Summer Island - A Prince in Peril

4 - The Dinner

The dinner table was crowded with serving platters, steaming bowls of food, a soup tureen, baskets of bread and a myriad of smaller dishes heaped with their own delicious offerings. Greta wouldn't have known the color of the tablecloth if it hadn't extended past the edge of the table and halfway to the floor. Even the plates and bowls were practically on top of each other.

The rest of the children were seated and it looked as if the boys too had showered and changed into more comfortable clothes. Greta sat down in the seat closest to her, between Dinora and Seymour. Edith came in grumbling and sat down. There were two places left and only Tia was still up, bustling around making sure she had everything. Greta wondered who the other guest would be.

Then Tia sat down and picked up the hand of Edith to her left and Mario to her right. When all were holding hands, Tia bowed her head. Nearly a minute passed before she said simply, "Let us be the change we seek."

After the odd blessing there was a flurry of activity as dishes were passed, food was served, requests were made and overlapping conversations began. The dinner table was much noisier than the one to which Greta was accustomed. It sounded like an entire restaurant had been shoved into one room. She could only pick up a part of one conversation before another drew her attention. Seymour had asked Mario about his current project, and now Mario resembled his sister as he talked animatedly about chemicals and compounds, all between bites of mashed potatoes. Edith seemed to be going through a long list of things that needed to be fixed, supplies to be ordered and decisions to be made. Tia didn't appear to be at all concerned or even paying attention. She was too busy making sure everyone had enough to eat.

"Dinora, the pumpkin soup you like is over here; pass me your bowl before it gets too cold. That's right. Pass it, pass it. And Seymour, darling, have you tried the stuffed squash? I want your opinion. I couldn't decide whether to use walnuts or pecans. Here, take one of each and let me know. Now Mario, Mario! There you are, don't fill up on all those potatoes-nothing exciting there. I made this mushroom pastry just for you. Greta, pass that blue dish in front of you over to Mario and are you getting to try everything? I can't even see your plate. Hold it up, darling. Hold it up. There, well that's not very much but I see you have some of everything. Good girl-oh, except for the bread. Now that bread is right out of the oven. Right out. Zoë, cut off a small piece for Greta and make sure there's plenty of butter on it. Now, Edith, eat up before it's all gone. What? The barn door? Oh, darling, I don't know, I don't know. Did you get some quiche? It truly is divine...."

A large piece of freshly baked bread appeared underneath Greta's nose. She thanked Zoë and took a bite. It was delicious. Everything was.

"Rufus. Here, Rufus," Dinora whispered, and Greta felt the large cat move underneath the table to where Dinora's hand was hanging down. In it was a small piece of chicken.

Once Edith recognized she wasn't going to get any answers from Tia, she dedicated herself to her dinner. Within ten minutes she was done. Pushing back her chair, she mumbled something about getting back to work.

"Tia, is the sailboat fixed?" Zoë asked. The other children stopped their conversation and waited expectantly for the answer.

Tia held up her finger as she chewed the food in her mouth. She swallowed and took a sip of water before answering, "Yes, darling, and this time try to be a little more careful. Just a little more careful."

"Excellent! Let's go out tomorrow. We could leave first thing after breakfast and spend the whole day out."

"Just be back by seven. Se-ven sharp," Tia said, getting up from the table. Rufus emerged at the same time.

"Well, for goodness' sake, Rufus. For goodness' sake." She chuckled as the cat followed her back into the kitchen.

The children were already immersed in plans for the following day. Mario wanted to sail out to a smaller island and go hiking. Dinora wanted to ride horses. Seymour was happy to do anything that involved swimming and Zoë wanted to spend the day on the ocean.