A couple days later Vanessa waited at the coffee shop she and Lin had agreed upon. She'd ordered a latte and was browsing her phone when she saw him walk in. He was bundled up with a coat, scarf and hat which made him difficult to recognize. She imagined he was getting recognized more and more with the success of Hamilton.

Vanessa waved at him and smiled. He waved back and smiled as he took his place in line. He was so handsome. The goatee he was sporting really suited him and he'd grown up well. His dark eyes sparkled when he smiled.

A few minutes later, Lin joined her with his own drink. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down.

"It was so great to see you the other night," he said as he unraveled his scarf and took off his hat. He ran his fingers through his long hair and immediately pulled it up into a bun.

"You too," she said, a little nervous but excited. It was a little intimidating talking to someone so successful. She'd done some more Google searches and found he'd won an Emmy for Best Musical for In the Heights. He'd toured the world with Freestyle Love Supreme and he'd be sure to receive many accolades for Hamilton. No one deserved the success more than him. Despite his fame, he was still the sweet big-hearted guy she remembered. "I already want to see the show again. It went so fast that I felt I missed a lot."

Lin nodded as he took a sip. "There's a lot jammed in there for sure," he said. "I'd love to have you back sometime. I could get you some house seats."

"That would be great," she said. "I'd love to bring my mom."

They caught up some more about their families and then work. Vanessa was a force to be reckoned with herself. After graduating from MIT, she'd worked as a scientist for several years before going back to school for a law degree. She'd passed the bar exam on her first try and was also teaching a class at Fordham. Lin was impressed. He found smart women very attractive, especially Vanessa.

As she was telling him about her class, his phone buzzed and he glanced at it. He saw that it was Elana's school so he knew he needed to answer.

"Sorry, I've gotta take this," he apologized. "It's my daughter's school."

Vanessa nodded in understanding as Lin stood up to walk to a corner. He put one finger in his ear to be able to hear over the buzz of the coffee shop. Vanessa busied herself on her phone and glanced at him. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly and looked concerned.

He hung up a minute or so later and returned to the table. "I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to run," he told her. "I need to go get Elana."

At breakfast that morning Elana had asked again if she could go to work with him. When he told her no again she asked if she could homeschool. Now she'd apparently gotten into a fight.

"Oh sure," she told him, knowing his kids always came first. She thought it was adorable. "Everything okay?"

"We'll be fine, but she got into a little trouble at school," he explained as he pulled on his coat and began wrapping up. "Rain check?"

She smiled and nodded and promised they'd text. Lin gave her another kiss on the cheek goodbye and she felt her heart flutter just a little bit.

The coffee date had lasted only twenty minutes but it was easily the best part of her day.

—-

Elana Miranda sat in the waiting room at school waiting for her father to pick her up. If her dad would just let her homeschool it wouldn't be a problem.

Her dad appeared and checked in with the secretary. Then he sat next to her on the chair, leaning forward on his thighs.

"What happened?" He asked his daughter simply.

She shrugged, staring at a spot on the floor. She had a shiner starting on her left eye and her lip was cut.

"Did someone say something to you?" He asked and she shook her head. The principal's door opened and he called him in.

This school year she'd been short with teachers and didn't participate much in class. Teachers reported her getting into verbal arguments with classmates. Today, a fight had broken out between her and another sixth grade girl. The principal showed Lin her current grades and they were atrocious. C's and D's, which definitely wasn't like her.

Lin told him she was seeing a counselor and promised to talk with her more. It was almost the end of the day so he was free to take her home. She was suspended for three days.

Lin headed for the front doors of the school and Elana trailed behind quietly, pulling her hoodie over her head. Wordlessly they walked towards the nearest subway station and swiped their unlimited monthly passes.

They sat side by side on the train and Lin stared off into nothing. How had things gotten so bad that his kid was getting into fights? She'd always been a good kid. Mouthy and argumentative at times, but what tween wasn't?

They got off at 181st and took the escalator. Elana reluctantly walked home, trailing behind her dad. As they reached the door, she braced herself for her dad's disappointment. Mrs. Lopez was making a snack for Mariele so he gave his youngest a quick hug and asked them to go to her room.

"Take a seat," he told her, his voice level. Elana sighed and sat on the couch. Lin when to the fridge and found an ice pack and paper towel. He sat on the coffee table and took a look at her eye before applying it. "Hold that there. What happened?"

"This girl keeps talking trash about me," she reported. "She has a band and she thinks ours sucks."

"So have you had a conversation with her?" He asked.

"I've told her to shove it," Elana reported, taking the cold off her eye temporarily.

"If you're dishing the same thing back to her what do you expect?" He posed. "It's just going to escalate. You need to talk to this girl."

"I think I wanna let my music and my fists speak for me," she said boldly. She got that from her mother.

"That's now how I raised you," he told her. "And not how Mom raised you."

"Well she's not here and neither are you," she spat back angrily. Lin felt a punch in the gut. He knew he was failing as a father and it hurt to be called out on it. He let his head fall for a moment.

"I've been really busy with the show and I know that's not fair to you," he said. "We're all grieving Mom but that doesn't mean you can start punching people. Have you talk to Mrs. Richards about this?"

Her psychiatrist had been working with both girls about processing their anger and grieving. So far it didn't seem to be taking with either of them.

"I guess," she shrugged.

"What has she told you to do when you get angry?"

She sighed. "Take a breath. Take a walk. Exercise. Punch a pillow. That's such a wussy way out."

"I disagree," he said. "When I get angry I have to take a walk."

"Yeah," she stood. "Away from your kids. Can I go to my room now?"

Lin took in a deep breath. "Phone."

She dug in her pocket and slapped it into his waiting hand. "No band practice for two weeks."

Her phone and her band were the two most important things to her. Sometimes she really hated her dad. Everyone else in the world loved him and got his best. Elana hated how he had all this fame and love and she just had to sit in the backseat and be widely ignored.

The tween stormed off to her room and slammed the door. Lin sighed and went to the kitchen for a drink. As he opened a bottle Mrs. Lopez walked out and Mariele skipped behind her. She hugged her dad's leg, happy to see him.

"Lin, I need to talk to you," she told him. "I will need to start babysitting my grandchildren during the day. I can still stay here at night but you will need to make other arrangements for the day."

"Okay," Lin sighed, not wanting to have to go through the hassle of finding more daycare. His parents were busy during the day. "We might try preschool again."

"No!" Mariele instantly protested.

Lin picked her up. "Sweetheart, you have to start school eventually. Don't you want to go to school like your big sister?"

"No!" She said again.

School had started right after Juliana had passed away so the whole experience had been somewhat traumatic for Mariele. She had to be without her mother and then she had to be away from home for hours every day? Mariele wasn't having it.

Mrs. Richards had urged him to try again. She would obviously need to go at some point. If he kept caving to her resistance she'd never try.

"We'll talk about it later," he told her, giving her temple a kiss. Lin set her on the floor. "I need to head out for a meeting and an interview. I probably won't be back for dinner."

"Daddy, can I come?" Mariele asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Lin sighed and tousled her dark hair. "No, mija. Stay here with Mrs. Lopez."

Mariele's face morphed into disappointment then anger. "No!!"

Lin squatted down to be at eye level and was surprised when she pushed him and screamed some more. Lin stood and took her firmly by the upper arm. He led the screaming four year old to her bedroom and shut the door.

The last sound before he left again was screaming, and he had the overwhelming sense that both his children hated him.