would lead.