As the servants arranged food in front of guests, everyone waited for Steve to start eating. It's the custom that no one eats before the patriarch.
Instead of starting with his soup, Steve stood up and hit his glass with a fork a few times, making it clink to get people to stop talking.
"If I can have your attention…", Steve spoke loudly for everyone to hear. It took a few seconds for the chatter to stop, and Steve continued: "I want to thank everyone for gathering here on such short notice. As per Long family traditions, when an impactful change in the family occurs, we officially share that information with everyone in order to avoid distortion spreading through the family and beyond. With that, I will hand it to my right-hand man, Gabriel, to share with you why we all gathered here today."
Gabriel gave a small nod to Steve and stood up.