Chapter Text
“Nancy?”
Nancy was standing in front of the door. She was wearing a thick coat. Her hair was a little messy from the cold and probably the trip, but the expression on her face was still Nancy. Tired, a little impatient, but completely sure of herself. A small rolling suitcase stood beside her.
Nancy lifted her eyebrows slightly. “Yes. It’s me. Your sister.”
Mike was still holding the doorknob. He was suddenly wide awake, but the rest of his brain had not caught up yet. Nancy shouldn’t have been here, because Nancy didn’t know this address. At least, until that moment, Mike had thought she didn’t.
Then the alarm started going off. Mike snapped back into himself and quickly entered the code to turn it off. Now his brain had caught up too.
“You...” he said. “How did you find this place?”
Nancy looked at him. “I got it from your publisher.”
Mike looked even more confused. “From my publisher?”
“Yes.”
“They gave you my address?”
Nancy paused for one second. Then her eyes widened slightly, as if she genuinely could not believe the absurdity of this conversation.
“Mike, I’m your sister. Remember?”
Mike went quiet.
Nancy continued. “Of course they told me where you were.”
Mike was still staring at her.
Nancy tilted her head slightly.
“Mike, why are you looking at me like that?”
Mike opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was half a breath. Then he pulled himself together and stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Nancy studied him for one second. Then she stepped inside. In the living room, there was a BRIDE-TO-BE sash left on the couch, and a plastic tiara sitting strangely on the edge of the coffee table.
Nancy looked at the sash.
Then at Mike.
Mike rubbed his face. “Long night.”
The corner of Nancy’s mouth moved very slightly. “Clearly. And I’m guessing I didn’t miss the wedding. And I’m guessing the bride is here too?”
Mike was about to start stammering when, right then, quick little footsteps came from the stairs. Jane first peeked her head out from behind the railing. Then, when she saw Nancy, her face lit up at once.
“Aunt Nancy!”
Nancy’s expression changed immediately. All that morning determination, travel exhaustion, and older-sister impatience with Mike softened at once.
“Jane!”
Jane ran down the stairs. Mike almost said, “Don’t run,” on reflex, but Jane had already skipped the last two step and run straight to Nancy. Nancy dropped her suitcase to the floor right away and bent down. Jane wrapped her arms around her neck. Nancy hugged her tightly.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Nancy said, her voice warmer now. “I missed you so much.”
Jane pressed her face into Nancy’s shoulder. “I missed you too.”
Mike closed the door, turned the lock, and watched them for a moment.
He had actually believed the last day before the wedding might pass without chaos.
How amateur of him.
Meanwhile, Nancy fixed Jane’s hair, then pulled her back a little to look at her face.
“Look at how much you’ve grown.”
Jane immediately turned serious. “Not a lot.”
Nancy smiled. “I think a lot.”
Jane accepted that. Then she looked at Nancy’s coat. “Are you cold?”
“A little.”
“Dad can make you coffee.”
Mike looked at her. “‘Dad can make you coffee’?”
Jane nodded calmly. “You can.”
Nancy laughed.
Mike shook his head, but started toward the kitchen.
“Great. First orders of the morning are in.”
Nancy went over to the couch holding Jane’s hand. Jane started listing things very seriously.
“Do you know? Yesterday, dad and I went bowling. We ate ice cream. We played laser tag. We did karaoke. We went to the store. We made pizza. We played chess. We played D&D. We played Super Mario.”
Nancy looked at her for a few seconds.
Then she turned to Mike. “You did all of that in one day?”
From the kitchen, Mike said, “Yes.”
Nancy raised her eyebrows. “You’re either a very good father or you’re crying for help.”
Mike called from the coffee maker, “Could be both.”
Jane added immediately, “I won at chess five times.”
Nancy’s face lit up. “Five times?”
Jane nodded proudly. “Yes.”
Nancy looked at Mike. “Wow.”
Mike came out of the kitchen with a coffee filter in his hand.
“Let’s not make a big thing out of this first thing in the morning.”
Jane turned to Nancy. “I played really well.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“Luna reached fifth level too.”
Nancy didn’t fully understand that, but from Jane’s face, she understood it was important.
“That sounds like a wonderful thing.”
“Very wonderful.”
As Mike stood by the coffee maker, his hand moved automatically, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.
He put the filter in. Added the coffee. Added the water. Pressed the button. He did all of it, but later, he wouldn’t remember how.
Nancy was in the living room. Jane was telling her everything they had done yesterday.
El was upstairs.
And Nancy didn’t know El was alive.
And Jane was definitely going to use that name. Because she was too excited as she talked. He couldn’t jump in and send her upstairs either. Jane would destroy him. Even when he had talked to Nancy on the phone at Christmas, Jane had stood right there in front of him. There was no way he could pull that off here.
So this was it.
Mike’s stomach slowly tightened. Right then, Jane came into the kitchen with Nancy’s coat in her hands, looking at him.
“Put it on the couch, princess,” Mike said, his voice flat.
Jane nodded and went back inside.
The morning was not supposed to start like this. He had prepared himself for Hopper and Joyce. At least a little. He had gone over what he would say to them, how he would act in the first moment after the door opened, again and again in his head.
But Nancy had not been planned.
At all.
He hadn’t even had the chance to tell El he had spoken to her. Pain pushed into his head, and he braced both hands on the kitchen counter.
The coffee maker started bubbling.
Jane’s voice came from the living room.
“Then Luna didn’t go in through the door.”
Nancy’s voice followed right after. “Why is that important?”
Jane answered very seriously. “Because doors can be dangerous.”
Nancy laughed. “Makes sense.”
Mike closed his eyes.
When Nancy appeared in the kitchen doorway, Mike straightened immediately. Nancy noticed it.
“Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah...”
Nancy looked at him.
Mike reached for the coffee mugs. “Just tired.”
“Clearly.”
Nancy kept looking at him for a few more seconds. Mike knew that look very well. It was the look Nancy got when she was starting to catch something.
“Is the wedding in the spring? Since the bachelor parties are starting, or already happened, or whatever...”
Mike didn’t look at her. He poured coffee into the mugs. “Nancy...”
“What?”
“Why are you here?”
A small tension appeared on Nancy’s face. She looked toward the living room, toward Jane. Then she lowered her voice a little.
