Work Text:
December 2022
The invitations had clearly said identification would be required at the gate. So why is it now chaos in my frigging car?
Steve Harrington shrugged at the man who stood patiently at the driver side window as everyone in the van scrambled, digging through wallets and purses. The man was wearing a charcoal suit with a tailored overcoat, the picture of elegance. He was also, Steve clocked, carrying a weapon under his jacket and had a small transparent earpiece in.
Professional grade security.
Steve finally collected all five pieces of identification and handed them to the man on the gate.
“D’ya think we can trust that one?” Steve asked, jerking his head toward the infant in the car seat. The man smiled and said nothing. Instead, he removed a tablet from his jacket and started comparing IDs against a screen that Steve couldn’t see. The man wielded a miniature black light flashlight, checking each piece of ID for security features.
“You are Steven Harrington?” the guard asked. “And this is your wife Cassidy Innes Harrington?” They confirmed.
“And here we have ...?”
“Emily Harrington,” Emily grunted from the back seat. She was 12 going on 25.
“Tyler and Juliette Guthrie,” said Tyler.
“And what’s the relationship there?”
Steve felt like telling him it was none of his damn business but, instead, he forced his face into a polite smile. “Emily and Tyler are our children. Juliette is Tyler’s wife.”
“So the baby is...” the man consulted his tablet “... Imani Joy Guthrie?”
“Yes,” Steve replied. He glanced at Cassie who looked freaked out. “They required full names on the RSVP,” he hissed.
“OK, thank you for your cooperation, folks. We really appreciate you helping to keep this event secure. Just follow this road up the hill and bear right to get to the parking lot. You’ll enter the venue through the main doors. Just a reminder that there is no photography or videography permitted at the event, and you will all have to pass through a metal detector and security check when you enter.”
Steve drove forward as the gate rose. As he went past the gatekeeper’s hut, he could see a second man in there. Equally nicely dressed, with an automatic weapon in his hands. He hoped no one else in the car had seen that.
“Dad, that was really weird,” Tyler said from the seat behind him.
“Yeah, it was,” Steve said. “Maybe they get a lot of wedding crashers. It’s really fucking fancy here.”
“Language,” said Emily sarcastically.
They pulled into the parking lot beside the elegant mansion. Another dapper gentleman with a bulge under his arm came forward. “Just leave your vehicle in one of these spots over here, sir, and you can offload your family. I’ll take your keys. Complimentary valet parking at today’s event.” He handed Steve a claim check.
“I feel like the poor person alarm is about to go off,” Cassie whispered as they helped Tyler and Juliette pull the stroller and baby gear out of the back. Emily took little Imani’s car seat out, fussing over her tiny niece.
They entered through huge double doors. Still another well-dressed burly man ushered them through a metal detector. “Please empty your pockets into one of these containers. Jackets off, gentlemen. Handbags on the belt. Please carry the baby ma’am, and put the carrier and diaper bag through the x-ray device here. Just a quick pat-down folks, apologies for the inconvenience.”
On the other side of the metal detector, it was a wonderland.
The huge hall was festooned with greenery, gold decorations, and millions of twinkling fairy lights. The scent of pine filled the air, and a string quartet played in the corner. And the signage everywhere read:
Lucas and Max’s Great Wedding Do-Over
Twenty-two years after they had eloped, Lucas and Max had decided to have a full wedding – and do it up big.
“This is incredible,” said Cassie. An attendant came forward to whisk their coats away, while a waiter approached with a platter of shrimp appetizers.
Jonathan Byers came beelining through the crowd of guests toward him. “Pardon me, excuse me, my bad. Steve, so good to see you. Come, let’s get a drink,” he said, grabbing Steve by the sleeve and towing him away.
“What’s happening?” Steve asked, grabbing a champagne cocktail as it sailed by on a tray. “Is there a credible threat against us? I haven’t seen security like this since ... well, since ever. It’s the kind of security we would have wanted during peak Agreement era, but we were all too broke to afford.”
“No one knows. But Nancy’s noticed something.” Nancy joined them and gave Steve a quick hug.
“Look around,” she said. “Look at the faces. See anyone you recognize?” Steve turned in a circle, looking at each of the people milling around and talking in the stunning room.
“Well, yes, of course, I ...” He paused. “I recognize everyone.” He looked some more. “Okay, there are a couple of the younger generation’s spouses I don’t know very well. And I can’t tell if we have one new child or if that’s one of the youngest ones growing up. But otherwise ...”
“It’s just the original Upside Down family. No outsiders. Except for this presidential-level security detail.”
“You’re right,” Steve said, thinking. “But why does it matter that it’s just us?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Nancy. “But it’s interesting. I can’t remember the last time we were all together without at least some outsiders. Maybe never.”
Steve suddenly saw a familiar head go bobbing by. “Henderson!” Dustin turned, standing on his tiptoes to look over the crowd. He spotted Steve, waved frantically, and barrelled over to give him a huge hug. As one of the groomsmen, Dustin was looking stylish in a classic black tux with a red bow tie and cummerbund, his greying mass of curls still going strong while other hairlines receded and vanished.
