Chapter 9
What was he going to say? He hadn't thought about that when he made the decision to visit Jim Hopper's grave. But after Jane had left his apartment in a hurry because he tried to kiss her and Mike had had his conversation with Will over whether Jane was truly Eleven, Mike felt like he had to see Hopper. Since he couldn't actually talk to the man, he had to do the next best thing.
"Hey Chief Hopper," Mike said. He felt rather foolish talking out loud to a headstone, but he continued anyway. "It's me, Mike Wheeler. I bet you'd never thought you'd see me again, huh? Well, I'm here. Of course I don't really know why I'm here. It seemed like a good idea at the time to look up your obituary and find the cemetery you were buried in and drive out here. And now I'm here and…and I don't know what to say."
Mike paused and looked around. Even though he knew he was alone, he wanted to make sure of it. He didn't want anyone seeing him talking to himself.
"I found her," Mike continued. "I found El. Or maybe she found me. I don't know. It seems crazy, right? I mean, how do two people find each other fifteen years later thousands of miles away from where they last saw each other? That's what Will would say anyway. I get it. I get why's he's skeptical. I mean, it does sound crazy, but…but I know it's her. In my heart I know it's her."
The more Mike said it out loud, the more he was sure it was true.
"Jane is great," Mike continued. "She's smart and kind and beautiful. But you already know that because you raised her. I just…I just have to ask…why? Why'd you take her from me? I know you wanted to protect her, but why didn't you tell me? I hated myself for a long time for losing her. I blamed you, I blamed me, I blamed her. It wasn't easy."
He felt a wave of sadness come over him. Mike realized he was letting go of so many feelings he had held onto for so long.
"I guess I came here today because I thought you might have some answers for me. Is this all real? Maybe if you could just…send me a sign or something, I'd know that it was real…" Mike trailed off. He was being ridiculous. He was talking to a dead man. But it felt right. Mike felt more at peace in the cemetery than he had in days.
"I'm sorry if I'm the one who stopped her from visiting you last Sunday. If she…if she ever speaks to me again, I'll make sure she comes back. I think…I think a small part of me will always be angry with you for taking her away from me. I know you had your reasons. I know you did everything you could to protect her and I suppose I should be thanking you for that. I just…I hope it's not too late. I hope we can have the future we were meant to have."
Mike looked around as if waiting for something to happen. He had poured his heart out to a piece of stone. He knew there would be no response, but that didn't mean that he didn't want one.
"Anyway, thanks for letting me…talk," Mike said finally. "It has really helped. I should…I should probably go."
Mike took one last look at the headstone. Somehow he knew it wouldn't be the last time he saw it.
Mike turned and walked away. He thanked Ruby, who was on her knees planting flowers near the water fountain, and went to his car. Mike started the engine and drove off. He wasn't in the mood to go to work, but he knew he had a meeting in the afternoon that he couldn't miss. Besides, Mike had never played hooky in his life.
But Mike did take his time driving back towards San Francisco. When he pulled into the parking garage at his office building, he did so with sadness. The last thing he wanted to do was go to work. He wanted to find Jane and talk to her. He wanted to call Will and tell him that he was wrong about Jane. He wanted to find Margaret and break up with her. But first he had to work.
By the time he got off the elevator and onto his floor, Mike was already being followed by two of the guys on his team. They were peppering him with questions about some code they were working on. Mike waved them off, telling them that they needed to start taking more initiative to solve problems on their own. Mike would help them later. He made his way into his office, closing the door in Gordon's face. When Mike got to his desk, he saw a stack of mail waiting for him. The mail got delivered daily by one of the three members of the mail room. With a company that big, mail was always coming in and interoffice mail was always being sent and received. Mike had a few large manila envelopes on his desk sent from the business office. He shuffled past those, knowing that they probably included forms for him to fill out for who knows what. At the bottom of the pile was a grocery store ad. It was rare to get ads in the mail at the office. Even though stores would send things to the office building, the mail department usually just recycled them immediately. Jeff had a strong policy that the mail was not to be used for advertisements or personal use. Deciding that somehow the grocery store circular just got mixed up in the pile, Mike went to dump it in the trash under his desk. But then he saw one of the items on the cover that was on sale.
