A/N: I know this is a week early, but I was too excited to wait! This chapter is also part of phunkybrewsterspen's Operation Tonic Water :) enjoy! Something sweet for my sweets! xoxo
"This looks delicious Betsy," Mindy smiled, placing the cake on the table with the other desserts. She stepped out of the way as kids ran towards it, excited to taste what lay beneath the pastel icing.
"Well, I know how much you love your sweets," Betsy smiled. "I'm just glad we could get everyone together to celebrate Easter!"
"Me too! You guys really are my second family," Mindy replied, squeezing Betsy's arm affectionately. "And my first," she added, spotting Danny across the yard. "Babe! Betsy's here!" She waved him over.
Danny jogged to the dessert table, smiling widely. "Hey Bets. Good to see you."
"It's good to see you too, Dr. C. When's the Easter egg hunt start?"
"Should be any minute now. We're waiting on Morgan and Tamra to arrive. They're supposed to be bringing the Easter bunny outfit for pictures later."
Mindy paused. "Are you sure Morgan said outfit? I thought I heard him stop at bunny…"
Danny's eyes widened.
"You know what? I'm sure he said outfit. It'll be fine," Mindy waved it off, but Danny continued to look like he wasn't breathing.
"Danny, relax. If Morgan did bring an actual live bunny –" she glanced between Betsy and Danny, who seemed equally skeptical, "then we can just lock them in the bathroom. You know how Morgan is about animals."
"I guess you're right," Danny shrugged. He checked his watch. "We better get started anyway. I'm sure there will be plenty of eggs for Cheyenne when they arrive."
"Everybody gather round," Mindy announced, turning towards the small crowd gathered on her front lawn.
A small, brown-hair girl ran up to Danny, latching on to his leg and sucking on her thumb. Danny smiled and rustled her hair. He bent down to her level, straightening out her dress. "Let's be quiet and listen to Mommy," he whispered, smiling at his wife. Mindy beamed back.
"Thank you, everyone, for being here today. It makes me so proud to say that Shulman and Associates is truly a family and not just a practice." Murmurs and cheers sprung forth from the crowd. "That being said, this is the Easter egg hunt. Take no prisoners!" She laughed as Beverly nodded seriously. "Do we all have our baskets?"
She glanced around the crowd. Betsy and Jeremy stood on the side, both holding little baskets Mindy assumed Betsy'd made herself. Betsy smiled back, rubbing her slightly protruding belly.
Mindy moved on to Peter and Sasha, who were both abstaining from the competition in favor of the open bar. Some things never change, Mindy shook her head. At least Peter had finally found someone whose wardrobe matched his own. They looked like a J. Crew ad, sporting matching salmon shorts and pale purple shirts. Peter's even had a little Easter egg on his. Mindy nodded appreciatively.
Finally, she settled on Danny. Danny, her husband, the love of her life, the father of her child. He smiled back at her, glancing down at Piper as she pulled on his baby blue shirt. Mindy felt her heart threaten to burst. She was so happy.
Danny knew the look in her eye. He flicked his own towards the waiting group, reminding her of her duty. Mindy smiled her thanks as Danny grabbed Piper's hand, showing that they were ready.
Mindy took a deep breath. "The rules are the same as every year: There are 50 eggs, and 1 golden egg. Whoever finds the golden egg wins the grand prize. On your mark…get ready…get set…go!" She announced, watching as everyone flew in opposite directions. Danny picked Piper up, carrying her around the yard and pointing to various locations.
"I guess this shindig's alright, for someone I know used to party hardy," Peter said to Mindy as he made his way over to the table. Mindy shrugged, grazing on a Peep.
"I know it's not as crazy as I used to like it, but life's different now," Mindy looked over at Danny and Piper grabbing an egg from under the mailbox. "I've got a family. I've got it all."
"Yeugh," Peter shuddered, shaking his head. "I did not come here to be disgusted. I came here to get day drunk and eat an unhealthy amount of chocolate."
"Well don't let me stop you," Mindy allowed, holding her arm out towards the dessert table behind her.
"Thank you," Peter replied sarcastically, loading up his plate with sweets.
The egg hunt was well underway when a white passenger van screeched into the cul-de-sac. Tamra, Morgan and their daughter Cheyenne all tumbled out, Cheyenne running to meet up with Piper.
That's when Mindy realized the Tookers had brought another guest.
"His name is Randolph, and I have to have him back to the mall by four," Morgan explained as he walked up to Mindy. He was carrying a white bunny rabbit that was fidgeting in his arms.
Tamra rolled her eyes. "I told you, Morgan, Danny said suit! You know, for Jeremy to dress up in like the creepy pedo he is?"
"Hey, wait a minute –" Jeremy protested before being silenced by Betsy shoving a cupcake in his mouth. He chewed happily, content. He was a sympathy eater, gaining all of Betsy's pregnancy weight for her.
"Well, I had to call in a favor from a friend, so now we have Randolph," Morgan reiterated. "Although he didn't pee on the way here, so he's gonna need a potty break. You don't mind if we use those flowers, right? I heard that urine's really good for the soil." He walked off towards Mindy's mailbox, setting Randolph on the ground by her tulips while he put on his leash. Mindy sighed, giving up.
"How are you Tamra?" she asked. "Can I get you anything to drink? Soda, tea, citrus water?"
"I'm good, finished catching up on Sleepy Hollow last week. But why you gotta have fancy water? What's wrong with the normal kind?" Tamra asked.
"It's what's kept Jennifer Anniston looking so young!" Mindy claimed, offering her a glass.
Tamra grabbed a Coke instead, walking towards Beverly, who was digging in Mindy's garden looking for eggs. Mindy rolled her eyes. The egg hunt was on, and that was her final responsibility. Danny would take care of the rest.
