That Would Be Enough

26

A month later, Maddie returned one Saturday afternoon with an armful of bags.  She smiled and sang to herself a little bit as she kicked off her shoes and set down her bags.  Lin looked over his shoulder from where he sat on the couch.  He furrowed his eyebrows.  More stuff.

"Hi, Maddie," he greeted her.  "Shopping spree?"

She chuckled a little as she found a snack in the pantry, then walked to the couch.  She plopped down next to Lin and started munching on her cookie.

"What did you two do?" he asked, closing his laptop.  Most Saturdays in the last month consisted of Maddie going out with her father and coming back with new stuff.

"We went to the Met, and then he took me shopping," she said.  "Oh!  And I got my nails done!"

She flashed them to him and nodded and smiled.  "He's been spending a lot of money on you lately," he observed.

Madeline shrugged as she finished her first cookie.  "He said he's making up for not seeing me for eight years."

Lin understood in a way, but wasn't sure if this was the right approach.  He fully supported Madeline having a relationship with her father, but he was starting to spoil her at this point.  In the last month, she'd gotten tons of new clothes, a new laptop, and trips to the spa.  He took her to some of the nicest restaurants in the city.  He got that Jason wanted to make up for lost time, but it was getting out of hand.  He didn't want to interfere with their relationship, but was starting to think he needed to say something to Jason.

Lin sighed.  "I don't think you need any more clothes," he told her.  "Why don't you guys just do something chill like go to the movies or have a picnic in the park."

She shrugged again and bit into another cookie.  "He wants to spend money on me."

"We have reservations for dinner at seven," he told her.  "Can you get your room cleaned by then?"

"Yep," she said, getting up to get her bags.  Things were a bit better between Kate and Maddie.  Kate still wasn't happy about Jason being around, but she was being careful about what she said around her daughter.  This was between her and Jason, and their feelings shouldn't affect Maddie's relationship with her father.

Lin went back to the master bedroom where Kate was deciding what to wear for dinner that evening.  She stood in front of her full-length mirror, half dressed, trying to decide what blouse went best with her new skirt.  Lin walked up behind her and closed his arms around her, staring at her in the mirror.  She smirked and rubbed his arms.

"Hey, gorgeous," he told her, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Hey," she said, looking at him in the mirror.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Trying to decide which blouse to wear," she told him.  She reached for the first of three blouses, holding it up.  She showed him the other two, tilting her head to the side as she looked at the last of them in the mirror.

Lin took the blouse from her and tossed it onto the chair, then turned her in his arms.  He began kissing her hungrily and walking her back towards the bed.

"Lin, I just took a shower," she complained and he just chuckled.  Just then, Rio walked by.

"Mom!" he called, and his parents broke apart.  His mother was in a skirt and a bra and her father was feeling her up.  Gross.

"Ugghh!!" he complained, shielding his eyes.  "That's disgusting."

Kate sighed and grabbed one of the blouses and put it on quickly.