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Everyone left for college, some of the people joined the army, others stayed behind to start families and climb up the ladder to become a businessman of the town. Some of them had to work hard, earning money for the dream college, before actually enrolling and getting accepted. Jim Hopper was in the arm group of people.
He joined the army the second he walked out of that school for the last time, he made his way straight to the military unit closest to his hometown. His father was proud, watching his son follow into his footsteps, into his grandfather’s footsteps. It was different with his mother, always the worrying one. She tried negotiating with the men, dropping hints that working for the police was also bravery and he didn’t need to prove anything. But he did, he felt the pressure building on his shoulders ever since he could remember, always being told how well appreciated it would be if he did just that. So he had no other choice.
Joyce, now Byers, was in the work before the college group. She left the school and went straight to her shift at Melvald’s, working the whole day until closing. She didn’t have much influence at home, dad left when she was little and her mom worked her ass off, never showing up anymore.
Jim’s father died during his second year in Vietnam. He couldn’t make it to his funeral, he was needed over the seas. He couldn’t comfort his mother, help her with organizing the ceremony as an only child. But he still knows what’s going on in that small town of his, engulfed in gossip like it was a source of money.
Joyce showed up to his father’s funeral not exactly alone. She was in the early stages of her pregnancy, her belly starting to show even if she tried to hide it. And she tried hiding it, being slightly ashamed that her and Lonnie Byers weren’t married. Lonnie Byers, a highschool dropout, five years older than the mother of his child, but so deeply in love with her. No one could see the love though, not even Joyce, at least not anymore.
He found out that she got married through a letter his mother sent monthly. The wedding wasn’t a big event. The gossip said it was just the two of them, and the two month old baby that no one knew the name of.
It wasn’t until three month after giving birth that Joyce was back at work. Lonnie didn’t work much, just enough to keep the family together and the baby satisfied. But she still dreamed of going to college, the college that accepted her into marketing a month before she found out she would be having a baby. She didn’t go. Lonnie didn’t even want to hear about moving to Chicago, not when he had his life here.
Jim stayed over the seas for three years, doing his best there, trying not to think too much of his life back home. The life that he didn’t have, not anymore. He had his mother, that was for sure, and maybe his old pal Benny if he went back to Hawkins after serving for a year. He didn’t have a woman waiting for him, he never asked her to do that, and so she didn’t.
Jim never went back to Hawkins, he avoided the town like poison. He moved to Chicago, went to Police school, and worked lazy shifts. He met Diane the first month of living there. Before he knew it he was getting married, buying a house and having a kid. His Sara.
His life seemed to crumble. All the things he never thought he would have to face, the hurt and disappointment, all came to him at the same time. There was no longer Diane Hopper, not after the death of their angel. The way of his coping drew an end to his marriage. He put the blame on himself. His mother was another case. She was starting to have trouble with her health, needing assistance in daily tasks.
He got a job in Hawkins, quickly becoming the Chief as he was highly qualified. Benny was back, he took over his parent’s old diner, serving supposedly the best burgers in town. Sinclair got married a few years back, just experienced the birth of his firstborn and bought a big house on Maple Street.
He moved in with his mom, deciding it would be the best option in his situation. They lived close to the main square, making it a five minute walk to the station and other necessary institutions. He got the top floor of the house, consisting of two bedrooms and a bathroom, and he knew that one of the rooms would remain empty. His mom lived downstairs, turning his dad’s old office into her bedroom, since it was hard for her to use the stairs.
Jim, or Jimmy for his mother, didn’t need much but he had to relearn how to live. He had to hide cigarettes from his mother, only getting a chance to smoke when he was out. He never cooked before, excusing himself that he didn’t know how to, but now he had to, taking it off of his mom’s shoulders. She was alone in Hawkins, with no help or a shoulder for support. At least that’s what she said to bring him back home.
He was caught up with all the town gossip within two hours, sipping a cup of chamomile tea. He was seated across his mother, looking oddly big in the floral armchair, the cup too small for his fingers. His mother was half laying on the matching sofa, her cup put on the coffee table, staining a creamy cloth that would need washing.
Turns out a boy from his grade came out as a homosexual two weeks ago, being the main gossip of the town and keeping one name out of everyone’s mouths for some time, until something else related to her happens.
