Hadrian's Lover (6 page)

Hadrian’s Lover
is scheduled to air this Friday on the wave. Don’t miss the pilot episode of this inspiring, historical fiction that traces the lives of Hadrian, Emperor of Rome, and his young Greek lover, Antinous. The producers of this docudrama do not wish to refer to their work as historical fact, preferring the newly coined phrase “factition,” even though much of the script is founded on solid research. That Hadrian was ruthless like many Roman Emperors will receive little emphasis at the start of the mini-series. Initial emphasis will be placed on the fact that he was deemed one of the five good Emperors of Rome. Much of the scandal surrounding his love affair with Antinous will also play a significant role. It isn’t until after the sudden death of young Antinous, only nineteen years of age, drowning in the River Nile, that the more vicious side of Hadrian will be presented. It is said that after the death of Antinous, Hadrian went mad. In fact, most of the cruelties for which Hadrian is known occurred after he lost Antinous.

That Antinous was the most sexually alluring and beautiful of men caused a great deal of difficulty for the casting director. Abigail Williams searched tirelessly throughout Hadrian for a young actor who would meet this bill as well as be able to perform the role. She finally found her match, but it has been decided not to identify him until the show’s airing. Rest assured that Hadrian’s best and most beautiful young man has been chosen for this most illustrious role. Indeed, this is the role of a lifetime.

Long time favored actor Royston Birley will be playing Hadrian. Royston, thrilled at having landed such an auspicious role, is said to have spent months completing in-depth research into Hadrian’s reign as well as finding everything the wave has to say about Hadrian’s love affair with Antinous. “What is great about this role,” Royston said in a recent
interview, “is the highlighting of Hadrian’s arranged marriage to Vibia Sabina, clearly a political maneuver that caused much misery to the noble emperor. The only real joy and love of Hadrian’s life was his young Greek lover Antinous.”

As we all know, after Hadrian met young Antinous, the boy became his closest confidant. Antinous provided Hadrian with lively conversation as well as the obvious attraction of physical beauty. Theirs is perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching love stories of all times, as Hadrian and Antinous’ relationship was severed all too quickly by the sudden drowning of the young man on the River Nile.

The mystery surrounding Antinous’ death will be dealt with in-depth. A fictional character, Centurion Detective Giustino Romano, has been created specifically for the storyline. This character, Director Aaron Ganis says, will consider all the various theories about Antinous’ death. Was it a ritual killing, a murder, or an act of suicide? Ganis will not reveal what, if any findings, are given in this series, but he assures us, that all conspiracy theories of Hadrian’s day, as well as a few invented by our writers, are thoroughly investigated by Centurion Romano.

Vale!

Todd’s birthday is celebrated at the Hunters’. Mike Fulton is working overtime and contacted Dean earlier through his work wave messaging system to let him know he wouldn’t be attending. With frustration brewing, Dean is determined to throw all his energy into preparing the perfect dinner for Todd.
The boy will turn sixteen only once; why can’t Mike see that? Sixteen. Next thing you know he’ll be seventeen—seventeen
—Dean closes his eyes. A swirl of anxiety rushes through him—
No!
Shaking his head, Dean refuses to allow memories of his youth to ruin the night’s jollities. Todd’s birthday cake, Dean decides, will be extraordinary. He plans to bake the young man a thick, very heavy, chocolate fudge cake. Cocoa beans are rare, not being grown in Hadrian, so he had to purchase them through the black market; Geoffrey will be upset when he finds out, and Dean anticipates a scolding, but he doesn’t care. This is Todd’s day and Dean knows how much the boy loves the taste of chocolate, so a chocolate cake is essential for Todd’s birthday!
Will
, he remembers fondly,
also loved chocolate. And
, Dean smiles,
he grew his own cocoa beans in Antinous Uni’s agricultural hothouses.
Remembering Will causes Dean to compare Mike’s behavior with what he feels it should have been, like that of Will.
Will
, he firmly believes,
would have been here!
Dean silently berates Mike Fulton.
Will never would have missed Todd’s birthday!

