Chapter Ten Meeting the In-Laws
Two weeks after the birth, I received a bouquet of flowers from Thebes. It seems the birth of his first great-grandchild jolted Kadmus to his senses. Maybe, he was mellowing. Maybe, the rise in Libertia’s popularity in Thebes meant he felt he was unable to ignore Dion any longer. Dion took this little sign as a token of reconciliation from his grandfather, and saw it as a good sign to step up his plans for Thebes. He had long harboured hopes of opening a club in Thebes in honour of his mother. Before he was able to put anything in place, we heard distressing news from Olympia.
On returning home, Orpheus noticed that Eurydike had used half of the herbs we had given her. She admitted that her stomach cramps had never completely ceased, but persuaded Orpheus that she was fine and just needed to settle back to life in Olympia. Orpheus was left unconvinced, but, out of love for Eurydike, he succumbed until his wife was unable to move any of her limbs or her head. Orpheus rushed her to the hospital. After examining Eurydike, the doctor asked where they had travelled recently. Orpheus told him. The doctor puzzled Orpheus by asking if they had been out at night. Orpheus told him about their nightly walks. He then asked Orpheus if Eurydike had been bitten by anything. Orpheus said not to his knowledge, but his wife wasn’t one to complain if she had. After gently questioning Eurydike, she admitted that she had felt a slight stinging pain on one of their walks, but hadn’t seen the need to bother anyone about it. The doctor looked grave. He took Orpheus outside and explained to him that Eurydike had probably been bitten by a krait, whose bite caused little, if no pain, at the site of the bite. The stomach cramps and paralysis, Eurydike had been suffering from, were common effects of a krait bite. Orpheus said that now he knew what it was, the doctor could cure it. The doctor didn’t have the heart to tell the devoted young husband that, by the time the anti-venom was prepared, it would be of no use to his lovely wife. Instead, on the pretence of going to prepare it, he left Orpheus holding Eurydike’s hand, while she slowly passed away.
Needless to say, Orpheus was distraught. It was Cal who tore him away from Eurydike’s lifeless body and it was Cal who sent word to us and told us, on arriving in Olympia, that he was worried for Orpheus’s state of mind. Initially, Orpheus refused to make arrangements for Eurydike’s funeral, believing that she could be brought back to life. Orpheus went to Hades and back, but it was fruitless. Eurydike had to stay there and he was unable to be with her. As far as this life was concerned, he had lost her forever. The streets of Olympia were filled with people whose lives Eurydike had touched. They flanked the funeral procession and threw flowers in her path. At Orpheus’s request, Dion read a poignant eulogy and the city was awash with tears.
Libertia delayed the release of Tria and Dion and I stayed for a month to comfort Orpheus. We left for Naxos and our house, which was by now half-finished. Dion gave the builders a month off and we lived in the part of the house which was habitable. Eurydike’s death had shocked us and I think Dion needed us to be together, in our own home, to mourn her and cherish what we had. I made infusions of camomile to help us deal with our own shock, guilt and grief. Dion kept himself busy by working on the plans for his mother’s night-club in Thebes and trying to find a way around the curfew. He had decided to call it ‘The Phoenix on the Mountain’ for, as he explained to me, “where there is death, there is always rebirth and ‘The Mountain’ for the Mas”.
We celebrated Oinopion’s first birthday quietly, with Nyx. After enjoying our family home for a month, Dion was keen to get the rest of it finished and we took Nyx up on her eternal offer. We had extra reason to celebrate Oinopion’s birthday as we received an invitation from Kadmus to visit Thebes. Dion was over the moon. He wrote back immediately to accept the offer and told Kadmus his plan for a night-club. His grandfather thought it was a wonderful idea, as Semele had ‘always loved dancing’ and even agreed to lift the curfew for one night a week, with reasonable restrictions.
The opening night of The Phoenix on the Mountain was planned to coincide with our first night in Thebes. Before our arrival, Dion sent invitations to Semele’s family. Kadmus replied that he was honoured to be asked and hoped he wouldn’t ‘cramp Dion’s style’, but had to apologise on behalf of Pentheus who would be out of the city on diplomatic business.
We arrived on the morning of the opening night and had a family lunch. Kadmus and Tireseus welcomed us and made up for Pentheus’s absence and the cold politeness of Dion’s aunts. Dion seemed oblivious to the nudging and smirks from these three sly matrons. In fact, he ignored them, but I noticed it all. So that I could support my husband on his big night, Kadmus arranged for Oinopion to be looked after by Semele’s nurse. She fell upon the baby as she would have upon Dion, if he’d been in her charge. It amused and touched Dion.
The opening of The Mount went well. Kadmus and Tireseus, Kadmus’s friend and advisor, entered into the spirit of the night. They both wore the Libertia tops Dion had presented to them at lunch. During Libertia’s set, I noticed Tireseus surreptitiously singing along to some of the songs when he thought no one was looking. I had always suspected that Libertia had received some support within Thebes, not that Tireseus would have ever admitted it. Kadmus told me he’d heard what an exceptional musician Dion was, but had never heard him play. By the end of the evening, Kadmus was telling anyone who would listen, that Dion had inherited his talent from his side of the family, although he was careful not to openly state how they were related. To ensure the evening went with a bang, Dion sent his aunts some complimentary drinks. It worked and they soon loosened up and were giving women half their age a run for their money on the dance floor, including Mae and the other members of Thiasus. It was apparent how they had earned their reputations as party-girls in their early days. Agave was most certainly the ring-leader and I always found it curious how a wild spirit could have produced a son with such reliance upon the conventional. But then I suppose we all rebel against our parents in whichever ways are left open to us and maybe Dion and Pentheus weren’t so different after all. They both craved harmony in their lives, albeit different forms of it, which they sought in opposing ways. The aunts went to the night-club every night until it closed. They particularly enjoyed Ladies’ Night, especially as Kadmus kept to his word and lifted the curfew for that one night of the week.
