That Would Be Enough

3

           

It has been a long time since Lin had wanted to date someone.  He didn't want to appear too eager or in her face, so he waited until the next day to type Kate's name into his contacts list.  He started typing in a message, erased it, typed a different one, erased it again.  Lin decided casual was probably the best way to go.

                Hi Kate.  Lin here.  How's your day going?

It was the middle of the day.  He'd never had a regular 9-5 job.  When she didn't answer immediately, he didn't get too concerned.  She was probably at work.  At the library.  He had to admit, that was kind of hot.  It was hard to stop thinking about her in her cute little librarian glasses.  She was giving him writer's block.  Lin tried to keep himself busy, doing things around the apartment.  His heart leapt when he heard his phone ding with a text message.

                Hi Lin! Great!  I'm Dewey decimating the day away.

Lin grinned at her librarian joke.  A sense of humor was one of the most important qualities he looked for in a partner.  He rarely took himself seriously and needed someone on the same wavelength as him.  He tried to think of something witty, but just went with something simple.

                Nice.  Are you free later or the next few days?

He seemed to have caught her on a break because she immediately started replying.

Not today, but tomorrow evening I am.  I have a library event during the day, but I'm done around 4.

                Great.  I could come by the library around 4?

                Sounds good.

Lin put his phone down on the table, excited that they had solid plans in place.  It would be hard to wait that long, but it gave him something to look forward to.

Finally, 4:00 the next day rolled around and Lin managed to find a parking spot semi-close to the library.  As he neared the building, he noticed a lot of tables and chairs being put away.  People were everywhere, breaking down displays and cleaning up.  Lin looked around and saw Kate talking with a small group of people nearby.  Her daughter Madeline was close by, chasing another kid around.  There were a lot of other kids around, and he guessed it must have been a children's event.

Lin walked closer and hung back, waiting for her to finish.  She finished and looked up at him, smiling.  "Hi Lin!  We're almost done here.  Just give me a few minutes."

"No problem," he said.  "Can I help?"

"Sure!" she said.  "Could you take all these items back into the library?"  She pointed to a pile of flyers and crafts.  Lin nodded and got to work, carrying the items in an armload at a time.  About 15 minutes later, everything seemed to be squared away and Kate was ready to go.

Kate called her daughter over and knelt down in front of her.  "Sweetheart, you're gonna go hang out with Auntie Sue for a while, okay?  Will you be a good girl?"

The child barely slowed down as she nodded.  One of the other library workers hung nearby with a couple kids close to Madeline's age.  Kate gave her daughter a kiss and a hug.  "I love you, Maddie."

She turned to Lin and they began walking down the street.  "How'd the event go?  It looked like it was pretty busy."

"It went really well," she said as they made their way down the street towards a coffee shop.  "It took months of planning, and luckily the weather cooperated."

"Good," he said, his hands in his pockets.  "How long have you been a librarian?"

"Almost ten years now," she said.  "I went back for my Master's after a couple years working full time.  Had Madeline somewhere in the middle of it all."

Lin tried to work out her ballpark age.  He guessed she was in her mid-30's.  He wondered how he'd gotten lucky enough to catch her single.  Soon, they arrived at a local independent coffee shop and ordered some cold drinks.  They found a cozy corner and sipped and chatted.

"So, what kind of plays do you write?" She asked him.  Lin cleared his throat and set his cup down.

"My first was called In the Heights," he said.  "It's semi-autobiographical, about a Latino kid growing up in Washington Heights.  Then my latest was Hamilton."

Kate coughed on her drink and struggled to clear her throat.  Lin handed her a napkin and she dabbed at her watering eyes.

"You wrote Hamilton?" She asked him.  Lin nodded, smiling.  "You must think I'm an idiot."

"Not at all," he said.  "It's nice to talk to someone who has no idea what I do."

"I haven't gotten to see it yet, because, you know, money," she explained.  "But I heard it's really good.  Didn't it take you some insane amount of time to write?"

Lin nodded as he swallowed his last sip.  "Seven years," he said.

"Wow," she said.  "That's a long time to be dedicated to something."

He nodded.  "It was pretty epic," he admitted.  "Now I'm trying to come up with my next big idea.  Nothing's really inspired me yet, but it'll hit me at some point."

"Melville Dewey," she suggested, smirking.

Lin laughed and shook his head.  "I think you'd have to help me with the lyrics on that one."

"It could inspire a whole generation to earn MLS's," she pointed out.

Lin and Kate began to lose track of time, chatting about anything and everything.  It was an easy conversation.  It flowed without any effort, and there weren't any awkward pauses.  Lin felt like he was talking to an old friend; someone he'd known for years.  They were definitely kindred spirits.

Kate's phone buzzed and she checked it.  It was a message from her friend Sue.

"Crap, it's almost 8:00," she said, tucking her phone in her purse.  "I need to go pick up Maddie."

Lin nodded as they scooched their way out of the small booth they were sharing.  He took her cup to the trash as she got herself together.  "Can I walk you to your car?" He asked.

"Sure," she said, and began walking in that direction.  A few minutes later, they arrived at her beat-up Honda Accord from the 1990's.  "I had a nice time.  It's been a while since I've spent some quality time with an adult."

Lin smiled, stepping a little closer towards her.  "Me too," he said.  "Anytime you need a little adult conversation, let me know."

She smiled, and Lin saw her eyes quickly dart to his lips and back up to his eyes.  Kate bit her lip.

"I will," she said.  Lin took her hand in his and tugged her a little closer.

"Bye," he whispered, and leaned in for a sweet kiss.  Kate let out a tiny moan as their lips worked against each other for a few moments.

As they both pulled away, Kate giggled a little nervously.  "I'll text you," she told him.

Lin watched as she got into her car and started it.  As she pulled away, he waved at her and watched her car disappear down the street.  Sighing, he looked up at the sky, knowing he was done in for.  Already, he missed her and was thinking about when he'd get to see her next.

A/N: I might be librarian...

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