Past Lives

'Frances,' was all that Lukas said.

'She'll expect him tomorrow,' Paul said, 'we'll have to do the work in the afternoon for once. We'll all be there when you tell her. But Lukas, she will be all right, she is very strong, and she has known John would settle from the first. Don't worry too much for her.

She will miss him, though, her buddy in the garden.'

Edward was smiling at Lukas now, and of course he could not resist that cute little face, he kissed the chubby cheeks and they talked for a while, without words.

Paul and Melissa sat together, looking at the scene before them, hearts melting. Seeing Lukas so intensely happy with his little boy, Melissa couldn't even remember being so afraid of having a child to care for.

Lukas had been totally right, they all shared the responsibility, and all their family and friends were eager to help out. And having friends with a child the same age was just such great fun.

Melissa was of two minds seeing John leave. On the one hand, she would miss him a lot, he fit into their lives so perfectly, and they had had great times together.

But somehow he was too good for what he had been here, his qualities lost on manual labour, his chances of his own business in what he was really good at limited to what Frances was willing to grant him, some space in her greenhouse, a field on their estate.

But John was so much more, Melissa could picture him living a small life easily, but she felt much happier picturing him running a large vineyard, experimenting with new breeds of grape, introducing coffee to his ancient world, raising exotic trees and plants in a little corner close to a well.

But especially, she pictured him teaching his people how to live their own lives, to pray to the gods for help and support, but to solve most of their own problems by themselves. Hermes had done it, Aphrodite was working on it, and Melissa truly hoped John would be next.

'I wonder how he will like being called Dionysus again,' she said to her beloved men.

'He won't,' stated Paul.

'He'll be the best god ever, and the people will call him what he likes,' Lukas said.

And that was totally true.