Lin glanced in the rear view mirror of the Escalade he was driving. He caught the eyes of his passenger. She had beautiful eyes. The kid was obviously nervous. He had only known Vanessa as a teenager and young 20-something, never as a mother, but he could imagine she ran a pretty tight ship. Emilia seemed very sweet and well-behaved, other than the lie she'd just been caught in. He could tell it mustn't be something she did often. She seemed mortified and ashamed.

"You get along with your mom okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, mostly," she answered morosely. He decided to address the elephant in the room

"Look, if you get caught in a lie it's best to just own up to it and apologize," he advised her. "Adults hate it when they think kids are trying to pull a fast one and won't take responsibility."

"Yeah, my mom's all about responsibility," she groaned.

"Most are," he told her. "Hey, question for you."

She looked up eagerly, glad to help Lin.

"Why do you think your mom's avoiding me?"

Lia looked thoughtful for a minute. "I'm not sure. Did you guys have a bad break up or something?"

Lin thought back to their last conversation around 2001. Vanessa had been hurt about how much time he was spending on his musical. He made a full fledged production of it back at Wesleyan. She'd been at MIT at the time. That, paired with a mild jealousy of some over exuberant Wesleyan girls all lead to their break up.

It has been a hard, complete cut. She blocked his number and social media didn't exist back then. He didn't hear from her for years.

The GPS told Lin to make a right turn. Lia directed him to turn down an alley so they could go in the back door like usual. She assumed he would go in with her. Maybe lessen the blow.

Unshockingly, even Lin's presence couldn't change the glare on Vanessa's face when she came to the door.

"Before you say anything, just remember I'm a really good kid."

"So, I'm supposed to be impressed that your first act of teenage rebellion is lying to go stalk a celebrity?"

Emilia felt the heat rising to her cheeks,  not daring to look anywhere but her mom, knowing that Lin was still the room, "Well, when you put it like that."

Vanessa shook her head, rolling her eyes, "Go to your room."

"Why?"

"Because you're guilty," the voice she more often used in the courtroom came out, "I just haven't decided your sentence yet but I know it starts there."

The fourteen year old sighed, defeated, and begrudgingly walked towards her room, "Bye Lin," she called out before closing her bedroom door behind her.

"See you in 10 to 20, kid!" Lin called out with a wave.

"Sorry that you got caught up in her antics, but thank you for bringing her home," Vanessa said as she walked over towards her purse, "Can I give you anything for the ride?"

"No, no!" Lin shook his head adamantly, "It wasn't a problem. She seems like a good kid."

"She is," Vanessa gave a soft smile. "But I hope it didn't cut into your work."

"I actually was leaving when I saw Emilia. I just stopped by the theatre for a meeting, but I'm off tonight."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward as the two stood on respective sides of Vanessa's living room, neither knowing what to say next.

"So, Brooklyn?"

Of course Lin would bring up New York.

"Yeah, about ten years now."

Lin nodded, encouraged that she was at least conversing enough to answer the question, "Why'd you move out of the city?"

Vanessa took a seat at her dining room table, offering Lin to do the same. She figured she should at least be hospitable after he drove all the way there. "I had just passed the bar, and was offered a job as an associate. I wanted a change of scenery and, before Lia was going to Hunter, the school district was also a big part. I'm guessing you're still in Washington Heights?"

Lin couldn't help but laugh at the tone, and what he knew his answer would be, "You guessed right."

"Some things never change," Vanessa laughed, feeling a bit of the ease she always used to feel whenever she was around Lin.

"Listen, V,"

"Wow." Vanessa felt her heart stop for a moment.

"What?" Had he already screwed things up?

"Nothing," She pulled a few strands of hair behind her ear, "It's just I haven't had anyone call me 'V' in such a long time."

Lin gave a tender smile, "I always thought it suited you."

Vanessa returned the smile, simultaneously reminding herself why she had told him she couldn't start anything back up again. She knew how she got around him.