“You’re getting married, Mike. You called me and told me you were getting married, and then you told me not to tell anyone. Fine. I understand that, but...”
Mike’s chest tightened.
Nancy went on. “You’re not a person with no one. You have a family, Mike. And when you called, you sounded strange. I understood the wedding part, fine, but I also got worried that something was wrong with you. So I came. Partly because of the wedding, partly because I needed to see you and know you were okay.”
“Nancy...”
“What??? Is caring about you a bad thing now? I want you to be okay. I want you to be happy. I’m happy for you, Mike. I really am. And yes, of course it’s your decision. I know that. But why don’t you want us there? What did we actually do wrong? Tell me. Tell me so we can fix it. Why are you punishing us?”
“I’m not punishing you.”
“Yes, you are,” Nancy said immediately. “You’re punishing us by not inviting us to your wedding. Do you know it wouldn’t hurt this much if I knew why? It really wouldn’t. Ever since we talked, every night, I kept thinking about what I did wrong. What did I do so wrong that my brother didn’t invite us to his wedding? I couldn’t stand it. So I came.”
“Nancy...” This isn’t about a mistake. It’s not about you.”
“How is it not about us, Mike? We’re the ones who weren’t invited.”
Mike handed her one of the coffee mugs.
“You’re right. What can I say? And I’m surprised, so forgive me for not having the words. Getting my address from my publisher is... I don’t know. Normal people call first.”
Nancy took the mug. “Normal people also answer their phones when they’re called. You wouldn’t have.”
Mike was going to argue.
He couldn’t.
Nancy was right.
Mike took a sip of his coffee. Nancy held her mug with both hands.
“Don’t worry, by the way. No one knows I’m here.”
“I trusted you not to tell them anyway.”
Nancy stepped a little closer to him. “I’m your sister. We may not see each other all the time. We may be angry with each other. But we are siblings, Mike. I’m going to say that a hundred more times if I have to, just so it really gets into your head. I would never sell you out. Not even against my own family.”
Mike’s fingers tightened around the mug.
A door sounded upstairs.
They both went quiet.
Mike’s heart hit hard all at once.
Nancy heard it too. She turned her head toward the stairs.
From the living room, Jane called, “Daddy?”
Mike immediately stepped out of the kitchen. “Yes, princess?”
Jane was looking toward the top of the stairs. “I think El woke up.”
Nancy’s face changed, just slightly.
“Who?” she said.
Mike’s whole body froze.
Jane, knowing nothing, repeated in the most natural voice, “El.”
Nancy slowly turned to Mike.
El’s name had fallen into the room.
Not like a simple name.
Like something once buried, mourned, avoided, and prayed over.
Nancy’s lips parted.
“What did you say?”
This time, Jane noticed the expression on Nancy’s face. Her smile slowly faded. She looked at Mike. Then at Nancy. She understood that something was wrong, but she didn’t understand what she had broken.
Mike set the mug down on the edge of the coffee table. His voice came out very carefully.
“Nancy.”
Nancy’s eyes stayed on Mike’s face. “What did Jane say?”
Mike took one step. “Sit down first.”
“No.”
“Nancy.”
“Who woke up, Mike?”
Then soft footsteps came from the stairs.
Mike’s throat went dry.
There was no stopping it now. This moment was unplanned, but it was absolutely going to happen.
El appeared at the top of the stairs.
Her hair was a little messy from sleep. Last night was still on her face. She was wearing her pajamas. One hand rested on the railing.
She looked at Mike first.
Then she saw Nancy.
And she stopped where she was.
Nancy didn’t move.
If it was possible, the house went silent all at once.
The color drained from Nancy’s face.
“El,” she said.
It didn’t sound like a voice.
More like a breath.
El held the railing a little tighter.
“Nancy?”
Nancy looked like she might take a step back, but she didn’t. Her eyes stayed on El’s face, as if El would disappear if she stopped looking.
“No,” she said very quietly.
Mike’s insides tore.
Nancy shook her head. “No.”
El’s face softened with pain. “Nancy...”
“No, you...” Nancy’s voice broke. “You died.”
Jane came quietly to Mike’s side. Mike put a hand on her shoulder by reflex, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Nancy.
El couldn’t answer.
Mike spoke quickly. “Nancy, please—”
Nancy silenced him with one hand.
Her eyes were still on El.
“You were alive,” she said. “I mean, this whole time?”
El’s face went white.
“Yes.”
Nancy stood there as if that one word had actually struck her. One hand reached for something to hold on to. Mike started toward her, but Nancy raised her hand without looking at him.
“Don’t.”
Mike stopped.
Nancy looked at El. “This whole time?”
El’s eyes had filled. “I...”
The sentence fell apart.
Nancy’s voice shook. “Mike knew.”
El looked at Mike.
There was pain on his face.
Nancy already understood the answer.
“Mike knew,” she said again.
This time, clearer.
More hurt.
Very quietly, Mike said, “I only found out recently.”
Nancy turned to him. “How recently?”
Mike swallowed before answering. “A month and a half ago.”
Nancy’s eyes widened. “A month and a half?”
“Nancy—”
“You didn’t tell me for a month and a half?”
Mike’s voice tightened. “I couldn’t.”
Nancy looked at him.
That look wasn’t the angry older-sister look Mike knew from childhood.
It was heavier.
More adult.
More wounded.
“You couldn’t...” Nancy said.
El came down one more step. “I asked him not to.”
Nancy’s eyes moved back to her.
El’s voice was shaking, but she didn’t run from it. “I asked him not to. I asked him not to tell anyone.”
Nancy closed her eyes.
For a few seconds, she only breathed.
Then she opened them.
“Why?”
El parted her lips.
But there was no short answer to that question.
Where was she supposed to start? Iceland? The government? The fact that letting herself stay dead had sometimes seemed like the only way to stay alive?
“Because I was scared,” she said at last.
Nancy’s face changed, filling with pain.
“We mourned you. Mike...” Her voice broke on Mike’s name, but she pulled it together. “Mike thought he lost you, and Mike almost—”
Mike cleared his throat, stopping Nancy. He knew where that sentence was going, and Jane was there. Nancy understood too, and stopped.
El understood as well. A tear slipped down her face. “I know.”
