If the reader attributes Molly Bloom's casual relationship toward clothing to indicate some form of sluttiness, the reader is sadly mistaken.
Molly does not place a high value on short-term relationships of any sort, sexual or otherwise. Neither does Roderick. Consequently, at the annual Festival of the Summer Solstice -- happening tonight in the Ballroom of the Beaune Estate -- Molly will latch on to Roderick and remain close to him all night. The boys from art class are unusually friendly:
-- "Hey Molly!"
-- "How's it going, Molly!"
-- "What's up, Molly!"
-- "Wanna dance, Molly?"
But to each such overture, Molly responds with a polite "Hi" and no further encouragement.
Roderick shares Molly's lack of interest in casual relationships, but maintains a steady stream of polite chatter. Molly pretends to listen, but thinks about the twenty-forth variation of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations.
Betsy Flapper, on the other hand, prefers short-term relationships to any other. This is the guiding philosophy behind Slut, her new online magazine recently launched with her mother's backing. Slut is an online hub and portal for teen sluts around the world, featuring timely content on the joy of sluttiness, how to leverage sluttiness as a career, and how to manipulate others with the appearance of sluttiness.
Betsy waited until Molly left for the bathroom, then presented her ample cleavage to Roderick. (Roderick suspected surgery).
"So, um, Roderick, are you and Molly a couple or what?"
The question seemed rhetorical to Roderick; he suspected that Betsy's next move would not be influenced by his response either way.
Betsy did not wait for a response, but moved closer to Roderick. "Want to fool around?" she cooed, with faux coyness.
Roderick had mixed feelings at this moment. On the one hand, Betsy was unquestionably hot, and he felt that "fooling around" was certainly an attractive thing to do; he also felt quite certain that fooling around with Betsy was about the last thing on Earth he wanted to do, especially since Molly had returned to his side, and was looking at Betsy with a mixture of inquisitiveness and contempt. Betsy did not wait for Roderick to respond, but slipped away as quickly as she had arrived.
"What was that about?" asked Molly.
"She wanted to know if we're a couple, and did I want to fool around." One of the things that Molly admires about Roderick is that he is always completely honest, without being harsh or blunt.
"Well, are we?" asked Molly. "And if not, why didn't you?" Roderick sensed that Molly was teasing him.
"I don't know", said Roderick. "I haven't really thought about it much". (Which was true). "And as to that other thing, well...". At this point Roderick and Molly both burst into laughter, so much so that everyone at the Festival wondered what the joke was about.
On the way home, Molly and Roderick paused and looked at the moon. It was not quite full. Roderick slept at the Bloom's house that night, in the guestroom.
Meanwhile, in Smileyville, Mr. Smiley prepared for his Moonbug adventure.
