Six months later, they were getting ready to move to the new house in Malibu. All the renovations were completed and the family was coming out to Los Angeles for the move in. Noah was not surprised when they showed up a day early.
After the greetings, Emma looked around the apartment. "How come you're not packed yet?"
"We are going to keep this place, just in case we need to use it," replied Luke.
"If we are tired, working late or there is an accident on the coast highway, we can stay here. If we find we do not use this much, we can switch to a smaller apartment here in the building and then rent this one out but I would hate to lose the roof deck," Noah was confident in their decision.
"Sounds like a great plan," Lily agreed with their thinking.
"How's the house look?" Lucinda was curious.
"It is amazing. You will not believe it's the same house."
"We are all excited to see it," Emma's voice resonated through the apartment.
"It turned out spectacular," Luke was proud of all the hard work it took but he knew it was worth it.
"We need to start getting the beds sorted out. I'm sure you are all tired," Noah knew they would be. "If we had known you all were coming, we could have had them all ready."
"We were just excited," Holden was getting impatient to see the house. He might have had to be nudged into it but after he thought about it, he loved the idea of having a house on the beach.
"We just couldn't wait but we are worn out and it's going to be a busy day, tomorrow," Lily was tired but excited.
-P-
The next morning, everyone was up early getting ready before coming out of their rooms. They wanted to get on the road early and get to the new house. Emma came out of the guestroom and sat down on the couch next to Lu.
"We are moving today," Lu stated, turning his attention away from cartoons he was watching.
"Yes, I know. Are you excited?" replied Emma.
"I'm gonna miss it here," Lu made a sad face.
"Well, your daddy is going to keep this place."
"Good."
Everyone had filtered into the room as Emma and Lu had their conversation cut short by Lu's stomach growl.
"What are we doing for breakfast?" Emma wondered aloud.
"We didn't think we needed to keep any food here at the apartment. Everything we wanted is already moved to the house and the kitchen is fully stocked," said Noah. "We can get breakfast down the street."
Lu cried as they left the apartment but they reminded him that the house had a pool and an ocean. They had a quick breakfast and then were on the road to their new house at the ocean.
-P-
When they pulled into the driveway, everyone noticed how different the house looked. The property had a fresh coat of paint on it, everything was fixed and the landscaping was pristine. They walked around the outside of the house and showed Emma her surprise garden, just off the kitchen patio. It was not large but it had some peppers, tomatoes, herbs and other basic vegetables. They also showed them the fruit trees they planted along the edges of the property.
They kept walking around the property to the main patio of the house. The stone patio was repaired and power washed. The outdoor kitchen, barbeque, and outdoor oven was updated and cleaned. The pool and jacuzzi were retiled. New patio sets, deck chairs, umbrellas were out along the patio and the couches and chairs around the new fire pit matched the other patio furniture. Luke and Noah went around and opened all the umbrellas on the patio.
"I'm impressed. It's better than I ever imagined," Lucinda hugged both Luke and Noah.
"George came by yesterday when Noah and I were here. He said the house value was now worth fifty-five million."
"That's great, darling. Ten million more than we spent, that's good."
Noah shook his head. "It means we made the right changes to the house, which raised its value."
Lucinda was getting more and more impressed with Noah's business sense.
As nice as the house and patio looked, everyone stood there looking at the mountains and the ocean. The blue sky, green mountains, sandy beach and the blue ocean only enhanced the beauty of the place.
-P-
Pictures of house at Nukefic
-P-
Everyone gasped as soon as they walked into the house. It was just as pristine inside as it was on the outside. The first thing they noticed was the wide planked wood floors had been refinished. However, the kitchen caught everyone's eye. It was completely different from when they bought the house.
"David and I decided to take the storage room off the kitchen and make it into a pantry to keep all the extra food, a freezer, extra plates, glasses and anything else not needed on a daily basis, which allowed us get rid of a lot of cabinetry out here," Luke could tell everyone was shocked. "It gave us the freedom to knock down two walls, which opened the kitchen up the rest of the house and more importantly, to the view outside." Luke continued when nobody said anything. "We took out the wall between the kitchen and living room and also the kitchen and what was the dining room, which is now a great room."
"Darling, it's beautiful," Lucinda was almost speechless.
"I hope you're not upset with not having a formal dining room. Having everything open to the view seemed to make a lot more sense," Luke was almost afraid of what they were thinking. It was the one decision he made on his own after David suggested it. "It did not make sense to have two outdoor dining tables and also two indoor dining tables."