“No.” Nancy shook her head. “You don’t. Because you weren’t here.”
That sentence was heavy. Everyone in the room felt it.
For a second, El’s face came apart.
But she didn’t step back.
She came all the way down the stairs. Now she was on the same level as Nancy.
“You’re right,” she said, and continued.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how you lived through it. I don’t fully know what Mike went through either. Or what you went through. I only know my own fear.”
Nancy’s lips trembled.
El spoke more quietly. “And if that hurt you... and I know it did. I’m sorry.”
For a while, Nancy didn’t say anything.
Jane stood silently beside Mike. Then, quietly, she took the initiative and went up to her room.
Mike spoke very carefully.
“Nance, I wanted to tell you.”
Without looking at him, Nancy said, “But you didn’t.”
Mike went quiet.
Because it was true.
Nancy’s eyes moved back to El. “Does Hopper know?”
El nodded. “He knows now.”
Something else broke across Nancy’s face. It was obvious she felt left out. She didn’t even try to hide it.
“Was I the last to know?”
Mike immediately said, “No,” but the sentence came out weak.
Nancy looked at him.
Mike breathed out helplessly. “It wasn’t close. It wasn’t planned. Everything happened all at once.”
El slowly stepped closer.
There was still distance between them.
Nancy didn’t move away, but she didn’t move closer either.
“Nancy,” El said. “You can be angry with me.”
Nancy’s eyes filled.
“I can’t,” she said.
And then she really looked at her.
For a long time.
As if she were searching El’s face for the years. The twelve-year-old girl with the shaved head. The girl hiding in Mike’s basement, wiping blood from her nose, trying to understand the world. The sixteen-year-old girl who had grown and changed and lived through too much. It was like Nancy was comparing all those years to the woman standing in front of her now.
Tired.
Broken.
Back.
Getting married tomorrow.
Nancy’s voice came out very quietly.
“You’re really here.”
El’s breath broke. “Yes.”
The first tear slipped from Nancy’s eye.
She didn’t wipe it away.
“God.”
El’s face crumpled too.
Nancy took a step forward.
Then stopped.
She definitely had questions, but the person standing in front of her wasn’t a ghost.
She was a real person.
El.
Nancy took one more step and hugged her.
The hug wasn’t soft.
Not at first.
It was tight. Almost hard. Like she was holding on to El and being angry with her at the same time.
El hugged her back immediately. Her arms closed around Nancy’s back, and in that moment, all the tension of the morning turned into something else. Nancy’s voice was muffled against El’s shoulder.
“I want to hate you.”
El closed her eyes. “I know.”
“I can’t.”
El cried.
Nancy held her tighter.
“Because I know you had a reason.”
“I did.”
“And I’m so happy you’re alive.”
El’s breath broke completely.
Mike lowered his head. His eyes were full.
Nancy didn’t let go of El for a long time. Then she pulled back a little and looked at El’s face with both hands. She wiped the tear from El’s cheek with her thumb. Her voice was softer now.
“Are you really getting married?”
A small smile moved through El’s tears. “Yes.”
Nancy closed her eyes and breathed out. “Oh my God... This is a miracle...”
Very quietly, Mike said, “It is.”
Nancy turned to him. “You be quiet.”
Mike nodded immediately. “I deserved that.”
Nancy turned back to El and took her hand.
“You’re going to talk too.”
El nodded. “I know.”
Nancy took a breath, then looked back at the tiara and sash in the living room. Her eyes were still wet, but a small smile appeared on her face. Tired, stunned, almost disbelieving.
“Bride-to-be, huh?”
El covered her face with her hands. “Please.”
For the first time, Nancy’s voice came through the hurt with real older-sister warmth.
“No,” she said. “You’re telling me about that too.”
They had all moved into the kitchen now.
El and Nancy were sitting at the table, and Mike was making breakfast. Nancy took a sip of her coffee, but when she set the mug back down, her hand was still shaking a little.
El saw it.
Nancy looked at the mug like she knew El had noticed, then turned back to her.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m asking my first question. It’s not exactly hard to guess.”
Mike was moving the eggs from the pan onto a plate. His back was turned to them, but his shoulders tightened immediately.
Nancy’s voice came out lower.
“How did you survive?”
El didn’t answer for a few seconds.
She had expected the question, but for a moment, she needed to breathe.
“I...” she said.
Her voice came out very thin at first. She cleared her throat. Nancy didn’t say anything. She only waited.
El laced her fingers together.
“I escaped through the tunnels,” she said finally.
Nancy frowned. “Tunnels?”
El nodded. “Kali... She made an illusion. When I got out of the truck, her illusion hid me, and I went down into the tunnels. I escaped.”
Nancy closed her eyes.
El looked at her. “I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just knew I had to go. I couldn’t be caught. They would look for me. The army, the police... everyone.”
Nancy breathed in slowly. “And then?”
“First, I went to Boston. I mean, that’s where I ended up, really. I hid for a while. Stayed away from people. Then... I got on a ship.”
Nancy’s head lifted slightly. “A ship?”
“Yes.”
“To where?”
El’s voice grew quieter. “Iceland.”
Nancy looked at her. “Iceland.”
El nodded. “I stayed there.”
Nancy spent a few seconds turning the sentence over in her mind, like the words were not settling into place one by one.
“You got out of Hawkins,” she said slowly. “Somehow made it to Boston. Got on a ship. Went to Iceland. And lived there.”
“Yes.”
Nancy’s eyes moved to Mike.
Mike was still in the kitchen, but he wasn’t cooking anymore. He had a spatula in his hand. He had turned off the burner. He was just standing there.
Nancy’s voice changed.
“Mike talked about this.”
Mike lifted his head.
El looked at him too.
Nancy narrowed her eyes, trying to remember. “A long time ago. He had a theory. Something about the tunnels. That maybe you hadn’t died. That maybe you had found a way out.”
She looked at Mike.
“You said that.”
Mike didn’t answer. Nancy’s face softened with pain.
“We didn’t listen.”
Mike’s voice came out very low.
“You listened. You just... didn’t believe it. Dustin didn’t believe me 100% either, but he still listened to me make theories. Even at Thanksgiving, he kept letting me.”
Nancy’s throat moved.
“Mike, because it felt impossible... And you weren’t exactly...”
