"Stevie, she doesn't care what you're wearing. The plane needs to leave in an hour," says Lindsey impatiently, but he's smiling at her. He's as excited as she is.
"Will you calm down? We have time." She stuffs some things into a carry-on, knowing she'll only be gone for the day. "I just can't believe she's willing to meet us so quickly. Or at all," she says, pausing for a second to assess herself in the mirror. "I don't look too old to be her mom?"
"Stop it," he says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Every little girl in the world would want you to be their mom."
She smiles appreciatively and breaks away from him to pick up Sulamith. "She's not a little girl. She's 19," she reminds him, fiddling with Sulamith's sweater. Lindsey rolls his eyes at the scene. "I think I'm ready."
"Okay, then. Let's go pick up Emmeline."
The flight to San Francisco is fast, and they spend most of it small talking. Despite the forced closeness over the past week, the relationship is still strained, and she can tell Lindsey is trying to keep a safe distance. After a lull in the conversation, Stevie decides to broach the subject.
"Lindsey, I really appreciate you doing this with me. I know taking this time while we're on break is probably a big deal. your wife can't be thrilled about you disappearing with me."
"Oh, she doesn't know where I am."
"You haven't told her?" Stevie doesn't even try to conceal her surprise.
"The woman can't even handle me sharing a stage with you. Knowing that I share a child with you would probably send her into a homicidal rage."
"So what are you going to do when this news gets out? The fact that we have a kid is not going to stay secret once she's in our lives."
"I'll tell her soon. But I wanted to be alive to enjoy this moment," he says, trying to make a joke. He looks a little sad, and Stevie puts her hand on his knee. Things must still be bad between them.
"Well, this means a lot to me," she says, trying to turn the subject away from Kristen.
"She's my little girl, too. I wouldn't miss this for anything," he assures her, putting his hand over hers. They sit quietly again, holding hands, both of them nervously anticipating what awaits them in San Francisco.
They arrive and a car takes them to Emmeline's apartment, where she awaits them on the steps. Stevie doesn't even wait for the driver to open her door before she jumps out of the car and stands up, staring at her daughter for the first time. She pauses for a minute and waits for Lindsey to walk around the car and take her arm before she approaches the building.
"Hey," says Emmeline, obviously nervous. She looks at her parents, not really sure what to do. Stevie grabs her and hugs her tightly, and Lindsey laughs at the surprised expression on his daughter's face, but wraps his arms around both of them.
"You have no idea how many times I imagined meeting you," says Stevie, holding onto her daughter's shoulders, her face tearstained. "Thank you for giving us a chance."
Emmeline smiles shyly, obviously slightly overwhelmed. "I'm glad you found me," she says, looking back and forth between them. "You're way cooler then I imagined my parents being." They laugh a little.
"Can we help you with your things?" Lindsey looks slightly awkward, hoping for a chance to be busy. He's gotten better over the years, but he's still not really good with emotional moments.
"Um, sure, my bags are inside," she says, opening the door. She shows them around her little apartment, which she shares with two other girls. "My roommates both have class right now. They're bummed that they couldn't meet you. I mean, I didn't tell them who you were or anything," she says quickly. "I just told them I was going to meet my parents today."
