Chapter 9

Monday, Tom was a wine and spirits maker. He went to the glass blower and crate maker and got all they had made. He made three kinds of wine and crated it up. He got out some Jack Daniels and did the same with that. He carried the eight cases and put them by the front door. Adel came around with the wagon and he loaded them up and they took them about a half mile to the man’s store that sold wine and liquor. Tom had an extra bottle of each and walked into the man’s shop. “You will need to tell me what you think these are worth.”

Wilhelm said, “Right now my most expensive wine is 30d for one sextarius, (a half liter). This is fifty percent more than that so it would equate to 45d.”

“Get a bottle of your best and let’s taste it.”

The man got a bottle of his best and there were a few men in the store. Tom called them over and he said, “How many of you buy this type of wine?” He held up the expensive bottle. About half raised their hands. That was good because it confirmed what the man said about his clientele. Tom opened the bottle then opened one that he had brought. He poured each man some of each and said, “Taste and tell me which you like more.”

Every man pointed to the wine Tom brought. He asked, “How much would you pay for a bottle of this? It is 50% more so you are currently paying 45d per bottle for what you are drinking now. They called out numbers and most were on the low side seeing if they could get the man to sell it at a low price. Tom smiled and said, “I have two bottles for sale today. How much will you give. He started a mini auction and the price was quickly to a hundred before men started to drop out as others bid it up to 150d and no one outbid him. Tom looked at the store owner and said, we don’t have that much. This wine will sell for 110d, the other two I have brought are better and will fetch 125 easy. The whiskey has a much higher liquor content so I would put it at 150d”

Before Tom left, the first case was sold to those in the store. Tom said, “When demand increases, you can raise your prices. I will charge you 60d per bottle. That is 4 golds and 19 silvers.” The man nodded and went to his money box.

As Wilhelm paid Tom he asked, “When can I get more?”

“I’m really busy right now. Sell what you have and let me know when you are out of everything. We can talk then.”

Adel smiled as Tom hopped up on the wagon next to her. She drove him home. Time started to pass more quickly but things didn’t slow down. They built houses out on the farm for the workers. The blacksmith and his family moved out there and into their new home to live and forge for work. They had completed the plow and harrow. Hans had the garden plowed and harrowed soon after. The vegetables were planted as instructed as the fruit and nut trees were starting to sprout.

The kitchen and safe room under the house were finished and the tunnel to the building next door or Mall was dug and bricks lined the walls and arched ceiling. The build-out of the warehouse was almost complete as well.

One of the furniture men was out at the farm and a man that worked for him was being very meticulous about his work and frustrating the owner. He was getting irate and Tom stepped in since it was his house. The man said, “He is my slave and I will treat him as I want.”

They had a staring contest and then Tom said gently and quietly, “I will pay for the house full of furniture and I will buy the slave. Or you can take everything back and not get a denarius from me.”

“I want a gold for the slave.”

“Does he have any family?”

“A wife, no kids.”

“How much for the wife?”

“She keeps my books. It would have to be another gold.”

He just held out his hand. They shook on the deal. “Jeremih you and Dani were just sold to this man.” The man looked up and looked at Tom and just nodded.

Tom called Adel and Durr. “Go with Jeremih and get his stuff, his wife and bring them out here and put them in an empty house. Talk to them about being a slave for me and what to expect.”

Tom watched the other movers put all the furniture in place and then paid the man after he added 2 gold coins to the cost of the bill.” It amazed Tom that he could sell 8 cases of liquor for 5 gold and buy two slaves for less than half that.

Adel and her wagon were back a couple hours later, and they were shown to a house. Jeri and Dani as they liked to be called were happy to be out of an unhappy home. Both walked around the house and asked, “Which room do you want us in?”

“The house is yours to live in as a family. We will get a wood shop set up for you Jeri and Dani, I would like for you to start keeping the books for the farm and horse business. If you both tell me what you need, I will make sure you have it. There is an office over in the barn Dani. Work with Hans to get started. I will be out from time to time and will tell you the same as all my other slaves. I will take what I would normally pay you in wages and pay off what I just spent to buy you. I will also give you a collar like the rest of them that marks you as mine. When you have met that amount you will be set free. You can sell the collar to start a new life or keep working here for a wage.”

“That is what your driver told us. I think we will like working for you.”

Tom took Jeri aside and said, “Jeri, you look like the kind of man that is very exact and takes pride in his work. I want to start building carriages, carts, chariots, and wagons for sale. Think about what you know and don’t know. I will want to put a different kind of attachment for the wheels to make it ride better.”

“Yes Sir. I will do my best.”

“That’s all a man can ask, right?”

Crews were sent back out to build a wood shop and Hans got together with Dani to start keeping some books. The warehouse was complete with a hotel on the top floors and a restaurant below with the lobby. People coming to town by boat would have a place to eat and sleep. They put out the word and had a lot of people apply to manage both. They went through many interviews before they found someone, they trusted to do things first class.

