Author's Note: Long time no stories lol. I've been having a bad writers block so I don't know how this will tun out. It's never stated if Bradford Court is a cul-de-sac but I'm rolling with it.

To CNJ, yes I do have Kristy still live in Stoneybrook and she goes to college there. However I do think she traveled a lot during her summers and with her family. You're review from chapter 22 inspired this chapter.

kumar timalsina: yep, unfortunately Patrick would leave that family too to get remarried to Zoey at the beginning of the Friends Forever Series.

Enjoy!


Mary Anne tightened the braids on either side of her daughter's head then smoothed her red, white, and blue shirt out. The block party was going to start in about ten minutes, and she still had to get the girls ready. This was the first time they would meet their neighbors all at once. They had just finished moving in and the boxes on top of the recycling pile.

"Ready?" called Audrey running from her and down the hall for her sisters.

"Mary Anne I could use some advice," called Katharine. She followed her wife's voice and turned into their room surprised to see her still in her pajamas. "My boss is going to be at the block party, but I don't know what to wear. I'm business causal most of the time unless I'm in my library shirt but…"

"I don't think Charlotte will care but I have something in mind," said Mary Anne.

Mary Anne strode over to the closet and threw her a summer dress and sandals. She was determined to get everyone down the street and on time. Everyone was bringing a dish to the Pike house who was hosting the food. Across the street the Perkins and the Gianelli's were sharing their yards for games.

"Alright so tell me about some of these neighbors," said Katharine, turning for Mary Anne to tie the drawstring in the back. "I mean I know their names and everything but how do you know them?

"You remember all the names of our neighbors already?" asked Mary Anne who didn't know some of the newer people.

"Of course, it's a short street where we live in a cul-de-sac, and I made notecards," she said and spun around. "I can introduce everyone around."

Mary Anne nodded thoughtfully and hugged her wife close to her giving her a soft kiss. Quickly they headed out the door, the kids running to meet others that lived on the street. She kept a sharp eye out for cars only to realize that the street had been blocked off. She wasn't sure how long the families on the street had been doing their block party but everything was well planned.

Mary Anne waved over to Anna who was the first to emerge from her house. Behind her an identical face looked excited to see her. No way, it had been practically forever since she had seen either Abby. It felt like a lifetime ago as she vaguely remembered her high school years.

"Abby! What brings you to town?" she asked rushing over to them to give them both a hug. "Katharine, this is Abby and Anna Stevenson. We used to be friends back in middle and high school."

"Yes, hi," said Katharine, hugging both of them too with a bright smile on her face. Slowly others started to emerge from the house as she gestured to each one of them.

The people that Mary Anne didn't know was a young newly wed couple, Paige and Tyler McBride. Amy and Tom Hooper an elderly couple that had lived there for a decade or two. Jen and Adam Palmer along with Justin and Lori Todd with their kids that went to SMS. One house was empty only to learn it was the home of an elderly man with his daughter taking care of him. Troy and Heidi were going through a divorce.

Phew, thought Mary Anne taking a chair that was set up in front of the Pike house for lunch and snacks. Katharine had followed her with a plate of food for them to share. Charlotte (nee Johanssan) was passing out popsicles to the neighborhood kids. Katharine didn't have to worry about dressing to impress seeing Charlotte in a pair of bermuda denim shorts and a white tee that said "read banned books" printed on the front.

"Hey Mary Anne," said Charlotte, passing her a cherry popsicle. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good," she said. "This has been fun meeting everyone and the kids look like they're having fun with Twister over there." She gestured to the kids in front of the Gianelli home and ate a bite of chicken. "This is really good, who catered this?"

"Byron made chicken and the mac n' cheese homemade," she said, sitting down with a water bottle in her lap. She had taken off her hat fanning herself. "He loves to cook and we hardly ever eat out."

Wow, she made a mental note to hire him at some point to cater any event. Who knew that Byron Pike turned out to be a delicious chef in his free time?

"So color me curious but Mary Anne told me that she used to baby-sit you?" asked Katharine and winced at the sudden question. "I mean if you don't mind that is…"

"Not at all, I assume she told you about the BSC before but Stacey was my favorite sitter. I think she also baby sat Bobby and Nancy too. Bobby's sister gave her a hard time at Camp BSC that one time. Anyway Stacey and I reconnected a few years ago and it's been fun. I remember convincing Mary Anne to participate in the BSC mini olympics decades ago."

Mary Anne and Charlotte telling the story about when the Olympics inspired the group a long time ago. It was so weird as she spied Alan Gray playing with the kids and winced. That was when Kristy had made him be her slave for a weekend after a bet. Now he was living down the street from her. Anna and Abby had joined them recalling what they remembered about the BSC despite Anna not being part of the club. Anna's husband Levi listened intently and laughed at the right moments.

Heck they even got Mrs. Kil- er- Kathy Kilbourne along with Mr. and Mrs. Perk - no - Beth and Mark Perkins talking to them about their sitting jobs. Mary Anne was not going to get used to calling former clients by their first names, it's different when you can relate more to the clients parents then the clients themselves she thought. Kathy was keeping her up to date on what Shannon and her sisters have been up to. Beth and Mark were telling them about Myriah getting a producing job on Broadway and how cute Gabbie was as a two year old. They held off about Laura seeing as she was right across the street and would tell them herself.

"You girls always had so many good ideas, the BSC was like a blessing," said Beth, fanning herself with a homemade paper fan.

"We liked to think it was a good idea too," said Mary Anne with a small smile. "Although I'm glad I'm not thirteen again, I feel like I was that age forever."

"The best was yet to come," agreed Mark, sharing a look with his wife.

"Definitely," she said as Katharine held her cup up.

"And cheers to that," she said as the they clinked their plastic cups together.