Pictures of You

Forever Yours, Faithfully

October, 1989

Entering the Lenora Public Library, Eddie made his way towards the front desk, hoping to see Aileen sitting at its front. He was on his lunch break and decided to visit Aileen at her work for a change, seeing as she was the one to usually come over to the mechanics shop during her lunch hour.  Seeing Haley sitting at the desk instead of his love, Eddie sauntered up to the desk, greeting the young woman. "Afternoon, Haley." Looking up from her work, Haley gave Eddie a smile, closing the folder she had been perusing. "Hey, Joe. What can I do for you?" Holding up his lunch box, he gave Haley a smile. Haley and Aileen had become fast friends after Aileen had started working at the library, the female being the first friend Aileen had made in California. He remembered the first time he had met Haley. She had been so friendly, always a smile on her face.  It didn't take long for them to become friends as well, and eventually he had introduced her to his friend, Scott and his wife, Molly. Over the years, the five of them had become incredibly close.  But, gaining friends such as these also made him and Aileen miss their friends back home. In the privacy of their home, when it was just the two of them, Eddie and Aileen would occasionally talk about their friends back in Hawkins. Eddie and Aileen would wonder how Dustin and Mike were doing, wishing they could have attended their high school graduation earlier that year; would wonder how Jeff and Gareth were doing, curious to know what direction they decided to take in their lives after graduating. Eddie even wondered about Steve Harrington, someone he would have never considered a friend before but now thought of as a total bad ass. After their talk in the Upside Down, Eddie held out hope that Steve and Nancy had somehow found their way back to each other.

The two of them also wondered about their families.  Eddie wished he could have seen his uncle one last time, even if it was from afar.  Growing up, Wayne had become a father figure to Eddie, having cared for him more than his actual father ever had. He had been the one there for all Eddie's milestones, had been the one who had cared for him when he was sick, or when he first played the guitar. Wayne had always been around.  And Aileen.  Aileen worried and missed her mother constantly. She had felt so much guilt disappearing the way she had.  She didn't regret leaving and joining Eddie, but she wished she had been able to give her mother a proper goodbye.  When Eddie had proposed to Aileen four months prior, as they lay in bed holding each other after having a particularly passionate bout of sex, Aileen had been quite, thoughtful. Lifting her chin to look at him, Eddie asked her what she was thinking about. "We're going to get married." She had stated matter of factly. Chuckling, Eddie nodded his head. "Yeah. We are." Running her hand over his chest, her fingernails grazing his skin, Aileen was quiet for a moment. "Our families won't be there. Or our friends back home." Eddie pondered this for a moment, before shaking his head sadly. "No...they wont. And I'm sorry for that." Shaking her head, Aileen smiled up at him. "Don't be sorry. I am so excited to marry you, more than you could ever know. I guess, every time I thought about getting married, I always saw my mom there at least. It'll be okay, though. I can't wait for the day I get to marry you, Eddie."  It broke his heart that he wouldn't be able to give Aileen the wedding of her dreams, one surrounded by everyone they loved. He made a decision that day. While they were here in California, they would have to be married as Joseph Munson and Emily Emerson. But, when the day came where they could go back to being Eddie Munson and Aileen Emerson, he would ask her to marry him again, and they would have a wedding fitting to what she had always wanted.

Coming back to the present, setting his lunch box on the desks surface, he gave Haley a grin. "I'm looking for Emily. Figured I would come here and have lunch with her instead of at the shop.  Any idea where she's at?" Standing at the desk, peering around, Haley thought about what she had last seen Aileen doing. "I think she was returning some books. Try upstairs, I think most the books on her cart belong up there." Giving Haley another grin, Eddie thanked her and waved goodbye as he made his way to the libraries second floor. Trying to be quiet, he peeked down each aisle, finally finding her moments later.  He thought she was supposed to be putting books away, but her little cart was next to her, maybe twenty books still sitting atop it. And Aileen? She had her face buried in a book, a smile on her face as she read the contents of the tome. Silently laughing at the sight, Eddie shook his head in wonderment. He knew this would be a dangerous job for Aileen. His darling Princess was an incurable book worm; always bringing new books back home to read. This truly was a job most suiting for her. Making his way down the next aisle over, holding his breath, Eddie peeked around the corner before coming up behind Aileen, snaking his arms around her waist, pulling her body flush up against him, and whispering in her ear, "Excuse me, miss, I need help finding a book." Dropping the book that had just been in her hands, Aileen yelped loudly, twisting her body around to look at who grabbed her. Her eyes went wide before narrowing when she saw who currently embraced her. From a couple aisles over, the two of them heard a loud shushing come from another library patron. Looking around, making sure no one else was around them, Aileen smacked Eddie's arm, hissing lowly, "Jesus, Eddie! You scared the shit out of me!" Laughing, Eddie pressed a kiss against her temple before bending down and picking up the book she had dropped, looking at the cover. She had been reading Blood Rubies by Axel Young. A horror. No wonder she had been scared so easily. "Is this any good?" He asked her, turning the book around so he could read the books description on the back cover before turning it back around to look at the horrified faces of the young woman on the front. Taking the book from his hands, Aileen nudged Eddie with her hip, still upset that he had scared her, but smiling nonetheless. "It's not bad so far. What are you doing here?" Holding his watch up to her, Eddie showed her the time. Seeing the time, Aileen cursed. She had gotten so caught up in reading the book that she hadn't finished putting her work load away. "It's lunch time, already? Crap. I'm sorry, Eddie. I need to finish putting these away. And you came all the way over here too." Smiling, Eddie took her left hand in his, thriving in feeling the cool metal of her engagement ring against his hand. Bringing that same hand up, he pressed a gentle kiss against her ring. "Hey, its no problem. Want me to keep you company while you finish? We can have a quick lunch when you're done."
Grabbing her cart, Aileen sent Eddie a shy smile. "Yeah, I would like that. So, tell me about how you're days been so far."
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