Odysseus thought he couldn't be happier when he and Penelope were finally wed and celebrated their union in the bedchamber, but nothing compared to the joy of arriving home at Ithaca with his new bride. The scent of the salt air, the mountains in the distance, and sound of sheep drifted into his ear warmed his heart.
"This is Ithaca," he told Penelope. "Do you like it?" He was almost certain she would.
"I love it," Penelope said, her eyes drinking in every spot on the island as much as he was. Odysseus grinned; he'd known she'd be clever enough to love Ithaca. "I can't wait to show you all my favorite spots."
Penelope gazed deep into his eyes, making him feel more valued than Zeus. "I look forward to it."
But as the ship docked, Odysseus saw his parents waiting. His father, tall with dark hair and curly beard. His mother, who was a bit shorter, had the same reddish-brown hair that Odysseus did. "But first you'll have to meet my parents, the King and Queen of Ithaca."
Even more excitement swelled inside him and exploded through his mouth. "I'll tell him I've found a bride that exactly what he wanted for me and more. A perfect hostess, excellent council, and the best diplomatic skills I've ever seen. On top of that, you are way more patient than I'll ever be, and when we come together in the bedchamber," Odysseus suddenly stopped talking as those memories overwhelmed him.
Penelope's smooth curves. Her willingness to wait until he was ready to touch her. The arousing scent of the precious oils he'd given her rubbed into her skin. Her warm caresses when she did touch him. Most importantly, her explosive kisses.
" – Explosive," Penelope's voice said, as if she were reading his thoughts. She truly was clever, Odysseus said to himself again.
"Yes," he said with a nod. Nothing could break their connection, not even the elusive Aphrodite. With that, he took her hand and stepped toward his parents.
"Odysseus, my boy, it's always so nice to have you home," his mother said, immediately engulfing him in one of the crushing hugs they both loved.
"Thank you, Mother," he said with a laugh. "But I have someone I need you to meet. I found a bride in Sparta, after all. She's actually better than Helen. Mother and Father, this is my new wife, Penelope." He squeezed his wife's shoulder as he presented her. "Penelope, these are my parents, Anticeia and Lartes, the King and Queen of Ithaca."
Bowing slightly, Penelope smiled at his parents, while Odysseus continued to tell them how wonderful his wife was. "She's friendly, which means she'll be a perfect hostess, she's clever enough to notice my lies as well as when others aren't telling the truth, and she even made her father agree to our union without too much trouble." The way Penelope had said she'd convinced her father to race him for her hand still made Odysseus's mouth drop sometimes.
Father broke into a warm grin. "That is wonderful son," he said, giving Odysseus a slap on the back and giving Penelope a gentle hug. Odysseus knew part of his happiness was that he was closer to being able to retire, but Odysseus thought his father was glad to see him wed such a great young woman, too.
Mother, on the other hand, did not envelope Penelope in one of her signature crushing hugs but shook her hand carefully while her dark blue eyes scanned Penelope from head to toe. "You are a Spartan?" she said finally.
"Yes, ma'am," Penelope said, politely, meeting her look directly. Of course, his Penelope wasn't afraid of threatening looks, not even from Mother. She was not only clever but strong.
Still, Odysseus knew exactly what his mother was implying, especially as she asked if Penelope was a Spartan. "She's not one of those Spartan women who resemble men more than women, Mother. On the contrary, she's very feminine." His mind flashed back to their times in the bedchamber and in their ship's cabin, where Penelope proved just how feminine she was. "And her favorite hobby is weaving, which is why the wool I had for Helen fit her for a suitor's gift for her much better. I told her here on Ithaca, we have more wool for her to weave than she could ever want."
Mother's doubt slowly disappeared from her face and finally, she engulfed Penelope in one of her crushing hugs. "We shall have a festival to celebrate your new marriage," Mother said as she eventually released Penelope.
"That's a marvelous idea," Penelope said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. Odysseus's heart warmed at the sight of her and his mother getting along. He'd known they would become close soon enough.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Yet, Odysseus wished later that night that Penelope and his mother didn't get along quite so well. They'd spent all evening planning their "extraordinary festival" and he was rather looking forward to taking his new wife to the bedchamber again.