“My dude!” Dustin exclaimed. “Can you believe this place?”
“It’s awesome, yeah. Hey, any idea why they’ve hired this level of security?”
“Oh yeah, don’t worry about that. Lucas told us in the groom’s room that Max had a huge fit of paranoia a few weeks ago so they hired a security team,” Dustin said. “She was panicking because so many of us would be in one place all together, and she was afraid someone from the past would take advantage of it.”
Steve frowned. “That’s nuts. No one gives us a shit about us anymore. The government forgot about us years ago. Plus we’re way too old to be causing trouble.”
“Speak for yourself, Grandpa.”
Jonathan looked around, and Steve followed his gaze. He made three more security team members in various alcoves around the room. “It’s the same level of security I’d expect if we had an A-list celebrity attending a promotional event or a screening,” said Jonathan. “Discreet, classy, expensive. Plus, look at this.” Jonathan moved to one of the floor to ceiling windows and pulled aside the heavy swag of greenery and flowers. He tapped not on glass, but on metal. “There are temporary steel shutters over all the windows. Bullet proof, I’m guessing. Is Taylor Swift performing at the reception?”
Emily cruised by with one of Erica’s kids. They froze at the mention of Taylor Swift. “Really?” they asked in unison.
“No, not really.” They both pulled disappointed faces and vanished back into the crowd.
“Dustin, where’s Kaori?” asked Jonathan. “Can she give us an update?”
“She’s in the bride’s room, helping Max get ready. Absolutely no boys allowed, I was told.”
“Trust us, we tried to visit,” said Will, shouldering in beside them with Carlos not far behind. They were the other groomsmen in the wedding party. “Max threw a shoe at me when I stuck my head in. If the gays aren’t getting in, no one is.”
Jonathan shook his head. “This so-called fit of paranoia is putting them back tens of thousand.”
“They can afford it,” said Dustin casually. “Now Lucas’ signature cocktail is an Old Fashioned, and Max is doing a holiday-themed Cosmopolitan, whatever that might be. Will, Carlos and I have exactly 45 minutes before we have to go do groomsmen things. This way to the bar, everyone ... I’m buying.”
~~ ~~ ~~
Steve was three drinks in, and the ceremony hadn’t even started. He found Cassie gossiping with Robin and her long-time partner Autumn near a huge board of photos of the happy couple. All the signage was stunningly designed (as the invites had been), and he guessed Will’s design agency had done some pro bono work.
“There you are,” Cassie said. “Look who I found!” Steve hugged Robin and Autumn for a long time. The alcohol was making him sentimental.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s good to see you too, Grandpa,” said Robin, kissing his cheek. “Now where is she? Lead the way to that baby.”
Juliette and Tyler were predictably surrounded by people wanting to see their three-month-old daughter. With none of the original family having bio children, any and all babies were fair game at events like this. There had been several adoptions, a few fosters, and – as was the case for Steve – some blended families. But there had been very few infants over the years, and none as beautiful as baby Imani.
“Okay folks, Grandpa coming through here.” Steve sidled through the crowd. Tyler sighed and passed Imani to his father. “Look at this face,” Steve gloated as he showed the baby to Robin. “And she’s going to have the Harrington hair, I know it.”
Cassie rolled her eyes at him and then smiled, making him glow even more. She had always been able to do that – stop his bullshit in its tracks while simultaneously making him feel like he was the only guy in the world.
~~ ~~ ~~
Summer 2010
“Cassie, it’s Steve calling again from Hawkins. Sorry to keep bothering you. I wanted to check if those uniforms have showed up yet. The tournament is Sunday and we’re really coming down to the wire. Let me know if you’ve had any luck with the warehouse yet. Thanks so much.”
It was the Thursday before his team played in a big inter-league tournament. They’d done some fundraising to get brand new personalized uniforms which had – by some miracle – arrived in time, but now they were lost in a warehouse in Indianapolis.
Cassidy Innes, the person who had supplied his team with uniforms for years, had broken the bad news to him earlier that week.
“The shipping and receiving manager got a new job and took two of the three warehouse guys with him when he left last week. So we’re down to one warehouse guy who’s not very good at the best of times,” she had explained on the phone. She had sounded as worn down and frazzled as Steve had ever heard her in their time working together. “I have uniforms arriving daily and just getting chucked into the warehouse without a lot of receiving protocol. Just give me some time, Steve, I promise I’ll find yours.”
But by Friday, she still hadn’t found the uniforms. The game was on Sunday, and Steve didn’t want to let the team down. So he handed the day-before practice over to the assistant coach and drove to Indianapolis early Saturday morning to help Cassie search the warehouse.
He’d never met Cassie in person before, but they were friends on Facebook so he knew she was pretty. However, the person who answered his rap on the receiving door was not pretty. He was a tall, wary-looking teenager with acne and a peach fuzz mustache.
