No. 200. The Chocolate Rose. Galvanized, first, by the fact that this would be the 200th view into his Tabletop Studio and, second, by the fact that it had recently been Valentine's Day, Abigail, his next-door landscape painter, had suddenly presented him with a bouquet of chocolate roses, each bloom meticulously wrapped in bright red, rose-like foil. He appreciated the gesture (though he carefully discounted whatever erotic fervor that may have been nestling at the heart of Abigail's gift), and while he didn't much care for chocolate, he did rather enjoy the fake blossom's chunky, ottoman-like shape and density. Encouraged by the amusement of his increasingly sentient mannequin--now named McDowell--he had set about carving a large version of one of Abigail's florid blooms in wood. Both he and McDowell found it charmingly absurd. He did rather worry, though, about Abigail's suddenly popping in with a cup of green tea or something. He didn't fancy her company, but he had no desire to hurt her feelings either.