“It’s quickest this way,” said Sister Tomea as she passed out the dishes. Each time the bell rang she took another of them to collect something from the hatch: Precious Wind to collect mugs and jugs of milk; Bear for salad; Nettie for a platter of meat; the others for various bowls and baskets until all the fetching was done. By the time the cake platter was set in the middle of the table, all plates were full and the hall was aroar with people chattering, bowls and platters thumping, utensils scraping and clattering. Each of them had been given a folding knife, a folding fork, and a folding spoon, though some at neighboring tables ate with their fingers and some used two slender sticks, like pinchers.
Sister Tomea had seated herself at the center of one bench, where Willum and Clive had made room for her. “Normally, I won’t eat with you. I’m just with you today to show you how to find your way and what the rules are. Eldest Brother feels it’s important that no one be exempted from doing what is needed for the life of the abbey or the earth.” She made the two-handed sign that meant “holy work,” two fingers of her right hand walking across the back of her left hand, down her middle finger into the future. “That means we don’t have servers, and everyone takes a turn in the kitchen, even the children who are old enough, though the cooks are specially trained to ensure the food is good. Same with the laundry, the gardens, the stables, and so on. The experts run each thing, but everyone has a turn at providing the less-skilled labor. The best helpers are often the ones trained to take over later on.
“The utensils on this table are provided for you. When you are finished eating, lick them clean, wrap them in your napkin, and take them with you when you leave. Remember to bring utensils and napkin to the next meal. Use the napkin until it’s too dirty to use, then drop it off in the basket by the door and pick up a clean one. The wrapped utensils will fit easily in a pocket. If you prefer others, by all means bring them with you, so long as they can fit in a pocket. No one carries bare knives in the abbey, and we only furnish them once.
“When we finish eating, we pocket our utensils, stack our dishes on the trays stored under the table, and carry them back to the scullery as quietly as possible.” She reached under the table, pulled out a large tray, and pointed to another huge hatch to the left of the kitchen hatch. “What comes from the kitchen is clean, what goes to the scullery is dirty. Don’t mix up the two. It’s considered impolite to yell or talk too loudly, but we can converse quietly right up until the abbot or next-eldest rises and gives the concluding blessing.
“After the blessing, don’t stay seated. There’ll be another seating for dinner within a very short time, so it’s important to clear tables and get out promptly. It’s easiest to clear the tables if at least three people do it—there are three trays under the table. Always unload the trays at the scullery and bring the empty tray back to stow under your table. The trays have your table number painted on them. No one else will unload them for you, and you’ll find clearing without trays a bother and getting trays back if you leave them even more so. Never let just one person do the clearing; it’s not polite.”
She looked around the table to see that they understood before continuing. “People are split up into tens, but families generally sit together or at adjacent tables. Children sit with their parents or guardians. Children who have no parents or guardians at Wilderbrook sit with their group leaders or teachers. Because you have all come together, Elder Brother says we are to treat you as a family. You will have this table, number twenty-three, at each evening meal. The number is carved into the top at each end. The morning and noon are different. We don’t all rise at the same time or finish morning chores at the same time, so anytime within two hours after the breakfast bell, we go to the kitchen hatch, pick up what we want to eat and drink, sit wherever there’s room, and take our own dishes to the scullery. Same at noon.”
Willum interrupted his eating to ask, “Will us hostlers have kitchen duties and such?”
“It depends on how long you’ll be staying,” said Sister Tomea. “Hostlers would probably be asked to help in the barns and stables or on the farms. And, of course, if people are assigned to work at a distance from the abbey, they pick up packed lunches at breakfast and they aren’t expected until evening. If the duty means you can’t get here for evening meal, or have kitchen duty, you’ll be given a tag to hang on the chair at the head of the table. If you’re sick, the infirmarian will send someone to hang it for you. That way when a tallyman comes through, he knows who’s missing and why.”
“Missing?” asked Precious Wind doubtfully. “Perhaps one simply isn’t hungry.”
“If you aren’t on duty and don’t have a permit from the infirmary, you’re here at evening meal,” said Sister Tomea. “If you’re not hungry, you can always do without or take your share to eat later, but you’re here at mealtime. There aren’t many requirements here at Wilderbrook Abbey, but that’s one of
