A Game Night to Remember
It was one of those rare occasions where Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord was home at a reasonable hour. It was not very often that she got to come home before her family had eaten dinner, and today had been a slow day at the office so she went home early. When she stepped through the front door she turned to thank her agents, she closed the door behind her and listened for her kids who would usually never stop talking. Soon the sound of her three teenagers arguing over one another reached her ears. As much as she hated when they were fighting, she was glad to know her whole family was home at once.
Elizabeth wondered her way through the house 'till she reached the kitchen. A year ago the scene that greeted her would have seemed almost routine, Stevie and Allison cooking dinner. Henry grading papers next to Jason who was doing his homework at the kitchen table. The sight made her incredibly grateful for her family, and for being able to share these little moments with them. "Hey guys!" she said leaning over to place a kiss on both Ali's and Stevie's foreheads. "Hi mom" they chorused.
Elizabeth turned her attention to the men of the house. She walked over to the table wrapping her arms around Henry's neck, leaning around his head to place a kiss on his lips. "Excuse me! Am I the forgotten one around here?" Jason exaggerated without even looking up from his math textbook. Elizabeth laughed at the sarcastic comment. Nevertheless, she went over to her youngest child coincidently her only son a kissed the top of his hair. As much as he wanted to seem like the totally independent anarchist of the house, Jason McCord was a mama's boy. Though he would never fess up to it.
After the much-needed greeting from her family, Elizabeth trekked up the stairs to change out of work clothes and into her pj's. Satisfied with how comfortable her clothes were she headed back down the stairs to just be with her family. She pulled out a chair from the table and sat down next to Jason who had since moved on from math and onto English. "Hey, what about some dinner guys? What are you guys making?" Elizabeth asked her daughters. "Tacos" they replied in unison. Just the prospect of eating dinner with her family made her forget about the stress of work and all the problems in the world that needed fixing in that moment.
After sitting down for a few minute she got up to start setting the table. As she was reaching for the plates she noticed that for the first time in days that none of the kids were had their faces buried in their phones. She took advantage of the scenario and set the plates down around the table proposed an idea. "What about we have a family game night after dinner? We never get to play games as a whole family anymore and it's been ages since we have had a friendly dose of competition" she asked the room at large. Glancing around at her family they all nodded their head in agreement. They all agreed that a family game night was just what Team McCord needed.
Elizabeth finished setting the table and sat down at the table. She was soon joined by Henry sitting across from her and her kids sat around the edges of the table. Glancing at each of her kids Elizabeth was reminded of how incredibly grateful she was to be a part of this family.
After finishing a delicious dinner of tacos and recounting the events of the past few days Elizabeth got up to help Henry clear the table. "Go choose a game guys and we'll be there in a few minutes," Henry told the kids. It was so nice to just be near Henry. She came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Henry turned around form where he was washing the dishes. A smile spread across both of their faces as he bent down to place a kiss directly on her lips. The warmth from the kiss made her feel safe in the love of her family.
Alison came back into the kitchen to tell her parents that they had agreed on a game. "We chose a game. Who's ready for some McCord family Monopoly fun?" she approached her parents. "Okay baby. We'll be right there" her mom replied. Alison turned on her heel and went back into the family room to rejoin her siblings. Henry placed one last kiss on Elizabeth's lips and together they joined their kids for a family game night.
Monopoly was a McCord classic and they each had different roles in the game. As soon as he was old enough to play Jason had claimed the role of deed collector. Jason was the only one who was in charge of the properties. Alison was in charge of the houses and hotels. As the oldest McCord sibling, Stevie was the banker. Once the game was set up each member of the family chose their game piece. House rules stated that whoever's birthday was next got to go first. Since Elizabeth birthday was just over three weeks away she rolled the dice first.
As the game progressed the competitive side of everyone started to show. Soon Stevie and Henry were in the middle of sticking a strategic swap of properties and cash. Elizabeth watched as her family settled the deal, each party getting what they wanted. SHe thought about the deals she made as Secretary of State and how much she preferred making these trades than the one she made at work.
McCord Monopoly was soon approaching the fourth hour of the gameplay. Elizabeth walked back into the family room with a cup of tea in her hand. She looked around the room. The game board had been abandoned by her kids and as she walked farther into the room she noticed they were all asleep on the couch. The scene before her made her heart melt. All three kids were fast asleep on the couch, Stevie in the middle with Ali and Jason each leaning on her shoulders. Elizabeth Silently placed her mug down and took out her phone. She silently snapped a few pictures. This picture was going on her desk.
After looking at her kids for a few more moments she walked over to them, draping a blanket across all three of her beautiful, sleeping children. After giving each of them a kiss she walked over to Henry who was sitting on the floor next to the abandoned game of Monopoly. Elizabeth sat down next to him. Henry wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him. Together they watched their beautiful family. It was the perfect McCord family game night.