40. Chapter 40 (1/2)

the mass move-in to meadow

anch took several weeks of the team and their families taking turns moving each of them into their respective homes. of course, chuck and sarah's move was not quite as taxing since they only needed to move their computers and molly's furniture over to the new house. to say that molly was excited about her new room with her 'big girl bed' that her father and uncle awesome had made out of the head and foot board of her adjustable crib and a toddler frame. the new room had been decorated by her auntie alex who had volunteered. to everyone's surprise, except perhaps morgan, she had painted a mural with a grassy hill covered in flowers with butterflies floating in the sky.

when alex shared her vision for the design, sarah, ellie, and mary had gone out shopping to pick up sheets, pillowcases, and a duvet that fit with the theme of the room. mary had even found some butterfly and flower shaped throw pillows that now lay across the back of the bed alongside the wall. the biggest surprise was when casey showed up on moving day with a large toy chest that was painted white with 'molly' painted on the lid. when asked where he got it, he just shrugged and grunted causing chuck and sarah to give him knowing looks. the armory had smelled of paint fumes the week before, now they knew why.

now that everyone had been moved in, ellie, awesome, and clara being the last to move in since they didn't have to also help with coordinating the move of carmichael cybersecurity, everyone was gathering at chuck and sarah's for a joint block party and cele

ation of chuck's birthday. casey had insisted on manning the grill and was flipping burgers while chuck and awesome were reveling in their mutual admiration society over a job well done with taking down the fence separating their properties and getting the play structure that the children at the gathering were enjoying. they, along with morgan and kevin, helped the kids on the slide and on the swings, reveling in the squeals of delight coming from the kids.

ellie and sarah were hanging out on the patio with josie and alex, chatting amicably as they watched the children play, both the little ones and their spouses. morgan had recently asked for alex's hand and they were planning a wedding for the following summer so they could take their honeymoon before alex's final year of law school, and morgan's second year of college began. there was a large park with a gazebo in the middle of the subdivision where they were thinking of having the wedding. ellie and sarah had already agreed to allow their daughters to be flower girls at the ceremony and a cousin of morgan's had a little boy about the same age who was to be the ring bearer.

casey called that grub was on and quickly served up burgers, hotdogs, and sausages to the group who rotated past him before heading over to the tables covered in condiments and side dishes. to everyone's delight, ellie had

ought over morgan's favorite side dish #2, sweet potatoes with mini marshmallows. alex had

ought over some green bean casserole, which the woodcombs and chuck were hesitant to try after the last time a significant other of morgan's had

ought over the same dish. morgan quickly assured them that no tartar sauce had been involved in the making of the dish, much to their relief and they gladly added a scoop or two of the casserole to their plates.

stephen and mary had arrived about the time that dinner had been served and joined their son's extended family in the feast before mary announced that they had

ought cake. to chuck's embarrassment, he had to endure his friends and family singing to him before he was encouraged to make a wish and blow out the candles topping the sweet confection. he had molly 'help' him and soon the multitude of candles representing his 30 years of life.

a couple hours later, once the guests had left, the family had cleaned up, and the awesomes headed back to their own house, sarah, chuck, and molly were relaxing on the porch swing, enjoying the cool fall

eeze and stargazing.

"so, what did you wish for?" sarah asked quietly, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder.

"uh-uh," chuck shook his head with a smirk, "can't say, or else it won't come true."

"whatever," sarah rolled her eyes at her husband. after a few minutes, she noticed their daughter getting drowsy. it had been a long day for all of them. "well, i think it's time for someone to go to bed."

"no, mommy," molly whined, "i'm not sleepy.

"c'mon, sweet pea," chuck smiled down at his daughter as he lifted her from her mother's arms, "we gotta do what your mommy says. she's the boss."

"'kay," molly sighed, burying her head in his shoulder.

"i think we can skip bath time tonight," sarah advised, knowing molly wouldn't last and getting washed would only serve to make her grumpy. "i'll be up in a minute to kiss her good night."