He'd lost count how many times he'd cleared his throat, trying to get Penelope's attention, but apparently the excitement of planning a festival was more alluring than going to bed with him.
"Get used to it, son," Father said as Odysseus cleared his throat again. Penelope smiled at him, but quickly returned her attention to Mother's plans for the minstrels. "Nothing is more important to a woman than a party."
I should be more important, Odysseus wanted to shout for the millionth time. But now he'd had enough. He stood up, stomping his foot as he did so and said, "I would like to go to bed, and I was hoping to take my bride with me." With that, he headed to the stairway.
Eventually, he heard Penelope's footprints coming after him. "I'm sorry Odysseus. I should have told your mother we were done before, but I was so happy she liked my ideas and…I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I thought you were just upset because we weren't paying attention to you."
He turned around, his eyes meeting hers. "Well, that was part of it. But most of it was that I was eager to show you the new bedchamber and you didn't seem to care." Was their connection in that way not as wonderful as he'd thought? And yet, she'd clearly asked her handmaid to prepare her for bed, as he smelt the arousing precious oils on her skin.
Once again, he mentally congratulated himself for finding her such a perfect gift.
"Oh, Odysseus, don't pout so," Penelope said, taking his face in her warm hands, her touch melting away all of his anger. "Of course I want to see the bed chamber. I'd looked forward to it as soon as we'd docked." The longing in her eyes made that statement perfectly clear. "But I couldn't disappoint your mother, either. And I really like her."
Nodding, Odysseus remembered how happy he'd been when Mother had embraced Penelope with one of her crushing hugs. "Well, just remember, I have never liked to wait for anyone or anything," he said as he approached the bedchamber.
Besides touching her intimately, Odysseus also looked forward to Penelope's reaction to the bed. Certainly, she would think it was just as clever as he did.
"I've told you before, sometimes you have to wait," Penelope said in the same teasing voice she'd used when they were just getting to know each other. For a moment, Odysseus paused, thinking how wonderful she was to not only forgive his earlier tantrum but melt his own anger.
This relationship was so much more than one of Aphrodite's spells.
And then, Penelope entered the chamber and saw the bed. Pride swelled in inside him as she studied it from all angles. The smooth tree trunk also served as headboard. The roots supported the mattress. The heavenly wooden scent that had always made Odysseus think of the comfort of his home bed. "So, it's truly part of a tree?"
"It's not just part of a tree, it is a tree," Odysseus said, knowing he was wearing one of his smuggest grins. What better time was there for such an expression? He placed Penelope's hand on the bed. "These are large roots that have been sanded down by servants and covered with blankets." The top are branches which hold the drapes which give us privacy."
With that he threw her on the bed and demonstrated how he could shelter the bed around the drapes.
"Where did you get the idea for such a bed?" said Penelope, her eyes gazing at him.
"I'd hope you'd want to know," Odysseus said touching her warm cheek. The oils that covered her body filled his nostrils, making his groin tighten, but he kept speaking. There were few things more enjoyable than telling a tale, and the story of this bed was one of the dearests to his heart. "Before my father had this palace built, this used to be my favorite tree." He touched the trunk of the tree, remembering playing around it as a toddler. "I still have vague memories of jumping around the roots. When Father built the palace, I convinced him to let me have it as a bed."
He laughed and jumped on top of Penelope. "And now it can be for both of us." With that, he kissed her, and felt another explosion. The faint scent of wood would make him think of things other than sleep now, especially as it was mixed with that fantastic oil.
OOOOOOOOOO
Odysseus continued to enjoy the faint scent of wood and the wonderful scent of perfumed oil on Penelope's skin every night. Meanwhile, she and Mother spent their days planning the festival. Odysseus wondered when he would ever be able to show Penelope all his favorite spots on Ithaca.
But the day of the festival, Penelope, Mother, and even all the people living in Ithaca loved the food, dancing, music, and merrymaking so much that Odysseus loved it, too. Especially as Penelope promised they would visit the mountain of Parnassus.
