The Decision
Author's Note: Nope, I don't claim the various musical artist' lyric clips I will be using to set the mood of each chapter; nor do I own Hanna Barbarra's 1972 long lost classic, "The Roman Holidays", which unsuccessfully attempted to capture audiences as their predecessors, the Flintstones and Jetsons; in fact, all I have to go on is an episode guide, audio recordings of their thirteen episodes and a youtube clip of the opening credits. Because of possible inaccuracies or vague physical description of the characters, any feedback is welcome. Please be kind when reviewing, as I am doing my best with what I have. I just wanted to see if I could give writing for this cartoon a go. This story is also dedicated to a dear friend of mine from my church who passed away recently; rest in peace, Ralph and live happily with God forever! Please enjoy this adventure of a modern day family in ancient Rome circa 64 AD (roughly a year after the cartoon was to take place), where togas are in style; lions are kept as pets; and the family car is a chariot.
Chapter 1 – One Fateful Night
"When clouds brought rain and disaster came" – Never Let Go by David Crowder Band
"I've had it, Gus!" Laurel Holiday, affectionately known as Laurie, snapped as she rose from her place on the couch and cast steely daggers her husband's way, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "I know you don't like the new guys at the quarry; I know how hard it is for you to watch all your friends getting promoted or transferred away; and nobody wants to be unappreciated by their boss; but you're going to have to stop wallowing in this funk and stop taking out your frustrations at work on us at home! Lately, you've been acting like a dead, burned out shell of a man and not the Gus Holiday we know and love. Maybe you should start taking the long way home so you can burn off some of your anger and frustration before you come through that door and start grumping at your family.
"You think it's that easy?" Augustus "Gus" Holiday shot back, clearly under the impression that his wife just didn't get it. He, a proud man whose head was adorned with a laurel wreath for service in the Roman Army, was wont to believe that if he was not able to provide for his wife and two children, he had no purpose in life and should therefore be dispatched to the afterlife. Anything was better than failing his dependents! "When we got married, I promised I would take good care of you and our kids, something I'm obviously not doing very well! I'm working with guys half my age and having to support a family of four and a ravenous lion on the same money they make. Of course, they have it easier because they only have to worry about themselves or become roommates and split the cost between them. If I hear one more of those snot nosed little squirts fresh out of their mommy's homes asking me why I haven't moved you and the kids into a house by now, I'm going to slam my head into the side of the quarry!" This last fiery statement was punctuated by Gus's thrusting his right fist into his left hand.
"But we have a roof over our heads and clean togas on our backs. The children aren't going to bed hungry at night. We don't need a house for you to be able to provide for us; besides, owning a house can be a headache: repairs, property taxes, landscaping …." Laurie ran two fingers of her right hand along her soft, red hair that was pulled loosely back in a bun.
"And no worries about the landlord wanting to kick us out on a whim; we would be able to keep Brutus without additional rental fees or yet more excuses for Evictus to evict us; there'd be a yard for Precocia to play in; Happy can practice his drums any time he wants; the two of us can grow old together on our own back porch and look forward to our mortgage burning party; and I'll know I've given you and the kids everything you need and deserve." The dissatisfied construction worker remained firmly entrenched in his beliefs that being a successful family man meant providing material wealth for his family as many of his fellow Romans had done, seemingly with little to no effort. How could he feel as if he was doing as he was called to do when his peers bragged up a storm while he would fudge his apparently pathetic life to save face among them?
"So you've made yourself bad company because you're going through an 'I'm fed up with apartment life' phase?" Laurie queried as she turned for a moment and took a sip from the glass of ice water she left on the coffee table.
"It's not just the apartment; how are we going to put the kids through college; how are we going to keep our heads above water when prices go up faster than my wages? I've lost count of all the temporary jobs I've had to take to keep us out of the red!" Gus began to pace the living room floor, his hands gesticulating almost as quickly as the words flowed from his lips. "The only way I can pull off supporting us is if I A) re-home Brutus to a relative who can afford him, which would upset the kids; B) go back to Ignasius' restaurant and take that dishwashing job on a permanent basis, which would mean all of you would see a whole lot less of me since I'd have to eat my dinner there and only come home long enough to sleep; or C) get a promotion complete with nice fat raise, but getting that raise won't happen any time soon. If I'd have been able to finish college, I'd have been the man you deserve to have."
