Movement III: The Janiculum

The sound of sizzling and enticing smell of bacon made Marcus shoot awake. He jumped with surprise as he found himself staring at Esca. Esca was smiling as he crouched in front of the couch with the pan of sizzling bacon waving in front of Marcus's face. "You up now?"

"Yeah," Marcus winced as the sunlight hit him.

Marcus groaned as he plopped down at the table and sleepily munched on the food. If it weren't for the Esca's incredible flavors, Marcus wouldn't have actually tasted the breakfast. His soreness was a sour reminder of the night before which Marcus had officially decided was ruined by Esca's dashing escape.

Esca seemed annoyed that Marcus was so grumpy, but he was weakly trying to cover it up with his oddly over happy mood. Marcus saw right through him.

"Cub?" Marcus attempted conversation.

"School," Esca chuckled. "No different than yesterday."

"Have you ever thought about getting him checked out?" Marcus asked placing his plate in the dishwasher.

Esca shut down, all fake happiness drained immediately. "Drop it," Esca growled.

"I'm just saying, maybe some professional help could make him…" Marcus faded and shrugged.

Esca slammed his fist on the table, "You think I don't know he's not normal? Listen up," Esca said standing directly in front of Marcus and poking him with his finger. "I don't need some rich asshole telling me how to raise my son. Butt out of it!"

If the situation hadn't been so intense, Marcus would have laughed at Esca's bravery. Marcus easily had seven inches on him and plenty more muscle.

Marcus raised his hands in mock surrender as he turned and padded back to the living room, leaving Esca standing in the kitchen, fuming.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Esca yelled following Marcus into the living room.

"Whoa!" Marcus had just stepped out of his gym shorts though he seemed unfazed that he was only in boxers.

"No!" Esca kicked the couch. "You think you can just come over here and tell me what to do with my son in my house…"

"Your house?" Marcus laughed. "Actually it's my…"

Had Marcus been looking at Esca he would've seen the punch coming. However, he'd been picking up his shorts, which gave Esca the perfect opportunity to land a solid fist on Marcus's face sending him stumbling backwards for a moment.

"What the fuck?" Marcus grabbed the side of his face.

"You haven't lived here. You didn't take care of your uncle like I did, everyday!" Esca felt an overbearing sense of grief take over. It was a familiar feeling he'd had in the past, but he had hoped he'd gotten past it.

Marcus's anger faded as he watched what Esca could only imagine looked like a self-destruction.

"I'm sorry," Esca whimpered as he charged out of the room. Marcus followed until he reached the kitchen door and watched as Esca ran across the yard and disappeared in the cottage.

After about an hour of just lying around the house, Marcus's phone began to ring. "Hello?"

"Marcus?"

Marcus almost dropped the phone, "Steve?"

"Hey buddy," Steve sounded different. "What's it been, like a year and a half since we talked?"

"Yeah," Marcus sat down on the couch. "How are you doing?"

"Well I hate to do this to you but…" Steve sighed.

Marcus felt a sinking feeling as Steve's voice trailed off, "What is it?"

"Marcus, I received an offer yesterday," Steve paused. "They want to buy the company."

"Hold on," Marcus was trying to fight his anger bubbling inside him. "I thought we weren't going to sell."

"I think we should. It's a very generous offer," Steve sounded even less sure of himself.

"No."

"I have control of the company," Steve sighed. "In the end it's my decision."

"But…" Marcus was helpless. "But I took over all of your responsibilities when you left!"

"I know, and I appreciate that…" Steve swallowed. "I need the money for a new venture."

"You're starting a different business without me?" Marcus was feeling dizzy. This was his one real friend and in only a year and half he seemed to have completely changed.

"We had such a great time with starting the business, and I really appreciate your help, but let's be honest… it was my idea and I needed your uncle for the funding."

Marcus felt like his chest was collapsing. "You used me?"

"You've done a good job, but the company really isn't where it was before I left. Don't worry, you're going to get your share in the settlement."

"Fine," Marcus couldn't remember a time when he was angrier.

"I'll call you when…"

"Don't ever speak to me again. All other business you'll do through James," Marcus interrupted in reference to their accountant.

Marcus threw his phone. It smacked against the wall and pieces flew off. Marcus deep down hoped that the pieces were just his case, but he was so enraged it was hard to care. He stood up and jumped as he noticed Esca standing in the doorway, silent.

"What?" Marcus yelled.

"Lunch is ready," Esca replied meekly. It seemed the tables had turned and it was Marcus's turn to be pissed off.

