How Lucius Marcundus accidentally brought down the Roman Republic

By Eric Damon
(part IV)

When Lucius woke early that morning he saw the naked breasts of his wife Tullia. She lay next to him and the blanket only covered little of her body. “What a beautiful thing she is” Lucius thought.
When he returned back to Rome from Athens some years ago his father Manius Marcundus had organised the marriage with Tullia. She was a tall woman with brown hair and a friendly face. She came from a rich family in the order of the knights with some relatives being even being senators; she was also unusually well educated and stunningly good with numbers (which was an immense help to the Marcundus family business). The whole marriage was a gain of prestige to the family and a sign of their growing wealth. They came along well, both enjoyed their lives and often both made fun about each others in quite the absurd way. Their crowning achievement so far was Servillia, their two year old daughter.
Feeling thirsty Lucius stood up fetching a mug of water. While pouring the drink into a cup he noticed that a necklace on his bed table. The centre piece was made out of stone and had the profile of a young woman on it. He knew all to well who she was for he had actually carved the face into stone. Lucius silently took the necklace and went out to the garden where he could feel the sun rise onto this young day. Standing in the fresh spring grass he mumbled “Vibia”.
He and Vibia met at a party in Athens some ten years ago. It was the same place where he first met Caesar. After that fateful night he started having a sexual affair with Vibia which went on for a few months. Those were the most passionate nights with a woman he had ever had. She had a unique look with black long hair and he used to say that making love to her was like dancing naked with a goddess. Looking at her face carved in stone Lucius memory brought back her wonderful smell, something he recalled being between dark grapes and resins dripped in honey.

He sighted.

Lucius realised that he loved both women in his life, his wife Tullia and his long gone affair Vibia. But the latter he loved with a passion that he could not describe, nor could he tell anyone, except for his old childhood friend Tiberius who was far too pragmatic to really understand his feelings.

Lucius was 22 when he last saw her. Next week he would turn 30. And even after all this years he could not get her out of his head. How was she doing? Was she married? Did she have children? Was she still alive?
He could hear Tiberius speaking in his head: ‘Better get her out of your mind. You have everything you want: A lovely smart wife, a healthy child and a business that earns you a lot of money’.
But Lucius heart was filled with agony. He wanted something else. It was the call of the wild, the lust for adventure. To leave everything behind, he thought, maybe only for a year or two. Feel freedom for a while - Maybe in Northern Gaul for example. Seeing the large dangerous woods and the wild animals he heard so much lately with Claudius Nero fighting Gallic tribes there.

“Maybe Tiberius is right” he thought, “I’m better of this way.”
Lucius went back to bed and kissed his wife on the neck, trying his luck for some pleasant good morning sex.