"Dropping out wasn't your fault, honey. You couldn't help not finishing college. Your father was called into battle and fell by the sword, and you had to join the Roman Army and do what you could to support the family until your brother was able to step up and take care of your mother. And let me tell you something, if I wanted a college man, I would have fallen in love with one. I fell in love with you, not with the job you were doing, not with the money you made, but with a man who was honest and knew how to make me feel loved and safe around him. When I first went out with you, I just knew that you were the one I would spend the rest of my life with. I don't care if we have to live in a tent, just as long as we're together."
"You're saying that now, but will you still feel the same way if we really did have to live in a tent and eat off tin camping dishes and sleep in sleeping bags on the ground? You do know if Evictus keeps raising the rent or looking for every excuse he can to toss us out, we might have to do that someday."
"Oh stop borrowing trouble."
"Who's borrowing trouble? You know how unreasonable that jerk can be. I remember how he tried to kick us out of here because Brutus pined all night and day over that female lion from the zoo. How about when we had to find a prom date for his daughter to keep from being evicted because of what Brutus did with the wet cement? Let's not forget how he went to great lengths to make us look like noisy tenants with that hypersensitive noise meter he set up aimed at our window. And don't forget how he refused to renew our lease when we were both entered in the Father of the Year contest; he tore up the lease before they found out the contest ended up in a tie, and I had to paste the thing back together again."
"All of those situations worked out for the best, and we didn't lose the apartment."
"Don't you get sick of always having to worry about if or even when we'd not have a roof over our heads? I know Precocia's even got an empty suitcase ready to pack in her closet just in case we're out on our butts. I'm telling you, Laurie, if I could be a better provider, I'd have us safe and secure, where you and the kids wouldn't ever have to worry about losing food or shelter, and can, maybe just maybe, have a nice resort vacation without going into deep debt to get it. What does it tell you when I can't give you all that at forty-three? Women have no idea how embarrassing it is to want with every fiber of your being to provide a good life for a family; and I don't mean just getting by. I mean giving them what they'd love to have on top of just what they need. You'd think Tycoonius would have promoted me to a better paying job, but no! Aww, who cares, I should have gotten used to this by now; it's just my lot in life to be stuck in that dead end job." As Gus raved in self pity, Laurie rolled her eyes, for she knew that the most stubborn male ego was dictating her partner's mood in a negative way, so much so that she was wont to believe his blood pressure would be normal if he would just toss his pride aside.
"Oh for pity's sake, none of us are complaining, and you're doing a perfectly fine job supporting this family! Maybe we're not rich or ever hope to be, but we're happy and healthy, Gus. The only one who seems dissatisfied is you, and it's only since those new men started working at the construction company. Don't let them make you feel like less of a man because you're not supporting us according to their expectations." Laurie knew that her husband was truly stressed to the point where he was at the end of his string and only a relaxing activity would make him decent enough company at bedtime. "Look, dear, you might want to bowl a game or two and get some of this out of your system before you come to bed tonight; otherwise, if you're going to stay in this mood, you can take your pillow and an extra blanket and sleep in here. Your sullen state is bringing the rest of us down, and is that any way for a father to behave with his family?"
"Maybe you're right, honey, I suddenly feel the urge to knock over some pins." The patriarch drew a heavy sigh as he retrieved his bowling ball and cloak from the hall closet and kissed his wife good-bye. Maybe he couldn't be the provider he wanted to be, a problem that plagued him on a regular basis lately; however, he could at least take some short term pleasure in a physical activity at which he had proven to excel. "Don't wait up for me; I might bowl more than just one or two games."
"Drive carefully; the weather forecast said the winds are going to pick up tonight; they even think we're in for a bad wind storm."
"If we are, I'm sure they'll close the bowling alley early and send us home before the major winds have a chance to kick up. Bye, honey." With that, he swung open the front door and disappeared in search of some badly needed stress relief.
