The remaining days with Emmeline were perfect. Lindsey went home and did his best to smooth things over, and guessed he was somewhat successful, since she let him back into his house. It took everything he had to not run back to Stevie's every night. She'd been pretty clear about their boundaries for the time being.
He wished it would change.
Emmeline had brought out a new part of her, and it was beautiful. She looked complete. They were so similar, and, even though they had only spent a short amount of time together, they understood each other perfectly. Stevie finally had someone to care for and spoil and he was so grateful that Emmeline was so receptive so quickly. She clearly needed a mother.
He was glad that he had been able to bond with her over music, and spending an afternoon in his studio with her had been incredible. She was gifted, but she trusted him and let him help her. The acoustic demo he helped her put together was beautiful, and she was thrilled to bring it home.
On the flight back to San Francisco, Emmeline lays with her head on Stevie's lap, playing on her phone. "Emme?"
"Yeah?"
"We wanted to talk to you about something," Stevie starts, and Lindsey offers her a small smile.
"Okay," she says, sitting up and looking at them curiously.
"You shouldn't have to work. It's silly. We want you to focus on music and school, if you would like to go."
"Well, of course I want to go. There's an audio engineering program in Los Angeles that I've been looking at forever."
"You should apply."
"We can't afford it," she says. "Dad tried, but..."
"We can. If that's where you want to go, then apply," says Lindsey, hijacking Stevie's train of thought. "Listen, you're our daughter. If we can help you, we're going to do everything we can."
"You'd pay for me to go to school?"
"Of course we would," Stevie jumps back in. "And we love that you're a hard worker - I mean, I started out waiting tables - but you don't need to do that."
"I sort of do. I have rent to pay, and my dance classes aren't cheap."
"We can cover your rent, honey," Stevie offers. "And whatever else you need."
"I don't want to just live off of you guys."
"Don't be silly. Focus on your music. Focus on dancing. You've got the resources available to you," she insists.
"That's crazy, you guys don't have to..."
"We want to. We want you to have everything," says Stevie, taking her hand. "Let us give you what we can."
"Emmeline, this is easy for us. We'll deposit a check every month. And once you decide on school, we'll set up an account for that as well," says Lindsey.
"I don't even know what to say. Thank you," she says, tearing up as she hugs Stevie.
"We're happy to do it, honey."
"Just work hard," says Lindsey. "We'll help you however we can."
"I really didn't expect you guys to..."
"We know you didn't, because you're too independent for that. Your mom and dad did well," says Stevie. "They raised a good girl."
When they find themselves alone on the plane again, Lindsey does everything in his power to keep his mouth shut. He wants to kiss her again. To tell her that they're wasting time. But he lets her talk about Emmeline for the entire flight home, holding her hand and absorbing her excitement.
