“My son would be a Roman citizen by birth.” Jason kept his tone placid.
“He would be despised.” Menelaus corrected. “He would be more Hebrew than Roman, and the Hebrews grow more and more rebellious, more apt to be crushed. Mark my words, Jason, the day is not far off when your mother’s people are forced from Rome altogether, labeled as the miscreants they are proving themselves to be. If you married this Jewess–”
“This slave!” Titus spat.
“Your future would be ruined. And you would not be benefitting the child, either. He would be an outcast in Rome.”
Jason regarded his friends, sending his gaze around the room slowly, calmly. Menelaus was distraught, Titus enraged, Apidius imploring, Lentulus withdrawn. Strangely, the decision he could not make before was suddenly resolved completely in his mind in the face of his adversity. He stood smoothly, without concern. “There is much to this world outside of Rome, my friends. I realize my wife and my children would not find a welcoming home there. That is why I will stay in Israel.”
Menelaus groaned. Titus looked ready to pummel him. “For the love of the gods, Jason!”
“God, Titus.” He picked his cloak up again and headed for the door. “There is only one. And I am beginning to realize the love of him goes deeper within me than I thought.”
“Jason.” Apidius stood in his way of the exit, the only one still calm. Even Lentulus appeared to be agitated more than Jason had ever seen. “Do not act rashly, my friend. Think of the consequences. Consider what you are about to do.”
Jason made his words soft as he looked up into his companion’s gaze. “I have been doing so for many weeks, Apidius. You love a woman. Surely you can understand. Would you not forsake all this,” he said with an outstretched arm, “for her? The parties? The politics? And really, what else will I be missing from Rome?”
“Your friends,” Lentulus answered.
Jason turned to face him, feeling nothing but calm. “If my friends would forsake me because of whom I take to wife, then they are not my friends.” He gave them a moment to let that sink in. “You will all be invited to the wedding feast. If you cast your loyalties away from me, I will not blame you.” With that, he brushed past Apidius and left the room, the building, and the grounds. He headed back to his father’s house without a backward glance.
A peace settled over him. It was the first time he could ever remember when he actually knew, knew from deep within, knew from sight, from hearing, and from heaven, that he was right. It put a decided bounce in his step.
*
Andrew took his master’s weapon and sheathed it as Jason approached them. He was smiling. It seemed he was always smiling these days, and his joy only made Andrew’s heart sink.
“Are you ready to leave, my son?” Cleopas clapped a hand to Jason’s shoulder.
“I am.” They set off, Andrew falling in a step behind. They had barely cleared the gates of the compound when Jason turned his head toward his father. “I need to speak with you. About Abigail.”
Cleopas chuckled.“Much is about Abigail these days. I have discovered that is not a very telling introduction. You will have to elaborate.”
Jason smiled but still managed to look serious. “I have been giving it much thought and last night I came to my decision. I wish to marry her, Father.”
Andrew’s breath came out in a strangled gasp.
His master glanced back at him but then focused on his son.“You are certain?”
Jason nodded, his ardor evident on his face. “I love her.”
“So I have come to see. But if I may ask, have you given any thought to all this will change?”
“Yes, Father, I have. I will stay in Jerusalem, serving under you as long as they allow me; I assume you can help me in that goal. I do not wish to take her from Mother. I know how attached they are to one another.”
“Indeed.” Cleopas’s smile was indulgent. And far too warm to exist in the same world as the cold that had overtaken Andrew’s heart. “I need not tell you how ecstatic your mother will be at this news. You will finally be giving her the daughter she has always desired.”
“Yes.”
Silence fell. Perhaps it was filled only with happy contemplation for the other two, but Andrew fisted his hands together and wished for a moment of privacy to rebuild the fortress of his emotions.
Cleopas turned to Jason again as they neared the house. “What of your plans of Rome, Jason? I thought you wished to take possession of our property there and manage that estate.”
Jason sighed, but it was with satisfaction. “I did, Father. But what is the point, if I do not have a family to manage it for? Abigail would not be happy in Rome, and I will not force her to go. And because I love her, I could never leave her behind. It became a question of Rome or Abigail, and I have made my choice.”