The site of his first boar hunt.
OOOOOOOOOO
Two days after Odysseus showed Penelope where he'd killed the boar, Father announced they needed to make a trip to Thebes. "Oedipus owes Ithaca grain," he said, shaking his head.
Odysseus nodded, his mind working quickly, as always. "You and I will have to go there together, Father, and show him all of Ithaca's best exports. Top quality goats, sheep, and the best ships in the Aegean Sea. Then he'll be begging us to take their grain in exchange." He could already see it all play out in his head.
Father nodded, "Wonderful plan, son." He rubbed his hands together in excitement, and Odysseus's belly danced in excitement of another voyage.
But Penelope shook her head, slowly. "I'm not certain that's the best answer. We don't know why Oedipus is withholding the grain.
Odysseus took her hand. "Trust me on this. My brain works faster than most. I know what I'm doing."
She shook her hand free of his. "Do you? I know you don't like to wait, but haven't you learned that sometimes it's necessary? Talk to this Oedipus first, before being too pushy."
"Penelope, I'm afraid I agree with Odysseus," Father said with the firm voice of a king. "We need a strong force on this one."
Penelope huffed, then left the table without saying anything.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Penelope still hadn't said anything by the next morning when he and Father boarded the ship. "I'm sorry we had to leave with you and your new wife in a spat," Father said, looking over at the ocean in the direction of Thebes. "But we need to do this as soon as possible."
Odysseus slapped his father's arm. "I understand, and I know this plan will work. Once Oedipus sees the quality of these sheep and goats," he paused and admired their fleeces. Then he gave the animals some feed. "Not to mention the sturdiness of this ship," Odysseus caressed the edge of the ship and stomped his foot on the floor. "He'll have to give us some grain in return."
Huffing, he said, "I just wish Penelope would understand that. I thought she valued my mind." His mind flashed back to the look on her face when they agreed to combine their minds so they would be able to wed. That certainly wasn't the way she looked at him last night. Or this morning.
One of the Ithacan goats looked at Odysseus and bleated, his fleece shining in the sun.
OOOOOOOOOOO
When their ship docked, Father greeted King Oedipus, gesturing towards the goats' fleeces shinning in the sun, as well as the sheep and their best quality ship. "As you can see, Ithaca has quite a bit to offer, if you are willing."
Odysseus waited for Oedipus's eyes to widen at their riches and gasp in amazement. Then Penelope would have to realize Odysseus had been right.
Instead, Oedipus did nothing and said nothing.
Odysseus couldn't take the silence. "What do you think of our ship? We might be able to provide you one if you gave us something in return." Father smiled and nodded, and Odysseus smiled, knowing his plan would work now. His plans always worked.
King Oedipus finally looked towards the ocean and nodded pleasantly. "Your ship is nice," but he didn't seem amazed by it.
"We also have the finest goat and sheep with beautiful fleeces on board the ship," Father said, in a more causal manner, as if he'd just thought of it. "We'd be happy to show them to you, if you might give us what you and I have been discussing in the past."
King Oedipus's nose wrinkled in apparent confusion. But he had to know what Father was saying. Besides Odysseus finding a bride, obtaining grain from Thebes was all Father had talked about in the last three months. About how the people of Ithaca needed bread. And Thebes had an excellent water supply, with its large lake sparkling in the distance, to provide the grain. About how correspondence with Thebes, who had provided them with grain for years, was going nowhere.
What kind of game was the man playing?
"I'm certain you remember the letters our scribes have sent you about what Ithaca needs," Odysseus said, a little less causally than his father did, but still causally enough to catch the other king in a lie.
"Well, I'm afraid I don't remember much about correspondence in the last few months, as I've had some overwhelming personal problems," Oedipus said. As the king turned his head closer to Odysseus, he suddenly realized that Oedipus's eyes were covered with scraps cloth.
The man had no eyes! He was blind. That was why he hadn't been amazed by the quality of their ship on the dock. Perhaps that was his "overwhelming personal problem" that he'd spoken of? Though, how was a blind man capable of being king?