First it was Lonnie getting fired, a heated argument outside of Melvald’s, Lonnie moving out to some other woman, Joyce’s pregnancy belly showing and then the divorce that finalized a month ago. His mother assured him Joyce was okay, she’s always been strong, but this was different. She was strong when she had to stand her ground, tell Karen that she wasn’t going to her party or when she told Jim it’s just kissing or nothing.
He had yet to see her around the town, not expecting anything big from that.
He sighed as he stood up, put the half full cup on the coffee table and excused himself to open the door. He wasn’t expecting anyone, from what he was aware neither was his mother. It was probably just a door to door salesman, trying to sell the newest dictionary that no one really needed.
But he was wrong. It was someone he would never expect, out of everyone in the town, it was her.
“I’m sorry, is Mrs Hopper home?” She didn’t recognise him, making him close his mouth after gulping down.
She stood there carelessly, a brown paper bag of groceries held in her right arm, obviously being too heavy for her. She held a baby perched on her right hip, patiently rocking from her left to right to keep the boy entertained as she tried to make conversation. His eyes drifted down when he noticed a hand clutched on her shirt, thrown over a blouse with her name tag. There was a toddler there, shuffling his feet and playing with a rock that he must have found while they walked up to the door.
“Uhm, yeah. Come on in, Joyce.” She didn’t make much of him knowing her name, knowing well that she had it pinned to her top.
“Would you mind?” She asked as she shifted her gaze from him to the bag she was holding, quickly offering it to him before it slipped out.
He took the groceries without hesitating, watching as she shifted the baby onto her other hip before taking the hand of the other boy. He looked up at Jim, his baseball hat almost falling from his head before she caught it and put it back in a way that prevented it from falling again.
“Hi.” The boy didn’t smile. He just said hello and passed the man in the door, pulling his mother with himself.
Jim closed the door behind them, walking to the kitchen to place the bag on the counter. The boy made his way straight into the living room, where his mother was, and climbed the sofa so he could sit beside the older woman. He watched as the baby in Joyce’s arms giggled when his mother held out her hands for him. Joyce seated the boy in her lap, brushing a strand of loose hair that fell out of his mother’s braid behind her ear.
“I brought you my drawing I did today, Mrs Brown helped me color it in.” The older boy took off his backpack, opened it and took out a piece of paper folded neatly.
“Jimmy, where are your manners? Go bring Joyce something to drink.” His mother scolded him, letting the baby hold onto her finger as he sat calmly in her lap.
He saw Joyce’s face change, drowning in crimson at the realization. Of course it was him, it must have been him. He’s changed, but that’s what growing older did to people. He got bigger, probably even taller than he was in high school, and definitely looked more like his father. The father that intimidated him, the one he swore he would never be like.
Joyce stood up, drawing her oldest’s attention which quickly went back to the piece of paper. She walked over to where he was standing, leaning his shoulder on the wall and watching how comfortable her kids were around his mother.
“You never said Jim was coming back.” Joyce looked to his mother, watching as she shrugged her shoulders, and turned back to the man.
She got closer to him, growing on her toes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He had no idea what was going on, not expecting whatever was happening. She pulled him into a hug, bringing him down a little with her embrace. He felt his arms move familiarly, on their own accord, and wrapping themselves around her petite frame.
Their hug wasn’t long, lasting only for a few seconds, but the seconds allowed them to smell. He smelled her hair, catching what seemed like lavender mixed with the little perfume that he caught. She smelled cigarettes, mixed his sweat and his aftershave. Both of them remembered exactly how the other one smelled, although he didn’t catch cigarette smoke on her, probably caused by being a mother.
“You never wrote to me.” She pushed away, letting her hands rest on his pecs as she looked at his face with confusion. “You’ve changed.” She patted his chest twice before completely leaving his embrace.
He followed her into the kitchen, making sure with his gaze that his mother was okay being left alone with the kids. He noticed that Joyce felt like she was in her own home, knew where everything was, brough groceries and even trusted his mother with her kids. It was new to him, surprising even. Whenever he brought her over, only as a friend, she never felt comfortable. His father’s gaze was always disapproving, wishing his son met a woman that would actually bring value into the family. When things started to get romantic between them, he had to sneak her in, leaving a ladder outside his bedroom that had to be put back in the shed before his father woke up.
