Maria shook his hand, smiling. "Lovely to meet you, Charles. I hear so many good things." She waved them both inside. "Come inside out of the cold, I'll put the kettle on."
Piper hung her coat and scarf on the pegs in the foyer, following her mother into the kitchen. "So how are things on the homestead?" she asked.
Maria shrugged. "Not a lot has changed, you know how it is," she replied. "I had to call Jodie, have her send that third boy of hers round to clean out the gutters, I can't climb the ladder anymore. And the roof will need to be patched up before winter. But it's still warm and standing, so it could be worse."
"Jodie's my aunt, Mum's younger sister," Piper explained. "She has five boys, each more rambunctious than the last. How is Aunt Jodie, anyway?"
"Same as ever," Maria said. "Working and raising her boys, trying to keep from losing her mind." Piper snorted.