As the hours passed and the howling winds swept their wrathful hand over the city of Rome, Laurie was consumed by a dreadful feeling that something had gone terribly wrong, and Brutus, the family lion's whimpering and pacing through the apartment was no help what so ever. When the storm had knocked out power along most of the neighborhood, she, thankful that the phone lines were still working, contacted the bowling alley, only to hear from the proprietor that he sent everyone to the high school and was closing down because the predicted winds were thought to be strong enough to knock a man from his chariot. The high school was a designated storm shelter, and all the patrons of the bowling alley were instructed to go there and phone home to let their families know they were safe. No sooner did Laurie fix herself some coffee to settle her nerves when the phone's jangling bells lanced the constant howling of the winds whose ruthless wrath would be no match for a mother lioness that was robbed of her cubs!
"Gus, are you …" her words were cut off by a friendly voice that was not that of her spouse.
"Mrs. Holiday, it's Herman, Groovia's father, I'm calling from the high school …" The gentleman cut himself off in mid sentence when he came to the realization that the slender red-head was expecting to have heard the reassuring tones of her husband. "Hey, wait a second, Gus isn't home yet? I just knew he'd really gotten himself in trouble trying to drive home in this lousy weather.
"What's this? I thought he would have been with you. The man at the bowling alley said everyone had been sent to the high school; Gus should be there now."
"You're right, he should be here, but he had to be stubborn as an ox and said he thought he could beat the storm home. When the centurions tried to warn him that the winds were picking up faster than expected, he told them he had served in the Army as a charioteer and knew how to drive under dangerous conditions and that he would be all right. They told him to be extremely careful if he insisted on driving home, and they told him to abandon his chariot if the weather worsened and to seek shelter anywhere he could find until the storm was over. That was the last I saw of him before he drove away. That's why I called you before calling Henrietta and Groovia; I wanted to be sure that he made it home safely, and I figured you could get word to Henrietta that I'm all right since there's a mile long line of people waiting for the phone."
"Herman, I'll be happy to call your family for you; but first, can you tell me how long ago did Gus leave?"
"Well, I've been standing in line waiting for the phone for twenty minutes, so I would guess it's been a half hour."
"Then he should have made it home by now."
"Mrs. Holiday, I know it's easy to assume the worst when a loved one is overdue during a storm, but unless we find out otherwise, we have to believe he's all right. Remember, no news is good news. He's probably hold up some place there isn't a phone, waiting for the winds to die down enough for him to get the rest of the way home. If he's an Army veteran, he would know how to survive under dangerous conditions."
"I hope you're right, Herman."
"For what it's worth, you're not the only one at their whit's end; we may not always be the best of buddies or ever promise to be considering the differences we've had in the past, but I don't want to see harm come to him or anybody else who's stuck out there either." When the sharp tones of a highly disgruntled man interrupted the discourse shared by the concerned pair, Herman drew a heavy sigh and changed the subject when he would have rather given Mrs. Holiday more words of comfort and encouragement. "I really hate to cut you off, but there's still a line of people behind me waiting impatiently for the phone. Don't worry, I think your hubby will either come through that door or be accounted for before the night is out."
"Thank you, Herman. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
When the phone clicked into silence, Laurie felt as though she had been cut off from her very lifeline. Her heart hammering in her chest, she quickly contacted Herman's family to pass along the news that they need not worry about him, for he was waiting out the storm in a designated shelter. As badly as she wanted to seek encouragement from Henrietta, Laurie knew that she had to keep her line open in case Gus was to phone. It seemed to take an eternity for the winds to die down, and sufficient time had passed for the missing Roman to return, even if he were forced to abandon his chariot and walk home. However, he failed to come through that door, thus causing Laurie to drown in the rushing torrents of fear, fear that something might have happened to him. Sleep would not overtake her, and she was unwilling to even think of going to bed until she got word on Gus one way or another. Hopefully, he would have sought shelter at someone's house or another building whose door was open, but if that were so, why didn't he call her to let her know he was all right?
Suddenly a heavy hand knocked on the front door with four sharp pounds, causing the frazzled woman to leap out of her skin! If Gus had forgotten his house key, his knock certainly wouldn't have sounded like that! Dread and sickening nausea had to only be magnified one hundred fold when her "Who is it?" was answered by only one word, "Centurion". Trembling all over, she padded over to the door and gripped the knob with a right hand that shook so violently that it was a wonder she could have gotten the door open at all.