Joyce took two glasses out of the cabinet hung above the sink, she wiped them with a dish towel she found by the sink and poured tap water into both of them. One was filled to the brim, the other only halfways. She took a sip from the one that was full, licking her lips to collect droplets of water, and put the glasses on the small dining table in the middle of the kitchen.
“How long are you here for?” She asked as she wrapped her arms around herself, her shirt creasing in a way that had Hopper thinking her name tag would fall off.
“I just got a job here, Chief of the Police.” He brushed a hand through his hair, sighing softly as he leaned his shoulder on the threshold. “I’ve got a room fixed upstairs, mom needs my help.”
“She said she had someone coming in, didn’t realize it would be you.” Joyce moved to the groceries she brought and started unpacking it.
“How much do I owe you for this?” He pointed his finger to the bag, watching her put milk and butter in the fridge, with no intention of helping.
“It’s fine, we help each other out.”
Now he was curious, thinking how his mother could be helping his ex girlfriend, the person that was the closest to him at some point. The person that didn’t recognise him not even after ten years.
“You’ve always wanted to leave Hawkins.” He understood it, she was pointing out how his life changed and he moved back to the town he hated.
“You’ve always wanted to have two boys.” He smiled, making her smile as well.
It was true, ever since he could remember, Joyce has always wanted to be a mother of two, preferably boys. She also wanted to have a husband, live in a house that was not her childhood home and have a good career in marketing. From what he’s gathered, it’s the one thing she couldn’t control that came to life.
“The older one?” Joyce walked over to him, having already unpacked the bag, and pointed to the toddler telling a story to the older woman. “That’s Jonathan, he’s just turned five.” She waved at the kid, who was waving at the two of them when he noticed them looking. “The baby is Will, he’s eleven months old.”
“I’ve heard about what happened with Lonnie.” Jim said quietly not wanting the older boy to hear his father’s name.
“Of course you have, everyone in this town did. He made sure of it.” Joyce just shrugged her shoulders, visibly not caring about the man she once called her husband. “He visited us once after I gave birth to Will. Jonathan doesn’t even ask about him anymore.”
He felt something pinch his heart. He knew that not everyone was made to be a good parent. His father wasn’t, neither was he, but the way she said made him feel bad. She said it as if it wasn’t a big deal, as if she expected that at some point.
“Enough about me, tell me how you’ve been.” Joyce took the two glasses that she filled with water and made her way to the living room, having Hopper follow her tail again.
“I came back from Vietnam.” She handed Jonathan the glass that held less liquid, swiping his hair out of his face. “Then I moved to Chicago, went to police school.” He watched as she collected Will in her hands, sat down in the armchair he previously occupied, and helped him take a sip from her glass of water. “Got married, then divorced and ended up here.”
Hopper conveniently left out the part about his daughter, not being really ready to talk about it yet. And Joyce knew that, his mother shared the devastating news with her, making her thank God her babies were healthy and as safe as she could keep them.
He took a seat at the end of the sofa, his mother not taking the whole space since she was a tiny woman. He had a chance to take a good look at Joyce. She hadn’t aged a day, she grew out her hair a bit longer than she always did, even added a fringe. She did look more mature now, maybe because she was holding a baby in her arms or maybe it was caused by her hair. Her body now had more shape to it, something he wished he hadn’t realized this quickly. She was different, but she was the same Joyce he once knew.
“Mommy, I’m hungry.” The toddler jumped off of the sofa, leaving his drawing behind and walking the small distance to where his mom was sitting.
“I know, baby. Go grab your backpack and we’ll get going, okay?” The boy nodded, turned around and tried to put his backpack on.
Jim smiled as he watched the boy struggle. He reached out his hand, stilling the backpack in the air to make it easier on the boy. Jonathan managed to put it on, his little tongue sticking out as he adjusted the straps over his shoulders.
“Thanks.” He smiled softly at the man and ran to his mother’s side.
Joyce perched Will on her hip, a secure arm wrapped around his back to keep him from wiggling too much. She reached down for the small hand extended at her, grabbed it with a soft reassuring squeeze, being proud that he thanked when offered help, and smiled at Jim.
“I’ll come by on Tuesday, if you need anything just call me.” The first part was directed towards Mrs Hopper, her smile not leaving when she said that and turned to Jim.