“You Steve?” he said, his voice cracking. “I’m Tyler. My mom’s in here.” The kid led the way into the warehouse full of boxes. Cassie was kneeling on the floor closing up an open box. “Mom, you need to be more careful. Come sit over here.” Tyler helped his mom up off the floor. As Cassie stood up from behind the box, Steve suddenly saw why her son was being so protective.
Cassie was quite pregnant.
“Okay,” said Steve. “I’m with Tyler on this one. You tell me which boxes to open, and I can do the heavy lifting – literally. Also, hey, nice to finally meet you.”
Cassie laughed as she shook his hand. “I can see you two are conspiring against me. Fine, I’ll sit and you guys open boxes.” Which they did for three hours straight until they finally found Steve’s team uniforms. He took them both to lunch to celebrate.
“You and your husband must be so excited at the new arrival,” he said after they placed their orders. “When’s the baby due? I didn’t even know you were expecting!”
“Oh,” said Cassie. “There’s just me, no husband.” Steve flushed, feeling embarrassed. “No, don’t feel bad,” she said. “I don’t advertise my family life so you’d have no way of knowing. I had Tyler when I was a teenager. His dad came from a good family, and they made sure to provide for him as he’s grown up. But his dad isn’t much in the picture beyond that.”
“He’s a bit of a dick,” said Tyler without looking up from his phone. “Mom makes me visit with him once a month.”
“Yeah, that happens,” said Steve. “My parents weren’t very present either.”
“Now I’m in my late 30s, and we’re doing just fine,” Cassie said. “But I’ve always wanted a second child, so a couple of years ago, I went for it. Went through the screening process, chose a donor, got pregnant after a few tries, and now I’m expecting a little girl in three months. I couldn’t be happier.”
Steve smiled wistfully. “That’s fantastic. I wanted kids myself, but it wasn’t in the cards. I’ve looked into adopting, but most agencies aren’t open to old single guys adopting kids.”
They finished up their meal and parted ways in the restaurant parking lot.
“If you’re up to it, you’d be so welcome in Hawkins tomorrow for the game,” Steve said. “The Cubs are sure to win with these great new uniforms.”
“That’s very kind of you,” said Cassie. “I’ll see how I’m feeling in the morning.”
The next day, the Hawkins Middle School Cubs played three great games to win the inter-league tournament. Steve didn’t think the day could get any better, when a voice called to him from the stands as the team was packing up.
“I think the uniforms helped, don’t you?”
“Cassie, hi! Kids, come say thank you to Ms Innes for getting those great new uniforms to you on time. She worked all day yesterday to find them.” The team chorused their thanks and went back to their celebrating. “Thank you again for tracking these down. People don’t realize how much a uniform like this can mean. Shows that you’re part of a team, something bigger than yourself.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.” Cassie smiled, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. “I’m heading back to Indianapolis. Tyler’s with my parents today, and I’m sure you’re celebrating with the team.”
“I am ... but maybe we could get together again sometime? It was so great meeting you after all these years of talking on the phone.”
“Well ... sure ... I mean, I have lot going on these days. But yes, I’d like that too.”
Which is how Steve Harrington found himself driving back and forth to Indianapolis most weekends to hang out with Cassie. His friends thought he was nuts, but Steve just really enjoyed her company. Plus he was pretty sure once the baby came that he’d be out of the picture so he didn’t want to waste the time they might have together. He just wasn’t sure what together meant in their context.
With Cassie’s due date rapidly approaching, Steve dropped by for one last visit. They drove to the local WalMart to pick up the stroller she had ordered. Cassie looked large and uncomfortable when he picked her up at her place, and even more so as they shopped and paid.
“Do you want to go somewhere for a coffee or a snack?” he asked, concerned, as they left the store. “Or do you want me to just take you home so you can rest? You look done in.”
“Maybe just take me home,” she said. “I’ve been feeling wrung out for a couple of days now, and today is the worst. My back is killing me.”
“Stay right here, and I’ll get the car,” said Steve. He brought his car around, jammed the stroller box into the back seat and helped Cassie into the front seat. As sat down, her face suddenly went ashen. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure,” she gasped. “I’m pretty sure I’m having a contraction. And I think my water just broke on your nice car seat. I’m so sorry.”
Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit ....
Adrenaline poured into his blood stream. He was way out of his league with this one.
Deep breath, Harrington.
“Okay, just sit tight.” He popped the trunk and pulled out a handful of baseball towels. “Let’s put these on the seat, perfect.” He jumped in the driver’s seat and started the car.
“To the hospital, right? Here, put it into my phone and get me some directions.” Steve navigated Saturday morning traffic and tried not to lose his shit. He had years of dealing with kids getting hit by bats, balls, and other kids. Fainting, illness, panic attacks ... hell, he’d dealt with Mike Wheeler throwing up into a flower arrangement at his own mom’s funeral. He could do this.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to deliver in your car. See, the contraction is already finished,” she said. “It’s not like in the movies; babies don’t come flying out in five minutes. I was in labor with Tyler for 17 hours.”
