The Supper Bell

The visitors had scarcely finished admiring the cabins when a sharp metallic sound rolled across the valley.

CLANG!

Every head turned.

A second strike followed.

CLANG!

Then another.

CLANG!

The sound echoed through the fields, drifted among the giant cedars, and reached every workshop, barn, and garden.

The visitors stepped onto their porches.

From every direction people were walking toward one large building.

Loggers emerged from the sawmill.

Brick masons brushed mortar from their hands.

Milkmaids crossed the pasture carrying empty pails.

Blacksmiths washed the soot from their arms.

Carpenters laid down their hammers.

Children came running, laughing as they hurried toward the great dining barn.

No one hurried.

No one shouted.

Everyone simply knew where they were going.

Zeta looked toward Nord.

"The entire settlement responds to one bell."

Nord smiled.

"Rebecca believes nobody should eat alone."

Warm aromas drifted through the open doors long before the visitors reached the building.

Fresh bread.

Roast beef.

Mashed potatoes.

Brown gravy.

Sweet corn.

Green beans.

Fresh tomatoes.

Apple pies cooling upon wooden racks.

The visitors paused just inside the doorway.

Nearly three hundred people filled the room.

Long wooden tables stretched from one end of the barn to the other.

Families mixed freely with workers.

Children laughed beside grandparents.

No one appeared more important than anyone else.

Rebecca stood behind the serving line with a white apron tied neatly around her waist.

She smiled as each person stepped forward.

"Evening, Jacob."

"Mary, how's your little fellow feeling today?"

"Buck, quit talking and keep the line moving."

Buck laughed.

"I was only admiring the cook."

"You can admire after you've got your potatoes."

The line broke into quiet laughter.

The visitors accepted plates and slowly moved down the serving line.

Rebecca filled each one generously.

Roast beef.

Mashed potatoes.

Gravy.

Corn.

Fresh tomatoes.

Warm rolls.

Cheddar cheese.

When Zeta reached the end of the line, Rebecca looked thoughtfully at his slender frame.

"I told you earlier I'd put some meat on your bones."

She added another slice of roast beef.

"There."

"That's a better beginning."

Zeta studied the plate.

"This is... considerably more than I expected."

Rebecca smiled.

"Honey, nobody leaves my table wondering where supper went."

Gaddy carried his plate carefully through the room.

People smiled and made room for his enormous frame.

He finally settled beside several Amish families.

Lisin had scarcely sat down before two young girls invited her to squeeze between them.

Within minutes they were laughing together as though they had grown up in the same neighborhood.

Dorina watched quietly.

"Children appear to ignore differences."

Samuel smiled.

"They're usually too busy making friends."

Zeta found an empty place beside an Amish logger whose suspenders still carried fresh sawdust.

The man nodded politely.

"Evenin'."

"Good evening."

For a few moments they ate without speaking.

Finally Zeta asked,

"You work with the trees?"

"I surely do."

"You cut them down."

"Every week."

Zeta considered that.

"Eventually there will be no trees."

The logger smiled.

"Nope."

"You plant more?"

"We surely do."

"Why?"

The logger buttered another piece of bread.

"'Cause my granddad planted some for me."

"I figure I ought to do the same for somebody I ain't met yet."

Zeta paused.

"You plant trees knowing you may never use them?"

The logger nodded.

"A man don't have to own tomorrow to help build it."

The Grey quietly entered another note into his tablet.

The logger glanced toward it.

"You writin' all this down?"

"I am."

"What for?"

"So I may understand."

The logger chuckled.

"If you really want to understand us..."

He motioned around the crowded dining barn.

"Don't watch us work."

"Watch us eat."

Elsewhere around the room, the other Greys made observations of their own.

Z-One noticed nobody counted portions.

Z-Two noticed no money changed hands.

Z-Three noticed children sat beside adults.

Z-Four noticed elderly folks were quietly served first whenever they reached the line.

None of them could find guards.

None could find ration books.

None could explain why nearly three hundred people patiently waited their turn.

Jacob Yoder walked by carrying a pitcher of water.

Without a word he noticed an empty glass, filled it, nodded politely, and continued to his own seat.

Z-Three watched him disappear into the crowd.

"No one asked."

Nord smiled.

"No."

"They simply noticed."

The meal continued with easy conversation.

Laughter drifted from one end of the barn to the other.

Someone complimented Rebecca's apple pie.

Someone else wanted another helping of gravy.

Buck was already reaching for a second dinner roll.

Rebecca caught him.

"I saw that."

Buck grinned.

"I was only helping reduce leftovers."

"You'll reduce them after everybody else has had first chance."

Even Gaddy laughed.

As the meal drew to a close, people began rising from the tables.

Each person carried plates, cups, knives, forks, and spoons toward a wide serving window beside Rebecca's kitchen.

Behind the window, women accepted the dishes with practiced smiles.

They disappeared into steaming wash tubs before moving to rinsing racks and drying towels.

Stacks of clean dishes soon began growing upon nearby shelves.

Zeta watched carefully.

"There are no disposable dishes."

Rebecca looked puzzled.

"No."

"We expect to eat again tomorrow."

Zeta nodded thoughtfully.

"So every plate has many lives."

Jacob, waiting his turn with his own dishes, smiled around his corncob pipe.

"So do people."

The Grey quietly entered another note.

The dining barn gradually emptied.

Tables were wiped clean.

Benches returned neatly beneath them.

The floor was swept.

Within minutes little evidence remained that nearly three hundred people had just shared supper together.

The visitors stood quietly.

Zeta finally spoke.

"We observed humanity for many years."

Nord waited.

"Tonight..."

"We met them."

Nord smiled.

"I hoped you would."

Just then Buck called from outside.

"Anybody interested in seeing the carnival?"

Children were already running toward the midway.

Mike emerged leading Jumbo, Daisy, and little Rosie.

Rebecca headed for the carousel.

Galileo disappeared toward the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Jacob wandered toward the Ferris Wheel, checking each gate latch with the same patience he gave every brick he had ever laid.

The visitors looked toward Nord.

He smiled.

"Our evening..."

"...has only just begun."