"Eggo's," Mike said out loud to himself. Eggo waffles were on sale. Fives boxes for eleven dollars. Mike wasn't sure if he believed in heaven or hell or God or whatever, but he looked up towards the ceiling of his office building. He imagined himself looking past the plaster above him and up beyond into the sky. He smiled.
"Thank you," he said.
He had asked Hopper for a sign and he had gotten one. Things were going to be ok. Mike was brought back to reality when the door to his office opened. Mike looked to see who it was. Her name was Carla Ross and she was the head of human resources. She was tough as nails, brilliant, and old enough to be Mike's grandmother. But she did a hell of a job and was Jeff's right hand woman.
"Jeff moved the meeting up," she informed Mike.
"To when?"
"Now," she said.
"What's the hurry?"
Carla shrugged. "I don't know, but you better come with me."
The last thing Mike wanted to do was go to a meeting, but he knew he had no choice. Grabbing a file folder from his desk that he had prepared a few days earlier, Mike followed Carla to the large conference room. Several other men were already sitting. Mike politely said "hello" to them all before he took his seat.
Two hours later, Mike was tapping his pencil against his yellow memo pad. He wasn't listening to a word Jeff was saying at the head of the boardroom. After a brief update from Carla about some new hires, Jeff has spent most of the two hours presenting the company's newest stock numbers and potential partners. Mike was supposed to be paying attention. He was supposed to report in about the newest development that the computer coders were working on after Jeff was done, but he could barely concentrate. He just wanted to be done. He was making a mental checklist of the things he needed to do. Step one was break up with Margaret. Step two was to apologize to Jane and tell her he broke up with Margaret. Step three was to call Will and tell him that he was all wrong about Jane. Mike's trip to Hopper's grave had made him 100% sure that Jane was Eleven and that she had no ulterior motives. Step four was to spend the rest of his life with Jane.
"Michael?" Jeff's voice rang out. "Michael?"
Mike stopped tapping his pencil and looked up at his boss. Carla and the other men around the table were staring at him. Mike felt like he was in school again when a teacher called on him, but he missed the question.
"Sorry," he said.
"Are you alright?" Jeff asked.
"Yes."
"Busy thinking about the newest programs we're rolling out next month, I hope."
"Yeah, that's it," Mike lied.
"Well, why don't we move on to more important matters. Our annual gala is this weekend and we don't have a charity to donate our proceeds to," Jeff announced.
Mike had to hand it to the man. Even though Jeff loved his money and spent it well, he also had a heart. Each year, the company through a big gala, charging a ridiculous amount of money per person to attend. The biggest names from the San Francisco area including celebrities, the mayor, and every head of every big company would be there. All of the money that was made would be donated to a charity. Every year Jeff picked a different group to receive the funds. Everything from animal rescue leagues to clean water efforts in foreign countries to cancer research programs had been selected in the past.
"What happened to the military organization we had already selected?" One of the men in the room asked.
"Turns out the president of the organization was embezzling money," Jeff answered. "So we're back to square one. And we only have a few days to find a cause. Any suggestions?"
"What about…" the woman began to say.
"The state foster care system," Mike interrupted, the idea suddenly hitting him.
"What?" Jeff asked.
"There are hundreds of kids in San Francisco that are in the foster care system. The state doesn't have the money or the manpower to help them all and they need help. Look, we've given to organizations all over the world. Why not help the kids in our backyards?"
Jeff mulled over the suggestion. He nodded.
"I like it. I'll contact the mayor and have him send us a representative to come to the gala."
"I have somebody," Mike said, thinking of Jane. This would be his chance to see her again and to make sense of what was going on. "A friend. She's a social worker. She works for the state."
"Good. Invite her. Mike, do you care if we postpone your presentation until next week's meeting?"
Mike shook his head. He was pretty sure that if he tried to present anything, it would just come out as gibberish.
"Works for me," Mike said.
