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I'm going to kill Nancy, Mike thought.
As if on cue, she stuck her head in his room one last time, saying, "You may want to wipe off that lip gloss before you come downstairs, little brother. Or don't. Your funeral."
Mike's hand immediately went to his mouth, rubbing off the remnants of Jane's cherry lip gloss.
"Girlfriend?" Jane asked again. She's not going to let that go, Mike thought. Attacking his sister seemed like a better option than having this discussion at the moment. His eyes widened as he regarded Jane, a look of expectation on her face. It was obvious she was wanting him to clarify what Nancy meant. Mike rubbed the back of his neck, fumbling for a response. His mouth felt too dry to speak. Why has that word turned me into a bumbling idiot, he chastised himself.
"Uh, don't worry about that," he somehow managed to articulate, "We probably should be getting downstairs. Don't want the parents to come looking for us…" His voice trailed off, his attention focused intently on his shoes.
Jane's eyes found the floor too, wondering what was down there that was so interesting. She looked back up at Mike, her face etched with confusion.
Okay, Wheeler, he told himself. Be a man. He inhaled a deep breath and lifted his gaze to meet hers. Her eyes are amazing, he found himself thinking. Focus, he told himself, shaking his head to clear his brain. Her eyes had not budged from his face, looking at him expectantly.
"Do you know what a girlfriend is? And a boyfriend?" He asked her cautiously.
"I think so," she answered. "But tell me. Just to be sure."
She's going to make me explain it, his internal dialogue continued. You've gone this far. No stopping now.
"A girlfriend and boyfriend are, uh, dating. It's like that's your favorite person to be with. Like they go out on dates to the movies or whatever."
She nodded, taking in the information and pondering it.
"And go to dances?"
"Yes!" He blurted out, surprised at his own reaction. He was so relieved he didn't have to clarify anymore. At least she knows what it means.
"And, kiss?" Jane asked, quietly.
At that, he simply nodded.
"Then I'm your girlfriend! You're my boyfriend. You're my favorite to be with!" she said, her voice full of excitement and happiness.
Even though he had promised her dad complete honesty, he had to break his pledge, just this once, because he valued his life. And he didn't want to jeopardize being able to see her again. If her dad knew what they were discussing, he may cut Mike off.
"Hey," he said, "Don't tell your dad that I'm your boyfriend, ok? I mean, he probably already knows. But he may get mad if you tell him. And we don't want him mad at us." Knowing it and hearing it from his daughter's mouth are two different things.
"We don't want that," she agreed, nodding vigorously.
"We should go back down, before anyone starts looking for us," he said reluctantly. They made their way to the top of the stairs, but Mike stopped them when he heard the adults' conversation. He heard Jane's name. He put his finger to his lips, and whispered, "Let's listen. Just for a second." She nodded.
"Jane seems like a lovely girl," Mrs. Wheeler was saying. "It breaks my heart to think what she's been through."
"I appreciate your understanding," Hopper replied. "It probably sounds overprotective that I can't put her in school just yet. There could still be some, um, bad influences from her past looking for her. It's complicated. I can't go into details."
"No need," Mike's mom said kindly.
"Plus, she has a lot of catching up to do," Hopper continued, the concern showing on his face. "A lot to learn. She's never been to school. I'm actually hoping Mike and his friends can help with that."
Mike and Jane perked up, making eye contact and smiling. That meant they could see each other.
"Of course," Mrs. Wheeler said. "I hardly think it will be a chore for Mike to spend time with your daughter. I'd say he would welcome the opportunity."
Mike rolled his eyes and whispered, "God, Mom…" Jane quietly giggled, covering her mouth.
Hopper went on, "I was thinking maybe once a week tutoring sessions? I am going to be homeschooling her too but I can't teach her everything. And for her protection, the tutoring sessions with the kids will have to be at my place. At least to start with. I hope that's okay. It's not safe for her to be out in public just yet."
Joyce interjected, "I can speak for Will that he would love to help. I'm sure Dustin and Lucas would too. They all think the world of Jane."
