Grand Adventure

Chapter 22

 "Dani, hey Dani."

Dani blinked her eyes open at the sound of Eddie's voice. Shit, she'd fallen asleep. They'd had a really late night at the bar and then woken up early to get on the road and finally make it to California. The rolling of the tires and the rocking of the van had lulled her right back to sleep. She sat up and looked around, trying to figure out where they were.

Eddie's hand rubbed her thigh, "We're only about an hour from Santa Monica. I'm about to pull into a gas station up here just a bit and I wondered if you wanted to call your mom before we get back on the road."

She groaned softly. She hadn't spoken to her mom since Dustin had broken the news about her and Hopper. It had been days and her mom was probably not very happy with her since she'd promised to call at least twice a week to check in. Uncle Wayne had told her when they'd talked to him the other day that she needed to call home. Her mom had called him, frantic, asking if he'd heard from them. He'd assured her that he had and that they were okay but she knew her mom wouldn't feel better until she heard her voice herself.

"Yeah, I probably should," she admitted, sitting up, attempting to stretch in the small space. She rolled her neck, trying to relieve the stiffness from sleeping with her head propped against the window in the car.

"You know, you don't have to say anything about Hopper if you don't want to," Eddie offered. "You can act like you don't even know about it. You can always wait until we get back to have that conversation."

"No. It's fine. It felt really weird at first, but I want her to be happy and Hopper is a good guy. I just don't understand how that even started."

"I mean, your mom and him have stayed in touch since your dad, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, they've stayed friends. He's always checked in on us and I know they've gone for coffee to catch up but how did that turn into snuggling in a booth at Enzo's?"

Eddie laughed, "Probably the same way we happened." His hand found hers, his thumb gently rubbing the skin between her thumb and forefinger. "It just happened. They probably looked at each other one day and went, damn, I think I would like to kiss that person."

"Eww Eddie," Dani gagged. "I do not want to think about my mom and Hopper kissing."

"Sorry, but you know it's probably happening. In fact, we know it's happening thanks to Dustin," he shrugged. "Anyway, I saw a big sign for Disneyland back there. I don't think we're far and it made me think..."

"Eddie, I don't think we have enough money for a day at Disneyland with everything else we're planning on doing," she told him.

Dani had loved all things Disney since she was little. Nothing was more comforting than snuggling under a blanket and popping in a Disney movie. Eddie and her had watched every single one together and she dragged him to the theater any time a new one got released. Dani had always dreamed of going to Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth. She might be an adult, but she would give anything to hug Mickey Mouse and a day at Disneyland sounded amazing, but she also knew they had limited funds. Disneyland would not be cheap and they had to make their cash last until they made it back to Hawkins.

"No, I know we don't have the money now, but someday," Eddie stated softly. "I mean...I don't know. It made me think about someday."

"Someday?" inquired Dani, curious where he was going with this. "Someday going to Disneyland? Mickey got you thinking that hard?"

"Well, I mean, someday we're going to go to Disneyland. You know, with our kids. We're going to be that ridiculously cute family that makes people gag. We'll eat Mickey-shaped food and wear matching shirts. We'd all wear those stupid hats with the ears. I am totally getting a Goofy one."