The Life You Deserve

Chapter 38: Spooky Birthdays

October 1988

"So, you want a joint birthday party?" Hopper asked El and Mike.

"And on Halloween?" Karen clarified.

"Yes." Mike and El said in unison.

It was early October and Mike had been pestered for the last two weeks on what he wanted to do for his eighteenth birthday. And whilst he had insisted that he was more than happy to just go bowling or to the arcade, his mom had point blank refused.

"Michael you didn't let me throw you a sixteenth birthday party. At least give me the chance to throw you an eighteenth birthday." Karen had practically begged, but Mike had been resolute in the fact that he didn't want a party. That was until his mom brought out the big guns.

"B-But it's my last time to ever throw you a birthday party. Soon you'll be at college and I'll miss you s-so much." Her voice had wobbled, her eyes filled with unshed tears and Mike broke because of course he did.

"Fine!" He had huffed, feeling guilty for her tears, knowing that whilst she was definitely playing him to get this party, she was going to miss him when he left for college.

The planning had been agonising and Mike had moaned to El about it for days until she came up with a solution. "Well why don't we just have a joint eighteenth birthday party?"

"You'd want to?" Mike asked in surprise, the thought never having occurred to him before.

"Why not?" El had said, sitting up on his bed and turning to him with a smile. "Our birthdays are less than a month apart, we could find a date somewhere in the middle to celebrate together."

Mike's eyebrows raised eagerly when he thought of his favourite holiday and the perfect day for them to celebrate their birthdays. "What about Halloween?!"

"Perfect." El had beamed.

Their parents didn't seem to think so though.

They were sat in the Hopper house, the chief and Karen sitting opposite the young couple at the kitchen table. Mike had his arm over the back of El's chair and was watching Hopper and his mom exchange looks.

"I guess it would mean we could pool more money into it being one hell of a party." Hopper mumbled quietly to Karen as if their children couldn't hear them.

"But Halloween? Are they expecting everyone to dress up in costumes?" Karen asked in a whisper, cringing clearly at the thought of everyone dressed in Halloween attire instead of formal wear.

"Yes, we are expecting everyone to dress up." Mike said trying to interject his opinion into the conversation. His mom and Hopper spared him a lot before turning back to each other.

"I don't know what Ted would think about this Jim. I mean, what do they expect him to dress as?" Karen said exasperatedly.

Hopper snorted, "he could go as a couch potato. He'd feel right at home..."

Karen gave him a sharp look and embarrassment flushed her thin cheeks. "He does work you know."

"I know, I know. I was pulling your leg." Hopper chuckled, waving his comment off.

Karen sighed in defeat and turned to the two teenagers who had been watching their parents closely. "You both want this joint birthday party to be on Halloween?" She said, eyeing them both up and making sure neither of them were just being forced into a party they didn't want.

"Yes." El said with a warm smile.

"Definitely. It'll be cool mom." Mike said with a grin, as he squeezed El's shoulder gently.