They rolled up to the hospital. Cassie checked in with Labor and Delivery while Steve parked, left a message with her parents (who had Tyler for the day), and explained the situation to her doula, Joelle (who sounded reassuringly capable and promised to be there within the hour). Steve had no idea what a doula was.
When he returned, the nurse (who kept calling him Dad, much to his discomfort) took him to a triage room where Cassie lay on the bed in a gown with wires trailing off her. A resident came in the door behind Steve and asked Cassie if he could perform an internal exam to check her cervix.
“I’ll see myself out, Cassie,” Steve said hurriedly.
“Steve, I’m so sorry. Could you ... maybe stay ... until Joelle gets here?” She gestured for him to come up to the head of the bed. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Sure,” he said, hastening to the head of the bed. He wasn’t ready to see what the doc was doing down there. He took her hand, and she gave him a small smile.
“You’re going to be just fine,” reassured the resident. He completed his check. “Did you have a quick labor for your first baby, Cassie?”
“No, regular length, like 17 or 18 hours from the time my water broke.”
“Well, this one’s going to be a bit quicker, I think. You’re 6 cm already. It’s a really good thing you came in. Let’s get you up to a room and get this party started.”
Four hours later, Emily Rose made an appearance in the world, purple, squalling and shaking her little fists furiously at the bright lights above her. Joelle coached Cassie all the way, and Steve – at Cassie’s request – never left the head of the bed.
It was the most amazing day of Steve’s life.
Their subsequent courtship was as natural as it could be with a tiny newborn and an occasionally surly teen in the mix. But they managed somehow and walked down the aisle together two years later.
Em became a daddy’s girl through and through. Gaining Tyler’s trust – and eventually earning the title of “dad” from him – was one of Steve’s proudest accomplishments.
~~ ~~ ~~
“And you wanted six of them,” teased Nancy as she passed by in the crowd.
“Yeah, well, a man can learn and grow. Two is just fine, and now this little nugget is perfect.” It had been humbling when the sex ed teacher’s son ended up with an unplanned pregnancy with his girlfriend at 22, but they’d made it work as a family. Tyler and Juliette had chosen to marry and so far, they were managing well.
Will appeared beside him. “Look, I know that baby is a super hot commodity at this event, but I’m wondering if you could bring her over to show ...?” He gestured to an armchair by the fire place where a jewel of a woman was holding court.
“You got it.” Cassie, Steve and Will walked over to where Joyce Byers was sitting. Her white hair was beautifully done, her nails just so, her beaded dress elegant in the twinkling lights.
“Grandpa Steve!” she exclaimed, and Steve bent to kiss her cheek. “Show me that little beauty.” Steve carefully placed Imani in Joyce’s arms. Imani smiled up at Joyce and drooled, fat fists trying to grab her necklace; they were lucky she didn’t seem to mind being handed around. “If only one of my sons had given me a grandchild,” she sighed loudly. Will rolled his eyes. “Cassie, how are you, my dear? I’d hug you, but I have this baby.”
“I’m good, Joyce, thank you. How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing okay,” Joyce said. “Some days are better than others. But there’s not a day that I don’t miss him. He would have loved all of this ...” she gestured around the room at the happy chaos “... although he would have pretended to hate it.”
They’d lost Hopper in 2020 during the first few months of the pandemic. He’d been in the midst of a second round of chemotherapy for oral cancer at the time, and he’d caught Covid during treatment. He’d died in an isolation ward in the hospital on a ventilator. Alone.
At least, that’s what Steve believed. But not everyone felt the same way.
“... we had a lovely memorial service when things finally opened back up. I felt Eleven there too, watching us. She was with him in the hospital at the end, you know, holding his hand. She visited me and told me passed peacefully.”
“Is Joyce slipping?” Cassie whispered after they brought the baby back to Juliette. “Chief’s daughter died in the earthquake back in the 80s, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did,” said Steve sharply. “Joyce doesn’t mean she was really there. We all think of Eleven as a ... guardian angel of sorts. But she died. I saw her die.” Cassie looked at him curiously but didn’t say anything more. Coincidentally, they had arrived at a poster board of pictures of their lost friends and family. Eddie, Barb, Billy, Hopper, Murray, so many others. A small group of photos of Eleven in the middle.
She died. I saw her die.
For the last several years, though, Steve had heard disturbing whispers.
He hadn’t thought much of it when Wheeler had moved to Iceland for a girl. Mostly he was happy Mike had finally moved on. It was weird that there were no pictures of her – if Steve had landed a hot Icelandic girlfriend, he’d be showing her pictures to everyone.
A few years later, Wheeler’s buddies had started traveling to Europe, one by one, to meet her. Astrid, they said her name was. Dustin had been ambivalent about meeting her when it had been his turn. But a trip to Barcelona was a trip to Barcelona, and he had gone.
And come back changed.
“She’s awesome,” was all he would say, showing Steve pictures of the beaches, cathedrals and tapas spreads. But no pictures of the awesome Astrid.
