Fortune Favors

Chapter 20

Sam squinted and he thought maybe there was a fire, but then he realized that morning had broken and bright sun was bathing the courtyard of the Domus Hadius. He lay prostrate on the floor, and he felt a warm hand on his bare ass. His toga had clearly ridden up in the night. He turned, expecting - hoping it was Nico's hand only to awkwardly realize it was Marcus's. He wondered where Nico was until he heard the sound of retching.

Sam looked up, and he saw Appius, the slave that had been assigned to prevent any of the young men from choking on their own vomit, holding Nico's head as he vomited into a bucket. As far as Sam knew, Nico hadn't vomited until this point, which was impressive. Sam had vomited twice already, and Marcus had vomited three times. Undiluted Roman wine was hard on the stomach, and it didn't mix well with..well, anything they had eaten.

Sam gently wriggled out from Marcus's embrace, and he heard Marcus mumble Sabina's name. Nico, who had finished vomiting and was on his knees laughed.

"Be careful," said Nico, "In the low light, you resemble our mutual cousin, and he seems quite sweet on her."

Sam sighed, and he felt a pang of pity for Marcus. The Sabina he knew would not marry a bastard, even if he had a fortune and was sired by one of the noblest houses in Rome. He stood up and brushed off and straightened his toga.

"Eolus's cook makes a blissful tonic for a hangover. Appius, go tell her we are in need of her medicine," said Sam.

Appius nodded. "Young Sammius, please summon me if one of you needs to retch again. I do not want to shirk my duties."

Sam nodded. "Of course, you've done your duty admirably tonight. I'll not let Marcus die while you are in the kitchen."

Marcus groaned, as if in response to this.

"No word from the midwives?" asked Nico.

"Apparently, not," replied Sam. "I suppose I'll be the last person they tell. I'm only the father." Sam was only partially joking. He had no doubt that his mother, Eolus, and Maximus would be informed of the birth before he would be.

"How long does it usually take?" asked Nico.

Sam shrugged. "My youngest sister took a full two days to arrive. The twins far less. One can't know."

Marcus got up on his hands and knees. "The babe better come before tonight," he groaned. "I cannot handle another night like this."

Sam grinned. "You say that every time you drink too much."

Marcus slowly struggled to get up. "I mean it every time."

The young men found their way inside from the courtyard and onto some low couches in the atrium. Appius soon brought them each a thick brew of vinegar with herbs and flowers from the kitchen.

"What's in this?" asked Nico. "In Greece, we take cabbage broth."

Sam sipped on his brew. "Nobody's sure exactly, but the cook swears by it. It works."

Nico looked skeptical, but he sipped on his as well.

At that moment, Sam's mother strode into the atrium. Sam stood up. "What word?" he asked nervously.

Jacquetta shook her head. "The labor progresses but it will be hours. You young men should go to the baths or something. You're doing nothing but distracting the slaves with your presence."

Sam was about to protest, but Marcus spoke. "Excellent idea," he said. "What good is it to wait around here? If we go to the baths, you will be clean and relaxed to greet your child when he arrives."

Nico stood up. "I agree," he said. "There's nothing for us to do here but get in the way."

Sam wanted to say no, but he saw the logic in their suggestion. He didn't want to greet his child looking like he had spent entire night drinking undiluted wine like he was some sort of barbarian.

The three young men walked to the Palatine baths where they stripped, took exercise, had massages and then swam in the public pool. They finally were redressed in fresh clothing and sat on a blanket on the green, where they had some wine that was diluted properly.

"You know," said Nico, "many families in Greece have taken to educating their daughters the same as their sons. It's said to make them better mothers when they are grown, as they can give their children lessons."

Sam drank his wine and looked at the sky. "It will be a great responsibility, boy or girl. I hope I am up for it. I think I would like to teach my child his or her letters and read them epic tales of old."

Marcus laughed. "And so you shall. I will teach him naughty poems, like a good uncle."

Sam sighed, and he turned to Nico. "I need my own household. My mother will never let Lilli alone as long as we stay in that house. It won't be good for the child."

Nico nodded. "Hopefully, negotiations won't take more than a few weeks."

Sam was starting to be anxious, so he asked that they return to the house. Nico and Marcus agreed, and when they returned Jacquetta was in the atrium waiting.

"There you are," she said grabbing him. "The child has come. She's healthy and crying. Your wife came through the birth alive."

Sam blinked and quickly stole a look at Nico, who was beaming, and he let his mother lead her to his bedroom where Lilli lay in the bed holding a swaddled babe.

"It's a girl," she said somewhat sadly. "I think she has eyes of the sky like yours."

Sam grinned and stumbled toward them. "A girl? I was hoping for a girl." Sam wasn't just consoling her. The joy he felt when he heard it was a girl was real. He had wanted a girl, despite the custom. He had dreamed it several times, and the dream came true.

He looked at the little infant. She looked like his brother and sisters, and Lilli offered her to him.

"What shall we call her to distinguish her from her cousins?" she asked.

Sam looked at the little baby. Roman custom dictated she be called, Hadia, after his adopted family but Eolus had two daughters also called Hadia. Each of them had nicknames, Flavia Hadia and Jacquetta Hadia. Sam wanted to call this baby after her mother. Yet, she would still need a name that distinguished her from her mother. Romans never made naming simple, naming everyone after everyone else. In Gaul, they would have just named her something both parents found pleasing.

"She'll be called Lilliana Hadia but maybe she can be called Lilah so you two will not be confused?" asked Sam, taking the newborn into his arms.

Lilli smiled at Sam, clearly pleased, and he felt a pang of guilt. She loved him in a way he could return, but he did love her, and he would see to it that his family would want for nothing.