Mileven Stories

Remember When (2001)

The little boy squeezed his father's shoulder, almost wiggling out of the embrace as he squealed, "mommy was sad. I want my mama."

El, who was standing just five feet behind the pair, shot a worried look in her father's direction.

From the safety of the couch, Hop lifted up the source of what had caused this commotion and stated, "Benny found your yearbook and saw a picture where you look like you were crying."

Before she could respond to Hopper, a new voice interrupted El with a shout, "I want to see!"

There was a brief burst in the gravity that surrounded the home's sanctuary as an unnatural wind gust moved across the room. Reappearing in the blink of an eye was the married couple's daughter. Rather than walking over to the couch where her grandfather sat with the book, it seemed as though Willow decided to travel in her teleporting fashion.

"Mom, you were crying, but you were pretty," Willow declared with a smile shot in her mom's direction.

Mike clambered his lanky body onto the couch as he clarified, "your mom is still really pretty."

Benjamin, now situated in the comfort of his mom's nurturing arms, rested his tiny palm on her cheek, "are you sad?"

El smiled at her son who seemed to carry all the empathy in the world on his shoulders. Ever since Ben was a baby, she could sense that there was something completely special about him. It was remarkable how deeply his heart reflected care for those around him at such a young age.

"I'm not sad at all," she linked her pinky with his much smaller one, "promise."

Ben pointed towards the living room where the yearbook remained present, "then why does that picture show you sad?"

Mike, who was sat beside his father-in-law, peered at the photo. The moment his eyes met the page, a violent surge of emotion wracked his chest as the memory of what had happened coiled hotly through his beating organ.

"Is this from the day Will called me?" Hop muttered lowly, his words only intended for his son-in-law to hear.

The brooding man unclenched his jaw, "yeah. I can still remember everything that happened just minutes before this picture was taken."

El crept up behind the couch as she rocked Benny on her hip, "I have no idea why I look sad in this picture."

"Are you serious?" Mike asked, genuinely curious about whether or not she could recall the event that unfolded unfortunately that day.

She pursed her lips, "I really have no idea, but I'm glad you were there to cheer me up," she smiled as an idea coursed through her mind, "why don't you tell us about what happened?"

Sadly, just after the question had been prompted, Eleven was able to register the heavy demeanor that her husband was sporting. Luckily, it seemed as though Hopper had also noticed the severe change in Mike's mood as he attempted to provide some distraction.

"Actually, if it's okay with you two, I was going to see if I can borrow Willie and Benny for a couple of hours. Joyce and I wanted to go check out the new arcade, but we think we need some youthful presence for it to be acceptable," Hop proposed in a slight ramble.

Willow, completely forgetting about the possibility of learning more about the photo's backstory, shot up excitedly as she ran to grab her shoes.

El looked down at her son, "Benny, don't you want to go school grandpa Hop in some games?"

Benjamin lightly smiled at his mom and kicked his feet, "yeah!"

Once the young boy and girl were strapped into the back of Hopper's cruiser, the man reached down and lightly hugged his daughter to conceal his whisper, "call me if you need anything. Let me know later how he's doing."