The next morning, Madeline was relieved that her parents seemed to have made up.  They were back to their regular selves, touching each other with ease.  Their love seemed so routine, so natural.  Maddie had made up her mind over night.  She wanted to see her father.

Secretly, she texted her father and asked if they could meet for lunch.  Maddie made an excuse, saying she was going to meet a friend, and met up with her father a few blocks away.

Jason already had a table at the little diner.  He smiled when she walked in, opening up his arms.  Maddie decided it was okay, and stepped into the hug.  His arms closed around her, and he hung on for a long time.  She could feel him shaking a bit with emotion.

"Maddie, I missed you so much," he said softly.  He pulled back, putting his hands on her upper arms, taking a good look at her.  "You're so beautiful."

She smiled nervously and took her seat.  The waitress set down a glass of water for both of them.

"So, when did you move back to New York?" she asked her father, unwrapping her straw.

"Two weeks ago," he said.  "I got transferred for my job.  How have you been?"

That was a loaded question.  She shrugged.  "Just keeping busy with school and swimming."

"You're on the swim team, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.  "Butterfly is my specialty."

"You looked great on Saturday," he told her.

"I did terribly on Saturday," she countered.  "I haven't gone that slow in a long time."

"Well, I was impressed," he told her.  "And look, I'm sorry if I threw you off."

"Thanks," she said meekly.  "You did kind of throw me off."

"I know," he said, feeling bad.  "I just really wanted to see you again."

She nodded and took a sip from her drink, then they began to look at the menus.  Maddie ordered some chicken strips and he got a burger.

"So, have you been a pretty happy kid?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said.  "I get along with Mom and Lin for the most part.  Rio's kind of annoying, but what little brother isn't?"

He chuckled.  "How old is he?"

"Nine," she said.

"How's school?"

"Fine," she said. "I get mostly A's and B's."

"You were always a smart kid," he said.  She shrugged and drank from her straw.

"Listen," he shifted gears.  "Now that I'm in the city again, I'd love to spend more time with you.  Not any formal visitation arrangements, but I'd love to have lunch with you and have you stay the night every once in a while."

"Yeah, maybe," she said.  "We should take it slow."

She seemed wise beyond her years.  Jason nodded in agreement.  "Is it alright if I come to your swim meets?"

"Can you tell me ahead of time?" she asked.  "And tell Mom?"

"Sure," he said.  It must have been a shock for Kate to see him there.

Their food came about ten minutes later, and they spent the rest of the meal chatting and catching up.  Jason thought she was a really neat kid.  Her mom and Lin had done a great job with her, he had to admit.

Jason paid the bill and they stood up to leave.  He hugged her again and then when they were outside, they went their separate ways.  Maddie tucked her hands into her hoodie pocket on the way home.  She couldn't help but smile a little bit.  She'd enjoyed having lunch with her father.  Maybe she didn't want to see him all the time at this point, but meeting for lunch once a week would be cool.  The question was, should she tell her parents?

She got home and the rest of the family was just finishing up lunch themselves.  Lin was washing off some plates in the sink as Rio got out his homework and spread it across the table.  It was Sunday, so it was homework day.  Maddie sighed, thinking about the assignments she still needed to do.  It was best to get it out of the way so she could have the evening to herself.

Madeline seemed a bit aloof to her parents.  She worked on her homework at the kitchen table, but would stop and just stare off into nothing for a few minutes.  She'd be snapped out of it somehow, then go back to her work.  Lin walked over and looked over her shoulder.  She'd made tons of mistakes.

"Mads, you need to look back over section two again," he told her.  "Lots of mistakes."

She sighed and turned the page in her math book back.  She looked at #14 and erased her answer.

"Trouble concentrating?" he asked.

"I guess," she said.

"Do you need help?" he asked.

"No, I can do it," she assured him.  "My mind keeps wandering."

Lin ruffled her hair a bit and went on with what he was doing.  There were loads of laundry to do, as usual.  Madeline took a lot longer to finish her work as usual.  She had him check it, and he pointed out a couple mistakes that she corrected.  Maddie decided to go for a walk to clear her head.  She'd been thinking about her father all day.  What kind of relationship did she want?

Lin made dinner that night and Maddie decided to help him.  She seemed aloof as she helped with the ingredients.

"What's on your mind?" he asked his daughter.

She shrugged.  "Nothing really."

"You've been staring off into space all day," he pointed out.

"I have?"

"Mmmmhmmm."

She sighed.  "I guess I've been thinking about my dad."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh," she looked over both her shoulders and leaned in close to Lin.  "I met him for lunch today."

"Did you?" he asked.  "I'm proud of you."

"Why?"

"Because you did what you wanted to do."

"It was just lunch," she said.

"Still, it's a big step.  How is he?"

"He's good.  He just got transferred back for work.  He wants to know if I want to have lunch with him and sleep over every once in a while."

"And how do you feel about that?" he probed.

"I think it would be okay.  I mean, I'll stick to lunch on the weekends for now.  I don't want to stay with him."

"Does he have a wife?"

"I didn't ask him that," she said, realizing he could possibly have a whole other family.  He could have his own kids.  "Don't tell Mom."

"You can tell your mom," Lin said.  "I don't want you keeping things from her."

"But won't she be mad?"

"No," he said.  "I think she realizes now that this about you, not her.  She'll support you."

"Well, I'm not gonna tell her for now," she decided.  "Maybe in a while."

"Okay," he said.  "I won't say anything."

"Thanks," she said.  "Hey, does he know that you adopted me?"

"Yes," Lin told her.  "When I petitioned to adopt you, he had to sign over his rights.  That was back when he was in prison."

"Are you glad you adopted me?" she asked, knowing the answer.

Lin smirked.  "Of course," he said, kissing her hair.  "I love you a ridiculous amount.  Adopting you was one of the best things I've ever done.  Besides marrying your mom and having Rio."

"Do you love me or Rio more?"

"The same," he told her.

"Why do parents always say that?" she smiled.

"It's true," he said.  "I love you equally."

"I think I'm your favorite," she countered, smirking.  "I came first and I'm adorable."

"Is that so?" he smiled.  "You're a hot mess."

She shoved him playfully and he responded by tickling her.  Maddie wondered if her relationship with her own father would ever be this good.  Would they reach the point where they could banter back and forth, and he would tickle her?  She knew Jason was her real father, but Lin felt like her dad.  He'd been around for almost everything, and she adored him.  You couldn't ask for a better father.  So, did she really need her father?