Still, Father took Oedipus's hand and took him aboard their ship and allowed him to feel the craftmanship. Then he put his hand on the goats and the sheep. "We are prepared to trade these things with you if you would give Ithaca grain."
King Oedipus may not be capable of being king to the Thebans as a blind man, but he did agree to a deal about the grain, once he understood what Father was speaking about. It took some time, but Odysseus's plan for Thebes still worked.
OOOOOOOOOO
When Odysseus arrived in Ithaca, he eagerly scanned the dock for his Penelope. He pictured himself ending their minor fight with a warm embrace and then telling her how his plan ended up working in Thebes.
But while Mother and Father greeted each other warmly, Penelope turned away from Odysseus's embrace. At least Mother engulfed Odysseus in another of her crushing embraces, but it seemed Penelope was still angry at him for some reason.
Launching into the story of how he and Father had taken Oedipus onto their ship, showing off Ithacan's goods, Odysseus spoke with more and more excitement. Certainly, it would get Penelope's attention. "So, when the king still wouldn't respond, we led him onto the ship and let him feel the quality of the wood. You should have seen his face when he touched it. He'd never felt anything so strong and smooth. And the way he gushed about the animals' fleeces, you'd think they were truly made of gold. He gave us all the grain the Ithacan people need for the next few months, without a problem after that."
Penelope still didn't answer, nor even meet Odysseus's eyes. At least Father smiled at him. But what had happened to his sweet Penelope?
OOOOOOOOOO
It had been two days since Odysseus's sweet Penelope disappeared. She wouldn't speak to him at meals, nor allow him to touch her in their bed. It occurred to him that perhaps this was a more frustrating aspect of the patience he so admired about her in the past. Unlike him, Penelope didn't feel the need to talk all the time. On the contrary, she was perfectly content to spend all day spinning and weaving, especially as Mother had set Penelope's wheel for her.
And when she was angry, she was apparently even more inclined to keep quiet than scream. And the more she ignored him, the more Odysseus fumed. What could possibly break her silence?
"I wish we hadn't fought before I left for Thebes," he said one night in their bedroom, with Penelope's body as far away from him as possible. "Then we might be happier now."
Odysseus's heart sang when she moved her head briefly, but then she turned back around. "What do I need to say to you for you to speak to me?" he said, probably louder than he should have. The bottles of oil he'd given his wife shook at the volume. At least none of them crashed to the floor.
Penelope still said nothing. With her patience, she might wait forever for him to finally say what was needed. "Whatever it was that upset you, I wish I hadn't said it," he said, in desperation.
Finally, she rolled around and faced him. "That's all I wanted to hear. An apology for the way you spoke to me before you left. I knew you were clever enough to figure it out eventually."
He reached out and touched her smooth face, his hands starving for her. "I just wish it would have taken so long." Oh, her soft skin, her rounded curves perfect for his touch. How could he have lived for two days without it? Distantly, Odysseus thought that this might prove beyond a doubt that their marriage was so much more than one of Aphrodite's spells, if they could love each other so much after such an argument.
If anything, he loved her even more now for choosing such a perfect, if incredibly frustrating, punishment. Had her warm brown eyes ever been more lovely than now, even in the dark?
"If I didn't know you were already clever, the last two days proved it though," he said chuckling as he moved his lips closer to hers. "I hated being ignored." With that, he kissed her, not allowing her to ignore him any longer.
Penelope laughed, the delightful sound proving his sweet wife had returned. "I knew you would."
Her fingers played with his beard, making his skin tingle. She didn't smell of the precious oils he'd given her, as clearly, she'd been prepared to wait even longer before allowing her to touch him and caressing him in return. Odysseus couldn't imagine anything worse than that. And she still smelled nice, even without the expensive oils.
Great enough for another explosive kiss.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
OOOOOOOOOO
Penelope and Odysseus exchanged lots of explosive kisses in the next few months.
And when the goats and sheep were sheared, their wool proved just as perfect for weaving as he'd promised. Penelope and Anticeia spent many afternoons weaving the most wonderful blankets, capes, and tapestries. Odysseus also showed her all his childhood on and around Ithaca, from the orchard to the mountains, to the kindly man who cared for the pigs.
