<div style="text-align: justify;">While Alexis and Matt seemed to get reacquainted, Pam and her questionable husband prepared to rest and Emily had her time with the puppy, things were in motion downstairs as well. Aunt Bess, busy as usual, had made sure they had everything they could possibly need in the kitchen. Maggie had set the table for when the younger members of the family decided to have something to eat, and Joseph had made sure everything was perfectly tidy - not that it usually wasn’t. <br/><br/>After Grandpa had passed away, the house had always been empty - and tidy as a consequence. Things had been a lot better and happier in the house when Grandpa John was around. He loved having people in the house whenever possible, and the children in the family loved his company as well. Grandpa had awakened Pam’s love of music, by teaching her how to play the piano. He had always managed to spend time with his grandkids in any way they enjoyed, and was always interested in talking to them and listening to them all, without passing judgement.<br/><br/>Grandma was a lot more difficult. She liked things a certain way, and believed she knew what was better for her children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, they didn’t really agree with her concepts. As they grew up, the grandchildren naturally drifted away and started living their own lives. They couldn’t really be blamed for that. Pam had still lived there until she got married, so it had prolonged the sense of family in the house for a tad longer, and of course, she was always around when Peter was gone for a while. Still, it wasn’t the same. And it had taken a lot of Pam’s patience to deal with Grandma Maude as she got more and more complicated to deal with as she got older. <br/><br/>Now, though, Grandma was gone, and the house was a lot emptier than before. Poor Aunt Bess would be almost completely alone unless other arrangements were made. Speaking of Aunt Bess, her footsteps sounded on the stairs shortly after Pam finally left for her room. The woman had felt a little overwhelmed with all the people coming in at once, but she had gotten herself under control again and now wanted to see and talk to everyone properly. <br/><br/>Stopping a bit before actually stepping into the hallway, the woman took a good look around. The kids were all grown up now, she had to admit. It was a little unsettling to think that those children she had seen years ago were now all grown up and on the verge of having families of their own. Taking a deep breath - it was foolish to feel intimidated around her own relatives -, the woman finally stepped into the hallway, a bit relieved that everyone was still around. It would be easy to talk to them all that way. And for some reason it was a relief that Pam and Peter weren’t around. She could imagine that someone might have a not so nice reference to make about the man - everyone did at some point, apparently. <br/><br/>Finally stepping closer to her nephew and niece, and their respective significant others, the woman showed a somewhat sad smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t really have time to talk to you all as soon as you got here. Are you all well taken care of? Would any of you like a cup of tea or chocolate, or anything else?”, Aunt Bess offered, finally stepping into the role of the hostess Pam had taken up for her until then.</div>