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- 02/07/2021
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Rome - 20. Chapter 20
The next morning I showed up in the clothes I wore when I worked in the grove and vineyard. Felix looked at me, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Sir, you are dressed for work."
"Yes, the trees and vines still need attention, guest or not. If they asked, tell them I had already eaten and I needed to get back to tending the grove and vineyard."
He smiled, Calliope heard, and she smiled. I wondered if mother freed her, would she stay or not. My guess with my father, she would leave. She might go back to Gaius, where she came from. An interesting thought.
I had been working in the grove, cutting off broken limbs and limbs without leaves or fruit, when my father's father approached me. "Lucinius, we missed you at breakfast."
"I'm sorry, Grandfather, my father's attitude toward the boys is upsetting. He insists I treat them as slaves, and when I tell him they are free, he ignores that. I don't know how to reach him. I didn't tell him he had to free his slaves, nor do I tell him how to run his household. Why does he insist on telling me who he didn't want to begin with."
"What do you mean he didn't want you."
"When I was born, since I didn't look like Duccius, he talked about killing me. Mother took me to the temple and dedicated me to Apollo. Father was afraid to do anything, but he never liked me. You were here when he thought he could get this Villa. I don't understand why he won't accept me for what I am. I can't change, and no matter how much I exercise or eat, I'll never be Duccius."
His grandfather listened to what Lucinius was telling him. He knew about some of it but what he heard now was shocking. To think a son of his would have such thoughts about his own son. Looking at his grandson, he went back to the house. He had some thinking to do.
Lucinius was upset, more than he should be. He stopped working in the grove and headed to the animal sheds. He found comfort in looking at the animals. He didn't realize how many he had. From the three sheep, he now had eight. He smiled, thinking that ram must be busy. He had six goats, two of them were pregnant. The rabbits were going crazy. He told the boy who was attending the rabbit shed to select four for tonight's meal.
"Sir, I have four here. They are male, and we don't need more males."
I smiled and nodded in agreement. The pigs were doing well. I'll take some for tomorrow's meal. Walking into the kitchen, they were making cheese. On the next trip to the city, I'll take some cheese with me to sell. "Felix, have you ever made cheese with milk from the sheep and goats mixed."
"No, sir, would you like us to try?"
"Yes, maybe we could make a special cheese that I could sell at a higher price." Leaving the kitchen with the aromas of the various herbs.
I heard someone yelling. When I looked north, I saw Duccius and the boys coming back. They had two deer, two wild boars, and several birds. I went to meet them, and I saw father and grandfathers following me. Duccius was all smiles, "Think this is enough meat for a few days?"
"What did you kill?"
"I killed one dear and one boar, Father."
"We'll take them home. Is there a way you can prepare them so they don't spoil?"
"No, father. If you want to take them home, we have to leave as soon as possible, otherwise, the meat will rot."
"Then we will leave in the morning."
I didn't say no, I'll miss my mother and Calliope, but not my father.
The boys took the other animals and began to prepare them for the meat pit. The birds we would roast for our meal. Felix and Calliope took them to the kitchen. Felix's father came and claimed the deerskin. He said he could make sandals from the skin. I watched Felix and Calliope cut the meat so we could put it in the cold pit. I knew if it was in the cold pit for at least two days, I could send some home with my grandparents.
Later that night, we listened to Duccius tell his hunting tale. I looked at Niciu and Deacon, and they shook their heads, which make me think they somehow contributed to my brother's lucky hunt. I'll corner Niciu, and he'll tell me. We laughed as my brother told his tale. I think my father would like to have gone.
"It appears that you had a good time. Maybe the next time you go, I'll go with you."
"Yes, Father, we should hunt together."
I thought, next time, does that mean he's planning on coming back? I hope not. I don't need his criticism.
The next morning, even before breakfast was ready, my father was prepared to leave. I insisted that we pack some food for them to eat on the way. He didn't refuse, so I had Felix pack some cheese, boiled eggs, and bread. I had him fill the empty wine bottles with water. The boys brought the mules, hooked them to the cart, helped my mother and Calliope on board. Placed the meat that Duccius killed in the cart, held father's horse for him to mount. I watched them as they left. I saw the tears in my mother's eyes as she left.
Duccius came out to say goodbye, "I'll be back in a few days."
As they passed through the gate, I turned and went into the house. I stopped in front of Apollo's statue, praying that he sees that they get home without any problems.
Returning to the courtyard for breakfast, I saw my other guests were enjoying one of Felix's egg dishes. I don't know what you called it, but it was flat and was on bread that he browned on the stove. He had poured some olive oil on the bread. It was different, and maybe that helped to make it taste good. I noticed that the conversation was friendly, and the boys interacted with my grandparents. I pulled Deacon and Niciu aside and asked what happened on the hunting trip.
Niciu started to laugh, "We came upon a group of wild boars, Duccius wanted to slay them all. We told him only to kill the males, otherwise, there won't be any boars in the future. We had watched this group before. We pointed out one of the young boars that was a male. Your brother understood, so he killed that one, which caused the group to run. We knew that would happen, and when the other male ran by us, we killed it."
"What about the deer."
"We herded them into a place where they couldn't run too far. Your brother wanted to kill the first one we saw. We told him to kill only the ones with horns. There was one with just a small horn standing straight up. That is the one he speared. We killed one with a full set of horns." I didn't understand what that meant until they showed me. "That was the one your father took home. As they get older, their horns grow."
"I'm glad he had fun. Thanks for going with him."
My grandparents stayed for several more days. I enjoyed having them around. When they were ready to leave, I gave them some meat from the cold pit. I had some fruit, and Felix had some eggs he boiled. They each had some of the deer and boar that my boys killed. I invited them back, hugging them goodbye. The boys gathered around me and waved to them as they rode away. I watched them until they were out of sight. I went back to the courtyard where my brother was waiting.
"Did you and father have a run in?"
"Yes, but it's what I expected. There's no way I'll gain his approval, so I'm not going to try again."
"You shouldn't be disrespectful."
"I think respect at our age is earned, not a right. He hasn't earned my respect, and it's obvious he has no respect for me in my own home."
"It was the boys again?"
"Yes, I told him they were free. He said once a slave always a slave. That night when the boys served them, it was a gesture of being polite. You were there. He made comments to grandfather about being served by slaves. The next morning, the boys were up early, ate, and went to work. They ate midday in front of the house while everyone ate in the courtyard. I told them I expect them to eat their evening meal as we always did. Father was upset that they didn't serve him, and he had to go to the table and serve himself. You saw the way he acted when you came back from hunting. What you killed was his. I have no problem with that, but he acts as if it's his right. You saw me give our grandfathers some deer and boar. If he asked if he could take it, I would have let him have it and probably more. He never asks, only takes. If it wasn't for mother, I wouldn't want to see him again. I have tried to make him accept me. It's over. I'll live my life as I want. He can live his life as he wants. You and mother are caught in the web, like a fly in a spider web."
"I'm sorry it has come to this."
"You shouldn't be. This shouldn't be a surprise to you. You had seen it when we were living at home. I spent a lot of my time at grandfather Gaius's home for that reason."
"What happens if he forbids me to see you?"
"Duccius, how old are you? You are your own man. His decisions do not bind you. You're not in the Army, and he isn't your commander. It wouldn't surprise me when you go home, he tells you not to visit me anymore."
“What if he tells me I can't stay there?"
"Then you pack up and come here."
He smiled when I said that. I didn't think that would ever happen. Father loves Duccius. He's a military man, just like father.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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