First off, it should be noted that Annia Cloelia was not your usual heroine (Actually, she is not the heroine of this story, but since the real heroine won't make an appearance in this chapter, her mother will have to do). Annia Cloelia was not a great beauty because her nose was too long and her lips too small, but she had been born into a rich patrician family and was thus considered a great match by many ambitious men who wanted to improve their social status and start a political career. Like many Roman noblewomen of her day, Annia had little say in arranging her own marriages and even divorces, which is why it was no wonder that she was getting married for the 8th time by the time she was only 39.

Annia's 8th marriage was special because her son Lucius Galerius Longus was marrying her off this time, which meant that this marriage would mark the first time she would be married to someone she had chosen. Actually, it had not been Annia's intention to get married again only a few months after her 7th husband had passed away. She had thought that she had reached an age which made her less desirable to potential suitors and would be able to enjoy the honorable, single life of a widowed Roman matron. Moreover, her last husband Quintus Caecilius Pulcher had also been her best friend, and even though he had had skin cancer and had died a slow, ugly death, she was still mourning his loss when her son came out to their residence in the country one day and told her the deeply disturbing news that would eventually lead to Annia's eighth marriage.

Galerius was Annia's firstborn child and the one she had worried about most ever since he had been born. She was not a particularly young mother by Roman standards, having given birth to Galerius at 18. But her 3rd husband Marcus Galerius Rufus had not touched her until he thought she was old enough to have children. He was someone who would probably have become a physician if he hadn't been his family's eldest son since his interest in medicine bordered on hypochondria when it came to his family's health. It was thus no surprise that little Galerius was pampered by his parents because they were so worried that their sickly, small boy could get seriously ill and die like so many other children did. Ironically, it was Rufus himself who eventually died during one particularly cold winter after he had caught the flu from his 4-year-old son. The bond between mother and son had even become stronger after Rufus's early death as Galerius had only fuzzy memories of his father and his father's family had agreed that it was in everybody's best interest that the young boy should be raised by his mother and not by his paternal uncle, who had become the head of the family following his brother's death.

Therefore, Annia realized at once that something was dead wrong when Galerius's arrival was announced to her. She was reclining on a chaise longue in the garden, marvelling at the beauty of the warm afternoon in June while her slave Thalia was reading out a popular love story to her, and the last thing she expected was to be caught up in a real-life drama. Yet as soon as she saw her son and the frantic, outright desperate look in his eyes, she forgave him for not having sent a messenger in advance to tell her that he was on his way to the house.

"My goodness, what's wrong, Galerius?" she asked and noticed that even though Galerius was an adult now, she was as worried about him as she had been when he was a toddler.

"It's Drusus," Galerius said. "His father wants him to get married and start a family."

Annia sighed. "Well, that doesn't really surprise me." Drusus Fulvius Balbus was a well-educated gentleman, a witty man of letters and her son's best friend. Perhaps he was even more than that. Annia had suspected for some time that the two young men, who had known each other since they had been babies due to the fact that their fathers had been friends, too, were deeply in love with each other. That was unfortunate because Annia knew that as his father's only surviving son, Drusus would be expected to take a wife at one point. As a matter of fact, she had always thought that if it hadn't been for his shyness and unfortunate stutter, which became even worse when he was nervous or in the company of women, every girl in town would have realized that this offspring of a wealthy patrician family made an ideal husband.

"Mother, please! You know how much I love him. I don't want to lose him!"

The pleading tone of Galerius's voice confirmed Annia's suspicion that her son was involved in a love affair with his best friend. As long as a homosexual fling men did not keep them from taking wives and starting families, nobody in Rome minded love affairs between two men. Some people occasionally sneered at older men who had affairs with younger men or accuse them of being "too Greek" in their behavior, but apart from that, the love lives of Roman men were their private business and did not diminish their reputation in the slightest as long as everybody played by the rules. The affair between Galerius and Drusus had apparently gone past the point that was considered socially acceptable if her son was this distressed about Drusus's father asking him to take a wife.

"I don't think we can do anything to help Drusus," Annia said after Galerius told her that Drusus had visited him earlier that day and had pleaded with tears in his eyes that Galerius just had to help him somehow. According to Galerius, Drusus feared that his father would force him to marry a stranger or a disagreeable woman, arguing that this was his filial duty now that he had come of age. Galerius's situation was different because he had become his own man upon his uncle's death two years before, which meant that he could do as he pleased and didn't have to marry anyone at all if he didn't want to.