He walked the three of them all the way to her car, realizing she was driving her dad’s old Pinto. He waited for her to securely help the kids inside, buckling them up in their seats in the back of the car.
“You’ve been taking care of her.” Jim stated, knowing he was right about that.
“After your dad passed, she had no one here.” Joyce closed the passenger door that let her put the kids inside and turned to face him. “She’s helped me just as much as I helped her.”
“Thank you.” He was sincere about this, the most he has been ever since he came back.
“Of course.” She smiled at him once more. Her hand squeezed around his forearm before diving into the car and driving off.
All he could think of while cleaning up the dishes was how she smiled. She smiled a lot more, probably appreciating life more than she did before. She also had two reasons to smile about now, and one less to cry about.
_____
The second time he saw her was Monday afternoon. He was just coming into the station, his hat in his hand as he just left his car, after a road incident that needed his attention. She was sitting on a bench in the park, a stroller rolling from her and to her in a steady pace as she kept her eye on the playground. She looked calm and relaxed, probably having finished work for the day, getting all the sun she could before the weather turned gloomy.
He hesitated for a second, knowing he had a report to fill out before he clocked out for the day, but before he knew it, his shoes led him to the bench. He put his hat on, keeping his sunglasses low on his nose and stood next to the bench, his hands resting on his hips.
“Refreshing day today, huh?” He looked down to her before looking into the stroller and seeing Will sleeping peacefully.
“It’s what your dad always said.” She smiled up and scooted over, making him room to sit at one of the ends of the bench.
“I’m turning into him, aren’t I?” He laughed softly, causing her to join him.
“You’re way nicer and don’t intimidate me.” She said truthfully, turning her gaze back to the playground, just in time to see Jonathan go down the slide. “Aren’t you going back to work?”
“If I don’t, can I keep you company?” He caught himself watching her son, flinching every time he was close to hurting himself.
“You can sit here with me, the bench is not mine.” She made one of her witty remarks, the ones he was so used to.
Before he could say anything more they were interrupted by a thud followed with a cry. Their heads turned to the source of the sound, a crying Jonathan on the ground. Joyce got up from the bench immediately, leaving the stroller with Hopper, and made her way to the kid that was already standing up.
She kneeled down in front of him, eyeing the elbow he was holding out to her, his face already red from tears and wailing. It was nothing big, a little scratch with barely any blood, but he was more scared than hurt. She kissed the scratch, whispering soft words that calmed down the toddler enough so she could pick him up. His arms wrapped around her neck immediately, face burying in her shoulder and the crying dying out as she rubbed his back in slow circles.
Hopper hadn’t even noticed when Will woke up, his fussing quickly turning into little cries. He acted out of instinct, took the baby out of the stroller and held him against his chest. He rocked him in his arms, lulling him back to sleep as Joyce joined him.
It was that one moment for both of them. Him seeing her act all motherly, caring and loving for her son with such tenderness to it. Her seeing him so soft and calm when her baby needed his attention, relaxing him with slow but certain lulling.
This was the moment they needed to have their old feelings resurface. The love that they once held for each other, buried deep down on the memory of their hearts. He knew she could feel it too by the ways her eyes softened, her shoulders relaxed and she couldn’t stop staring at him.
She’s never seen a sight this attractive. Jim Hopper holding her baby, looking like a natural and feeling like one. There was nothing that could make her heart bloom more with love than that one sight before her.
She leaned down slowly, letting her hand drop from Jonathan’s back to Jim’s cheek. Despite him sitting and her standing up, their height difference wasn’t big. She caressed her thumb down his lips, her eyes dropping to how they opened slightly as she did that, and she needed no more invitation.
They both closed their eyes, she brought her lips down onto his, leaving a soft kiss against his lips. She kissed him with affection, thanking him for being here to help her, for being the only one that did that. She pulled away, feeling Jonathan squirm in her arms at the uncomfortable position, and licked her lips.
He followed her tongue with his eyes, watching as she wetted her lips and leaned down once again. This time she left a kiss at his forehead, letting their noses brush together as she pulled back again.
He was a lost case after that, a lost case for Joyce Byers.
“I never stopped loving you.” He whispered loud enough for only the two of them to hear, worrying it was still too loud.
“I know, neither have I.”