Jane Hopper, the Chief's adopted daughter, had begun coming over to Mr. Sinclair's house the summer before the party started High School. The Chief had been homeschooling her the past year, with help from Nancy Wheeler, Mr. Clarke, and for the past six months, the rest of the Party. Mr. Sinclair was shocked at first that Hopper had adopted a daughter, but after hearing the story of her terrible abusive childhood, he and Mrs. Sinclair were fully supportive of anything Lucas and his friends could do. When Hopper began letting her join the party for activities away from home, he and Mrs. Sinclair welcomed her to their house with open arms.
Jane was very quiet, but polite, the first few times that she visited. The rest of the kids were very patient and protective of her. In fact, sometimes they seemed in awe of her. She was especially close to Mike, who seemed so happy and content, far different from the sad and angry Mike of a few years ago.
On the morning after her first sleepover, Mr. Sinclair was surprised to find Jane sitting at the kitchen table reading one of her school books when he got up at 6:30. Rising early was a habit he picked up from his time in the Army and remained with him the rest of his life. She seemed a little nervous when she saw him; like she was afraid she had done something wrong. He simply smiled at her and said, "Good morning." She replied, "Good morning" back with a shy smile. Mr. Sinclair asked, "Are you a morning person?" "Yes, that's what my Dad always says. He is not a morning person," she said with a cheeky grin. Mr. Sinclair laughed quietly, "No, your Dad is definitely not a morning person." "Would you like some hot chocolate?" Mr. Sinclair asked. "Yes, please," she politely replied. "Great, it will take just a moment. I'll get the newspaper as well." After he had made her the hot chocolate, they sat at the kitchen table, he reading the newspaper and she her schoolbook, until the rest of the kids got up, a few hours later.
After that first morning, it became a fairly regular Saturday morning tradition for Mr. Sinclair and Jane to spend a few hours talking and reading together, since the party spent almost every Friday night at the Sinclair's or Wheeler's. When they had a sleepover at the Wheeler's next door, she would walk over, making sure not to disturb the others. On those rare occurrences when they were not having a sleepover, Hopper often needed to go into the station early, so he would drop her off. As Jane got more comfortable with him, she began talking more and more. In fact, they often spent more time talking than reading, and jokingly referred to it as "hot chocolate and conversation," in reference to Hopper's quote 'mornings are for coffee and contemplation'.
They mostly talked about what she was learning at school and what the party was doing for fun. There were many things that she still didn't know or understand, owing to her childhood, that he would try to explain. She was as sharp as a tack and asked great follow up questions. She also began reading more than just the comics in the newspaper, and she had many questions about what was going on in the world.
On one Saturday morning, about six month since the first sleepover, Jane looked up at Mr. Sinclair and asked a question.
"Mr. Sinclair, you were in the Army like my Dad. Did you go to Vietnam?"
"Yes, I never met your Dad when I was over there, but we were in Vietnam at the same time," Mr. Sinclair replied.
"Was it bad? Dad never talks about it," she asked quietly.
Mr. Sinclair thought for a minute before answering. She had never asked him about something this serious before. He needed to make sure that he answered this question very carefully. "Yes, it was bad. I was always afraid that something might happen to me and my buddies. I lost some of my buddies over there, and I will never forget them. For a long time after I got home, I had trouble sleeping. I had terrible nightmares where I lost all of my friends because of something that I did, or didn't do. I expect your Dad doesn't talk about Vietnam because he has similar memories. They are just too painful."
Jane nodded in understanding. For Mr. Sinclair, the look in her eyes was heartbreaking. She understood far too well the fear and pain that he was describing, but it wasn't Hopper's memories, it was her own.
Mr. Sinclair continued, "You know, going to Vietnam didn't make everything bad. After I got home, I was able to go to college and marry Mrs. Sinclair. I got a good job and we moved to Hawkins. We had Lucas and Erica, the most important things in my life, and over the past few years, I have been able to get to know all of his friends, including you. I doubt all of those wonderful things would have happened if I hadn't gone to Vietnam."
"Jane, from what I have heard, you have had a really tough life. I know that you still have nightmares. It is not fair that bad things happened to you. Just remember that everything in your life won't be bad just because of your childhood. In fact, they are already better. You have a great Dad and a bunch of friends who will do anything for you. You also have a special buddy, and his lovely wife, who will always be here to listen to you, answer your questions, or just be here for you on Saturday mornings, or any other time you need them. You won't forget the bad things, but if you have enough good things in your life, the bad things will begin to fade away over time."
Jane thought for quite a while before looking back at him, smiling shyly. "Mr. Sinclair, from now on, will you and Mrs. Sinclair please call me El instead of Jane?"
Mr. Sinclair was speechless for a moment. He wasn't sure where the nickname came from, but only a select few people called her El. If you did, you were part of her family, which had a special meaning that he didn't fully understand until years later, when she told the Sinclair's her full story. What he did understand at that moment was that she trusted him and loved him.
"I would be honored to call you El."
They both got up from the kitchen table and hugged each other. When Mrs. Sinclair came down a few minutes later, El asked her as well, and they all hugged again.
They didn't miss many Saturday mornings until she and Mike left for college.
She stayed with the Sinclair's on the Friday night before her and Mike's wedding. As usual, that Saturday morning, she and Mr. Sinclair got up early and had time for hot chocolate and conversation.