Mike nodded. “I know, Nancy. Forget it.”
Nancy turned back to El. “And there... in Iceland, all those years...”
“I lived,” El said. “Under another name. Another identity. And it... became my home.”
Nancy’s mouth opened slightly, but she couldn’t ask the question.
When El saw her face, she lowered her eyes.
“I didn’t forget you.”
Nancy took a deep breath.
“I know,” she said, but her voice was still hurt.
For a while, no one spoke.
Then Nancy turned to Mike.
Mike felt it and looked at her immediately.
“After Thanksgiving,” she said.
Mike slowly nodded. “Yes.”
Nancy’s eyes filled. “When you went to Iceland...”
Mike nodded again.
For a second, Nancy almost smiled, but the smile turned into pain almost immediately.
“Of course you found her. Even after all those years, you went and found her.”
Mike’s eyes were red. “I couldn’t let it go.”
Nancy’s face came apart. “I know.”
Nancy was quiet for a while.
Then her eyes moved between them.
“This is huge. It really is. You’re incredibly brave... I mean, even though I know no one is after us anymore, it became a habit. I still have my source check sometimes, and...”
El looked at her hands for a while.
“It wasn’t really bravery,” she said quietly. “If those records hadn’t been gone, I couldn’t have come.”
Nancy frowned slightly. “What records?”
“The lab. The army. The police... If all those reports hadn’t been cleared, I couldn’t have come. I would have been too scared.”
Nancy’s frown deepened. “How were they cleared?”
“I had it done,” Mike said. “You know I had someone checking if anyone was still after us. But it wasn’t only checking. He was deleting the files about El. So one day, if El ever came back, she could actually come back.”
Nancy’s eyes widened. “You had records deleted from the army’s system?”
“Yes,” Mike said, without turning toward her.
Nancy went quiet again, taking it in.
Then she spoke slowly.
“So there’s nothing about El in the system anymore?”
El and Mike shook their heads at the same time.
“Wow.” Nancy paused. “And you trust him completely? This won’t be like what happened with Dustin, right?”
“I would trust him with my life,” Mike said.
He turned off the stove completely and came back to the table.
“He’s also my best man.”
Nancy looked at Mike’s face for a while.
“Okay,” she said, then turned back to the table.
El told Nancy everything.
Her identity.
Her return here.
Everything she could tell.
Nancy looked a little more stunned with every sentence she heard. Meanwhile, Mike moved to take the breakfast plates to the table, but right then, the doorbell rang.
All three of them froze.
Jane came down into the living room, muttering, “Who is it this time?”
Mike closed his eyes. “This house is going to kill me today.”
Nancy looked at him immediately. “Who else is coming?”
Mike walked to the door without answering. El stepped out of the kitchen doorway and into the living room too. Nancy stayed in the kitchen.
Mike looked through the peephole.
Then he opened the door.
Kristín was standing outside. On one arm, she was carefully carrying the garment bag with the wedding dress. In her other hand, she had a small bag. Her hair was neatly pinned up, but yesterday’s exhaustion was still on her face, along with the expression of someone who had already done too much by that hour of the day.
“Good morning,” she said. Then she looked at Mike’s face. “Apparently something happened in this house again.”
Mike stepped aside. “Good morning, Kris. Come in.”
Kristín came inside. She looked at El first, then her eyes landed on Nancy.
Nancy looked back at her.
El spoke quickly. “Kristín, this is Nancy. Mike’s sister. And Nancy, this is Kristín, my maid of honor and also my friend of ten years from Iceland.”
Kristín’s expression changed all at once. Exhaustion, curiosity, attention, all of it passed over her face at the same time. She held the garment bag a little more carefully.
“Nancy,” she said. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
Nancy was still trying to process the entire morning, but she pulled herself together. “Hi, Kristín. Your accent is very clean. You sound like a native speaker. You speak better than Mike.”
“Heeey,” Mike protested, laughing.
Kristín laughed too. “I’m half Canadian,” she said, then turned to El. “I picked up the wedding dress from the tailor...”
Nancy’s eyes moved to the garment bag.
That pulled everything in the room into a different place all at once. Death, escape, records, lies, fear... and in the middle of all of it, there was a white wedding dress bag.
Nancy’s voice came out softer.
“The wedding dress.”
Kristín nodded. “I brought it for a final fitting before the wedding. To make sure everything is right. Better safe than sorry.”
Nancy slowly looked at El.
Kristín noticed.
Then she looked at Mike.
“You,” she said. “Stay here.”
Mike raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“There is a wedding dress. Do not look.”
Mike looked like he was about to object, but Nancy spoke at the same time.
“Yes, Mike. Don’t look.”
Mike looked at both of them. Then he lifted his hands. “Okay. I’m making breakfast.”
Jane immediately asked, “Can I see?”
Kristín’s face softened. “You’re the flower girl. Of course you can see.”
Jane’s face lit up.
Nancy, meanwhile, was looking at El. Her eyes were still wet, but now there was something else in them too. Beside the shock and the pain, there was a very old family reflex.
A wedding.
Her brother.
A wedding dress.
And the girl they had thought was dead, really standing here.
Nancy took a deep breath. “I guess,” she said, her voice a little shaky, “we’re doing a dress fitting before breakfast.”
El looked at her. “If you want—”
Nancy immediately nodded her head. “Of course I want to.”
El’s eyes filled.
Kristín saw it, but didn’t push. She only lifted the garment bag a little higher.
“Okay,” she said. “Then everyone stay calm. I saved this bag from death three times on the way here.”
Mike called from the kitchen, “Congratulations, maid of honor.”
Kristín answered instantly. “Not even your voice gets to touch the dress, Mike.”
Nancy laughed despite herself.
So did El.
Kristín gave the bag a small shake. “Come on, let’s go upstairs and try this thing on. If it needs to go back to the tailor, I need to handle it.”
As all four girls went upstairs, Kristín continued. “I called the hair salon again too. After the wedding, they’ll probably tape my passport photo to the door and ban me from the place. She looks tired of me now. I called the florist too. They’ll bring everything to the venue tomorrow when we get there.”
“Wait a second,” Nancy said. “The wedding is tomorrow?”
El looked at her.
She had thought Mike had told her.
Slowly, she nodded.