"What I wanted to say is, I know you said you weren't looking for anything, which I respect." Lin found himself scrambling for words, a feeling that he didn't often come by, "But, ah, if you and Emilia ever wanted to come to another show, I could get you guys tickets. She could come backstage and meet the rest of the cast."

"Lia's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future," Vanessa laughed, "But that's really kind of you. She'll freak."

Lin shocked even himself at how entranced he still could get by her, even after all of these years.

The two sat in silence for a few beats, not as awkward, but still neither one acknowledged the actual questions they were avoiding with small talk.

"I guess I should head out," Lin stood up, with a crack of his knees, "Don't want to impede on your entire night."

"And I have a sulking teenager I have to deal with," Vanessa went and opened her door, "Thank you again, Lin."

"Anytime." The weight of his words weren't missed by either of them. He reached for the door and turned back to Vanessa. "Go easy on her. She seems like a really good kid."

Vanessa gave him a small smile. She had to admit she got pretty lucky in the kid department. Overall, she was a hard worker, respectful and honest. She never got in trouble at school and had always made straight A's. Most parents would love to have a kid like Emilia.

Lin left and she locked the door after him. She let her body rest against the door and sighed. It was then she noticed a head peeking around the corner of the hall. Realizing she'd been caught, Emilia began to tiptoe back to her room.

"Hold it!" Vanessa called to her. Emilia winced and returned to the kitchen, clasping her hands in front of her to look like the good child she was.

Vanessa crossed her arms. "Were you eavesdropping?"

She shrugged. "Maybe?"

Despite herself, Vanessa grinned and shook her head. She was still such a kid. "It's not polite. And there's nothing to know. It was nice of him to drop you off but that's the end of it."

Emilia was incredulous. "He said we could go to another show!" She reminded her. "We could get front row tickets! We could meet the whole cast!"

Vanessa was exhausted. She went to a cabinet and pulled out a saucepan to start boiling water. "Emilia, you've seen it once. That's plenty. We're not taking advantage of Lin."

Emilia leaned her arms on the counter. "We're not if he offered! It's not like we twisted his arm or anything. Mom, he LIKES you."

Vanessa let the saucepan rest on the counter hard. She'd seen the way he looked at her. There was still a desire there. Back in high school, they had been two of the few Latino kids at the school. Everyone had a crush on her.

"Emilia, that's none of your business," she told her daughter pointedly.

"Why not?!"

Vanessa silently cursed her daughter's ability to argue. She just might make a great attorney one day.

"Because I said so," she deadpanned the classic parent explanation. Emilia rolled her eyes.

"You've been single since I was a baby," she pointed out. "You have NEEDS, Mom..."

"That is enough," she said firmly. "Get to your room and stay there. You're grounded until further notice."

Emilia let out a loud groan and stormed off. Her mother was so unreasonable. The hottest star in New York was obviously crushing on her, and she was just ignoring it. Was she crazy?!

Vanessa moved around the cookery loudly, frustrated. She was trying to ignore the slight flutter when she saw Lin. Of course he was handsome, sweet and incredibly smart. But he'd burned her hard. Hamilton was an even bigger hit than In the Heights so he was probably neck deep in commitments. Did he really think it was a good time to start a relationship? He'd be able to devote zero time to her and she certainly wasn't going to be a booty call. Though a little sex would be nice.

God, their sex had been so good. She quickly pushed the memories out of her mind. That was over and she wasn't interested in rekindling anything.

She got to work cooking dinner, putting on some classical music. She poured herself some wine to help herself relax.

Her phone buzzed with a news alert from one of her apps. A photo of Lin popped up, his smile wide and his face lit up. She closed her eyes, trying to stop herself from snapping. From Emilia's bedroom she heard the Hamilton start to blast. She was trying to get under her mother's skin.

Vanessa turned up her own music, picked up her phone and threw it at the couch. It missed and crashed onto the floor.

Completely overwhelmed, Vanessa let herself slip to the floor and began to cry.