The offices and warehouse were ready for merchandise with many crates, bottles, and barrels ready for use. Tom had been spending a few hours each night just making, repackaging and storing different things. He was down there one day when Sid hollered at him. “I see the sails. My boys are bringing your boat home.”

Tom sent one of the guards to get the rest of them and their family to bring down to the docks. He sprinted off. It wasn’t very far but everyone was back quickly. As they waited and watched as the boat came closer, Tom said, “I’m sure they tried their best. I don’t know if they found all the families or none of them. I expect it will probably be somewhere in between. I want you to know that I’m sorry right now for any disappointment.”

Durr said, “We have all talked about it and have come to the same conclusion. It has been a long time that you have paid men to search for our families and we appreciate it more than you will ever know.”

Tom turned to look when Mary said, “I see women and children on the deck. They found at least one family.” A cheer went up from those that were gathered.

The boat was docked and out of the twenty men, eighteen families were found. One had moved on and remarried. She felt bad but needed to take care of herself and the kids. That meant that 17 families came to join their men in Rome. The three that were let down, everyone felt sorry for, but now they knew their fate and could move on. Tom said to the three men. I’m sorry that you couldn’t rejoin your family. You have been with me for almost six months now. In another six you will be free. If you want to go and search for them, you will be able to and I will even pay your passage. If you want to find a wife here in Rome, you can do that too.”

All the families were now here but there wasn’t enough room for them all at the house. Tom waved Durr over and he had his wife under his arm. “Sir, this is my wife Tilly and my son Don.”

Take the men that have families and put them in the hotel for now. I will use the three that are with me for the next three days and then you can start a schedule. We will have some houses built at the farm for you and a couple apartments down here at the docks. The single men can spread out but live above the carriage house.”

Durr led the men off to the hotel. Tom turned to Mary. “I didn’t count them all, but we just got a lot of new people to be responsible for.” Razin had wandered to the hotel with his family but Franco came over to Tom.

“Guys we tried. For many families we had to go to your neighbors to find family to find the wives. A couple were sold into slavery and we had to find them and buy them back. Your neighbors didn’t know and if we did find any family, they didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Franco directed the last part towards the men who had lost their loved ones.

The men were soldiers and used to the loss of friends in battle. They took it as well as could be expected. Everyone walked back to the house. Tom made some cocktails and invited the guards to partake with them. It opened them up to a little danger, but no one got too wasted. Maria was cooking since Adrianna went down to train the staff at the new restaurant. After the food and drinks the guards went back to their rooms.

Franco asked about how they were getting along with his brother. Tom said, “Everything keeps moving along. Marco has kept everything legal and properly documented. I’m sorry that you couldn’t get all the men’s families to come back.”

“We did everything we could think of and even went door to door knocking and asking until we found all that we did. Only about half were still in the same town that we started looking in. Some we had to pay a lot to get them back. I still have funds and many high-quality rugs from Persia. We also brought back some boxes that were made from their special cedar trees. I spoke to a few craftsmen. Mostly metal workers and a Jeweler. If they show up, they will know where to look for you, but I was too busy with our primary goal.

“Once we found the first family, we then had to worry about finding the next and taking care of the ones we had found. We would get a room by the boat or they would stay on the boat depending on the conditions. Then Razin and I would go and try to find the next family. Sometimes we had to backtrack to the town or towns we had been to previously. It was frustrating but satisfying. We brought back 17 wives and twenty-two children. One guy had eight of them just in his family. A couple of the girls are old enough to marry off if they want and some of the boys are old enough to work.”

“I will let Mary sort them out, but it makes sense to look at the farm or out that way for housing. They can help in the fields, stables or if they want to learn a trade, they can do metal or wood working.”

“I should get home and get a bath. I’m ready for some sleep. The rugs, wooden chests and some mead are still down on the ship. I think the captains will be home for a week or two but as they said, ‘A captain’s place is out to sea.’”

The next day Tom went down to the ship and helped unload the boxes, rugs, and mead. He then took some brandy, bananas, oranges, a few different cheeses, some spices, brown sugar and corn up to the restaurant for Adrianna to incorporate into her dishes.

“What do you want me to do with these?”

“Cook with them. We are a special place and make special dishes.” He looked at the crates of food. He took some bananas and cut them up and tossed them in a pan. He tossed in a handful of brown sugar and when it started to melt, he added a quarter cup of brandy and tilted the pan to ignite the alcohol. He turned down the heat and shook the pan to keep things from burning. When the brown sugar had caramelized, he poured it in a bowl and took some cream and poured it over the top. Setting it in front of her he said, “Would you serve that? Would you eat that?”

While she dug in and apologized for complaining, he took some cream and some sugar and a whisk that had magically appeared one day and started to whip it. She was talking about the flavors and the hot of the sugar and cool of the cream. The bananas were melting in her mouth but firm enough to pick up without falling apart.