Nancy laughed.
“Wow. If I’d come tomorrow, I would’ve been late. I’m going to kill Mike.”
“Nancy... He didn’t tell you because of me. Please don’t be mad at him.”
“Of course I’m going to be mad at him. That’s the rule of being a little brother. Get scolded.”
Kristín laughed. “I like you a lot, Nancy...”
Nancy laughed.
When they entered the bedroom, Kristín closed the door behind them, but not all the way. She left it cracked.
Then she turned right back around, went to the door, and called downstairs.
“Mike?”
His voice came from the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“Do not even set foot on the stairs.”
“I’m making eggs.”
“Make the eggs there.”
“I am making them there.”
Kristín looked satisfied. “Good.”
Kristín carefully laid the garment bag across the bed. Her hands became more serious all at once. She slowly unzipped it.
El held her breath.
Nancy noticed.
“Hey,” she said softly.
El looked at her. There was still shock on Nancy’s face, but now something else was coming through it. Warmer, older, more like family.
“Breathe.”
El let out a breath without even realizing she had been holding it.
Kristín opened the bag.
When the dress appeared, the room went quiet for a moment.
Jane’s mouth fell open in shock.
“It’s so beautiful.”
El didn’t say anything.
She only looked.
The dress lay on the bed. The tailor’s final adjustments were barely visible; the waist had been taken in a little more, the straps adjusted.
Kristín checked it without running her hand over the fabric, only hovering above it. “Okay. Come on. We’re trying it on.”
El immediately looked at her. “Now?”
Kristín blinked. “No, after the wedding.”
Nancy laughed despite herself. El laughed too, but her hands were shaking.
When Kristín saw that, she didn’t joke this time. “El.”
“I’m fine.”
“I know. Still, calm down.”
Kristín lifted the dress carefully. Jane rose onto her knees on the bed, unable to stop herself from watching, but she didn’t touch. That alone was a major achievement.
“Can I touch it?” she asked.
Kristín looked at her. “Very lightly. We have to protect this with our lives...”
Jane reached out like she had been given the most serious mission in the world and touched the edge of the fabric gently with her fingers.
Then she looked at El.
“Soft.”
El’s eyes filled, but she smiled. “Yes.”
Kristín immediately took back control. “Okay, flower girl. Now your post is on the bed. Watch, comment, but please don’t get too excited where your dad can hear you.”
Jane nodded. “Okay.”
Kristín lifted the dress carefully. Nancy moved to the side of the bed without waiting to be asked, taking the edge of the skirt so it wouldn’t drag on the floor.
Jane rose onto her knees on the bed. “Can I help too?”
Kristín turned to her right away. “You’re the watching team. Very important job. If something is crooked, you tell us.”
Jane took that seriously. “Okay.”
El took a nervous breath. “You all look very serious.”
Nancy looked at her while carefully holding the skirt. “Because this is serious.”
At the same time, Kristín said, “Because I don’t want to take it back to the tailor.”
They laughed.
That helped.
El’s hands were still trembling a little, but laughing made it easier to breathe.
As Kristín guided the dress over El, Nancy held the skirt with both hands and carefully adjusted the fabric so it wouldn’t twist. Then, as El slipped her arms through, Nancy gently moved El’s hair aside so it wouldn’t catch at the shoulders.
When El felt Nancy’s hand, she froze for a second.
Nancy felt her freeze.
“Lower your head a little,” she said quietly.
El lowered her head.
Nancy took hold of the zipper and slowly pulled it up. The sound of it was very clear in the room.
Kristín checked the waist on both sides. “Perfect.”
Nancy zipped it all the way up. “Are the shoulders okay?”
Kristín moved in front of El and looked. “Fix the left side just a little.”
Nancy immediately adjusted the left shoulder with her fingers. “Like this?”
“Yes. That’s good too. Let’s fix the skirt.”
Nancy bent down and held the skirt. Kristín held the other side. Together, they let the fabric fall toward the floor.
The skirt opened in one soft movement.
Jane held her breath on the bed. “Whoa.”
They laughed.
El lowered her hands beside the skirt. She was almost afraid to touch the fabric. Kristín moved behind her, checked the waist again to make sure it sat exactly right, then checked the straps too.
Kristín took one step back. “Okay.”
Both of them looked at the mirror at the same time.
El hadn’t looked at herself yet.
Her back was still to it.
Kristín’s voice was soft but firm. “Look at yourself.”
Nancy said at the same time, more quietly, “Yes. Look.”
El slowly turned toward the mirror.
And the room went silent.
This time, the silence wasn’t only because the dress was beautiful.
The dress was right.
Not just in the sense that it fit her body. It really worked. It didn’t look foreign on El. It didn’t swallow her. The fabric didn’t sit on her like a costume. It looked like part of her.
Nancy’s voice came out very low.
“God...”
El looked at herself in the mirror.
For a moment, she couldn’t speak.
Because the woman in front of her wasn’t only a bride.
She wasn’t only the woman Mike was going to marry tomorrow.
She wasn’t only someone who had come back.
She wasn’t only someone who had survived.
She was all of it at once.
Broken.
Hidden.
Returned.
And finally here.
El’s eyes filled.
Nancy saw it in the mirror and placed her hand very lightly on El’s arm.
Kristín stood on the other side too, with a small but very clear pride on her face.
Jane whispered, “So beautiful.”
El’s lip trembled.
Nancy’s voice trembled too, but she finished the sentence. “Yes. So beautiful.”
Kristín looked at the reflection in the mirror and nodded. “You look incredible, sweetheart.”
Jane was practically bouncing on the bed from excitement, but she was trying to stay quiet. For her, that counted as a battle.
“So beautiful,” she said. “El, you’re so beautiful.”
El’s lip trembled. “Thank you.”
“The tailor did good work,” Kristín said. “It took a little while, but she didn’t make us regret it.”
El was still looking at herself in the mirror. She lowered her fingers to the side of the skirt and lightly touched the fabric. The wedding still felt unreal sometimes. Marrying Mike. Taking his last name. Jane standing beside her. Hopper coming. Joyce coming. Nancy being here now.
Nancy took one step. Then stopped.
“Can I hug you?”
El turned to her.
