Yes, yes, I was I just thinking that Gus has been awfully quiet around here lately. That makes me very nervous.
Cav, I do hope you saved some dinner for Gautam. He just called to say he is back from India, will be here shortly. Can't wait to see what he will wear!
There are plenty leftovers in fine shape. Gautam shall get the late-night special. There is enough around to whip up a Northern-Indian dinner fit for a prince as well....
Oh, good! He has promised to bring back some of that divine Indian silk. We were going to make a pavilion of it at Lola's Salon, but since she has closed it up, perhaps we could do that here. Hmm. Where is Pietro, my handyman? He should start building the frame...
(Pietro shuffles in, massive tool belt at the ready. Leonard Cohen is still singing. Lola is entranced. Len takes one look at those legs and gazes into Lola's eyes and is forever lost. However...Lola is now looking back and forth between Len and Pietro. Which will she choose this evening? The witty songwriter or the gorgeous, hunky Italian carpenter?)
Pssssst...Did I hear you say Giulietta, Giovanni and Caterina are out in the garden admiring the moonlit grape arbor? Has anyone told them to watch out for Bacchus? He and his satyrs, Pinot and Grigio, were quite besotted the last time I saw them. I heard them say they were going out there to gather their own grapes.
Oh dear, satyrs? I was just coming in to hear more news about Gautam's return. But, satyrs you say? I'll be back.........
G. Osso just happens to have framed pictures of Bacchus on her kitchen wall. For example, by Caravaggio....
(back with a link.)
http://www.artprints-on-demand.co.uk/noframes/caravaggio/bacchus.htm
Here it is, Giulietta!
BTW, did you know Bacchus also discovered honey? Hmmm...gives me a delicious idea!
That Bacchus discovered honey does not surprise me. Not only is it known as an aphrodisiac, it is also a natural spermicide.
Well, bring on the casks of honey, then! (Do we have plenty in the pantry, Cav?)
Plenty down in the cellar, aging with the wines.
B-b-b-but...isn't Gus down there? Um, he's been so quiet lately, I'd hate to disturb him.
Boy those satyrs know how to have fun! (hic!)
Honey ages? Are you sure cav? Has anyone tried the mede? It's tasty, but I think I like an after dinner wine a bit better.
Nah, honey doesn't age, but a cellar is a nice place to store it. There is a dusty case of mead down here though....gustav is nowhere to be seen....
Then let's all sneak down there and bring up the mead!
Singing all together now, Bringing in the Meads...
We shall come rejoicing...!
Eva and Bacchus fill all the empty containers in the palazzo with honey, then distribute them to all the guests so each will have his or her own "finger bowl."
Eva has been rejoicing a little too much with the mead. Her shocking blue sash has come unwound, and her elegant hairstyle is beginning to wilt. She is dropping jewels everywhere in her wake. But sadly, no one seems to notice.
Desperate for attention, she plucks the peacock feathers from the attendants' fans and begins tickling her guests...
Oh! Eva, I thought that was a spider! I guess maybe we all had too much mead (thanks for the spelling correction). Here, let me help you redo your sash. Wait, stop swaying? Or is that me? Well, that's better than it was a minute ago, but not as good as it was 2 days ago.
Perhaps we need a little solid food to balance the honey and mead? I smell scarpacia baking - smells like just the thing to help bring us all back to eachothers' company.
(hic)...littlek is right, Cav. We need something to eat...(hic)
Unnoticed by others, a fellow moves crablike across the floor, picking up jewels with his scoop fingernails and putting them in his chest-baggie.
