Two of a Kind

Bomb

5 months later

Much of the pregnancy had gone on as usual. The morning sickness eventually faded, the baby bump was growing rapidly, a baby shower had been thrown with family and friends, and now Joyce was eight months along. Hopper had to go investigate a case about fifty miles away in Illinois and had been gone for about five days now, and Joyce was starting to grow very lonely without him.

"Will? Could you bring me a glass of water?" Joyce called back toward Will's room. She was on the couch watching the evening news and her ankles were swollen and her back was starting to become unbearably sore, so Will and Hop had been helping her out a lot for the past month or so. Jonathan had moved out to an apartment with Nancy where he was attending college with her. He had given Joyce permission to turn his room into a nursery, and Hopper had been working on building a crib and painting the place a neutral yellow. The two decided they'd wait to know the gender, but had settled on a few name options either way.

"Here you go, Mom. Is it alright if I sleepover at Mike's tonight? All the guys will be there for a D&D match," Will asked.

Joyce was a bit bummed to be all alone, but she let him go. "Call around 10pm to say goodnight and let me know you're safe please," she told him.

"Yes, Mom." He kissed Joyce on the cheek and packed up his bag, leaving shortly after. Joyce reached for her cigarettes and then remembered that she couldn't smoke and let out a long sigh. She wished Hop was there to cuddle her. Her emotions had been heightened since her third trimester and she felt herself start to tear up a little. She felt ridiculous and wiped her eyes, deciding then to flip through the channels to find a good movie to watch. Just then she heard a loud and sudden knock at the front door.

Joyce was startled but she just figured it was Will and he had forgotten something. "Come in, honey!" she shouted, knowing Will had keys to the house. Nothing. And then another loud knocking on the door. Joyce sighed and got up. It was a struggle, but she managed to hoist herself off the couch and waddle toward the door to open it.

Joyce swung the door open and a look of confusion rippled across her face. In her doorway was a woman in her forties with big green eyes and mostly straight blonde hair. "Uh, can I help you...?" Joyce inquired cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm Diane," she said simply.

Joyce scrunched her eyebrows, still confused, but then it hit her.

"Oh! Of course. Uh, come on in." Joyce shuffled to the side to allow the woman she now recognized as her fiancés ex-wife into her home. She saw Diane's eyes dart down to Joyce's belly, and thought that she almost looked angry, or possibly jealous. Nonetheless, she walked in and stood in the hallway as Joyce closed the door behind her. She wore a green blazer that made her eyes pop and black dress pants, along with expensive looking heels. Joyce figured she might've come from work. She knew Diane was a corporate executive. After the death of their daughter she poured herself into her work to mask the pain. She quickly grew in the ranks there; whether it was out of pity or hard work, Joyce wasn't sure.

Joyce moved past her and welcomed her into the kitchen. She got out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. After each sitting at the island beside one another, Joyce poured Diane a glass of wine but left hers empty. She grabbed herself a glass half out of habit and half to not make her unexpected guest feel outcasted.

Diane said nothing and instead picked up the glass of wine as if she were about to take a sip, and shocked Joyce by pouring her entire glass into Joyce's empty one. Stunned, Joyce just looked at her, waiting for an explanation. Diane allowed an uncomfortable silence to pass before saying coldly, "I don't drink." Joyce thought it very strange that Diane poured her glass into her own instead of just declining or pushing it to the side. She could clearly tell that Joyce was pregnant and couldn't drink, so that awkward situation left the air in the room very tense.