The question hurt her heart. Because Nancy had just shown her the hurt, the grief she carried. And now she was asking permission. As if she were afraid El might still disappear.
“Of course,” El said, her voice almost a whisper.
Nancy came closer and hugged her. This time, it wasn’t as hard as the hug that morning. It was more careful. She was trying not to crush the dress, but she couldn’t hide the feeling behind it. El wrapped her arms around Nancy too.
Nancy’s voice trembled against El’s shoulder.
“I never thought I’d get to see this.”
El closed her eyes. “Me neither.”
“You being here.”
“I know.”
Nancy pulled back slightly and wiped her eyes. “Mike is going to turn stupid when he sees you.”
Jane said seriously, “My dad isn’t stupid.”
All three of them looked at her.
Jane thought about it for a second. “He’s smart.”
The tearful expression on Nancy’s face broke into laughter at once. Kristín had to grab the edge of the bed.
Jane looked surprised. “What? It’s true.”
Nancy was laughing through her tears now. “Yes. It’s true.”
Jane was pleased with that. “Yes.”
El looked back into the mirror. Her face was flushed. Her eyes were wet. She was wearing her wedding dress, and behind her were Nancy, Kristín, and Jane. This was not an image she had expected. It wasn’t even something she had dared to imagine.
Nancy watched her for a while.
Then her voice came out smaller.
“El?”
El looked at her through the mirror. “Yes?”
Nancy pressed her lips together for a second. The question seemed hard for her.
“Can I...” She took a short breath. “Can I come to the wedding?”
El turned to her.
She was genuinely surprised.
“What?”
Nancy’s face tightened. “I mean... if you want me to. If it’s not too late. If it won’t be a problem for you. I—”
“Nancy,” El said immediately.
Nancy stopped.
El was looking at her. Her eyes were still full, but there was an almost wounded surprise in them.
“Of course you can come.”
Nancy’s lips parted. El took a step closer, the skirt of the dress moving softly.
“Why are you asking that?”
Nancy looked away. “Because... I don’t know. Because I just found out. Because I stepped into your life all at once. Because Mike didn’t invite me. Because I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me there.”
El’s face softened.
“I do.”
Nancy looked at her.
El said it more clearly. “I want you at the wedding.”
Nancy’s eyes filled again.
“Really?”
“Of course.” El’s voice trembled a little. “You’re Mike’s sister. And... you’re part of my life too.”
Nancy’s face came apart.
This time, she didn’t hide it.
Kristín quietly stepped back a little. Jane, as if she understood that the moment was serious, sat more calmly on the bed. Nancy hugged El again. This time, it was shorter, but deeper.
“Okay,” Nancy said. “I’m coming.”
El’s voice landed somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “Good.”
Nancy pulled back a little, then looked over the dress from top to bottom. “But there is one problem.”
Kristín straightened immediately. “What?”
El’s face panicked. “Where?”
Nancy looked at her with a very serious expression. “Mike may not stay on his feet when he sees this.”
“Oh my God, Nancy,” Kristín said, putting a hand to her forehead.
They laughed.
Right then, Mike’s voice came from downstairs.
“Breakfast is ready. And I saw nothing.”
Kristín turned toward the door. “If you see it, you can’t get married.”
Mike called from downstairs, “Who made that rule?”
Nancy moved closer to the door. “I did.”
Without hesitation, Mike called back, “Okaaay.”
El laughed.
Nancy looked at her. “See? Sometimes being the older sister is useful.”
Kristín checked the zipper. “Okay. The dress works. Now we’re taking it off. Then we’re having breakfast.”
Jane raised her hand. “I’m the flower girl.”
Kristín nodded seriously. “You are on duty.”
Jane looked happy.
Nancy looked at El one last time. “You really are so beautiful.”
El’s face softened. “Thank you.”
Nancy’s voice came out lower. “I’m really glad I didn’t miss this.”
El’s eyes filled again.
“Me too,” she said.
When they came down for breakfast, Mike really had gotten breakfast ready. It was the best that tense start to the day had allowed him. The girls came downstairs. Kristín hung the dress on the coat rack. Nancy still looked a little disoriented as she sat down at the table.
Understandable.
After all, Mike had passed out the first time he saw El.
El sat in her chair. Jane immediately moved to sit beside her. Kristín sat across from Nancy, still looking at the garment bag. She had hung it over a safe chair in the living room and kept checking it from the corner of her eye every now and then.
Mike noticed.
“The dress isn’t going to run away.”
Kristín looked at him. “Don’t look over there.”
“I’m not looking.”
“Even your voice is looking.”
Nancy laughed despite herself. “That sentence is weirdly accurate.”
Mike raised his hands. “I’m just making breakfast.”
“Enjoy your food, daddy,” Jane said immediately.
Mike’s face softened. “Thank you, princess. Enjoy yours too.”
Nancy watched that small exchange. El saw her watching. She didn’t say anything, but Nancy’s expression had changed as she looked at them. Clearly, Mike being a father still felt new to her. El understood that very well, because she was only just getting used to it too.
Right then, the phone rang.
Everyone stopped for a second.
Mike sighed. “And there’s my guy.”
He picked up the phone. “Hey..”
El watched Mike’s face.
Mike listened. “Okay. Where?”
There was silence for a moment.
“What time?”
Mike glanced at El from the corner of his eye.
“Okay... What? Great, James. Thank you.”
He listened a little longer.
“Okay. Makes sense. Okay, see you. What?”
Mike suddenly laughed.
“Man, get out of here. What is wrong with you... Okay, see you.”
Something suddenly came to El’s mind.
“Wait, wait. James, don’t hang up.” El held out her hand. “Mike, give me the phone for a second.”
Mike looked at her suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
“Give it to me.”
Mike handed her the phone.
El brought the phone to her ear. “Hi. It’s me. I have a request as the bride for tomorrow, James. I have a best-man assignment for you.”
Mike’s eyes widened.
El smiled. “I want you to perform the song from the bachelor party. Can you arrange the equipment?”
Mike straightened at once. “El.”
El put the phone on speaker.
James’s voice filled the kitchen. “...is this? Can you put me on speaker for a second, El? Or give the phone to Mike?”
“You’re on speaker, James,” El said. “But Jane is here. Be careful.”
