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Joyce was standing in the living room, wringing her hands. She hoped everything was good enough. She’d taken a half day at work specifically for this. She needed it to be perfect.
They’d rescued Will from the Upside Down less than three weeks ago, and ever since he’d been different. He was already different from the other kids before, quieter, more sensitive, but now it was worse. He was jumpy and traumatized. He was barely sleeping, barely eating, and getting him to talk was like pulling teeth some days.
She’d been hesitant to let him go back to school, but the brain doctors the government sent in had insisted that normalcy would be good for him. She wasn’t so sure school was the best idea, but she knew she couldn’t hide him away from the world forever.
Which had somehow ended up with her here, in a living room covered in as many lights as she could find, menorah proudly displayed on the mantle and latkes cooling in the kitchen. There was a dreidel and gelt on the table, and sufganiyot for dessert. It was the first night of Hanukkah, and they could all use a little bit of a miracle.
She’d told Jonathan that she had a surprise for them when they got home, but hadn’t specified what it was. She could tell he was curious, but she thought he deserved the fun too. He had spent so long worrying about her and Will, he should rest and just be a kid for a little bit.
She heard Jonathan’s car pull into the driveway, and quickly pulled herself together. She took one last look around the very brightly lit living room, and sighed. The front door opened, and she watched Will step inside, Jonathan close behind him. Will froze in place, taking in the scene. She smiled at him, and a smile broke out on his own face. A part of her melted at the sight of it, happy to finally receive one of those increasingly rare wonderful Will smiles.
She moved towards both of her boys, arms open. Will immediately fell into her arms, and Joyce grasped him tightly. She held onto him, just cherishing the feeling of her son in her arms. She would never take it for granted again. Will whispered, “Thank you,” but she shushed him. This was nothing.
She could see Jonathan hovering, so she reached out one of her arms, pulling him into the group hug. Both of her boys were safe and sound in her arms. She never wanted to leave this moment.
Of course, it couldn’t last forever. After a minute, Will pulled away and Jonathan followed his lead. They both shrugged off their jackets, hanging them up by the door.
“So, do you two want to light candles?” Joyce asked, wanting to get on with the celebrations. She ignored the slight catch in her voice or the happy tears burning her eyes. She had just missed this.
“Yeah!” Will exclaimed in a tone that he hadn’t used in a long time, bounding over to the mantle where the family menorah sat.
Jonathan added, “Whenever you’re ready, mom.”
Joyce smiled at both of them, wondering how she’d gotten so lucky to have such wonderful children. She followed the pair of them over to the mantle, a lighter in one hand. There were only two candles in the menorah today, the shamosh and the rightmost one, just like every year. It felt almost normal. It felt like home.
She lit the shamosh, and then held it while they sang. She lit the only remaining candle before returning it to the center place. Once they finished their prayers, she reached over, placing a kiss on both Will and Jonathan’s foreheads. “Hanukkah sameach,” Joyce whispered, voice quiet in the silence they had left behind.
“Happy hanukkah,” Jonathan added, and Will returned the phrase, all three grinning at each other and the candles.
“Now who wants some latkes?” Joyce asked, breaking the moment.
Will shouted, “Me!” and raced towards the kitchen. Joyce and Jonathan exchanged a fond look, happy that he was acting like his old self.
They followed him, and she started to plate the latkes. “I got sour cream just for you,” she said, winking at Will. She would never understand how she’d ended up with a son who preferred sour cream over applesauce, but she’d love him just the same.
Jonathan pulled a face. “You still think that’s the best way to eat it?”
Will shrugged. “Just because you both like applesauce better doesn’t mean you’re right.”
“Yeah, well you’re wrong,” Jonathan retorted.
“Boys,” Joyce said, knowing she couldn’t keep her fondness out of her voice even if she hated this argument, “Just eat your latkes. We don’t need to do this every year.”
They both snickered but dutifully took their fully loaded plates to the kitchen table. They settled around it, taking their usual places, and Joyce was the last to the table. She watched as they began eating, clearly enjoying the homemade food. It wasn’t perfect, but it tasted just like it always did. It tasted like tradition.
Once the latkes were eaten, she pulled out donuts and distributed the gelt for them to indulge in. She knew that Will hadn’t had much of an appetite, but she was pleased to see him take a donut on top of the latkes he’d already eaten. She watched them spin a dreidel round and round, occasionally joining in.
In a lull in the conversation, Joyce sprang up, and ran into the living room, remembering the presents she’d gotten for them. She’d meant to hand them out earlier, but she’d been so swept up in the joy of celebrating with her boys that she’d completely forgotten.
She grabbed the two small presents, wrapped in blue and white snowflake wrapping paper, bringing them back to the kitchen. She handed one to each of them, indicating for them to open it.
They watched Jonathan open his first, who was excited to see a new tape. Jonathan looked it over for a few seconds before saying, “Thank you, mom. I’ve been meaning to get this one.”
“Of course, sweetie,” she responded. She’d known he’d been wanting it, but with everything going on, he hadn’t gotten the chance to get it. It was the least she could do.
Will took that as a cue to open his. He carefully tore off the wrapping paper, mindful not to make a mess. Inside was a nightlight, shaped like R2-D2 from Star Wars. Will carefully held it, like he was afraid if he handled it wrong it might break. Joyce hoped she hadn’t misread the situation, but Will seemed so afraid of the dark. Maybe this would help keep the nightmares at bay.
“This is so cool! Thank you mom!”
She smiled back at him, “I’m glad you like it honey. I thought it might help you sleep.” Will nodded in understanding before gently placing it on the table.
“Dustin is going to be so jealous,” he added. Joyce laughed.
She smiled at the scene in front of her. The candles were burning low, the dreidel was spinning, and cheer and laughter was filling the home. For the first time in weeks, it felt like everything was actually going to be okay.