Steve started to notice things.
A social rift appeared between those who had been to Europe to meet Astrid ... and those who had not. Chat volume dropped off in their main group, and Steve could swear there was a separate chat going on somewhere that he was not part of. The sad silence that used to follow any mention of Eleven stopped happening. He heard someone refer to her – shockingly – in the present tense, although they had been sharply corrected.
Then he saw the picture in the group chat.
It had been posted accidentally. A picture from Santorini of Lucas and Max at the pool, doing some kind of dramatic kiss, Max bent over backward. And in the background, just off to the side, was Mike holding a woman who must have been Astrid. There was only part of her in the frame, she was a tiny bit of out of focus, and her hair obscured part of her face. But when Steve had seen her, his stomach had turned.
She looked like El.
His memories of Eleven were hazy, but the resemblance was startling. The hair was longer, curlier, shot with grey. Steve thought maybe she was fuller figured than El. (But weren’t they all? No one was a skinny teenager anymore.)
But it wasn’t El. Because El was dead. She had died right in front of him.
He zoomed in on the picture and started examining what he could see of her face in detail ... and then the photo was deleted.
Oops, sorry ... Max didn’t want us to see THAT photo!
That’s why Mike didn’t want anyone to see photos of Astrid. Because he’d married some kind of cheap lookalike of his childhood girlfriend.
Steve hadn’t been that close to El, but her sacrifice had left an indelible mark on his soul. Her courage and integrity had been a guiding light for him in difficult times, and the idea that Mike had married a knockoff version of her was ... obscene.
When Steve and Cassie had received an invite to Iceland, he had politely declined it without even telling Cassie it had been extended.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Erica stepping up on to a platform near the double doors that led to the ceremony room.
“Listen up everybody,” she announced. Erica had not changed a bit in the last three decades. Married, three adopted children, but still very Erica. “The ceremony will begin shortly, so we’d like to invite you to make your way into the hall.
“As I’m sure you read on the invitations, no photography or videography is permitted for the rest of the evening. You can lock your phones up here,” she gestured to an RFID shielded cabinet beside her, “or you can seal them up in one of these little bags here which you can keep on your person but you will not be able to access them. If you must have access to your phone during the evening and you haven’t already talked to me, come talk to me right now. And don’t bother complaining about it because I can’t do nothing for you. Everyone will receive an album of professional photos to make up for the inconvenience.”
“This is so weird,” said Cassie as she surrendered her phone to the attendant who carefully locked it up and handed her a claim ticket. “I don’t know why I’m more annoyed – because they’re taking our phones or that I’ve become so addicted to it that it annoys me that I can’t have my phone for a few hours.”
They slowly filed into the ceremony room. Like the reception hall, it was gasp-worthy, decorated entirely in green and white. The aisle was very long, the high-beamed ceiling above it hung with pine swags and fairy lights. Massive Christmas trees stood in each corner, and in the center, a huge white altar rose up with an enormous circle of pine boughs suspended above it. There were candles everywhere.
“And we can’t take pictures!” moaned Autumn beside them. “No one will believe this at work.”
“Pictures of the venue will be provided in the album of photos you will receive at no charge to you!” Erica’s voice cut through the noise of people oohing and ahhhing.
As they arranged themselves in their seats, baby Imani started fussing. Juliette took out a shawl and fed her as people slowly got settled. Steve saw a door open up by the front, and the groom and his best man appeared.
Now there’s a guy who aged well, thought Steve.
Lucas looked like a rock star in what had to be a custom-made tux. He and Max were both tri-athletes, three-time Boston Marathon finishers. While the rest of them were being advised to watch their cholesterol, Lucas was contemplating an Iron Man. Humbling.
Tonight he looked happy and nervous, like a good groom should, even at 51. And beside him, well, speak of the devil.
“That’s Mike Wheeler, your friend who married a woman from Iceland, right?” Cassie asked. “I remember him from our wedding – his wife wasn’t able to attend.”
“That’s right,” said Steve, trying not to be short. “His wife has some kind of beef with the US government. Or, she has passport problems. Or, she can’t fly long distances without becoming violently ill. Take your pick of the excuses I’ve heard over the last 15 years as to why the high and mighty Astrid Magnúsdóttir can’t come to the United States.”
Tyler leaned over and raised an eyebrow at his father. “All good?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ll behave.”
Wheeler looked good, he had to admit, also dressed in a well-fitting tux. He’d hung on to most of his hair. (Lucas, in contrast, had given up the fight and had shaved his head.) Mike looked very happy for his friends.
The officiant stepped out, embracing Lucas and smiling. The last few people took their seats, and the main doors closed. Anticipation filled the room.
The music started playing, and everyone turned to look as two attendants opened the double doors with a flourish. A delighted sigh spread through the room.
Dustin entered, smiling ear to ear, with his wife Kaori on his arm. She was wearing an exquisite floor length modern dress with a full skirt. The red fabric depicted traditional Japanese designs. Her hair was styled up on her head and woven with lengths of pearls.
