The Life You Deserve

Chapter 44: I Promise

AN: Second to last chapter. Here we go!!!

April 1994

"El honey, just to be clear...you're having four bridesmaids?" Karen asked incredulously from where she sat opposite her soon to be daughter in law at the Wheeler's dining room table.

El tried not to roll her eyes or smile too much as she watched Karen, a pen held tightly in her hand, a file of notes in front of her and red rimmed glasses perched at the tip of her nose. She had become the unofficial wedding planner for Mike and El's wedding, and whilst Mike said to just ignore his mother, El was finding the whole thing quite exasperating. Was planning a wedding always this stressful? Or was it just mother in laws?

"Yes, four bridesmaids. Max, Nancy, Holly and Jen." El said promptly, sitting up straight and holding what she hoped was a determined gaze. She was not about to go changing her wedding plans just because her mother in law thought there was too many people involved in the wedding.

Karen nodded silently as she wrote a few notes and then considered the list. "Right so along with the bridesmaids, the groomsmen are Lucas, Will, Dustin and Jonathan. And your cousin Daniel is the page boy?"

"Correct." El said wanting to sigh as she looked over at Mike in the living room, playing with his three-month-old niece Jessica and blowing raspberries on her baby grow covered belly whilst she gurgled.

The sound of the pen scratching against the rough paper was the only sound for a moment whilst Karen consulted the plans so far and El watched Mike with a dreamy smile. She loved seeing him with children, especially babies. He was so attentive and loving, but seeing him with his own flesh and blood was on a completely new level of sweetness.

Nancy and Jonathan were up for the week and whilst the couple went for a much needed nap, Mike got the wonderful job of entertaining Jessica whilst Karen had called El into the dining room for a 'meeting'.

Karen shuffled the notes and looked up smiling at El, "right I think that's all we need to go through today. We've already established that myself and Joyce will handle the flowers, I will do the cake, you've already hired a caterer for the evening and Nancy has volunteered to do hair and makeup."

El looked at her future mother in law and smiled with a nod in response. Everything was coming along nicely now. It had taken Mike and El a few months to decide where to get married because nowhere felt right. They had joked whilst having dinner with Hopper and Joyce that they wanted to get married in the woods, because they had met in the woods. And it had been Hopper who had suggested cutting down a few trees by the house to make a clearing that would work as the wedding venue, whilst the rest of the evening could be set up in the back yard. Mike and El thought it was perfect whilst Karen had been a little disappointed they didn't go for the golf club she had recommended.

"Yes, that's everything for today," El said with a smile that was a little too bright. Truth be told she was just relieved that this 'meeting' was over and she could go and hang out with her fiancé and niece instead.

"You survived then?" Mike teased the moment El dropped onto the couch next to him, exhaling deeply as she lay her head back against the cushions and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the peace whilst Karen went to prepare dinner.

Baby Jessica was lying on Mike's legs whilst he lifted his knees up and down to make her bounce. She smiled up at her uncle, her eyes bright whilst her little fist was in her slobbery mouth. El opened her eyes, taking in the beautiful sight of her fiancé and their niece. She smiled softly and leaned forward to stroke Jessica's dark hair. She was honestly the spitting image of Nancy, which meant she looked a lot like Mike too. That of course had started a million daydreams for El who could now imagine their own future children with Mike's beautiful features, it certainly made her understand the term broody.