There are very few times when I have feltmore ashamed.
"Forgive me, Aurelia," I told her, my tonefervent as I glanced from her to Scribonius, who still stood therelooking as if I had slapped him. "I meant no offense, and truly, Idon't hold you in any way at fault. I'm just happy that my bestfriend has a chance at being happy for once."
Looking over to Scribonius, I gave him whatI hoped would be a look that expressed my sincerity, but he stilllooked upset. Fortunately, Aurelia more than proved her worth bystepping in.
"There is no need to forgive, Titus Pullus,"she said quietly. "And I can't tell you how happy it makes me toknow that you wish us well."
"That," I said with great feeling, "I do. Inabundance. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more."
Finally, Scribonius broke his silence.
"I just wish it could be permanent. But thegods have decreed otherwise."
I, for one, did not see it that way, and Isaid as much.
"If you two want to be together, then youshould be," I declared.
I was rewarded with a look exchanged betweenthe two of them that probably said more than any real words.
"If it were that simple, I would have comeback a long time ago," Scribonius said quietly. "But you, of allpeople, know why we can't. If I were to stay here, there's no way Icould hide my identity."
I sighed, knowing what he said was true.
"Master," Diocles broke into theconversation, reminding me of his presence, "they're only thinkingof your well-being."
I know that he meant well, but it had theopposite effect, making me feel much, much worse. Fortunately, atleast for my feelings, Aurelia understood the impact of Diocles'words.
"It's much more than that, Titus," sheassured me. "Even if there wasn't the matter of the questions itwould raise, I am married to his brother. And no matter whatthe circumstances, the scandal would be such that it would bringirreparable harm to my own family, not to mention that of Sextusand my husband."
I must admit that I was not sure that thiswas the entire truth, but it was one that I was willing to acceptwithout much examination, and I was relieved to see that this waswhat both Aurelia and Scribonius believed. Accordingly, I did notsee that it would do any of us any good to probe this moredeeply.
"Well," I said. "In that case, let'seat."
Even with the circumstances looming in myvery near future, this was one of the most pleasant evenings of mylife, ranking with the banquet on the Nile, the evening with Miriamin Damascus, and the night where Sextus Scribonius finally revealedhis past. Aurelia was witty and charming; she and Scribonius wereso clearly in love that it gave me a pang of such sharp, sweetpain, reminding me of Miriam and me that I found my eyes fillingwith tears. Perhaps most pleasing, at least to me, was seeing thetwo of them so happy, although I will admit that telling her ofsome of her love's more humorous escapades was not a bad feelingeither. There was much laughter and, as the night progressed andthe wine flowed, there were some tears as well.
At some point, I was moved to askScribonius, "So all those times that you had 'other business' toattend to, am I correct in assuming that this lovely woman was the'other business'?"
Much to my pleased surprise, this promptedtrilling, musical laughter from Aurelia herself as she looked overat my friend who, in contrast, was blushing deeply.
Finally, he managed a response, muttering,"I suppose you could say that."
"Then how in the name of the gods did youmanage to get your brother out of the way?" I asked, genuinelycurious.
Despite himself, Scribonius gave me agrin.
"Well, I just mentioned that I had read someof the reports from the managers of our father's estates inCampania, and I was sure that they were skimming some of theprofits from our accounts. My brother's always been, shall we say,very focused on money. It wasn't more than a day after I mentionedthis that he left Rome to find out for himself if he was beingcheated."
I roared with laughter, both at the idea ofmy friend being so underhanded and knowing in what low regard heheld his brother, happy that he was able to score this victory.
Raising my cup in salute, I told the both ofthem, "I can't think of a couple that deserves their chance athappiness more than the two of you. Especially if it's at theexpense of your brother."
I was pleased to see that they both acceptedmy toast in the spirit in which it was meant. The rest of the nightpassed in a similar manner, as Scribonius and I competed in anattempt to outdo each other with tales of the other, each of ustrying to impress Aurelia. Diocles, bless him, was relegated tobeing little more than furniture, sitting and listening as the twoof us went back and forth, boasting and informing on each other,forced to listen to stories that he had heard hundreds of timesbefore. The food was excellent, the company even better, and Ifound that for a brief period of time, I forgot the fact that I wasjust a few watches away from learning my fate. Normally, dinnerssuch as these last the entire night, but because of what was takingplace the next day, I was forced to excuse myself earlier than Iwould have liked. I needed some sleep and it would take time to donmy uniform, perhaps for the last time.
Leaving the villa, I kissed Aurelia's handagain, telling her, "If all goes well, perhaps we'll meetagain."
"I will make a sacrifice at dawn to make itso," she told me, and I did not doubt her in the slightest.
"You have a good man there." I looked overat my friend, who was occupied studying the furniture. "And I canonly wish that somehow you could be together."
"Why," she replied, "we are. And always willbe. No matter where our physical bodies are, Sextus