The doorbell rings.
Someone’s here already?
Dean rushes to the front door, ripping off his baker’s apron before answering it. Crystal Albright stands before him.
Hadrian’s lover, who invited her?
The Hunters rarely have women over, and Dean is always warned in advance so he can make himself scarce. “Hello, Crystal.” Dean’s voice remains smooth, even though a sharp shock is racing through his body. Crystal is beautiful. Today, she is wearing a low-cut blouse, exposing deep cleavage and tight-fitting jeans. Crystal takes a deep breath, exposing even more cleavage. Another shock wave hits Dean
and he jerks slightly. His hands instinctively reach for his temples, which are throbbing.

Concerned, Crystal asks, “Are you all right, Mr. Hunter?” Crystal thinks it is so romantic that Dean chose to change his name to his husband’s, so, unlike the other kids, she never calls him Papa Dean, but always refers to him as Mr. Hunter.

“Yes, Crystal,” Dean mutters as his head jerks. “Just a slight headache. Go into the living room. Put Todd’s present with the rest and I’ll get you a drink.”

Sensing Dean’s distress, and unwittingly making his agony worse, Crystal offers, “Let me help you, Mr. Hunter. That’s why I came early.” After depositing Todd’s gift in the living room, she joins Dean in the kitchen. He keeps his back to her, but her cinnamon scent wafts through the air. Dean starts to rub his forehead. She watches from behind as his back muscles tighten. “What can I do?” Crystal asks.
Give her something. Give her something
. Dean tries desperately to think. He can feel her walk closer. She touches his waist. Instantly, a shock rips through him. He stumbles. Nausea begins to build. “Mr. Hunter, are you sure you’re all right?” Dean tries to speak, but the need to vomit is so extreme that he lunges for the sink and begins to throw up. “Oh, dear.” Crystal is concerned. “Mr. Hunter, you should go lie down. I’ll take care of everything here.”

Dean agrees by nodding his head. He instantly leaves the kitchen for the safety of his room.
Who is going to bake Todd’s cake now?
He groans, calling back, “Just don’t do the cake. Leave the cake. I’ll tend to it later.”

“Don’t you worry about anything, Mr. Hunter. Mama Elena taught me how to bake. I can handle this. Now, where is your recipe?” As her voice fades, Dean groans in disappointment. He had wanted to do all this for Todd, had it all planned out, and then that girl had to show up.
No, it’s not her fault
, he tries to remind himself,
stop blaming women.
But he can’t stop himself, and even though he is aware of the unjust nature of his thoughts, he continues to berate Crystal Albright for her presence.

After dinner, Todd slips away from the festivities to visit Papa Dean in the master bedroom. Although surprised to see Dean looking quite healthy, Todd believed Crystal when she said he was really ill. He had thrown up in the kitchen sink, she said. Besides, Papa Dean would never abandon him. “Hey, Papa Dean, how are you feeling?”

Dean sits upright on the bed. Blinking his left eye, Dean turns off the news wave he was watching through his vocal contact lens, colloquially referred to as “the voc.” The voc was the last of the new technology to enter Hadrian pre-6-13: phone, video, game console, timekeeper, camera, and wave link (with holographic screen and keyboard all in one). Microscopic solar batteries combined with the salt water of the eye help to keep the vocal lens charged. Coupled with a tactic tattoo or ear jewelry installed with microphone and speakers, the individual is constantly connected with Hadrian’s information wave. “I’m feeling a lot better, son. I’m so sorry I’m missing your party.” Concerned that Crystal might have botched Todd’s dinner and the cake, he asks, “Did everything taste all right?”

“O, wow, Papa Dean; that supper was amazing.” Todd’s smile fans Dean’s heart. “Crystal said you had everything ready and that all she had to do was pop the buns in the oven. That beef stew was really something else. What were those big doughy things in it?”

“Those are called dumplings. My papa…” Dean pauses momentarily, feeling the loss of dear family connections before continuing, “used to make them for me all the time.”

“They were delicious.” Todd sits down beside Papa Dean. Dean reaches forward and rubs the back of Todd’s new shirt. It is made of thick hemp, a plant grown in Hadrian, so a common fabric, and dyed dark beige with a green foliage pattern (all dyes made by Dean using plants from his garden). “This shirt is really nice, Papa Dean. Thank you so much. Where did you get it?”

“I bought the fabric and designed the pattern myself. I chose to handsew. I thought that would make it more personal.”

“Wow!” Todd looks down at his shirt with new eyes, filled with admiration. “You handsewed this?”

Dean smiles. “Designed the pattern myself.” Musing, he adds, “I sewed one for Frank’s birthday last month, but he’s never worn it. Isn’t flashy enough for him, I guess.”