"C'mon, Mother, you of all people should know what Drusus is going through! Hasn't there, like, ever been a situation in which your father or brother wanted you to marry someone and you managed to wriggle out of the match?" Galerius asked.

"Unfortunately, no, that has never been the case even though you know that I hated Bibaculus from the bottom of my heart," Annia stated matter-of-factly, referring to her 5th husband, the notorious drunkard and womanizer Octavius Hortensius Bibaculus. He had divorced Annia after just a few months of marriage, during which they had nonetheless managed to conceive a child, a girl named Lucilla. Unlike Galerius's uncle, Bibaculus had taken the child away from her as soon as she had given birth to her and raised her with his new wife, who came from an even more influential noble family than Annia. To this day, her 14-year-old daughter was estranged from Annia. The last time she had seen her, Lucilla had told her how much she hated her.

"But that's just not acceptable! Nobody should force anybody to marry someone they don't even like" Galerius exclaimed as he seemed to grasp the full extent of his mother's misfortune for the first time due to Drusus's misfortune.

"But that's how it has always been," Annia said drily. "But I might have an idea."

*****

Two days later, Annia traveled to Rome to talk to Drusus's father. It was not a long journey, but one that Annia found as disagreeable as the crowded, narrow streets of Rome, which had been the reason why she had moved into the Galerii family's country residence in the outskirts of the city. Galerius had inherited the property from his uncle and had asked his mother to look after it on his behalf following her last husband's death. When she returned to Rome on occasions like this, Annia felt that it had been the right decision to escape the sheer noise of the city.

Publius Fulvius Nepos was already expecting her in his luxurious home on Palatine Hill, which is why he came out in person to help her out of her carriage. Annia had always thought that he was a very generous man, the embodiment of a true gentleman, and was thus not surprised that he went to such lengths to make her feel comfortable.

"I'm glad that you could make time for me on short notice," Annia said when he led her and her slave Thalia into the house, which was decorated with art from nearly every corner of the Roman Empire.

"Of course," Publius replied although she was right: In addition to being the head of the Fulvii family and businessman, he was an incredibly busy senator. Therefore, she suspected that he knew why she wanted to see him. "I haven't seen you in ages, but I see that life in the country seems to suit you."

"It does," she remarked with a smile.

He had led Annia and Thalia into his private study and closed the door behind them. "Sometimes I wish it was as easy for a man to flee from his responsibilities as well." His statement was an obvious reference to Drusus's case.

"Your son isn't trying to flee from his responsibilities. He's just not ready for marriage," Annia said.

"And when is he ever going to be ready? Later this year? Next year? When it becomes possible to
marry a partner of the same sex and have children with him?" Publius asked sarcastically. "You know that we are not going to live forever. I want my son to marry and have children before I die, so that I know that he's ensured this family's future."

"I knew you'd say this when Galerius came to me and told me that you wanted Drusus to marry. That's why I'm here," Annia said and paused before she revealed, "I'm here to offer you my hand in marriage."

Publius looked at her as if she had lost her mind. He obviously hadn't expected to hear this, which is why he needed her to confirm what she had just said. "You want to marry your son's lover?"

"Now that would cause a public scandal, wouldn't it? An old bird like me marrying her son's best friend?" she said with a chuckle and made a point in referring to Drusus as Galerius's "best friend." "No, I'm ready to become your wife and provide you with a second son. If you have someone else who continues your bloodline, Drusus can do what he wants."

"And you're so sure that you can make it work? You're what, 40? Are you even still able to conceive a child, let alone carry one?" he asked disbelievingly. Of all the crazy plans he had ever heard (and there had been many), this one topped them all.   

"I'm 39, and I had two healthy children with two husbands who wanted children. I've never had any problems getting pregnant and carrying a child to term, and yes, I can still have children. In case you're unsure about the success of such a union, you know that I can become your wife by just living with you for a year according to the Roman law. If I'm not pregnant by then, you're free to leave me, and I will gladly take all the shame upon me," Annia suggested.

Publius nodded. Her idea was pretty wild, but it made sense, too. "You know, if it weren't for your sex, you would make an excellent senator, Annia Cloelia." When he saw that she was laughing nervously, he quipped, "Why should I say no to a good-looking gal's offer of living with an old chap like me?"

Annia's audible sigh was one of heartfelt relief.

"Your Galerius is very happy to have a mother like you. I hope he appreciates it," Drusus's father added.