Marcus felt bad for yelling, especially since Esca had still made him lunch after their turbulent morning.

"What did you hear?" Marcus grumbled.

"Nothing. It's none of my business," Esca said placing a toasted sandwich on rye and homemade French fries in front of Marcus.

Marcus sighed and bit into the sandwich. Even at his angriest, Esca's flavors were still an amazing comfort. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"I'm sorry too," Esca replied taking a seat at the table.

"Where's your lunch?" Marcus asked.

"Not hungry," Esca shrugged. Marcus hated eating alone.

"I just…" Marcus tried to contain himself. "I just trusted him and… and…"

"….And he stabbed you in the back?" Esca finished.

"Exactly," Marcus sighed. "You said you took care of my uncle."

Esca nodded.

"Did you mean like you cooked for him?" Marcus asked.

"Yes. But also he was very sick," Esca explained. "He had cancer."

Marcus stared at the table. Looking at the bland, brown wood helped him to concentrate on not breaking down. "I used him just like Steve used me."

Esca wanted to console him, but there was just nothing he could say after that.

Marcus left his plate and his half-eaten food sitting on the table, "I'm going to start sorting through his things."

"Okay," Esca said as he began cleaning up after Marcus.

Marcus headed to the living room first. He pulled out the offer from the lawyer and looked at the number again. He'd get a substantial amount from the sale of the company, but at this point Marcus wanted a fresh start and there was one way he could assure that. With pen in hand, Marcus signed the document. Now it just had to be signed by the buyer and the sale process would begin.

Cub's return from school alerted Marcus that he'd been at work in his uncle's secret locked room for about three hours. He took a moment to survey what he'd managed to do. About half of the room was boxed up. He'd gone through the shelf of photo albums of Marcus and through multiple shelves of old books.

Organizing everything helped him to ignore the events of the morning. Marcus finished the third, huge shelving unit of books. As he pressed the large box he'd been filling closed he noticed something odd behind the shelf. Marcus pushed hard shifting the shelves away from the wall. Behind the shelf, cut out of the wall was a makeshift shelf holding a single photo album. Marcus pulled it out and inspected the cover. Apart from a single, large "J" inscribed on the front there was nothing of note.

He opened up to the first page and gasped. The picture had to be from the early sixties at the latest. Uncle Aquila looked like he was maybe twenty or twenty-five and he was standing beside a young woman. The woman was about it his same age, the interesting thing was that she was black.

Marcus looked on the back of the page, "Jane and I 1958." So he was nineteen. Marcus flipped back to the picture again. His uncle had his arm wrapped around Jane in a way that could only be described as loving.

The next picture in the album was just Jane. She was lying in a bed and looking at the camera seductively. She was stunningly beautiful. Marcus flipped to look at the back, "My Jane."

Picture after picture. Some were of just Jane, some of the both of them. There were none of just Marcus's uncle. The earliest dated picture was the first, which places it during 1958. The last picture placed in the album appeared about halfway through. It was unfinished. The date on that picture had been 1966.

They'd apparently been together for eight years. Marcus's uncle had moved to Great Britain in 1967. That could not be a coincidence.

As Marcus stood to continue on he noticed something else in the wall, a small corner of paper. He carefully pulled it out. It was a newspaper clipping. It seemed his uncle had a habit of keeping these.

2 Killed in Apparent Hate Crime. Marcus sighed, he didn't recognize the name of the newspaper, but its subtitle insinuated it was meant for an African American audience, likely a byproduct of the civil right movement, which was in full swing.

The article talked about two girls who were killed in a random act of violence after having had a night out together. One of those girls was Jane.

There was a bark from the doorway of the room. Marcus peered around the moved bookshelf to find Cub standing right at the line of the doorway staring at Marcus.

"Hey buddy," Marcus couldn't help but smile at the kid. Even after everything that'd happened that day. "You can come in."

Cub shook his head, "I'm not supposed to."

Marcus hadn't heard him speak at all before. "Oh?"

"Dad says," Cub shrugged.

Esca appeared in the doorway immediately at the sound of his son's voice. His eyes were wide with shock.

"That's okay," Marcus said standing and feeling his joints crack.

"Dinner's ready," Cub smiled before turning around. "Hi Dad!"

Esca watched in shock as his son skipped past him and into the kitchen where he grabbed items to be taken to the dinner table. "Did he…?"

"Talk?" Marcus chuckled. "Yeah."