"Are you Mrs. Gus Holiday?" a formidable sandy haired man who, standing at six feet four, towered over the distraught lady.
"I … I … Uh … What's happened to Gus?" she nervously floundered for the words to say, hoping for the best, but not able to extinguish the possibility this man might be announcing her new widow's status.
"Ma'am, I know you're worried about your husband and that you had expected to see him coming through this door instead of me. May I come in please? I think we need to talk."
"Uh … c-come in then …" she ushered for the law enforcement officer to enter and indicated the couch on which he was invited to sit. As soon as she ducked into the kitchen and returned with some coffee for her guest, she sat in Gus's favorite chair and gripped the arm rests with white knuckled hands as if it would be responsible for bringing him back from whatever dire straits he might be in.
Whimper whimper. Brutus slowly dragged his paws to Laurie's side and peered up to her, sensing something was horribly wrong. Whimper, sob sob. He laid his head on her lap, his salty tears leaving wet dots on her toga.
"Ma'am, I realize this isn't an easy time for you, and I would be doing you a disservice if I hid the truth from you. I won't beat around the bush," the no nonsense officer began, "we found a runaway chariot with no driver causing problems in the down town area. We were able to bring the horse under control and get it back to the station. We found a bowling bag in the chariot and decided to check and see if there was any identifying mark or a name on the bag or the ball inside. We found this along with a brown bowling ball that has the name 'Gus Holiday' written between the thumb and finger holes. Does this belong to your husband?" He passed a gray wallet with dog-eared corners to the forty-one-year-old who closed the fingers of her right hand around it as if her very heart would stop beating if she were to let go of it.
"Oh no! This is Gus's! Please tell me, what's happened to him?" she, her left arm wrapped around Brutus, cried out in panic, forgetting at this point that she would awaken the children.
"I know this has to be very frightening for you, Mrs. Holiday, but rest assured, we're doing all we can to locate your husband. We're not sure what exactly has happened to him; as I said the chariot was empty when we found it. Chances are he might have either fallen out or abandoned it when the winds picked up. We had to wait until the winds died down a bit before deploying a search detail, but we now have men combing the area where the chariot was found for a five mile radius. If Mr. Holiday is found injured, we will take him to the hospital immediately, and if he has fled on foot, our officers will get him into the nearest shelter if he hasn't been found in one already, and check in with the rest of us as to his whereabouts. The second we find out anything, we will pass the information on to you."
Moan moan sob sob sob sob sob sob. Hearing that his master was missing, Brutus bawled even harder, leaving a little lake of teardrops in the lady's lap. Sob sob sob sob whimper whimper sob sob sob.
"Easy, Brutus, it's going to be OK. They'll find Gus," she tried ardently to console her pet and herself as she whispered to him and patted his side.
"What's going on here?" teenager Happius, "Happy" Holiday yawned as he emerged from his bedroom, immediately feeling his guts swirl as if caught in a whirlpool upon seeing the policeman and noticing the ashen countenance of his mother.
"Happy, go back to bed, I'm sorry I woke you, sweetie," Laurie, while wiping the first traces of misty teardrops away with the back of her hand, tried her best to dismiss her son, for she didn't want him to find out his father was missing – not this way and not at this time!
Whimper whimper sob sob sob sob sob. Brutus slipped out from under Laurie's arm and sought solace from the youth by nuzzling into his torso.
"No, I won't go back to bed! What's up with Brutus, and what's going on around here? Where's Dad?" the dark haired seventeen-year-old demanded, his fatigued state now evaporated and replaced with an alert frame of mind that would have people left with the impression that he was prepared to drop out of high school and join the ranks of the Roman Army right then and there!
"Shshshshsh, we don't want to wake up Precocia," the matriarch admonished, raising a finger to her lips and shaking her head.
"Too late," red haired grade schooler Precocia Holiday groggily groaned as she exited her room while rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Is something wrong? Did something happen to Daddy?" she blurted out when she observed the absence of her father and the presence of a law enforcement officer.
Whimper sob sob sob. Brutus turned his attention to the youngest member of the clan and nuzzled her at chest level.
"Something did happen to Daddy didn't it? Why else would Brutus be acting like this?" she, her eyes growing saucer wide, cried out, trying ardently not to panic.