"Hey baby, find a lot of eggs?" Mindy asked, walking over to Piper.
"Mommy, I found a pink one an' a green one an' a blue one' an a-"
"We've found a lot of eggs so far," Danny summarized, smiling.
"Wow, I'm so proud of my girl!" Mindy beamed, tickling Piper's sides.
Piper giggled. "Mommy, stop! We gotta find the gold egg!"
"Oh, that's right. Where do you think it is?" She asked, looking out across the lawn.
"I dunno. That's why we gotta look!" Piper replied, already exuding some of her mother's attitude. Mindy laughed, picking Piper up and kissing her cheek. "Alright little one, then let's look." She turned to Danny. "I've got her, if you wanna go get the other thing ready."
"Yeah, sure," Danny nodded, pinching Piper's cheeks. "Be good for Daddy. I'll be back soon," he promised, giving Mindy a peck and waving as he walked towards the house.
"Bye bye Daddy!" Piper waved back, attention already back to her mission. "Over there!" She pointed to one of the bushes. "Mommy, let's go over there!"
"Okay, here we go." Mindy carried her towards the vegetation, letting her loose to poke through the leaves.
"Found one!" Piper cried, victorious. "But iss weird, Mommy." She held up a rock.
Mindy chuckled. "That's not what we're looking for, baby. We want colorful! Or shiny. Remember: diamonds are a girl's best friend." She looked Piper in the eyes.
"Diamons are a gir's bess' friend," Piper repeatedly faithfully. "Over there!" She pointed again, this time in the complete opposite direction. She set off running, Mindy following after her.
"I got it! I've got the golden egg!" Beverly cheered, holding up something tiny.
"What is that?" Mindy asked, squinting.
Jeremy gagged. "Beverly, that's your golden tooth."
"Oh! I was lookin' for that!" Beverly smiled, jamming it back into her mouth. She laughed, continuing her search while the rest of the company shuddered.
"Wait, I found it!" Cheyenne moved to the front of the lawn. In her hand she held the single golden egg.
"But I wanted to find it, Mommy," Piper buried her head in Mindy's shoulder, beginning to cry.
Mindy patted her back. "Oh, don't worry honey. There's always next year. And don't forget, we have cake for later!"
"Mmm cake!" Piper cheered, colored eggs already forgotten. She dried her tears on her Easter dress, Mindy making a mental note to check The Couture Baby's website for more sales.
"So what do I win?" Cheyenne asked, walking up to Mindy, impatient.
Mindy put Piper down for a second, walking over to the dessert table. She pulled something out from underneath and held it behind her back.
"You get...your very own Easter bunny!" Mindy held out a big stuffed rabbit.
"Aww, but I already have Randolph!" she whined.
"Cheyenne, don't you start. Thank Mrs. Castellano for the prize."
"Thank you, Mrs. Castellano," Cheyenne repeated begrudgingly. She did snuggle up to the stuffed animal after a minute, however, looking pleased with herself.
"Well, that concludes the egg hunt," Mindy gestured towards Cheyenne. "Dinner will be ready in just a second, but first-"
"Did someone say colored eggs?" Danny announced, carrying out a large platter of hard-boiled eggs. Balancing on top were several boxes of food coloring and cups for water.
"No, you see, Dr. C, she said egg hunt. We really need to get your hearing checked out. I know you're getting up there in years – "
"I'm in my thirties!" Danny cried, setting the platter down on the cleared table.
Morgan help up his hands. "You can lead a horse to an ear specialist but you can't make him hear high pitches."
"I don't think that's how the phrase goes," Betsy interjected.
"No, I'm pretty sure that's it," Morgan pondered for a second, shrugging.
Danny shook his head. "It doesn't matter because my hearing's fine. Anyway, everybody, it's time to color the eggs! Make sure to use the white crayon to write your name on your egg, and then dip it in whatever color you'd like. There are plenty of eggs, so there should be two each."
Danny heard a muffled choke behind him. Turning around, he saw Jeremy stuffing several eggs into his pocket, two already de-shelled.
"One each," he amended, sighing. Jeremy shrugged apologetically. The kids squealed, running towards the table. The parents helped make sure not too much color was spilled, placing the eggs in Tupperware to dry.
"What're you drawing on yours?" Danny whispered to Mindy, nudging her.
"You can't see yet!" She pulled her egg back, still drawing. She finished up, dipping it in the red dye with a spoon. After a few minutes, she held it out to Danny.
"Four." He smiled knowingly. He leaned in, kissing her briefly despite the company.
"Ewww! Gross, Mommy and Daddy!" Mindy and Danny chuckled, leaning down to help Piper with her own egg.
It wasn't long before Danny checked his watch again. "Dinner's ready!" he announced, gesturing for everyone to join him inside.
After a few minutes of fitting booster seats and rearranging, finally everyone was seated. Danny smiled down at Mindy from the head of the table, Piper grabbing her mother's pinky.
"Well, I would just like to thank everyone for coming. It means a lot to me – to us," he amended, "that you could all come out and celebrate Easter as a family. Let's give thanks," he announced, bowing his head.
"Dear heavenly Lord, thank you for bringing everyone together today. Thank you for this delicious food, these great people, and all the children. Thank you for keeping Shulman & Associates safe. In your mercy, Amen." Choruses of "amen" rang out across the table as everyone waited for the signal to start.
"Alright, dig in! Mangia!" Danny declared, getting up to slice the ham. Mindy beamed, looking around the table at all of her loved ones. There was no place she'd rather be.
"What's wrong, Mommy? Have something too sweet?" Piper asked, noting the tear rolling down her mother's cheek. Mindy quickly wiped it away.
"The sweetest," she replied, blowing kisses to Danny across the table. She took a bite of her mashed potatoes, basking in the glow of her family.