"It's great, Luke," exclaimed Emma.
"No, not at all, Luke. It's perfect," Lucinda spoke up.
Lily and Holden agreed with Lucinda and Emma. Luke was relieved that he made the right choice.
The large table in the kitchen was the crowning jewel to the whole design. It was reminiscent of the Snyder table. They had a second one, which was more rustic, in the covered outdoor kitchen, and the third, a large mosaic tiled table, down on a patio near the beach.
"The pantry is fully stocked with groceries. We have pie plates, bowls, mixers and everything else we would need for baking. We can show you were the stores are located and the farmers market," Noah spoke up. "We picked up some fresh fruit, including blueberries and raspberries for pies."
"The appliances are large in size because we figured we wanted the ability to host parties. Having foundation fundraisers, World Wide dinners or Noah's Hollywood friends here is half of the reason why we purchased this property," Luke added. "There is also a catering company and maid service close by. We have already introduced ourselves to them."
-P-
"Let's go see the bedrooms," Luke told everyone.
Everyone followed Luke and Noah down the hall that led to the bedrooms and into the master bedroom. Luke and Noah's bedroom was the master suite of the house. It had a large bed, lounge area, a fireplace, a patio facing the ocean, and an on-suite bathroom that had a large glass shower and a separate freestanding tub that looked out to the ocean.
After they toured the rest of the bedrooms and the other rooms in the house and they gathered back in the living room.
-P-
The living room opened up to the covered outdoor kitchen. The ocean view was spectacular. The white furniture was slipped covered, so they were easily washable. Most of the main rooms in the house were white because the outdoor views were so specular that any color on the wall looked dull compared to the beauty of their surroundings.
"We bought a hybrid Escalade so you would have something here to use without having to have a limo or rent a car for daily use," Noah spoke up.
"Abigail and Aaron are coming in tomorrow to see everyone," Luke said with a big smile.
Holden and Emma could not hide their excitement at hearing the news.
"Everything looks perfect. You guys did great," Lily was happy with the results.
"Well, enough of the tour. We are going to go out and play in the ocean with Lu, Faith, Ethan, and Natalie," Noah said, knowing the kids couldn't wait to play in the ocean. "But first, everyone needs to gather their stuff out of the garage and unpack in their rooms."
-P-
For the next hour, everyone was busy unpacking and arranging their rooms.
Emma finished putting her clothes away quickly and was in the kitchen making a few desserts and lunch.
The kids wanted to play in the water, so they all changed into their swimsuits and headed down to the ocean.
Lucinda and Lily were sitting on lounge chairs, in tank tops and shorts, watching a shirtless Luke and Noah playing with the kids in the ocean.
"They look so happy together." Lily still could not believe Luke and Noah were together.
"You know darling, Noah is looking quite good."
"Mother!"
"What? I have eyes, darling," Lucinda could not suppress her smile.
Lily laughed. She knew Lucinda was kidding but went along with it. "He is your grandson's future husband."
"He certainly picked a good one to marry. Better than that doctor. Bless his heart for what he did for Chris but Noah's much better suited for Luke and our family."
"I know. I worried about Luke when he started seeing Reid but it was his decision, so I did not interfere. I'm glad Luke is back with Noah."
They watched Luke walk up to Noah and give him a kiss.
"Our dear boy picked a good one," laughed Lucinda. "I can't remember the last time someone with muscles and attributes like Noah's wanted to be romantic with me."
"Mother!" Lily replied in a slightly embarrassed, exasperated tone. She knew what her mother meant by attributes.
Holden walked up to them and sat in the chair next to Lily. "What are you all talking about?"
"How glad we are that Luke's with Noah," Lily was happy to change the subject.
"That's true."
Luke, Noah, and Lu came running up the beach to the deck chairs everyone was sitting on. Faith, Natalie and Ethan were playing in the sand. Lu ran up to Holden and jumped in his lap.
Holden had a shocked look on his face from the coolness of the water leaking on him. "Hey there sport, you're all wet."
Lu giggled. "I was pwaying," He put his head down on Holden's chest and quickly fell asleep.
Lucinda looked over at a happy Luke and Noah. "So, have you two decided when you're getting married?"
"We haven't had a chance. Between my book release and Noah's final editing, we've been very busy."
"Your Mom and I are thinking about getting married again," Holden said with a smile.
"You are?" Luke was surprised. He did not know his parents had gotten that close again.