By then the cream had turned into whipped cream and he dropped a dollop on her dish. “That looks better. What else do we have in here.” He roasted some corn and made his version of Mexican street corn but in a baking dish as a side. She loved it.

“What do you call these dishes?”

“Banana Adrianna and spicy corn casserole. Or you can make up something else. You can use the oranges in salads but make sure you take out the seeds, you can also add them to a sauce or juice them and add them to the rum or vodka. You will have to taste the different spices and see what you like and how you would use it.”

“Thank you, Tom. Life with you is never boring. It is also sweet what you did for the guards and their families. They come down here to eat. I hope they like bananas.”

“Did you have any family that you want me to look for?”

“I just have my parents and my sister. My parents were the ones that sold me off. It would be nice to find my sister, but I doubt she would come here to be with me. It would be good to know that she is alright.”

“Write down all you can remember and the town and street where you lived. If we have a boat in that area, we can try to find her. Save the seeds from the oranges and we can try to grow a few trees on the farm.”

“I will write down the information and save the seeds. Thanks again.” She gave him a hug, and it just felt right.

The Mall was about a month from opening as they were doing the finishing work on the interior and cleaning everything inside and out. Tom was filling crates as fast as he could get them. He had barrels of wine, he had beer, and plenty of hard liquor as well. There were crates of Jewelry, crates of makeup, crates of plates, glasses of all kinds, silverware of all shapes and designs. He had also had things like the rugs that were made in Judea or Persia. He had some pots, some tools, the high-end fabrics, and clothing would have to be placed in an area of importance.

Mary and Mara had scoured the city to find the finest local shops. Mara’s father was shipping in olive oil. Tom had told him to have different bottles for first and second pressings. The first pressing was in the nicer looking bottles. There was a room in the basement for ice and it had been stocked. He showed Maria how to make iced cream one day and she said it should be sold next door. There wasn’t a way to keep it frozen except in the ice room so they would have to figure something out or just make it and serve it first come first serve.

Mary had found some local girls that were about the age of Pace but not from her social status. They had been at the house for the last month as she showed them how to cut hair and do makeup. There were bottles and bottles of shampoo, bars of soap, bottles of perfume. She had to train the girls how to apply it and teach the customers how to apply it as well.

When you walked into the mall, there were two guards out front to keep the riffraff from wandering in. They were also there if one of the merchants needed help inside. The first floor started out with random things that people could use but nothing common to Rome. Then stalls with produce and olives like you would find locally and as you moved towards the back, there would be more foods and meats that were ‘imported’ by Tom. Then the dishes and candles.

At the back of the room is a staircase that goes up to the second floor. If you were going up you would find beers, wines, and liquors, then stalls with makeup and perfumes, and finally jewelry. That was the most expensive stall in the building. The third floor had a salon and spa. There were small baths for both sexes with hot water. Men and women could have their hair washed and then either get a haircut or style. There were private rooms for massages and an area for women to get their nails done. Manicures and pedicures for men and women. Colored nails for women were going to be the rage according to Mary.

The fourth and top floor had two entrances. One was from each end. One took you to a club for drinks and snacks. I was like a club for doing business and having drinks. The women that served drinks were all beautiful and were trained on how to flirt and talk to guests. The drinks were NOT cheap but that kept away some of the people that had more of a need for money than they had money.

The other end was a private area. Mary had come up with it one night after too much tequila. When everyone had sobered it didn’t really go away. She said, “I don’t want to have a brothel but back in the day there was a doctor that dealt with women that had trouble with stress. For years, women would go to this doctor and he would essentially masturbate them to orgasm. The women looked forward to their treatment like many people swear by chiropractors.

“We have all heard and felt how Tom takes care of women. They could sign up for the VIP spa package and it would start with a bath, then a massage, get their nails done, their hair styled, their makeup would be done and then to a small dining area on the roof for some special cocktails and food. That would end the package and if a husband and wife did the package, they could end up having their meal together.”

She got a funny smile and said, “Beyond the VIP package, a VIP+ could get a stress reliever, a new toga, a gift of jewelry or booze. Whatever else we wanted to throw in.”

Mara said, “If you send me through the VIP package one day and the VIP+ another, I can make suggestions for any changes, I can price it and I can sell it. You can then do it for Pace since she and I will be all over the makeup, jewelry, and spa areas. I don’t think they will ever be super crowded after you get past the first few weeks.”

Things continued to come together as they made last minute additions and fixes. In the meantime Tom had worked with Jeri and Smith out at the farm to create a carriage with leaf springs that allowed the carriage to move up and down with the bumps on the roads and let the passenger and driver not get continually battered on the ride. With the high-end fabrics, leathers and top seamstresses, the carriage was not only the most comfortable it was one of the nicest looking as well. Tom decided to park the carriage out in front of the mall and if anyone needed a ride home, they were welcome to be driven by Adel.