The Life You Deserve

Chapter 16: El's Turning 15

November 1985

Hopper pulled up his Chevrolet outside of the Byer's home and cut the engine. He had a smile on his face as he got out of the truck and walked to the house, knocking twice on the door.

Within a few seconds Joyce opened the door and he felt the smile on his face widen. "Good morning beautiful," he told her with a smirk. Hopper watched as Joyce leaned against the door frame, her eyes bright and happy.

"Morning handsome. To what do I owe this pleasure chief?" she teased.

Hopper looked behind her and scanned the room. "Are the boys here?" he whispered.

Joyce laughed, "no silly, they're in school."

"Oh. Good." Hopper said mischievously as he closed the gap between him and Joyce and kissed her softly, savouring the taste of her lips on his. Joyce's hands ran up his thick arms to secure themselves behind his neck, whilst Hopper wrapped his arms around the dark-haired beauty and pulled her up to him. Her being so short and him being so tall didn't help their kisses but they still made it work.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Joyce asked playfully when Hopper finally brought her back down to the ground. Hopper shrugged and walked into the kitchen, Joyce shut the front door and then followed him.

"It's a quiet one today so I knew I could slip out. And I wanted to ask your advice." Hopper said leaning against one of the counters whilst Joyce began making two coffees.

"About what?" she asked whilst stirring the drinks.

"About El. Her 15th birthday is coming up and I think we should do something special. Seeing as we missed it last year." He said sighing. "I just don't know what."

Joyce pondered this for a moment before handing one of the steaming mugs of coffee to Hopper who thanked her. "How about a party? She could invite her friends, maybe even her mom and Aunt if she wanted to." Joyce suggested before sipping at her coffee.

Hopper was quiet for a moment as he thought about the idea of a party. He guessed it wasn't the worst idea. El seemed to really love music so they could hire a DJ and she loved food so they could put on a buffet, including a platter of Eggos of course. It would be a lot of effort and require some planning, but Hopper concluded that El was worth it.

"I think that's a great idea Joyce. Her birthday is on a Saturday as well so we could have the party then. Any location ideas?"

"The church hall?"

Hopper shuddered, "Too religious. Gives me the shakes."

Joyce smiled in amusement and then spoke, "okay, well what about the community centre instead? It can't be too expensive to rent and it's got to be big enough for a party." She reasoned.

He smiled staring at Joyce for a moment, wondering what he had done to earn her affection and her wonderful presence in his life. "Your smart mind is one of the many reasons I love you Joyce Byers. That and your sweet ass." He teased making Joyce smack him playfully.

Hopper caught Joyce in his arms once more and he leaned down to kiss her, loving the rush of fire it caused in his blood steam. She sighed contently against his lips and pulled back slightly to look up at his face.

"Have you thought anymore about breaking the news of our relationship to the kids?" she asked him softly.

He grinned and nodded his head, "I thought we could announce it at Christmas. I'm still not sure how El's going to take it. She loves you of course, but I'm not sure if she truly understands relationships yet and how they work."