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"Vacation"
Six months without you and I still haven't gotten over you yet
- The Go-Go's
After pestering her all the way to the bank to stop and think and worry about whether this was some kind of a trap, Murray was perversely cheerful once they had the money safe in its bag and the plane tickets booked. He insisted on cooking for the kids while Joyce packed, singing in the kitchen. Could Murray cook? Joyce thought there were equal chances he was all thumbs in the kitchen and they'd have to choke down something terrible, and that he was a virtuoso who was making them a gourmet meal.
The end result was … solid. Neither terrible or a masterpiece. Not that Joyce would have cared much either way. She was such a wreck—excited and nervous and scared and happy all at the same time—that she barely noticed the food as she put it in her mouth. She looked around at the kids, wanting so badly to tell them … but it wasn't right. If something went wrong and she had to come home without Hopper, which she could barely contemplate, she couldn't bear to have to look in El's eyes and tell her. No, best to wait and tell her once it was all over, if everything went well.
While Joyce stared at her plate and thought about Hopper and the days to come, and the kids mostly picked at their food, Murray kept up the entire conversation on his own. Fortunately for all of them, he was good at that.
"And bam!" He actually pounded on the table. "It hits me—didn't the Byers' move here?"
Joyce forced a smile for the kids, who seemed completely uninterested in why Murray was here. "Small world, isn't it? It's a small world."
"So I thought, 'hey, you know what? Why don't I drop in, say hello to my old friends?'"
Of course, Murray wasn't really friends with the kids. For that matter, Joyce wasn't sure she'd call them exactly friends, either … although he had dropped everything and flown halfway across the country the minute she'd called. If that wasn't friendship, what was?
"It's so sweet of you," she said now, plastering on a fake smile so the kids wouldn't suspect anything was up.
"Sweeter of you to let me stay." If anything, Murray's smile looked faker than hers.
"And he cooks, too!" Joyce held up a forkful of the risotto.
"And cleans. A regular little housewife!"
Joyce kept that fake smile on, ignoring the disturbed looks the kids were giving both of them. "You should just stay."
"I'd be tempted, Joyce, except, you know, you have that, uh …" He made a gesture for her to finish the sentence.
She realized she hadn't actually told the kids she was leaving. If Murray hadn't reminded her, she might have forgotten entirely. All she could think of was Hopper. "Right," she said, picking up on his hint. "That business trip."
"Business trip? What business trip?" Will asked. Both El and Mike were frowning at her, too, clearly confused. Well, of course they were confused—she was making it all up on the spot.
"Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot to tell you guys. This thing came up at work … and it turns out I have to go to a conference tomorrow. In Alaska."
Will nearly dropped his fork. "Alaska?"
"Tomorrow?" Mike looked like he thought that was weird. Well, it was weird, and Mike was just the one to poke holes in the story if she let him.
Murray chuckled lamely. "Crazy, right?"
"That's where they're based," she said. Were they? She had no idea. "The … Britannicas." Murray frowned at her, and she kept going. Might as well commit to the lie. "Joan and Brian Britannica."
"So, do Eskimos, like, still live in igloos, or, uh, are they, like, fully-blown, like, living in the … in the suburbs now?" Argyle asked. Joyce blessed him silently for saving her from any more germane questions.
"Who is this?" Murray asked.
Joyce ignored him. He was in no position to make comments about people who drifted in and were added to the group. "So," she said instead, "Jonathan. This means you're going to have to, you know, take charge while I'm gone."
"Wait. What?" He looked at her like he hadn't heard a word she'd said. "What's going on?"
"Your mom's going to Alaska," Argyle whispered to him.
"You're going to Alaska? What's going on in Alaska?"
Argyle to the rescue again. "The Britannicas are there."
"The Britannicas?"
Jonathan was really out of it. Nancy not showing up must have hurt him a lot more than he'd admitted to. Still … to have missed the entire conversation? Joyce frowned at him. "Jonathan, what's wrong with you?"
Murray muttered, "I think I know what's wrong with him," but Joyce ignored him.
"We just had a super stressful day."
"This girl got schmacked in the head today at the roller rink," Argyle explained.
"Schmacked?" Murray repeated.
"Yeah, one of those vicious skate attacks."
"A skate attack?"
"Yeah, but it wasn't an ice skate. It was, um, it was a plastic skate," Jonathan explained.
"No, it was, like, rubber," Argyle corrected him.
"Rubber. Rubber." Jonathan nodded. "Rubber."
"You know what, I'm not sure," Argyle concluded. "Anyway, she looked like she's going to be fine."
"She's totally fine," Jonathan agreed.
Across the table, Mike muttered, "She didn't look fine."
And then El abruptly dropped her napkin on her plate and left the table.
Joyce stood up, calling after her. "El, aren't you going to finish your—" But the slamming of El's bedroom door answered the question firmly.
Mike took a sip of water, and Will hid his face in his hand.
"What is going on, you guys?" Joyce asked.
"Okay, I, uh, I sense tension. Is it the risotto? Everyone hates the risotto?"
"Absolutely not," Jonathan said reassuringly. "No, it's incredible."
"This risotto is schmackin', dude," Argyle added.
Murray shook his head. "Still have no idea who he is."
"Guys?" Joyce looked at Will and Mike, who looked at each other and then silently away. She'd seen this before—they were in a fight, and both of them thought they were right.
At last Mike sighed and pushed his chair back. "I'll go talk to her."
He went upstairs.
"Will? What happened today?"
"Oh. Uh, nothing, Mom. It's just … hard, you know, because it's been a long time. So, uh, tell me about Alaska."
Of course, that was the last thing Joyce wanted to talk about, so they finished their meal in awkward silence.