Dinner And After

Emma woke feeling a bit refreshed and lazily stretched. As she stood and pulled on her jeans, she took a moment to reflect on how much this time with family was really helping her. So far it seemed a good distraction, but Emma wasn't sure how much healing she was doing. It seemed like so far she had been napping a lot and going out of her way to avoid grieving. Neither seemed like a great way to cope.

In her jeans and a t-shirt, Emma didn't bother with a bra. She was comfortable enough here now that such things wouldn't matter. She doubted anyone other than Maude would care if her nipples showed through the thin fabric, and Emma didn't really care if Maude didn't like it.

Apparently she had hit the rebellious phase of grieving, if there was such a thing. Dressed now, Emma made her way down the stairs. She was at the bottom of them before she noticed that they hadn't creaked once.
Emma thought that was strange, but then figured she had still been a bit groggy from the nap and just missed the familiar creaking.

She made way to the dinning room as Maude was finishing setting the table. The scene gave Emma a sense of déjà vu. Maude greeted her warmly and asked if she wouldn't get the twins for supper. By the time Emma went upstairs and got her cousins, then went back to the dinning room, Ed and Maude were seated. The twins and her pulled up their chairs and they settled into another fine meal.

Throughout the meal, Emma noticed that it was darker than usual outside for this time of night. Then she heard the soft rumblings of thunder. She didn't understand how such a beautiful day could end up in a storm, but she didn't waste much time worrying about weather.

Once the meal was done, Ed retreated to the study. He grumbled something about having a small nip after the meal, and left. Maude and Jenny cleared the table, then Jenny complained that she still felt ill and headed to her room to rest, and most likely retire for the evening.

Maude headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes. That left Emma and James sitting there alone. James made a comment about how much he enjoyed storms, then he excused himself to go watch TV. Once again, Emma was left by herself in the big house. Her relatives liked their routines, that was for sure. The more Emma thought about it, the weirder her family seemed.

She leaned back in her chair and tried to ignore her relatives peculiar ways. Then once again, Emma wandered how to pass the time.