1664, Pages 24 - 51 Summary

Griet begins work on the Vermeer family's laundry. She knows that it will take her days to catch up, but Tanneke has been managing all the family's errands for many years, and it is clearly too much for her. The laundry has been cleaned, sorted, and hung messily, and continues to pile up. Tanneke interrupts the laundry to take Griet to the market to buy meat. There are thirty-two butchers in Market Square, and the Vermeer's shop at a different butcher than Griet's family, although Griet's family has been too poor to purchase meat in months. The Vermeer's butcher is a handsome man with graying curls named Pieter, who openly flirts with Griet, playfully, which embarrasses her.

At dinner, Griet and Tanneke serve beef tongue and pork chops with parsnips, rye bread, and mugs of beer. The food is much welcomed...