"Now, kids, I'll handle this. Staying up half the night worrying won't bring Daddy home any faster. Until we hear otherwise, we have to believe he's all right." Laurie was just as terrified of the prospect of losing Gus as ever, but she had to remain strong for her children's sake, for they would need her encouragement at a time like this.
While the holidays sat in wait for any news, good or bad, the winds, though considerably calmer than they were an hour ago, still stirred up with a fury that could only be compared to that of an avenger of blood hunting for and closing in on his foe. The officers who were assigned to seek any fallen men or folks who were caught in the storm stumbled around in the darkness, uncertain if they would retrieve the target of their search.
"Over here!" one of the centurions bellowed at the top of his lungs, unsure if the winds would carry his words away before his co-workers would have a chance to hear them. "I found something over here!" When another officer quickly arrived at his partner's side, the first man held a lantern over the fallen form that was covered from head to toe in a thin layer of dirt and tiny bits of debris that had been whipped up by the high winds. "It could be the guy who belongs to that run away chariot we brought in earlier!" Squatting low so he could address the motionless man, he checked for a pulse at the carotid artery and then tapped the victim's left cheek in hopes of reviving him. "He's alive … Sir, can you hear me! Can you hear me!" He swore under his breath as his hand balled into a fist of frustration. "No response; we'll have to get him to the hospital before anything else happens to him out here! Any of those larger tree branches fall on him, and we're looking at major trouble!" Turning to his partner, he ordered, "Check for ID! If he has family, we'll have to alert them!"
"I don't see any!" the other policeman shouted after having scanned the surrounding area for a wallet and searching through the fellow's cloak and toga.
"Chief, we have an unconscious male a few yards off the main road … appearing to be in his early forties … no ID … send the paramedics … We'll stay with him until they arrive … It appears he was hit in the head by some projectile … cut doesn't appear to be too deep, but there is lots of blood … We're about three and a half blocks north of the bowling alley!" The law enforcement officer belted out his report into the two way radio that kept him in contact with headquarters.
"Roger!" a tinny representation of the chief's voice answered back, barely heard over the angry winds.
Meanwhile, the Holiday family, in the warmth and safety of their living room, heard the entire drama playing out via the visiting policeman's two way radio. Though the possibility of the family's becoming fatherless had been held at bay for now, nobody could relax after having acquired the stomach churning knowledge that the comatose victim could be their missing family member. Brutus resumed his pacing, which had increased in speed, and he nuzzled or cried on the laps of Laurie, Happy, and Precocia as though they could explain the reason his master was nowhere to be seen. Unable to bring herself to words, Precocia buried her face in her sibling's chest and shook violently, resisting the urge to burst into tears, for she feared that if the wails issued forth from her, she would not be able to stop. Fright seized her like a bony hand threatening to choke the life from her, as Gus Holiday had never gone missing before, and he had never been rendered unconscious and hospitalized due to injuries as far as she could remember. He did once go in for pneumonia, but Laurie had prepared her and Happy for Gus's temporary departure. Somehow this felt different to her, very different.
"Is that Dad they're talking about?" Happy inquired, his arms snaking around Precocia in a big brother's comforting gesture and his eyes remaining fixed on the talking device as if it were the one to provide all his answers instead of the living breathing officer who sat on the couch partaking of the hot coffee Laurie had presented him with upon his entry into their apartment.
"It's possible; however, there could be other townspeople who are caught out in the storm and could be similarly injured. Mrs. Holiday, does your husband have any distinctive marks on his body such as a scar or birth mark? Are there any other distinguishing features you can provide so we can determine who this gentleman might be?"
"Well, he's got dark, wavy hair and is wearing a laurel wreath. He also has a birth mark on the back of his left ankle, about half an inch; it looks kind of like an oblong raisin." Upon receiving the umpteenth cold, wet nudge from her pet, she shooed him away with the wave of her left hand. "Brutus, we don't know where Gus is, and there's nothing we can do right now. You'd better go lie down; I know you're upset, but you're getting under foot, and that's not going to bring him back any faster." She turned her attention to the centurion to apologize for taking the current subject off topic. "I'm sorry, centurion; Brutus loves Gus and is just worried about him."
