"Great news!" says Natasha, at breakfast. There is a pregnant pause as Roderick, Molly, Anna and Megan all wait for the shoe to drop.
"Um, what's that?" inquires Roderick, who generally does not like to wait for shoes to drop.
"I've been selected for the Spring Art Exhibition, and I get a featured position in the gallery."
"Well, um, that's nice," says Roderick.
Molly reddens slightly.
Anna asks: "What will you exhibit?" It's the question everyone is thinking.
"Well, there's Molly's Ladyparts, of course. I settled on that name (thank you, Megan). And Molly, Afterwards, the other one you saw a couple of months back; and I have a whole series of Molly paintings from last year, but my work has matured so much since then."
Roderick takes a bite of scrapple. "By 'matured', I guess you mean 'more pornographic'."
Natasha looks slightly insulted. "I'm an artist. Don't oppress me with bourgeois categories."
Molly is resigned. "So I guess my private parts will be on display for all to see."
Anna offers some practical wisdom. "It's kind of an occupational hazard when you pose in the nude."
Later in the day, Roderick sits at the desk in his room checking out Nigel Farage videos on YouTube. There is a knock on the door; it's Megan. Roderick invites her in.
Megan's pursuit of Henry is not going well. The differences, it seems, are too great: Henry is quiet, diligent, hard-working, rational and focused on tax policy; Megan on the other hand is obsessed with Jane Austen, guns, sex and is pretty much stark raving crazy. Megan had hoped that patience and trust would overcome these differences, but now realizes that patience and trust are qualities she lacks.
So she's hitting on Roderick again.
"Ooh, Mr. Darcy, I have something in my eye. Can you check it for me?"
"Um, OK, sit down on the bed here." Roderick motions, Megan sits and Roderick sits next to her. He inspects her eye. "I don't see anything."
Megan blinks a few times. "There's it's gone now," she says, smiling. "Just give me a minute to recover."
They sit together for a few minutes.
"Mr. Darcy, I do believe you will have to punish me, because I'm very naughty today."
Roderick doesn't quite understand who 'Mr. Darcy' is or why Megan is addressing him as the aforementioned Darcy, but figures he will play along, because it's generally a good idea to play along with Megan when she's carrying her Glock. "Naughty? What did you do?"
Megan snuggles close. "I didn't change my underwear today."
"You don't wear underwear."
"Exactly!" says Megan.
Roderick looks at the clock. "Wow! It's almost ten o'clock. Time for bed. Gotta sing in the Chorale tomorrow."
"It's dark outside, can I sleep here?" pleads Megan.
"Um, OK." Roderick is too kind to point out that Megan lives down one flight of stairs and about twenty feet up a well-lit corridor.
"You don't mind if I sleep naked, do you? It relaxes me."
"Um, no, I don't mind."
"And can I snuggle up against you to keep warm?"
"Um, sure."
It's dark and the room is quiet. Roderick can hear a soprano warbling something in the distance, and wonders if Anna is practicing.
"Mr. Darcy?"
"Yes?"
"Can I be your second girlfriend again?"
Roderick consents to the arrangement, not because he is disloyal to Molly but because he is completely and totally loyal to Molly.
At least, for the time being.
