Joy was present at the family table; the grandchildren kept laughing and playing with their food, which slightly annoyed the parents who scolded them, amusing the two eldest at the table who remembered that their parents were also punished a long time ago. El looked on at the family she had managed to build. It hadn't been easy, but she had done it, with Mike's help, of course. They had two children who in turn had several of their own. As the elderly lady was lost in her thoughts, her most restless grandson, whom El suspected of being hyperactive, asked her a question with his mouth full of food. "Tell me, grandma, was grandpa your first love, or was there someone else before him?"
This innocent question made the whole table laugh. But El did not react; only her eyes hidden behind her glasses could show an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time. She tried to speak, but the words escaped her. Mike, thinking his wife was just a bit shocked by the overly personal question posed by the little boy, lovingly took her hand and answered cheerfully "Oh yes, my boy, we were each other's first love!"
The little boy's eyes widened, marveling that such love was found on the first try. He then asked a multitude of questions about the old couple's early relationship, and Mike was only too happy to answer each one with an enthusiastic tone and a nostalgic look. But El's gaze did not share any trace of happiness; she stared at the table, her throat knotted. How could a single sentence trigger so much sadness, so many memories all at once? Even though she loved the little one more than anything, at that moment, the old lady resented him greatly for reawakening an entire chapter of the brunette's life that had been erased.
El then stood up quickly, under the astonished gaze of the entire family. "Honey, what's wrong?" asked Mike, his look fearful at this sudden reaction. El gathered her thoughts. What was she doing? Why had she stood up like that? She remained frozen next to the table, her gaze now clouded with tears that only the youngest of her children noticed. The boy also got up and gently took his mother's hands. "Are you okay, mom?" El remained still, trying to hold back as many tears as she could. After a long moment of silence, she managed to articulate a few words: "I think I need to go for a walk." Her son gave her a perplexed look at this statement; usually, his mother was not one to go out, preferring to read a book while drinking her coffee. "Are you sure? I mean, we're in the middle of eating, you could go for a walk with dad later." Mike nodded at his son's suggestion and raised his hand to take his wife's, but she gently pushed it away and looked directly at her son. "No, I just remembered a place I used to go to when I was young, I'd really like to go now. Would you mind coming with me?" His son's expression softened at this, and he looked at his brother who nodded, signaling that he could accompany her. El and her son then headed towards the exit, the mother holding onto her son's arm.
Their footsteps grew more distinct as they moved away from the city. The old lady led her son who had no idea where they were going. As they now walked on a path filled with grass, the youngest addressed his mother as they continued to walk. "When I think about it, you never really told us about your childhood."
The old woman looked at him with surprise. After the party had managed to defeat Vecna, they had promised not to tell anyone, not even their own families. El's children had never heard a single story about the Upside Down or the superpowers El had had. "The only thing you told us was that you've loved waffles since you were little, and that grandpa would withhold them when you misbehaved."
At those words, the brunette let out a snicker. She remembered the day she had told them that. It was after Hopper's funeral. Her two boys were still very young, and experiencing an event like that had plunged them into deep sadness. El had then decided to recount all the exploits their incredible grandfather had accomplished, carefully omitting anything related to the Upside Down. She got to the many times the man had deprived her of her favorite dessert, which made the three children laugh as they could hardly imagine their mother throwing tantrums."Yes, it's true, I remember." The two smiled at each other before El looked out at the horizon again. After a long silence where the woman weighed the pros and cons of telling other stories about a certain person to her son, she cleared her throat and began.
