On Friday morning, Roderick's cell phone rings. It's Mrs. Smith calling.
"Good morning, Mom."
"Good morning, dear. Bad news, I'm afraid: Mr. Lincoln passed away last night. I thought you would want to know."
"That's too bad. He was a mean old curmudgeon who never had anything nice to say about anyone, but I kind of liked him anyway."
"There's a memorial service tomorrow at the Church of Nothing. Can you make it?"
"Of course, Mom. I'll tell Molly. We'll see if we can catch a ride home with Megan."
Roderick's pretty sure that Molly's Human Figure class starts pretty soon, so he runs over to the Art Studio. He catches up with her in the studio just as she puts her backpack on a chair.
"Hey, Molly!"
Molly turns and, seeing Roderick, smiles. "Hey!"
"Bad news, I'm afraid. Mr. Lincoln passed away."
"I'm sorry to hear that." With a few quick movements, Molly's shirt lies on the floor.
"There's a memorial service tomorrow, can you come home with me?"
Molly steps out of her pants. "Yes, of course, I wouldn't miss it."
Roderick runs back across campus to Megan's room and knocks on the door. Megan answers, completely nude, her long red hair slightly disheveled.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
Megan yawns. "It's okay, I should get up. Come on in."
Roderick steps in, looks at Megan and the rumpled bedclothes. "Night of passion?" he inquires.
"No, Henry's kind of absorbed with depreciation schedules. Just me and my sex toy."
"There's a memorial service for Mr. Lincoln tomorrow and Molly and I want to go. I was wondering if you're driving home this evening."
"Mr. Lincoln died. That's too bad. He was a nasty old man, but still, it's a shame. Yes, of course, I'll go."
Later in the afternoon, Roderick bumps into Anna.
"Molly and I are hitching a ride home with Megan this evening so we can go to a memorial service. Would you like to join us?"
"No, thank you...I have so much work to do. Will you be back in time for the service on Sunday? It's the first Sunday of Advent."
"Yes, of course, I wouldn't miss it."
On the ride home that evening, Roderick, Megan and Molly are curiously quiet as they contemplate the passing of a familiar soul.
Molly sleeps over. Roderick snuggles her. He thinks she smells pretty.