“She’s so beautiful,” Em sighed.
“They’re such a lovely couple,” whispered Cassie. Steve gave Dustin a thumbs up as he marched past. “I wish they could have had the wedding!” Steve nodded.
Dustin had met Kaori ... astrophysicist Dr. Kaori Watanabe ... at the University of Tokyo while he was on a visiting professorship in 2018. He’d managed to stretch a one-year appointment into two, announcing their engagement partway through. They’d planned a beautiful spring 2020 wedding in Japan, and Steve had looked forward to traveling there to be Dustin’s best man. But the pandemic had ruined their plans, and instead of the extensive affair they’d planned with friends from abroad, they’d been trapped in Japan. They’d held their marriage at the local municipal office instead with just Kaori’s closest family members present.
The music rose and once again the double doors opened. Carlos and Will came down the aisle arm in arm, looking dashing.
“Did they ever get married?” asked Cassie.
“No, they got so pissed after the Prop 8 thing in California that they did a civil union instead.”
Steve turned and watched the two of them walk down to the aisle. He could see Joyce wiping away tears at the sight of them. The officiant had arranged the couples on either side of the altar; Lucas and Mike had stepped forward.
“Who’s the maid of honor?” Cassie whispered as everyone rose for the entry of the bride.
Steve was trying to catch Henderson’s eye. “I bet Max is walking down the aisle with the dogs,” he said absently. Having no children, Max and Lucas lavished their attention on their Italian greyhounds, and they took them everywhere. Not everyone was a fan.
Steve saw Henderson suddenly look up to the ceiling, like he’d heard a noise. Steve followed his sharp gaze to see a tiny puff of smoke floating away from the security camera right above Dustin’s head. He looked around the perimeter of the room and saw smoke drifting away from all the other cameras in the room as well. By the looks of Dustin’s face, this was not an anticipated part of the ceremony. They looked at each other, sudden uneasiness creeping in.
A few feet away from Dustin, Will suddenly got a strange look on his face. Will said something, and Carlos looked at him with a confused expression.
The music rose again. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw the armed security guards scattered around the hall tighten up. Something was about to happen.
“Well, she’s not a dog.”
As Cassie spoke, Steve saw identical looks of shock race across Dustin, Will and Carlos’ faces. Mike and Lucas just smiled. Steve spun around to face the doors.
The bride stood at the head of the aisle. Her dress was a stunning white silk gown, perfectly fitted, sleeveless with a ruffled tulle train. Her red hair glowed in the light of the candles and fairy lights, a long veil cascading out behind her. Max was smiling, but there were tears in her eyes. Of joy.
Because standing gracefully at bride’s side was her maid of honor. She was dressed in deep green, her long hair styled in an elegant updo with sparkling gold woven throughout. Like there were stars in her hair.
(Matron of honor, they would correct her afterward, and Max would say, no, maid of honor because this is the wedding do-over.)
Steve froze, his heart suddenly pounding so hard he could hardly breathe. Max and her bridesmaid began their slow walk down the aisle, and the sigh of approval that had risen the crowd at the sight of the beautiful bride suddenly died away and was replaced by a growing tide of whispers. Robin gasped beside him and clutched his sleeve.
This had to be Mike’s Icelandic wife, Astrid Magnúsdóttir.
But she didn’t look like El.
She was El.
She died. I saw her die.
Her eyes flicked over to catch his. Steve felt confusion, excitement, and residual disgust swimming around inside of him. She closed her eyes for a moment.
Everything went grey. He could hear thunder, smell clean water and wild fresh air.
It is me. I lived, but I hid to keep you all safe.
She released her split-second hold on his mind and opened her eyes. Steve let out a stifled cry and heard other small exclamations around the hall.
“What’s happening?” Cassie whispered urgently. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” he managed to choke out.
Max had reached the altar. Astrid placed Max’s hand in Lucas’, then bent to arrange Max’s veil and train neatly behind her. When she’d finished, someone was there to help her stand up again.
It was Mike.
His face. It was like nothing Steve had seen before.
Astrid rose gracefully. The couple touched foreheads briefly and smiled, then stepped further back, leaving Lucas and Max front and center. The officiant signaled for the audience to sit. A hum of whispers continued in the room.
“Welcome everyone. Max and Lucas told me there’d be a few surprises today, and it seems they were right.
“I’m Father John Pascale. I’ve known Max and Lucas since 2017. We met at the dog park, which is not one of the surprises for today.” A chuckle ran through the room. “At the time, I was having some issues with my shoulder and they suggested I come to their physiotherapy clinic for treatment. From there, we ended up becoming good friends, having dinner at each other’s homes, doing some charity runs. When the pandemic came, we spent a lot of time outside together. I even got them to attend some of my church services online.” Another chuckle. “I thought I knew them pretty well.
“Last year when the world started to open up again, they came to talk to me about a vow renewal. I of course said yes right away. But Max said I’d need to understand a little more about their lives before I agreed. That was when I found out that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did about these two incredible humans.