“Well, then Frank’s just stupid. I think this shirt is amazing!”

The shirt is simple in its construction. The collar is only one-inch wide and is double the thickness of the rest of the shirt. The front panels, where the buttons and buttonholes go, are also double thickness and folded identically to the collar, as are the cuffs. Dean would have liked to create two buttonholes for cuff links, but Geoffrey advised him to go with buttons. “There is no point
giving the boy what he can’t afford, and you always go overboard for his birthdays,” Geoffrey had remonstrated with Dean quite sternly. “How do you think Mike feels when Todd comes home bearing your expensive gifts—things he can never afford to buy the boy?”

“If Mike paid more attention to his son, I’d care,” Dean answered back.

To which Geoffrey reminded Dean, “Todd is not your son, and you have to trust that Mike Fulton is taking care of him.”

But he’s not taking good care of him!
Dean wants to yell back at Geoffrey when he suddenly realizes he is not arguing with his husband but sitting in his bedroom talking with Todd. It is amazing how powerful some memories can be, creating their presence so strongly in the moment.

Todd, sensing Papa Dean’s distress, reaches forward to wrap his arms around the man’s neck. “I love the shirt. Thank you so much, Papa Dean.”

Still hugging Todd, Dean asks, “Is your friend still here?”

“Crystal? No. She had to go home.”

“I’m sorry she left so early,” Dean lies while smiling freely. “You know I am feeling a little better. Would you mind if I rejoined the party? I’d like to taste some of that cake I had hoped to make for you.”

“Crystal did a really good job!” Todd doesn’t realize how much his words hurt Dean.

Swallowing his disappointment, Dean determines to sound chipper, so he claps his hands together and declares, “Well, then I better taste it to make sure it really is good.” Winking, he adds, “It’s not like we get chocolate every day.”

Todd winces. “Mr. Hunter wasn’t too happy when he saw that cake.”

Dean laughs. “I didn’t think he would be. The chocolate I purchased was contraband. But today is your birthday so he simply has to endure it.”

“You shouldn’t get yourself into trouble for me, Papa Dean.”

Dean gets up and Todd follows him to the door. “I can handle Geoffrey. Let’s you and I go join the rest.”

As they walk down the hall, Todd proposes, “Hey, Papa Dean, how about when I become a bioengineer like my dad, I genetically alter the cocoa bean so we can grow it up here?”

Dean wraps an arm around Todd’s shoulder. “That’s a wonderful idea, Todd. Best I’ve heard in years. Until then, though, let’s go enjoy what’s left of your illicit birthday cake.”

The legacy our forefathers have left us is never more prevalent than in days like this one. We all know of the changes to the earth’s weather systems as a result of global warming. We live in what used to be a thick boreal forest that is now more grassland. We live near what used to be tundra, now mostly boreal forest. Hudson Bay was once the world’s largest inland body of salt water—no more. As well as having to live with radical changes to earth’s bio-system, we also have to contend with the excesses of extreme weather. Without warning, the weather will change and, suddenly, we find ourselves swamped by torrential rainstorms or tornadoes descending where least expected. Worse yet are the super cell thunderstorms that used to show up only over locations much further south such as Montana in what used to be the United States of America, now a smattering of smaller countries, much like our own old Canada. What we are experiencing right now, over both southern quadrants and all of Antinous, is equivalent to the kinds of storms that used to hit desert regions in the rainy season. Meteorologists suggest that the rains pounding down on us will last for weeks. Tighten your belts, Hadrians, as very little yield is likely to come from this year’s crops. Already, city dwellers are complaining of having lost the bulk of their precious topsoil, and farmers are looking out, not onto the fields they have planted (if indeed they have planted any seed at all!), but at lakes! The question that sits in everyone’s mind right now is whether, after the rains finally stop and all the drainage has occurred, there will be enough time, and
top soil
, left for planting, growing, and harvest. I do hope you have taken precautions over the years and have extra preserves from last year’s growth since it is very likely our grocery stores will suffer a shortage of fresh fruit, grains, and vegetables this year! Remember, we do not bring in the same level of import as we have in the past. When a rough year hits
Hadrian, we must all be prepared to ride out the worst of it. If your stores are low, do not be proud; speak to your neighbors. I am certain many a prudent man or woman has extra rations and will be more than willing to share.

Vale!