A couple of times, he took her on a ship to experience the sea surrounding Ithaca. "I don't suppose you'll be wrestling any mermaids at sea this time," she said, grinning at him while she glanced down at the water below them. She still couldn't believe some of the things he'd tried to get away with when they'd first met.
He grinned back. "I don't need to wrestle any mermaids anymore." He stepped closer so she could feel his breathing against her cheek and see each strand of his curly beard. "I have you." With that, he kissed her, causing another explosion of feelings.
He was always quick to compliment and apologize to her, if need be, as he clearly would do anything not to be ignored. And Penelope loved knowing she'd found the perfect punishment for him.
Why would Aphrodite's spell on them end if everything was wonderful between them?
OOOOOOOOOOO
But one morning, just after Odysseus had said the first snowfall had hit Mount Parnassus, Penelope didn't feel so wonderful. In fact, she felt so queasy she thought she might vomit as soon as she got out of bed.
Penelope ignored it. She'd been raised to be a strong Spartan woman, and the weather on Ithaca was even milder than on Sparta. Fortunately, her ailment disappeared quickly as she went about her day. But the next morning, the queasiness was back. Again, she forced herself to ignore it, and again the ailment disappeared as the day continued.
The fourth day her stomach felt queasy, Penelope somehow vomited all over her handmaid. Of course, Anticeia immediately called for the palace doctor. "That's not necessary," Penelope said after she'd washed all the vomit off of her. "I don't even feel ill anymore."
"But there's still a reason why you were sick," Anticeia said with a sigh. "And we, especially Odysseus will need to know why." Groaning, Penelope wondered why she had to marry a man who felt the need to know everything. Even things as unimportant as a sickness that no longer existed. "I will tell you that it might be more good news than bad news. Especially as you say the sickness keeps disappearing as the day goes on," Anticeia said with a secret smile that reminded Penelope a lot of her son when he thought he knew something others didn't.
"Then there is no need for the doctor," Penelope said firmly. She may not be the strong Spartan athlete her sister was, but she wasn't fragile enough to need a doctor every time she felt slightly uncomfortable.
"Yes, there is, because we have to know for certain," Anticeia said, escorting her daughter-in-law back to her bed. "And I will pray to Morpheus that it is what I think." With that, she gave Penelope one of her powerful hugs that made Penelope feel both fragile and loved.
OOOOOOOOOO
Penelope didn't feel fragile at all after the doctor left. On the contrary, she felt both excited and loved as Anticeia gave her another powerful hug. "I knew it!" said her mother-in-law with joy. "Your symptoms were exactly what I experienced when I had Odysseus."
Penelope hugged her Anticeia back just as tightly, repeating the doctor's words over and over again in her head. "You're pregnant… You should expect your first child by next summer if all goes well…" "I'm glad the doctor saw me," she said, reminding herself that not all ailments meant she was fragile. Some meant the greatest joy she'd ever known.
"I can't wait to tell Odysseus," Penelope said dreamily.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Odysseus was just as overjoyed as Penelope had expected when she told him that evening, picking her up and spinning her around, laughing with delight. "Truly?" he said, his face shining brighter than Apollo.
"Truly," Penelope said, laughing with the same delight. "Your mother summoned the palace doctor to be certain."
Odysseus immediately dropped Penelope and gave his mother a crushing hug, which she returned enthusiastically. "Thank you so much, Mother." Meanwhile, Penelope took a large bite of bread and oil. When had the bread ever tasted so soft, and the oil so full of the essence of olives?
Meanwhile, Anticeia smiled at her son when they withdrew. "It is a great blessing, son. We all look forward to the birth of the child."
Odysseus nodded, his eyes returning to Penelope as he walked back to her, while she inhaled another large bite of bread and oil. He grinned. "Of course, you need to eat more. You can have my bread, too if you'd like."
He took the bread off his plate and handed it to her, causing her heart to almost explode. Aphrodite's spell on them was stronger than ever, and Penelope knew their coming child would only deepen their bond.