“I knew they’d finished the Boston Marathon three times. But I didn’t know that Max had spent 18 months of her adolescence in a coma. That Lucas had stayed by her bedside that whole time, helping to bring her back. That Max turned the incredibly hard process of teaching her body to walk again into an inspiration for her future career.
“Or that the two of them had lost so many loved ones to tragedy over the years. They told me it was that grief and loss that had led them to elope 22 years ago because they couldn’t bear the absence of those friends and family members at a church wedding.”
Father John turned to look at the whole wedding party. “They explained to me that they were not the only ones to lose out on a wedding ceremony attended by everyone they loved. It seems that all four of these couples up here today, for various reasons, could not fully participate in one another’s weddings. Max and Lucas because of grief and trauma. Will and Carlos because for many years, they were barred from marriage altogether. Dustin and Kaori because of a pandemic. And Michael and Astrid because of safety issues.
“Max and Lucas asked me to do something I didn’t expect. They asked me to turn their vow renewal ceremony into something bigger, something so profoundly unselfish that I was humbled by their generosity of spirit. They asked to widen the spotlight that would normally be focused on them to include their very special group of lifelong friends.”
Steve saw Dustin and Will react with shock and realized this was a surprise for them. “Today’s ceremony will serve for all four of these couples to either rededicate their vows or to have them for the first time. Because as Max said, this is truly the great wedding do-over.” Laughter and applause rippled through the hall.
“Let’s begin with all four couples turning to face each other and joining hands.” The minister looked out to the audience. “The bride and groom have asked me to invite anyone in the audience in a committed partnership to take this time to quietly rededicate themselves to their partner and marriage.”
The great wedding do-over began.
It was a simple marriage ceremony but like nothing Steve had ever witnessed. Simple vows, simple words made incredibly meaningful by the lifelong bond everyone in this room shared. And by the miraculous presence of a woman he thought lost to them forever. He groped blindly for Cassie’s hand.
“Dad, are you crying?” Em stage-whispered.
Steve watched Mike as he recited his vows and saw that he called his wife Eleven, not Astrid. Steve had to struggle not to sob out loud.
He’d thought she was dead, but she wasn’t. What must have that been like for them? What if he had lost Cassie and thought her dead for years – only to discover she was still alive?
When they finished, complete with ceremonial kisses, Father John introduced the couples to applause and cheers.
“I’m told that you’ll now know the reason why there’s no photography allowed. I understand there remains a safety consideration. I hope you will bear that in mind and use discretion as you go forth from this place.” He blessed the audience and the couples, and the music began again. The doors at the back of the hall opened.
The reception hall had been converted to a huge party room. Food stations lined the back wall, and a DJ had set up against another wall. There were bars, nooks with comfortable chairs, and disco lights at the ready.
Crowds converged around Lucas and Max, and Astrid and Mike. The youngs held back a little from Astrid, having only known Eleven for a short time. But the party and the older ones spent a long time hugging her.
Steve hung back too, feeling shy and ashamed that he had thought such unpleasant things about Astrid all this time. As he stood apart from everyone else, Joyce appeared in the doorway.
“Steve, help me to my chair, would you? We both look like we’ve had enough surprises for one day. I could use the strong silent type right about now.” Steve chuckled and led Joyce to her comfortable armchair near the fire place. And it was there that Astrid found both of them a little while later. She didn’t say anything, just knelt at Joyce’s chair and cried. Steve started to step away, but Joyce caught him by the sleeve, asking him to stay.
“You visited me,” said Joyce finally. “I thought it was a dream but it was you that night, after he died, wasn’t it?” Astrid nodded, still crying. “You really were there with Hopper at the end.”
“Yes. I brought him into the void before they put the vent in. He ... he told me ... he was ready to go. He was so tired of the chemo and knew it was not going to buy him much time. He was not sorry that Covid brought an early end to it. He said that he loved you ... loved all of us ... but he just could not do it anymore. He was ready to go see Sarah. I stayed with him until the end. It was peaceful.”
Steve offered his pocket square to Astrid who wiped her eyes with it. “Did he never tell you I was alive, Joyce? He had known for some years.”
Joyce shook her head. “No, Hop was always good at keeping secrets. But I suspected. That night Mike stayed at our house after he came home from Iceland all those years ago ... he was so different. Not sad anymore. And then Hop was different too. Something had changed. I just chose to believe it had something to do with you. I’m so glad I was right.” Joyce stroked Astrid’s hair. “Will you be staying here in the US for a little while?
“I am afraid this is a very short stay,” said Astrid. “I said a long time ago that I did not think there could be anything to get me to return to the United States. It appears there was one thing after all, and I am not sad I came for Max’s sake, to finally be her bridesmaid. But it is not safe for you to have me here for long.”
When the two women were done talking, Astrid rose and turned to Steve who felt a big lump in throat that wouldn’t go away.