"What'd you say to him?" Esca still could not hide his surprise.

"Nothing really, he just told me he couldn't come in here," Marcus shrugged.

"There are only two people Lancelot will talk to… his teacher and me… sometimes," Esca clarified. "And I guess now you?"

"I guess," Marcus didn't mean to sound like he didn't care, but his stomach grumbled loudly, "What's for dinner?"

"…And then she talked about the Romans. Did you know that they used to live here in England?" Cub seemed really jazzed about his history lesson. Esca laughed with his son, as the boy seemingly couldn't stop talking. Esca felt a twinge of guilt for how he'd treated Marcus, who was munching on bread laughing along as Cub monopolized the dinner conversation.

"Time to get to bed, little one," Esca said as the evening closed in on little Cub's bedtime. He'd since quieted, but Esca was still shaken by the day's events.

Marcus grabbed Esca's arm as he made his way out the door, "Will you be back?"

"Yeah," Esca said after some thought.

About halfway into his second beer, Marcus decided to break the tense silence. It seemed both men had deep thoughts on their minds. "Who's Jane?"

Esca's shocked face made another appearance for the night, "How do you know about Jane?"

"Who is she?"

"I don't know," Esca shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Your uncle… when his fevers got really bad he'd have these violent dreams. He always said the same thing… Jane."

"She was the love of his life," Marcus nodded.

"Fuckin' hell… you're lying," Esca laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Your uncle was gay," Esca maintained his chuckling.

"What? How do you know?" Realization flooded over Marcus. "Wait… were you two…"

"No!" Esca protested. "No, your uncle told me. When I came out to him he responded by saying, 'We're the same. I have no desire for women.'" Esca had done a strange impression of the man that Marcus understood from his phone calls with his uncle.

Marcus nodded. "Jane was murdered. I think he may have been telling you that since Jane he hadn't wanted any other women."

Esca pondered that before nodding, "That'd be like your uncle."

Marcus wouldn't know.

"What about the villa?"

"I don't know," Marcus sighed. "I don't think I want to sell it." Marcus had just out right lied. He knew he was going to sell it. This mausoleum was a daily reminder of the man he didn't know. Plus the money on the table for the property was more than enough to persuade him.

Esca breathed a sigh of relief.

Esca finished his beer and decided it was time to move things along. If last night had been any indication, Esca was going to like having sex with Marcus, and he wanted to do it as much as possible, especially since the man could leave at any time.

He reached over and began to rub Marcus's leg. He could sense Marcus didn't want this. He knew that last night he'd changed something by leaving. Esca didn't care that he'd done that, but he wanted to have sex again and he hoped he could win over Marcus's libido.

Sure enough, the rock hard length in his jeans seemed to decide for Marcus as he leaned over and the two began the ritual of kissing as they made their way to their familiar couch.

Marcus's body was so hard under his hands. The perfect creases turned him on more than anything. He felt his breathing shorten as he continued to explore Marcus's naked upper body.

"What do you want?" Marcus asked, breathless.

"Would you like to fuck me, Marcus?"

Marcus choked a little before beginning to tear at his pants in a frantic effort to get them off. Esca chuckled as he finished stripping and took his place on the couch.

"Go slow," Esca warned. "It's been a while."

Marcus sheathed his hardon and using the same oil from the evening before he carefully breached Esca and felt his tight warmth envelop his cock. Marcus shuddered at the sensation.

Esca could tell he wasn't very experienced, perhaps a virgin even, but he really just didn't care. He wanted Marcus on a carnal level and he wasn't going to spare Marcus's feelings. It helped that Marcus obviously felt very good about their current position.

Watching the man begin to gyrate was so fucking beautiful. His almost clueless expression was a sign of his endearing and seemingly dim nicety that Esca had grown to appreciate during the three days they'd been acquainted.

"Is this okay?" Marcus asked hopeful for a certain response.

"It's perfect."

Marcus's face relaxed as they continued to make love. Esca would never admit that that's what they were doing, but in reality he'd never experienced sex so sweet.

Maybe he did care. As he came from the sexual bliss that had overcome him he realized that perhaps he did care for this hulking giant. Maybe he didn't want him to leave. Cub liked him. Esca liked him. And he did mention the notion of not selling the villa.

"Please," Marcus whined. "Stay the night with me."

Esca sighed, "Just this once."

Marcus pulled Esca on top of him before realizing there was not enough room for just him, let alone both of them. "Ummm…"

Esca chuckled, "Marcus, this couch pulls out."