Abby hugged Susan tight as they stood on the front porch of the house. She stepped back and smiled.
"Thank you, so much for coming, Abby," Susan said as she eased carefully into the rocker.
"You'd do the same for me," she said. "And I'd stay longer but I know that I am leaving you in good hands." She glanced at the front lawn where Susie and Heather were playing in the grass with Lauren. Cosmo was riding his tricycle up and down the driveway where Chuck and Luka stood next to the car talking. Abby nodded slowly.
"Nice life you have here, Dr. Lewis," Abby said with satisfaction. "A very nice life." Susan smiled as Abby went down the steps and onto the grassy lawn. Susie stood up and hugged Abby. She picked Lauren up as Abby hugged Heather and talked to them both for a moment. Susie laughed at something Abby said and handed the baby to her. Abby carried her to the car and Luka opened the back door so she could settle Lauren in her car seat. He shook hands with Chuck and then glanced toward the porch. Luka grinned and bounded up the walk to plant a kiss on Susan's cheek.
"Follow your doctor's orders," he said firmly as he shook a finger playfully at her. Susan laughed and winced as she shifted in the rocking chair.
"Oh, I intend to!" she smiled. Luka waved and headed back to the car. Abby was chasing Cosmo and finally nabbed him for a kiss. She hugged Chuck and then waved at Susan once again before sliding into the front seat and buckling her seat belt. Susie, Heather and Cosmo ran down to the road and waved as the car headed toward the main road from the subdivision. When it was gone, they hurried back to the lawn and Heather did a flip in the grass. Susan grimaced as Susie tried and landed on her behind. They laughed and just sat in the grass with Cosmo. Chuck carried the tricycle back up to the sidewalk and set it near the porch.
'You okay?" he asked as he climbed the steps toward her. Susan nodded and sighed as he sat in the chair next to her. Susan reached for his hand and kissed it before she laced her fingers through his. They sat quietly for a long moment.
"You know...this thing is going to work out for us," he finally said. Susan frowned and looked at him.
"Well..." he shrugged. "No more birth control worries. I mean, we can do it any time and anywhere without even thinking about it."
"You are pathetic," she groaned. "My incision isn't even healed yet and all you can think about is..." He grinned and leaned over to kiss her. Susan chuckled.
"No regrets about not having a baby girl?" he asked. Susan's eyes traveled to the front lawn and she slowly shook her head.
"I might have had some if I weren't so incredibly happy with the one we already have." Chuck nodded and sat back in his chair. A car pulled into their driveway and Susie and Cosmo ran to the porch.
"Heather's dad is here to take us to rehearsal," Susie said as she took Cosmo's hand and started back down the sidewalk with him. "We'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Susie, Chuck is here to watch Cosmo," Susan called. "You don't have to take him with you."
"What do you mean?" Susie cried in surprise. "He's in the play. He even has a line to say." She brought him back to the porch and stood him on the top step.
"Go on, Cos," Susie said. "Tell Mom what you have to say when the story teller walks off stage." Cosmo turned to Susan and took a deep breath.
"Hey! Wait for me!" he bellowed. Susan laughed and held out her arms for a hug. He smiled proudly and ran into her arms.
"That was great!" Susie said as Cosmo high fived her on his way back down the steps. Susan wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and waved as the car pulled out of the driveway.
"Abby was right," she sighed. 'We do have a very nice life." Chuck grinned and laced his fingers through her hand again.