Twice Loved at Armageddon

Twice Loved at Armageddon, Part XII

At Capri, where the Emperor Tiberius makes Scott a Roman citizen, Farah receives an unexpected surprise before they join Flavius and Corrina at their villa near Rome.  

Chapter Twenty-One

   With Flavius all finished with business at the garrison in Athens, they set sail for Syracuse before continuing on to Capri.  The ship was large enough for Scott and Farah to have their own cabin.  The wind was favorable for an early arrival in Syracuse.  When Scott and Flavius had business, Farah would spend hours of sisterly affection with Corrina.  Since they had first invited them to stay at their villa outside Rome, Farah thought of Corrina as her mother.  It was clear to Scott that she loved her like a mother.

   One night on deck with Scott, Farah spoke of Corrina as her mother.  She looked up at him, worried she had misspoken.  Instead he hugged and kissed her.  He said, “Dear, we need and love each other.  But you still need a mother, don’t you?”

   Relieved at his favorable reaction, she said, “Oh, yes!”

   He held her even tighter. “Call her mother as often as it pleases both of you.  As good a husband as I try to be, I can’t be your mother.  It’s never too late for a mother’s love. There are so many kinds of love, and love’s one thing people don’t have to ration or save up.”

   They stayed but a short time on Syracuse and set sail for Capri, which they reached in but a day.  Flavius said as they made their way into their berth, “This, my friends, is where you become Romans in recognition of service to the emperor and for becoming a lady of great learning in your own right.”  Corrina hugged them before they disembarked.  Flavius extended his hand in Roman fashion to Scott and also gave Farah a hug.  They accepted this special recognition with warmth.

   Behind the island’s port city rose Capri’s steep, rocky cliffs.  They looked more like mountains.  Flavius said, “See the villa on top just left of that tree growing among the rocks?  That’s Villa Jovis, where Emperor Tiberius lives.”  They drew near their loading ramp.

   Scott told Farah about boats coming over from the mainland.  When he said nearby Sorrento was the traditional place of the Sirens in The Odyssey, she nodded in understanding.

   Small boats again swarmed from shore offering wares to sell.  Market stalls on came to life with vendors hawking local bread, large fish called Tiberius Fish, almost always the catch of the day.  Although the local temples did a brisk business, they didn’t produce enough beef and pork for sale in Capri’s markets.  Meat was still expensive because most of it had come from the Italian mainland.  Scott bought fresh fruit for the rest of their party as they wandered without hurry around the local village’s stone and brick buildings.  Another thing caught Scott’s eye for the first time: stucco siding covered with whitewash on many of the homes.  Roofs were baked ceramic tile.  Farah said roofing tile was not common to Palestine although she herself had helped apply whitewash to Flavius’s house in Armageddon.

   Before long an officer rode down to greet their party.  Flavius introduced them to the officer and received instructions to wait for a wagon on its way to take them up a winding, narrow road leading to the top of the cliffs overlooking the harbor.  To their relief, the way was easy without a sign of mishap.

   They were taken to lush quarters such as they never saw in Alexandria.  Scott and Farah had a large room with an adjoining, odorless necessary room off to the side.  Engineers had constructed such an efficient way to catch rain water that there was nearly always running water.  There were two entrances to their room.  One led to an inner court while the other to the larger part of their guest house.  They dined with Flavius and Corrina that evening in preparation for the next morning’s special ceremony with the emperor.