Meanwhile, in Beauneville, Roderick ate a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. He developed a taste for ham and cheese back when Mr. Smiley lived with the Smiths; prior to that, Roderick's sandwichs were mostly just ham.
Roderick's sandwich was sans pickle. There are limits to Mr. Smiley's influence.
Two days remaining in the term at Beauneville Latin, then...summer. Roderick had no particular plans -- hang out with Molly, Natasha and others; canoe on the Mill Pond; run with Laddie; visit Grandma and Grandpa; go to the office with Dad...
Speaking of Dad, there were just a couple of days before Father's Day. Roderick wondered what he should get for Dad. He had all of eight dollars and some change; getting a summer job wasn't a high priority (before now, at least).
Roderick continued to ponder the Dad-gift problem. It wasn't easy. The things Mr. Smith might like cost way more than eight dollars...
Molly invited Roderick over for dinner that evening. In contrast to the Smith's well-kept and tasteful Victorian furnishings, the Blooms were artsy-fartsy, and furnished in a more eclectic style. Their dining room table was in a sort of Bauhaus style; Mr. Bloom had salvaged it from the showroom of an interior designer in Stapleton after a fire. It was in pretty good condition, except where the plastic was slightly melted on one corner. Mrs. Bloom threw a tablecloth over it, and set the places: Mr. and Mrs. Bloom on the North and South sides, respectively; Mary, Margaret and Catherine in that order on the East side; Molly and Roderick on the West side.
A brief digression: Molly, Mary, Margaret and Catherine are natural blondes, with long straight hair; Molly's hangs down to her waist. This has always struck Roderick as something of an anomaly, since Mr. Bloom has thinning brown hair, and Mrs. Bloom is a curly redhead. Roderick has not inquired as to possible exlanations for this remarkable genetic event.
Mrs. Bloom served Tofu Surprise casserole. The surprising part is that Roderick liked it; Molly told him later that Mrs. Bloom uses ground beef instead of tofu.
Mr. Bloom dug into a steaming pile of casserole with gusto. "So Roderick, what are you doing this summer?", he asked.
"Honestly, Mr. Bloom, I don't really have any special plans." Roderick felt vaguely as if he ought to have plans.
"What about you, Molly?"
Molly sat up brightly, as she does when she's excited about something. "Mr. Bellini will pay me $15 an hour for live modeling, and he has six hours a week of human figure classes. And Mr. Whistler wants me to pose for one of his large portraits."
Mrs. Bloom beamed. "That's nice, dear. Finish your peas."
Mary Bloom is two years younger than Molly. "I want to model too!" she said, leaning forward on the table. "I can sit still!"
"There's a little more to it than that", said Molly, with a slightly disdainful look. "You have to take direction. The artists want you to pose in a certain way; you don't just stand any way you please."
"Oh", said Mary, with a slightly crestfallen look.
Mr. Bloom tried to be helpful. "Why don't you speak with Mr. Botticelli? Perhaps he needs an apprentice model...?"
Molly pondered. "That's a thought".
"Oh, goody!" said Mary. She ran around the table and hugged Molly.
Catherine, the youngest, spoke up. "What's modeling?"
Mrs. Bloom explained. "Artists who want to learn how to draw people need real people to pose for them with no clothes".
"Ooh!" said Catherine. "I want to do that when I'm old enough!"
Margaret is the quiet sister. "Me, too!"
Mr. and Mrs. Bloom beamed at their talented daughters. Roderick quietly finished his plate of Tofu surprise.