“So did you order up this crazy security package?” he joked awkwardly, trying to lighten the moment. “Can’t you just, you know...” he held his arm out and wiggled his hand with a ferocious look on his face. “Use your powers if some baddies show up?” He paused a minute. “You can still do that, right?”
Astrid smiled. “I can and would to protect any and all of you. But I prefer not to do it if I can avoid it. I am done with hurting people. I like this normal world where I can go to a party, see my old friends, and hold your beautiful granddaughter.” Steve tried to smile, but it didn’t work.
“You did not come to Iceland. And you were not sure when you saw me,” Astrid said tentatively. “You would not be the first to feel ... uncomfortable at my return. Is there anything I can tell you to answer your concerns?”
“No, we’re good. It’s just ... well, I had heard things,” he said. “I had thought ...” He paused, feeling embarrassed. “I had thought Mike had replaced you with some kind of lookalike. And that bothered me. It felt so disrespectful to your memory after everything you had done for us.” His face burned red and he felt tears prickle in his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t know.”
“How could you know?” she asked gently. “You are apologizing for not knowing that the death you saw was an illusion? I am the one who must apologize for causing so much pain.” Astrid, who had once been El, one of his original little nuggets, closed the gap between them and hugged him.
“There have been so many different reactions when people have learned that I did not die. I think yours is one of the nicest. Thank you for holding my memory in such honor.”
Steve tried not to cry on her beautiful dress, but he did anyway.
When they let go, Steve realized someone was standing nearby. He saw the shining look on Astrid’s face and knew before he turned that it was Mike beside him.
“Hey,” said Mike. “All good? I know this is very overwhelming to process. I wish we could have told you privately beforehand.”
“Yeah, that’s on me and I’m sorry. If I hadn’t been so stubborn, I would have come to Iceland when you invited me,” Steve said, giving his friend a bear hug. “How long ...?”
“I found her 19 years ago,” Mike said. Astrid slipped into his arms, and they smiled at one another. “ A lot of change, a lot of adjustment. For both of us. But I’ve been the happiest man in the world ever since.”
~~ ~~ ~~
The food was amazing. The speeches were emotional. Each couple took the dance floor for their own first dance. Then everyone piled on to the dance floor. Mostly 80s and 90s music, the music of their youth. The best music.
Shoes were kicked off. Shapewear was discarded, along with ties and anything else uncomfortable. Tyler and Juliette headed home with the baby, Joyce, some of the spouses with younger children. But the rest stayed. They danced, sang, and celebrated all night long as if they were teenagers again – not middle-aged adults in their 40s and 50s, most carrying physical scars and ailments from those terrible battles 30 plus years ago.
No one warns you, thought Steve as he sat watching the dance floor jump many hours later, feeling his ribs ache from the demo-bat attack so many years ago. He saw Emily leaping around with Erica’s children, singing at the top of her lungs. Steve just wanted to lie down on the chairs they’d lined up against back wall where many of the smaller children of the family were sleeping in their wedding finery.
Everybody says age is just a number. And then one day, it’s not. Even though you think it won’t happen to you. Suddenly you’re on a medication for your blood pressure, just a precaution the doc says. You’re caring for your parents, visiting them in a nursing home – or burying them. You can still do so much – but not everything. Not anymore.
Nobody warns you about the moment you realize you’ll never be young again.
“Harrington, come on!” shrieked Dustin, running off the dance floor to grab his hand and drag him back to their friends. “Let’s goooooooooooooooo!”
That moment comes for everyone eventually. But sometimes you get to pretend, just for one night, that the clock can go backward.
~~ ~~ ~~
Outside in the winter night, a bit of a snow had begun to fall. The grounds of the mansion that the security detail was covering for the night looked like a holiday wonderland.
Around midnight, a new crew of agents arrived to take the next shift. There was a huddle, assignments were handed out, and the team members dispersed to their locations.
The agents who ringed the exterior of the mansion were happy to see the next shift appear out of the snow. It was picturesque but also pretty damn cold on outside detail.
“Anything I need to know before you go?” the incoming agent asked as he approached the man he was replacing.
“All quiet so far. No threats.”
“Good.” The incoming agent looked at the picture of the client. She looked like your average 50-something woman at first glance. He looked at the picture a little closer; it looked like she had stars in her hair the way the lights were twinkling off the phone. “Do we know who this is?”
“Client is in very deep witness protection, Level Alpha. No identity provided.
“Note your instructions: Protection of every guest in the building tonight. Client has ordered termination in the event of her own capture. Body cannot under any circumstances fall into unfriendly hands.”
“Noted.”
The outgoing man bundled up his coat. The strains of Time After Time echoed inside the mansion beside them. “They’re having a dance party that’s going to last all night long,” he said with a smile. “I worked inside for the first half of the evening, and I can tell you every last person in there was was over the moon to see her. I’m guessing she’s been in deep cover for a very long time.” The outgoing agent pulled his hat down over his ears and headed out into the snow.
“Whoever she is, she must be pretty special.”