“Okay, okay.” James immediately pulled himself together. Then he exploded. “Man, why do you tell her everything? Why do you spill everything? I’m fine with it, I’ll play, but do you have the ba— the guts to actually do this? What were you trusting when you told her everything?”
Jane held her fork and looked at Mike.
Mike cut in immediately. “Do you think I told her on purpose, bro? I just talked.”
“Great. Great. What else did you tell her, I wonder?”
El came in very calmly. “Everything.”
James’s sigh was audible even through the speaker. “Yeah, there it is. God, Mike...”
Mike rubbed his face. “I already regret it.”
El pulled the phone closer to herself. “I don’t care. I want that performance at my wedding.”
James’s voice changed right away. “Like I said, I have no problem with it. Bob won’t either. He’d do anything for the bride. You convince Mike.”
“He has to do what I say anyway,” El said, looking at Mike.
Mike opened his mouth, then closed it when he saw El’s look.
El continued. “Can you arrange the equipment?”
“Come on, El. I’m the best man. I’ll handle everything. The best man is on it!”
El smiled. “Thank you, James. You’re amazing.”
James laughed. “See you tonight. Take care of yourselves.”
“Byeeee.”
The call ended.
For a moment, Mike only looked at El.
“Come on, El. I would’ve told you, why did you have to...” He swallowed the rest of the sentence when he saw her look. “I’ll get nervous. I’m already going to be nervous.”
El’s face softened, but she didn’t back down. “But Mike...”
“Okay, okay.” Mike shook his head. “Why did I even tell you...”
Kristín spoke dryly while drinking her coffee. “I think this turned out very well.”
Mike looked at her. “Of course you do. You’re not the one who has to get onstage.”
Nancy raised her eyebrows. “Onstage?”
El turned to Nancy with a smile. “Mike apparently sang at his bachelor party, and I want that at the wedding too.”
They laughed.
Mike took the chance to change the subject.
“Anyway, James arranged the reservation for dinner tonight.”
“What time?”
“Seven.”
“When am I going to Mama Dolores’s?” Jane asked.
“You’ll leave with us. We’ll drop you off first, then go, princess.”
Jane nodded and put a piece of cheese in her mouth.
Kristín picked up the piece of bread on her plate. “Where’s the reservation?”
“He’ll call and tell me later.”
“I need to go out too,” Nancy said.
Mike lifted his head. “Where?”
Nancy looked at him. “The wedding is tomorrow, Mike.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have a dress.”
“Nancy...”
Nancy raised her hand. “I’ll handle it.”
“Okay... uh. I booked your hotel reservation. I don’t know for how many days, but we can extend it depending on what happens. It’s the same hotel Kristín is staying at. Hopper and Joyce are staying there too.”
Nancy nodded. “You’ve claimed the whole hotel... I mean, thank you, but I’ll leave after the wedding tomorrow.”
Nancy took another bite of her eggs. “After breakfast, I’ll go out and look for something. It doesn’t have to be too fancy. But I’m not going to my brother’s wedding in the clothes I packed in my suitcase.”
Mike went quiet.
As El watched, all the chaos on the table, all the hurt, all the sudden arrivals turned into something else for a moment.
Family.
Messy, argumentative, late, broken in all the wrong places, but still sitting at the same table.
After breakfast, Kristín and El were in the bedroom, packing El’s bag for that night. Most of the things were already in Kristín’s hotel room, and they were going to stay there that night too. Now they were checking everything one last time and packing a bag with pajamas and comfortable clothes for the next day.
“Nancy seems like someone I’d get along with.”
“She is... It’s just... weird that she came out of nowhere, you know? Why today, and how? I haven’t been able to talk to Mike about it. My head and my feet still hurt.”
Kristín laughed. “But we had fun.”
El laughed too.
“We really had so much fun. Thank you so much, Kris. For everything. Really.”
“Don’t mention it, girl. It was really good for me too. We needed to let off steam.”
El zipped the bag all the way closed. Then she kept her hand on top of it. A small, simple bag. Pajamas. Comfortable clothes. Enough things for one night.
But that night would be the last night she spent away from Mike.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Mike and Nancy had stayed in the kitchen.
As Mike loaded the dishwasher, he was telling her the rest of everything, and Nancy was watching him with her coffee mug held in both hands.
“Wait, wait, Mike. I understand that part.”
Mike stopped.
Nancy was quiet for a moment, trying to find the right words. She looked at her mug, then turned back to him.
“I understand everything. That’s not the problem. This...” She took a short breath. “This is a huge survival story. From beginning to end, it deserves respect. I’m not arguing with that.”
Some of the tension in Mike’s shoulders loosened.
Nancy continued. “What Hopper did was ridiculous, okay? If that man is one of the people who made it possible for you to be reunited with the woman you see as your daughter, then you don’t treat him like that. James’s problems are James’s business.” Nancy’s voice was clear. “I look at what he did. And what I see here is someone who really deserves respect.”
Mike looked at her.
That sentence felt better than he had expected. Maybe after Hopper, he had needed someone to say it that plainly, that unquestionably. Someone who gave James the credit he deserved.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
Nancy gave a small nod. “That’s not my real issue.”
Mike’s face tightened again immediately.
Nancy set her mug on the counter. “My real issue is, how are we going to hide this from Mom and Dad? Or maybe the real question is: why do we have to hide it? From Dustin? Lucas? Max? Will, especially...” Nancy stopped for a second. “How long do you think Joyce is going to be able to hold herself back, Mike? Be reasonable.”
Mike let out a deep breath. He leaned back against the counter.
“Nance, this is complicated.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
“I’m not saying there are no problems. But I can’t ignore El’s fears either.” Mike’s voice lowered. “If this many people suddenly travel to the same place at the same time, I don’t want it to be like waking a sleeping snake.”
Nancy’s expression turned serious.
Mike continued. “El is freer right now than she has ever been in her life. Last night, she went out with Kristín for her bachelorette party. She was out for hours. She had fun. She got drunk. She laughed. She felt relaxed and safe. After she left the house, she didn’t call me for hours. And I didn’t call her.”
Nancy listened carefully.
“Because she felt safe,” Mike said. “And I knew she was as safe out there as any other woman. I don’t want to ruin that.”
Nancy’s face softened a little.