Ted Wheeler cleared his throat, apparently feeling like he should be part of the conversation. He said stiffly, "Happy to assist a fellow patriot, Chief Hopper."
"Thank you," Hopper said, feeling relieved the conversation had gone well. He had been afraid the Wheelers would have more questions. If they did, they were too polite or felt too sorry for Jane to ask. "The kids can help Jane socially too. She's never really been around peers her age before."
"Poor thing," Mrs. Wheeler said sympathetically, taking a sip from her wine glass. A buzzer from the kitchen sounded, stopping the conversation. "Oh, that means dinner is ready. Now, where are Jane and MIke...Michael!"
Why does she have to use my whole name, makes me feel five years old, Mike thought. At least she didn't say "Michael Edward Wheeler." He would have died.
He lead Jane down the stairs, hurrying so his mother didn't have a reason to yell his name again.
"Ah, here they are," Joyce said, taking Jane's hand. "Dinner is ready. And it smells wonderful, Karen."
Hopper eyed Mike suspiciously and put his arm protectively around Jane. "Doing okay, honey?" he asked her as they walked to the dining room table.
"Yes, Dad," she answered, beaming.
"Mom, Jane can sit by me," Mike offered. Big surprise, thought Hopper.
Mike showed Jane to her chair, then sat down himself. His mom and Nancy were bringing the food to the table. Jane was delighting in the scene unfolding before her, having never been at a real family dinner. A huge smile was on her face, with a little nervousness behind it. Everyone was talking and laughing, the adults filling glasses and placing dinner on the table. Mike, Jane, Holly, and Nancy were at one end of the table, the adults at the other end. Mrs. Wheeler cut Holly's meat into little pieces before putting her plate in front of her and patting her head. Chief Hopper and Mr. Wheeler were making small talk about football.
This is family, Jane thought.
"Jane, would you like milk or water?" Mrs. Wheeler asked.
Jane swallowed, remembering the lessons on manners and answered, "Milk, please."
Hopper gave her a smile of approval and a wink. He helped fill Jane's plate with roast beef, potatoes, and green beans. She quickly glanced at the vegetables, then at her dad, who gave her a nod, indicating she was expected to eat them.
"What is Santa bringing you?" Holly asked Jane, once everyone was seated and eating. "I want a Barbie dream house. It's pink."
Jane had no idea what Holly was talking about. Her eyes grew big and she started to panic, not knowing at all how to respond. This was not a topic they had practiced. Mike quickly squeezed Jane's hand under the table as silent reassurance. He had her back.
"Hey, Holly, you know what? Chief Hopper gave Jane an early Christmas present. Tell Holly what it was, Jane," Mike suggested, deflecting the Santa question.
Jane took his lead and said eagerly, "I got a kitten. She's white. I named her Snowball."
Mike decided that if he kept talking, Holly would probably forget what she had originally asked Jane. At least he hoped so.
"I want some games, and maybe a new bike, and I've always thought I may want to learn to ride a skateboard, oh and comic books, and definitely some good candy in my stocking…" Mike babbled.
His mother looked at him with a surprised expression, setting down her knife and fork briefly and said, "Wow, Mike, that's quite a list."
Mike shrugged, pleased that his tactic seemed to have worked. He made a mental note to talk to Jane later about Santa. That will be an interesting conversation, he thought to himself.
"I'd love to see your kitten, Jane," Nancy said. "She sounds so cute!"
"She wanted to come tonight. But it was a firm no." Jane replied in complete seriousness, making a point of taking a bite of green beans while her dad was watching.
Mrs. Wheeler laughed, clearly thinking Jane was making a joke.
Hopper choked into his wine glass, sending him into a coughing fit. Joyce smacked him on the back until it passed. He drained his water glass, regaining his composure.
"I'm allergic to cats," said Mr. Wheeler with a frown.
Jane didn't know what that meant either but she didn't ask. She thought that asking may be rude, according to her dad.
