Malee followed along out of the room to the kitchen where there were rows of dishes being placed on the table with new plates brought in by people Malee had never seen before. They must be from the shop that she had heard earlier, Malee thought. Mary sat at on the chair beside the table, followed by Hoshi, Sophie then Malee.
“Malee, bring 4 plates here.” said Mary. Malee nodded and got up from her chair to the cabinet. She took out 4 plates and 4 sets of spoons and forks back to the table. Mary distributed them to Hoshi, and Sophie and they started taking bits of the plates in front. Malee wondered if it was ok to take the dinner before the family.
“Take some Malee. Can’t decide?” asked Mary.
“No, I am not sure it is ok to eat before them.” replied Malee.
“Oh, yes. It is not just taste test, but also to ensure the dishes are not poisoned.” replied Mary before continuing. “And you are expected to be there, standing behind Georgia, till end of dinner. Better eat till full.”
Malee wondered who would poison the family, but she was feeling so she started taking bits and pieces as the rest. There were too many dishes on the table, so even though they took only small pieces out of the dishes, Malee felt full after sampling about half of them.
“Don’t you think they are too spicy?” asked Hoshi. Malee didn’t think they were that spicy, but she could see the sweats rolling down from the back of Hoshi’s head. Similarly for Sophie, who was wiping her glasses with the handkerchief to clear the mist.
“Perhaps we can keep those spicy plates nearer to our side.” suggested Mary, to which the rest nodded in unison. It would be a shame to reject those plates yet taste must be acquired slowly. They broke several wine bottles and taste them, with Hoshi rejecting several of the brands. Malee suddenly felt sad seeing the amount of food for a few of them and the bottles rejected by Hoshi. They could easily have fed the entire slum for several days and nights with the amount on the table and more coming in.
“Let’s go.” said Hoshi after looking at his phone from the pocket. Mary stood up and gave a few instructions to the man who was looking at them wearing the same uniform as the caterers and followed Hoshi out of the kitchen. They were back to the dining table where John and Micheal were placing the fresh flower pots to place on the center of the table. Both of them turned around and saw Mary and Malee coming into the room and gave a weary smile. It must have been difficult for them to prepare fresh flowers on such a short schedule, thought Malee, before giving them a smile back.
It wasn’t long before the family came in one by one and Malee prepare the chair for Georgia as she practiced previously. George sat down beside Georgia and in front of the younger princess as pre-arranged and picked up the spoon and fork, only for Georgia to push them down immediately. George turned to his sister as to ask, but was met with an index finger on her lips, then pointed to the other side of the table. George followed the index finger and saw the other side, having prayers. Georgia shook her head as George gave a boyish smile at the blunder.
Malee didn’t know what was happening, but she thought George could have waited till the guests had started. She could see the annoyed stare from Georgia to her brother and could feel slight sympathy for Georgia who had to take care of her twin brother. Soon, the guests started moving again and took their turns with tasting the dishes and conversing with the family. The dinner took longer than usual with George, unusually , asking questions across the table, keeping the conversation ongoing. The twins kept both Mary and Malee busy by their emptying the wine from their cups frequently, with their father looking at them.
It was almost 2 hours before they got off from their chairs and moved on to the main lobby with Mary and Malee closely following George and Georgia closely.