"I do understand, Mrs. Holiday; I have two lion cubs at home that get like that when I'm overdue from a late night assignment." Retrieving his radio, he opened a frequency. "Search Detail, I'm with a family who has someone missing in the storm. Does the victim have dark, wavy hair and a laurel wreath?"
"The victim does have dark, wavy hair; laurel wreath looks to be slightly damaged but reparable."
"Check the victim's left ankle for an oblong birth mark, approximately half an inch in length and reportedly shaped like a raisin," the officer mandated. "I have reason to believe it might be that guy who owns that runaway chariot we're holding back at the station."
"Affirmative, there is a mark as you described on the victim's left ankle. We have already sent for the paramedics to take him to the hospital and get that wound patched up."
"Acknowledged." The policeman set his radio aside and shot back the last swallow of coffee in his goblet before placing it on the end table to his right. "Mrs. Holiday, the worst of the storm has passed, but we don't' advise anyone riding a chariot until the winds calm down some more. I can take you to the hospital to go see your husband; however, we'll have to go on foot."
"But if we can't drive, how will you get Gus there?" When Brutus approached her, obviously having failed to heed her command and giving her a sloppy lick up the left side of her head, Laurie tapped his nose and spoke more sternly, but not unkindly. "Brutus, I told you there is nothing we can do for Gus; I want you to go lie down! Go in the kitchen and lie down now!"
Grumble grumble grumble. With that, the family pet snorted as if to say, "Sheesh, what a grouch" and padded into the kitchen as he was told.
"Mrs. Holiday, you can rest assured the paramedics are trained in transporting patients under adverse conditions; they will get Mr. Holiday to the hospital safely. A detail of four will check him for broken bones, bind him to a litter, and carry him themselves if they have to. Normally, they would load and secure the litter onto an extension that is attached to a chariot or sling it between two horses; however in these winds, it's safest for the patient and more time efficient if the paramedics carry the litter, two at each end."
"I understand, officer." She turned to face her son and daughter who remained frozen on the couch trying to digest the tidal wave of events that swirled in their heads since they exited their rooms and learned all was not well with their father. "Happy, you and Precocia stay here while I find out what's going on with your father. I know it'll be hard, but try to get some rest. I promise I will call the second I find out any news." With that, Laurie swiftly flitted over to the closet and donned her cloak. "Don't worry, everything will be OK," she uttered these words in hopes of convincing herself as well as her children.
"Come on, Precocia, let's listen to some tunes," Happy suggested a distraction to help soothe his little sister's nerves that were wearing thin with no small thanks to this scary incident. "We can't crank 'em too loud because of the noise curfew though; we don't want Mr. Evictus coming after us."
"How are we going to play any music without the power, Hap? Stereos don't exactly run on coffee." the young girl arched her eyebrows as she met Happy's eyes.
"My clock radio runs on batteries. Come on, sis, a little music will help keep our minds off Dad for a little while." The mop top teenager rose with his left arm wrapped around the youngest Holiday's shoulders and escorted her to his bedroom while Laurie ventured out into the inclement weather with the police officer who guided her and guarded her from airborne projectile as they trudged through the mud and debris on their way to the hospital.
Fortunately, while Laurie and her police escort braved the elements while en route to their destination, the paramedics arrived on the scene and descended upon the fallen victim, wasting no time in checking him for broken bones and to see that his vital signs were stable. One man uttered a string of several profane words when he detected a tell tale swelling that presented prominently enough to be felt through the patient's toga.
"He may have one or two severely bruised or fractured ribs caused by impact when he hit the ground! Careful! We don't want to take any chances with any possible fractures!" a paramedic ordered, working in unity with his three partners to gingerly lift the fallen patient, position him onto the litter, and cover him up with a heavy blanket in case he were to awaken and go into shock. "Someone hand over those ropes! Julius and Remus, you two hold him steady while Lucus and I lash him down! If he falls, any broken bones will suffer greater damage, and that would mean big trouble for this guy!" As soon as they were certain Gus was safely tied to his rudimentary conveyance, they all took their positions at each end, ready to run! "Let's go!" the leader bellowed, determined to get the patient into shelter as quickly as possible. They ran with all their might against the wind, making certain nothing further would happen to the unconscious man, who, unbeknown to him, was about to begin a chain of events that would ultimately change his life forever.