Page 38 of Nikolai
As an answer, Nick sat on the ground and pulled from his backpack a ruggedized tablet that looked like it could withstand gunfire and settled against the ladder, not touching anything.
He switched on the tablet, gave a thumbs up and grinned at her.“I’ve got three contracts to go over and some after-action reports to study.I’ll be fine.Call me if you need anything.”
He looked settled and content.He was doing his thing.Okay.That meant that Parker could do her thing.She disappeared into her head and into the Roman villa and slid back two thousand years.As she walked around, drinking in the shape of the villa, with what must have been a garden with a fountain at its center, the book began to take shape in her head.
It was always an exciting moment when a thousand factoids began to coalesce, when she could start toseethe book.And maybe the documentary.An incredible feeling.
In the back of her mind, she was aware that this fast coming together of a thesis, of the heart of the book, was also thanks to the blond giant sitting quietly in the main room of the villa.She’d left him scrolling through his oversized tablet, engrossed, but she had no doubt that if there were a problem, he’d snap into action.A mantle of protection had been spread over her, allowing her to sink into the project.She didn’t have to pay attention to the outside world because he was doing it for her.
She was so steeped in Roman culture that she could feel, could almostseethe life of Lucius Varrus.The rhythms of it, the seasons.From the documentation she and her nerdlings had been able to gather, Lucius Varrus never went back to Rome.He lived during the reign of Caligula, and it was a period marked by the dangers of having an insane man with vast powers rule over you.
They hadn’t mapped out the entire villa yet, but initial ground radar showed room after room after room, with small structures adjacent to the villa.If she interpreted the situation correctly, Varrus owned a vast landholding and would be, in many ways, self-sufficient.Self-sufficient in food and water.The Roman empire was still peaceful, and he wouldn’t have to worry about thieves or bandits.He would have had a pleasant life.Subject to taxation, of course, but far enough outside the immediate reach of Rome to fashion for himself an independent existence.The household, comprising immediate and extended family, a farm manager and his family, and a number of slaves, would have been large.Over a hundred people.
She walked around, taking hundreds of photos and videos and dictating her thoughts into the recording app of her phone.
It was really coming together.
Just as she was dictating her thoughts about food self-sufficiency, her stomach rumbled, and she checked the time.Past noon.Time for lunch.They’d had a nice breakfast but then they’d burned a ton of calories in the night.
As she walked into the frescoed room where she’d left Nick, he looked up.Their eyes met.It was like a punch to the stomach, but a nice one.
“You up for lunch?”she asked.
He smiled.“God yeah.”
And she realized he was hungry, but that he wouldn’t have said anything until she wanted to eat.Luckily, she’d packed a really nice lunch.
Parker sat down next to Nick, cross-legged, and pulled the cooler over.“Let it not be said that I put you to work and didn’t feed you.”
His eyes lit up.“God forbid.”
“Okay, we’re starting with sandwiches.Tuna and ham and cheese.Which do you want first?”
“Tuna.”
“Here you go.”She handed over a jumbo tuna sandwich with a smile.She was really proud of her tuna sandwiches.Thick slices of fresh sourdough bread, lightly toasted, lots of creamy tuna salad.The sandwich was over an inch thick.
Nick took a big bite and his eyes widened.He swallowed.“Whoa.”
She took a bite of her own.Yeah, it was good.
Nick bent his head over the cooler.“What else you got in here?”
“Let’s see… Ham and cheese sandwiches, chunks of parmesan cheese with apple slices, a container with a tomato and mozzarella salad, another container with a big slice of eggplant parmesan, two slices of Mrs.Da Costa’s lemon cake, one extra-large and one normal, and some grapes.”Enough even for the appetite of a big guy.“Oh, and drinks.”She pulled out two large thermoses, took two tin cups and poured the contents of one in.“Here.You must be thirsty.The second thermos is water.”
He chugged the tin cup and shook his head.“Wow.Freshly squeezed orange juice and…?”
“Lemon and honey.”
He polished everything off quickly and neatly, scrupulously eating only his half and making sure she ate.It was past noon and hot, and her appetite disappeared in the heat.After half a tuna sandwich, a couple of bites of eggplant parmesan and fruit, she was done, insisting that Nick continue.After offering her food a billion times, he finally understood she didn’t want any more and finished everything off, down to the last crumbs of Mrs.Da Costa’s lemon cake.
Parker finished half an hour before him and watched him eat, pleased.He loved everything.“Man,” he said finally, leaning back against the ladder.“That’s the second-best meal I’ve had in years.”
Parker smiled.“It was just a picnic lunch.”
Nick shook his head.“It was pure ambrosia of the gods.Everything is perfect.The only thing missing was tiramisu but—” he shot her a sly look.“You’re going to feed me tiramisu tonight, right?”
“Count on it.Three bowls full if you can manage.Creamy and chocolatey.”