After dinner, Jane wandered into the living room, drawn to their Christmas tree like a magnet. It was full and green with beautiful twinkling lights and colorful decorations. She stared at it in awe. Mike stared too, though he was watching her, not the tree. She reached out to touch it cautiously, as if she were afraid it would break or disappear. Her fingers moved lightly over the branches.
"Don't you have a Christmas tree?" He asked her. She shook her head, not moving her gaze from the tree. Mike chanced a glare at Hopper. The adults were still at the table, drinking coffee and talking. Joyce caught Mike's look and playfully hit Hopper's arm.
"Hop! You don't have a Christmas tree?! Look at Jane! She needs one. Christmas is next week, you know."
"Yes, thank you, I am aware of the date, Joyce," he replied, suddenly feeling everyone's eyes on him. "I am going to get one, of course. I just didn't want to get it too soon. They dry out. Fire hazard."
"Dad! We can get one?" Jane asked from the other room.
"I planned to do that tomorrow, honey!" He called back, chugging the rest of his coffee. "Oh, look at the time. We need to be getting home. Karen, Ted, I can't thank you enough for everything." He got up and pushed in his chair.
The Wheelers rose also, shaking his hand. "It was our pleasure," Mrs. Wheeler said. "Let us know when you want Mike to start helping Jane with school work. Also, you're welcome to come to dinner anytime."
Hopper and Joyce walked into the living room, signaling to Jane it was time to leave.
She looked sadly at Mike, "It's time to go."
"Bye, Jane," MIke said, hoping his voice didn't crack. "Can I see you again soon?"
Mike was tentatively looking at Hopper, who was feeling generous.
"Don't worry, kids. I'm not going to keep you two apart. Like I've told you both. Follow the rules and everyone stays happy."
"Thank you, Chief Hopper," said Mike, visibly relieved.
"Jane, what do you say to Mike's parents?" Hopper asked, helping Joyce on with her coat.
"Thank you for dinner." Jane replied politely.
Mike's mom gave her and Joyce a hug goodbye. Mike watched from the door as they walked to Hopper's truck, wondering if it would ever get easier to say goodbye to Jane.
In the truck, Jane snuggled close to her dad for warmth. Joyce put an arm around her, and said, "You did great tonight, sweetie."
Jane glowed with pride. She had remembered all of her manners and she had gotten to see Mike. That was a perfect night in her book.
"Thank you, Joy-, um, I mean Mrs. Byers".
"You can call me Joyce. Goodness knows I'm not married to 'Mr. Byers' anymore, Thank God," she answered with a smile.
Jane wasn't sure about that so she asked, "Dad? Is it okay?"
Hopper was in such a good mood, he would have agreed to almost anything.
"Sure, that's fine. I don't want you to get in the habit of calling adults by their first name but this is different."
"Different?" Jane asked, confused. Joyce is an adult so how is it different, she pondered to herself.
"Well, yeah. You know, she's like family."
"Family? Like Mike and his parents and sisters?"
Joyce didn't even try to hide her laughter. Let's see you dig yourself out of this one, Hopper.
He was clearly unsure of what to say. "Well, not exactly like that," he said, stumbling over his words.
Thankfully for him, they had arrived at Joyce's house. He got out to walk her to the door.
Giving her a hug, he said, "Thank you again for coming."
"So, tell me, did you really plan on getting a Christmas tree tomorrow?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"Of course!" Then he collapsed into laugher. He couldn't even convince himself that was true.
"Want me to come by after work? Help with the decorating? For Jane, you know."
"Would you?" He asked, visibly relieved.
"I'll be there. You bring the tree."
He embraced her again, placing a kiss on her cheek. I wish it was more, he caught himself thinking. No, Hopper, no time for that. Back to reality.
The look in her eyes told him she also wished that kiss had been more. "Since we're almost like family, after all."
She pulled herself out of his arms, reluctantly. "You'd better get Jane home."
He nodded, turning and walking to his truck. When he got in, Jane looked at him.
"Dad?"
"Um hmm?" He responded, still thinking how nice Joyce felt in his arms.
"Is Joyce your girlfriend?"