“We have to decide where the line is and stop there,” Mike said. “Of course they’re going to find out. Mom and dad are going to find out eventually.” He lifted his left hand. “The old ring is gone. I’m going to wear the real one now. Jane is going to go to Hawkins. Or, like you said, how long can Joyce really hide this?”
Nancy didn’t answer.
Mike scratched his jaw and let out a tired breath.
“But we have to do this step by step. First, we need to get through the wedding. We need to apply for citizenship right away. Let us stabilize ourselves first, Nance. There are so many things that need to be done...”
For a moment, he looked upstairs.
“We’ll fix things slowly. We’ll look at all of it. But first, we need to get ourselves together.”
Nancy looked at him for a long time.
Then she nodded.
“Okay.” Nancy’s voice was softer now, but still as determined as Nancy always was. “Don’t worry about mom and dad. I’ll handle that part. When the time comes, I’ll talk to them first, and then you can go. Okay? Let’s solve this together.”
Mike’s face slowly relaxed.
“Nancy...”
“What?”
Mike gave her a small, tired smile. “After Hopper, talking to you feels so easy that it’s incredible.”
Nancy laughed too, then shrugged. “He had his reasons too, apparently. Your friend paid the price for it, but whatever. He’ll get used to our chaos too.”
Mike couldn’t hold back his laugh.
“Fair.”
Nancy looked at him. “But if you ever hide something this huge from me again, I really will kill you.”
Mike nodded immediately. “I’ll deserve it.”
“Yes, you will.”
“I’m your sister, Mike. Stop forgetting that.”
Mike’s smile softened.
“Okay,” he said quietly.
After Nancy got the name and address of the hotel, she went out to shop. El packed Jane’s bag too. Her pajamas, comfortable clothes for the next day, her toothbrush, her little hair clips, her favorite book... She placed everything in one by one. They also carefully slipped Jane’s dress for the wedding into a clear garment bag to protect it. After that, El gave Jane a bath and carefully dried her hair. Mike, meanwhile, completely cleared away the old wardrobe pieces left over from the night before.
By evening, the rush inside the house started all over again. El took her bag, Kristín checked her own things, and Jane looked one last time at the bag to make sure her dress was safe. Mike picked up the keys. Kristín went out and took the wedding dress, hanging it from the roof handle in the back seat of the car. Then the four of them left the house together.
First, they were going to drop Jane off at Mama Dolores’s.
This time, El came with Mike and Jane too. On the way, Jane was excited. She talked more than usual in the car; about her bag, about her dress, about how she thought she would throw the flowers tomorrow. Mike looked at her in the rearview mirror every now and then, smiling. El, listening to her, felt something in her chest soften in a strange way. It was good for her to see Jane loved this much, to see her left so safely in someone’s home.
When they reached Mama Dolores’s house, Bob opened the door.
Mike smiled. “Hola, Bob. How are you?”
Bob opened the door a little wider. “Good, Mike. You? Hi, El. Welcome. James called. Tomorrow, my trumpet and I are at your service.”
El laughed. “Thank you, Bob. Now if only the groom would be convinced...”
“He will, he will,” Bob said. Then he turned to Mike. “You’re going to do what your bride says, Mike. That’s your job.”
Mike nodded in defeat. Before Bob even had the chance to invite them in, Mama Dolores appeared behind him. Her eyes found Jane immediately.
“Ah, mi niña. Welcome.”
Jane’s face lit up. “Hola, Mama Dolores. Cómo estás?” she asked happily.
She really loved her. It was obvious even in her voice.
Mama Dolores’s face softened with a huge smile. “Muy bien, mi preciosa niña. Vamos, come inside.”
Jane hugged Mike first. Mike held her tightly and kissed the top of her hair.
“You know the rules,” he said.
Jane rolled her eyes. “I know.”
“No staying up late.”
“Okay.”
“Brush your teeth.”
“Okaaaay.”
“No running.”
“Daddy.”
Mike lifted his hands. “Okay. Last one.”
This time, Jane hugged El. El held her tightly, and for a moment, she didn’t want to let go. Jane lifted her head and smiled.
“See you tomorrow.”
El’s face softened. “See you tomorrow, my little raptor.”
Jane loved that. Then she happily went inside.
This time, Mama Dolores turned to El. “Hola, my bride girl. How are you?”
El was getting ready to answer, but Mama Dolores didn’t make her wait. She hugged her tightly. El was surprised at first. She hadn’t expected a hug that direct, that warm. But a second later, she relaxed and hugged her back.
The warmth was familiar.
Like people in Iceland.
The kind that didn’t stretch things out with too many words, didn’t make the distance larger, just took a person in as they were.
“I’m good,” El said politely. “How are you?”
Mama Dolores pulled back, put both hands on El’s cheeks, and stroked them with affection.
“Very good. I’m waiting for the wedding, and I’m very excited.”
El’s eyes almost filled, but she smiled.
Then Mama Dolores turned to Mike. She took his cheeks between both hands too.
“The bride is very beautiful,” she said very seriously. “If you make her sad, I’ll beat you, just so you know.”
Mike laughed. “I won’t.”
Mama Dolores narrowed her eyes. “Good.”
From behind her, Bob said, “If mama threatens you, take it seriously.”
Mike nodded. “I absolutely am.”
They talked a little about the next day. When Jane would get ready, who would pick up whom and from where... Mama Dolores listened to everything, then nodded as if she had naturally taken control of the whole operation.
“Don’t worry. Jane is safe here. And tomorrow, she’ll get ready beautifully.”
El relaxed. “Thank you, really...”
Mama Dolores took her hand once more. “You just be happy, my bride girl.”
This time, El couldn’t answer.
She only smiled.
When they had to leave, Jane waved from inside the doorway again. Mike gave her one more behave look. Jane answered with an I know look.
Then the door closed.
As they walked back to the car, El stayed quiet for a while. Mike noticed.
“You okay?”
El nodded. “Yes. She’s very warm.”
Mike smiled. “Yeah. She is.”
As Kristín opened the back door, she said, “And she threatened to beat you.”
Mike sighed. “Everyone is very organized against me today.”
El got into the car, laughing. “I think you deserve it.”
Mike looked at her. “You too?”
El smiled. “A little.”
Mike shook his head as he started the car. “Great. Completely alone before my wedding.”