Twice Loved at Armageddon

Twice Loved at Armageddon< Part XIII

Scott and Farah accompany Flavius and Corrina to their villa, whichis south of Rome.  Corrina takes Farah to see the wonders of her beloved Rome. 

Chapter Twenty-Three

   Now that Scott and Farah were family to Flavius and Corrina, they sailed together to the Italian mainland for their journey to their villa just south of Rome.  On the way Corrina told her new daughter of the wonders they would see in their new home and in Rome.  They sailed past Herculaneum to the small port city of Pompeii.  There they disembarked.  In the distance Mount Vesuvius was smoking but not all that foreboding.  It was too late to continue toward Rome, so they settled down in a local inn.  Servants made their way over stone streets and gutters.  They were better able to see their way because engineers had placed small bits of crystal, which glowed in the dark, on the stone paths.

   Bakeries were still open, and workers were still taking out traditional round, dark bread from huge brick ovens.  The aroma was present all over the city. Shops with erotic figurines caused Farah and even Scott to look away with embarrassment.  Flavius and Corrina told them they would see no such things at their villa.  It surprised them that Scott already knew his way through the city. Farah knew the reason.  Scott had already been there before. She could tell by his confident behavior but said nothing in the others’ presence. Soon they reached the forum area with its market and magnificent temples.  Like other Roman cities in Palestine and the other Mediterranean lands, the forum was for worship, business, and government.

   Their inn did not approach the elegance they enjoyed at Villa Jovis on Capri.  Yet it was comfortable with running water and spacious rooms. They stepped out onto the balcony while people were still hurrying along moon-lit walkways from market with oven-fresh bread for their late evening meals.  In Pompeii incredible varieties of fresh bread were available at all hours.

   Scott said to Farah, “Mount Vesuvius looks beautiful tonight even with all of the smoke.”

   She asked, “It is also deadly, is it not?” With a worried look, she turned to Scott. “How long do these people have to live before the coming disaster?”

   Although Scott had spoken to Farah of Pliny’s son dying during their coming eruption, he had not mentioned Pompeii’s total destruction.  Perhaps it was the way Scott had looked at the people there. Or perhaps it was because he had been careful to avoid the painful details from the beginning. Scott leaned over and kissed her cheek.  He said, “Before we bounce our children’s children on our knees, they will suffer a quake.  It will be but an early warning.  The slumbering Vesuvius will erupt a few years after and bury the whole city for nearly two thousand years. It will claim even the son of Pliny, who by then will be an old man.  The coming destruction will be so horrific that it will make what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah look like wine spilled in a fire.  So complete will be the city’s destruction that people will forget that it was ever here.”

   Upon hearing Scott, she took a tight hold on him.  He put his arms around her, and they retired to their room.

   On the road the next day, they were all in good spirits and the way was easy.  Flavius could have sent ahead for one of the horses they kept at the villa, but today he preferred to ride in the wagon with Corrina.  His duties had so often kept him away from her during their years in Palestine that they were determined to take this opportunity to rediscover their youthful passion.  Their wagon at length entered the Appian Way, a paved highway that had already been there for centuries.

   Farah remarked to Scott how magnificent its construction was.  He told her it was built better than roads would be for nearly two thousand more years in most of the world.  It was more than adequate for the carts that used it.  Now and then on the way, they saw condemned men hanging on crosses.  Farah asked Scott if he thought the dying men had done something worthy of death.