Rome - 10. Chapter 10

The house was finished as the architect promised, the animal sheds were finished, and the mother pig was occupying one of the sheds. On several trips to Rome, they bought furniture for the house. Celia donated furnishings as well. His father never missed it. The animals from his grandfather arrived along with Niciu to ensure there weren’t any problems. He brought two men with him that began to prepare the ground for the trees. Snippets of grapevines from Gaius and Duccius were planted in the area where they found the damaged vines.

The land proved to be fertile. The wheat was sowed and was starting to break ground. The mules had a shed as well as the horses. Lucinius gave a horse to Aumen. He told him it was a present for helping to clear the land and being his friend.

As promised, his grandfathers returned and brought his mother and father with them. Lucinius was glad to see his mother, not so much his father. Being Lucinius, he greeted his father as well.

Later that evening, “I watched your father when he saw what you have accomplished. He wasn’t happy. I’d be careful.”

Lucinius knew his father wouldn’t be happy, and Aumen was right. His father was thinking about how he might be able to take over this Villa for himself. As he walked around, he planned how he would decorate it, what he would change and what law he could use to get this Villa.

As if his mind was speaking, Lucius put his hand on his shoulder, “You did well, Appias, to give him this land. He has made it his with the help of Apollo. The gods have blessed him. I wouldn’t want to be the man who would wage war on him and this land.”

As Lucius said this, the sun was blocked, and one would think a storm was coming. That was enough for Appias. He no longer looked upon the land as his.

Lucinius was glad to see Deacon, Niciu, and Calliope. He treated them as friends, noting the look of disgust on his father’s face. His father was one of the men who felt slaves should be treated as animals and not as friends. If he owned these three, he would’ve freed them. Somehow, they knew what Lucinius was thinking. They smiled at him. Lucinius had prepared rooms for his guest on the second floor. He had six bedrooms that overlooked the center of the house. There he had a statue of Apollo looking to the sky. As it was the custom, this part of the house wasn’t enclosed with a roof. The statue stood in a shallow pool, and when it rain, the rainwater was collected in this pool.

He had rooms on the first floor for Deacon, Niciu, and Calliope. They were just as fine as the bedrooms on the second floor. The men who worked the farm had rooms facing the outside. There were four large rooms, two each on the side of the entrance. Two men were assigned to each room. These rooms weren’t like the barracks at his father’s home. The rooms were comfortable, and they contain couches, small stands with water urns.

The toilet was located behind the animal sheds. The toilet was a large room with open seats around three of the walls. There was a stream of water that ran under the seats to wash the droppings away.

They tried the Baths, Calliope attend his mother, and Niciu and Deacon attended the men. Aumen and Lucinius attended each other. It was so pleasant being there. His guests stayed for a month. This meant that they would have to make several trips to Rome to get provisions. Aumen volunteered for that job with Niciu and Deacon going along. The men spent their time relaxing, discussing the latest issues in the Senate. Lucinius’s mother spent her time reading his scrolls.

On one of his strolls to the grove with his grandfather, Lucius commented on how fast the trees are growing. “How do you water these trees?”

“I have a watering system that is buried below the ground. The system provides water to the grove as well as the fields.”

“The water comes from your wells?”

“Yes, I have only one well, but an underground stream feeds it. I also use the water from the toilet. It goes to a well, and then the clear water is drawn off through pipes with holes in them. That was Aumen’s idea since we were afraid the water would stink too much to let it flow on the surface of the land. This way, it is kept underground and provides water for the crops and the grove.”

His grandfather just looked at the boy. He was impressed. “Lucinius, I’m very pleased with what you have here. I’m glad I was part of this. I have only two grandchildren. Your father is my only child. I’m proud of both of you. I sent a letter to Duccius telling him about your Villa and my plans to be here. This letter arrived just before we left. It’s for you. I didn’t want to give it to you in the presence of your father. If you want to tell him or show him, that’s up to you.”

“Thank you, Grandfather. I’ll read it tonight.”

Walking around the rest of the Villa, they stopped at the grapevines. Lucius picked one of the grapes to taste. He made a face. “This grape is sour, will it get sweeter in time? If it doesn’t, it won’t make good wine.” “This vine was here when we arrived. We thought it was dead, but Aumen kept watering it, and it came back.”

“Like the Villa”

“Yes, I suppose. The juice is bitter, but I use it in cooking. It gives the food a different taste. I’ll use some tonight, and you can judge.”

Tonight they would have rabbit with mixed vegetables. One of the men found rabbits were getting into the gardens, he set a trap, and now on occasion, they have rabbit.

That night with Calliope helping Aumen in the kitchen, they prepared to roast several rabbits. Lucinius brought in some of the grapes and asked them to pour some of the juice of the grapes over one of the rabbits. “I want my grandfathers to taste the rabbit with this juice.”

Knowing his father would not tolerate the men working the Villa to sit and have dinner with them. He had Calliope set up a place where the men could come and get a plate of food to take to their room to eat. Earlier, Aumen had provided the rooms with fresh water and bottles of wine. While Lucinius entertained, Aumen made sure that the men were fed with the same food served to Lucinius’s guest. Since Niciu was among these men, Lucinius knew his grandfather would know as soon as they were on the way home.