"Alright then. Meeting is adjourned. Now, back to work everybody."
Mike picked up his notepad, which he had written nothing on, and slipped his pen behind his ear. The others left the room. Mike was about to head out the door, when Jeff said his name. He turned back.
"Is there something else?" Mike asked.
"Margaret came to me," Jeff began. "She said you haven't been very...attentive recently since she's been back from Milan."
Mike had to stop himself from physically cringing. He liked his boss, but he hated that Margaret would run to her father any time there was anything wrong with their relationship.
"I've been busy," Mike responded.
"I told her that. But maybe you want to...give her a little attention."
"Yes, sir."
"That's my boy."
Mike walked out of the conference room and headed for his office. Despite what he had just promised his boss, Mike knew he had to end things with Margaret. He had known it for a long time, even before Jane had walked into his life, but had just been too chicken to actually do it. No matter what the professional ramifications were, Mike was going to break up with her.
Putting the thoughts of Margaret aside, Mike focused on what he really wanted to do. He sat at his computer and quickly looked up the information he needed. He dialed the phone number from his screen. After going through a few automatic prompts, Mike finally heard someone answer the phone.
"Human Services Agency," the female voice said. "This is Sheila. Can I help you?"
"Can I speak to Jane Smith please," Mike replied.
"Just a moment."
The woman put him on hold. Mike waited, listening to the instrumental music. Less than a minute later, he heard Jane's familiar voice.
"This is Jane Smith. How can I help you?"
The visit to Hopper's grave and seeing the Eggo waffles on sale was enough of a sign that Jane was Eleven. The sound of her voice was just more proof. Mike knew that all of the thoughts Will had put into his head were wrong. Jane was Eleven and there were no ulterior motives or reasons why Jane would lie to him about knowing who she was. And it wasn't a coincidence why Mike had run into Jane on the street that day. It was fate. Just like it was fate that he and his friends found her in the woods. They were meant to be together and Mike wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of that.
"Hi Jane," Mike said.
She didn't respond right away. Mike guessed she was surprised to hear his voice.
"How did you get this number?" She asked.
"It's not hard to look you up. I'm sorry if I crossed a line."
"No, it's ok. I just...I'm surprised to hear from you. That's all. What can I do for you, Mike?"
Mike wanted to say I miss you. He wanted to tell Jane that things were over with Margaret and he wanted Jane in his life, but he knew he couldn't lay it all out like that. Not just yet anyway. His first step was to break up with Margaret. Then he could tell Jane how he felt about her.
"My company is holding a party," Mike explained to her, trying to stick to business. "A...gala actually."
"The annual Thompson Gala. I've heard of it."
"I know this is short notice because it's this weekend, but I want you to come."
There was a pause. "I...can't."
"Why not?" Mike asked.
"Do I really have to say it out loud?" She responded.
"This is about the other night, isn't it?" He said. "Look, Jane…"
"You have a girlfriend," she whispered. "And I'm at work. I have to go."
"They want to give the money to your department," Mike quickly told her before she could hang up.
"What?"
"The Human Services Agency. Thompson wants to give the money to help the kids in foster care."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"That's...thousands of dollars."
"Hundreds of thousands," Mike corrected.
"Why?"
"Because it's a worthy cause."
"Did you have something to do with this?" She asked.
"Does it matter? I told him I knew someone who could represent the organization at the gala. Please come."
"I don't...I wouldn't have anything to wear. It's not like I go to galas very often."
"It doesn't matter what you wear."
"Oh so I can show up in my white sneakers?"
Mike laughed. "You'd be beautiful no matter what you wear."
Jane was silent again. "Alright," she finally said after a long pause. "I'll come, but only because the money will help countless children."
"Ok. I can drop off an invitation at your office or…"
"Just mail it to me," she said.
"Alright. Look, Jane about Margaret…"
"I have to go," she said and the line went dead. Mike hung up his phone. Why did it feel like she was always running away from him?
Author's Note: I don't have much to say except thanks for reading and for your wonderful comments. The next chapter is almost done so I hope to post soon!
