The guests had all arrived, and the party officially began in a joyous atmosphere.
Alex brought out the food Elias had prepared in advance from the kitchen, along with the fresh ingredients that had been prepped and richly marinated for the barbecue.
The grill was borrowed from a neighbor, the very family always filled with the sound of laughter and talking that Elias had mentioned; although the grill was old, it still worked very well.
Hughes took on the heavy responsibility of grilling the meat, rolling up his sleeves enthusiastically, because in Alex's yard there was a towering sycamore tree, its wide canopy covering an entire section of the yard, unable to accommodate so many people eating together at once.
Therefore, Alex still decided the dining location would be indoors, placing the grill outdoors so the smoke wouldn't permeate the furniture.