"We just don't know when and what type of ceremony we want to have."
"Why don't you two fly to Vegas and tie the knot?" Noah suggested.
"Vegas?" Holden did not seem impressed.
"Sure why not? You could get married by an Elvis impersonator," Noah laughed.
"That would be fun. We've had the serious vows. Something silly would be different," Holden considered.
"Holden Snyder, don't you even think it," warned Lily.
"What Elvis puts together, let no man put asunder," Noah joked.
Everyone laughed at Noah's joke, even Lily who completely dismissed his idea.
"Why not, Mom?" Luke was curious.
"I don't know guys. I'd have to think about it."
Everyone knew that Lily was not really taking Noah's idea too seriously.
"Casey would be so jealous," Luke laughed.
"Maybe we should go with them," Noah suggested off-hand.
Luke whipped his head around to look at Noah. "What?" He was shocked by Noah's suggestion.
"I don't want to wait anymore, Luke."
"You don't?" Luke was caught off guard.
"No, it's been eight months since we have gotten engaged. We should get married here on the beach."
"We should?" Luke seemed surprised.
"My film is almost in the can and most of the premiere and promotional interviews should be done in say six months. Maybe we can get married then," Noah wondered aloud.
"Six months?" Luke, Lily, and Lucinda replied at the same time.
Emma came walking out of the house with a tray of cookies, pitcher of lemonade and glasses. She was wondering why everyone was looking at Noah but she filled the glasses and handed each a glass instead of asking what was wrong.
"Yes, in six months but it has to be an evening wedding, so we can have the sunset. Wait until you see it tonight. It's breathtaking. "
"That's not enough time to plan a wedding," Lucinda announced.
"Wedding?" Emma asked after hearing the word.
"Noah wants to get married in six months . . . here on the beach," Luke was still in shock.
"Why not? We can have the reception here too," Noah was being serious.
"It would be a great place to have a wedding and we could show off the house at the same time," Luke drifted off into a dream state where he saw himself getting married on the beach. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. "I think it would be a great idea."
"You do?" Noah, Emma, Lucinda, and Lily were surprised.
"Yes, I do," Luke said with confidence.
"Well then, after we have lunch, we need to talk to the caterers, stop by the florist, and see what kind of minister we can get out here," Lily was making a mental list. "We will have to send out invitations immediately."
Lucinda, Lily, and Emma almost had a fit when Luke and Noah told them they wanted a casual wedding, but they gave in because it was what Luke and Noah wanted. The grooms-to-be wanted the women to wear long flowing cotton sundresses and casual shirts and pants for the men.
-P-
Six months later, Luke and Noah were days away from getting married. Noah used his connections at the studio to spring a few surprises for Luke. Virtually everyone that was invited decided to come to the wedding. As a lark, they sent an invitation Steven and Kate Spielberg. They were shocked when they received an RSVP saying that they accepted, as well as his boss, crew and some of the actors, some of which were famous, accepted as well. Luke invited some business and foundation guests that were coming. Cyndi Lauper, who they had met in Oakdale, all those years ago, was going to attend. She had helped with fundraising for the foundations gay rights initiatives a few times since then.
Luke and Noah were excited that their friends from Oakdale were coming. Luke, of course, invited all of his uncles and aunts. He also invited is grandmother, Iva. They had a friendly relationship but it was not nearly as strong as his relationships with Emma and Lucinda. They would talk on the phone and they would see each other when they could but there was never enough time for them to really bond closely.
Family and friends were starting to arrive. Lucinda had rented a few planes to bring friends and family from Oakdale. Noah used his apartment in the city to guests, who wanted to stay in Los Angeles, along with several hotels in the Malibu area.
There was one renovation to the house that Luke and Noah decided to complete after they moved in. They took three bays from the end of the fifteen-car garage and turned it into a game room. The wall facing the cars could be opened up to enlarge the room into the garage, if needed. The game room, with its own patio, housed widescreen TV's, karaoke machine, its own kitchen slash bar, soda fountain, pool, foosball, and poker tables, video games and other games that adults and kids would like.
The maid service was at the house the day before and cleaned everything from top to bottom. There was not a speck of dirt anywhere. The landscapers came to make any last minute adjustments to the lawn or plant that was needed.
The evening before the wedding, all of the invited guests joined Luke and Noah for a barbeque. It was the first time in years that virtually all of the Snyders were together. They had planned to party late into the night.