A week after the opening night, Likertes and Cal returned to Olympia. Encouraged by positivity with which the club’s opening had been greeted, Likertes and Cal saw no reason to stay and felt a respectful retreat was required, so Dion could bond with his relatives. They made the tactful excuse that they needed to work on promotion for the release of Tria. I was sorry to see them go, they were family and I felt safety in the numbers they brought to our party.
I stayed at the palace with Oinopion. Most evenings Tireseus kept me company. It was on one of these nights that he told me about Pentheus, so I was prepared for the worst, or so I thought. Pentheus had heard about his grandfather’s house guests, whilst in Sparta and had the whole return journey to get worked up about it. He didn’t show himself for breakfast but a message was sent to Kadmus with the request that they meet to discuss ‘urgent business.’
“Oh boy,” said Tireseus when Kadmus left, “will he ever learn?”
After we heard the door close, Tireseus counted down from ten. No sooner had he reached one when right on cue Pentheus started shouting. We heard snippets: “outrageous”, “you promised,” “laughing stock,” “impostor”, “drunken debauchery.” I surmised Pentheus had read the latest edition of The Theban. Eventually, we heard a door slamming and Kadmus returned. He was just able to exchange a glance with Tireseus before Dion entered and sat down beside me.
“I hear Pentheus is back,” he said, eagerly reaching for the eggs.
“Yes, he’s a bit over-tired from his journey,” Kadmus explained. Dion nodded and made ‘of course’ noises.
Later, in our room, Dion admitted that he had heard every word Pentheus had said. I told him wha
t Tireseus had revealed to me the night before.
“But your grandfather has welcomed you back and your aunts have been going to the club every night since it opened. Thebes has embraced you.”
“But not Pentheus,” Dion replied.
“What’s so important about Pentheus?” I asked, beginning to feel exasperated.
“He runs the show. It doesn’t matter how Thebes reacts to me while we’re here. It will all be futile, once we leave, if Pentheus doesn’t come round to Libertia. I want us to have a lasting legacy in Thebes, not just be a flash-in-the-pan.” After my longed-for departure from Crete hadn’t gone to plan I had learnt that, while you may obtain your desires, they don’t always come in the form you envisaged. It would be a lesson Dion would also learn the hard way.
For the next few days, Pentheus successfully avoided Dion. He took his meals in his study and kept to a different part of the palace. Things might have carried on in a strained but smooth manner, but for the attention the outrageous antics of Agave and her sisters at the club, were attracting. Reports of dancing on tables, carrying on with young men half their age, were sent to Pentheus and his fury was felt throughout the house. Tireseus tried to calm him down by explaining that restraint was just as destructive as excess, and that what was needed on both sides was compromise. Pentheus refused to listen to reason. He came storming into the breakfast room and for the first time since he’d returned, looked at me directly.
“Where is he?” he demanded, white with fury.
“If by he you mean my husband, your cousin, then he is standing right behind you,” I said, indicating Dion who had just slipped into the room. Pentheus spun around.
“You!” he spluttered, advancing towards Dion, brandishing another newspaper reporting another salacious sighting of the Theban princesses at the club, “You are responsible for this, for making my mother and aunts the laughing stock of the whole city!”
“Wow Coz, relax! They’re just having fun!”
“Having fun! They’re drunk like common, common …”
“You’re overreacting. They’ve been too restrained for too long. Once they’ve got it all out of their system they’ll level out.”
“Overreacting? What, aren’t you satisfied that your own mother was a slut? You want to make mine one too?”
Dion’s eyes narrowed. Tireseus, sitting beside me, whistled.
“You need to lighten up, Coz.”
“I am not your cousin! You are nothing to me! Do you hear? Nothing!” Pentheus shouted.
“Fine,” said Dion slowly, although I could tell he was shaken up. He stepped to the side and Pentheus pushed past him.
Later, when I was looking out of the window trying to get Oinopion to sleep, I saw Pentheus storming towards Dion, strumming in the garden. Pentheus was wild, waving his arms about, whilst Dion just went on strumming. Looking at them you would have thought Pentheus had the reputation for excess. Dion was peace personified. He hadn’t touched any liquid the whole time we had been in Thebes, in fact he hadn’t touched any since Cal and Likertes had brought the news that Thebes loved their music. Eventually he looked up, said a few words and shrugged at Pentheus’s reply. Pentheus stormed off. Dion carried on with his strumming, then stopped and stared after Pentheus, before getting up and following him.
When he returned to our room he looked excited.
“Pentheus is going to The Mount tonight!”
“What, how?” I replied. “Isn’t it Ladies’ Night?”
“Yes, that’s the beauty of it! He came storming over to me, ranting about his mother and aunts and told me to close down The Mount. Can you imagine? He told me to close down my own club! Anyway, I said no-can-do. It would mean lots of people losing their jobs and besides, Thebes needs a club, somewhere people can come together and let their hair down. “Let their hair down?” he spluttered. “Yeah,” I said and told him that’s what he needed to do. Then he demanded to know what went on at the club. I said dancing, music, drinking. He didn’t believe me, accused me of opening a brothel in his beloved city. I told him if he didn’t believe me he should go along himself. He told me not to be so stupid, somebody might see him. Then I told him that it was Ladies’ Night, and as he was the last person anyone would expect to set foot in the club, and dressed in drag, he came round to the idea. Especially when he discovered that Agave and the others were bound to go and if he wanted to know what they got up to, he should just, you know, dress up.”
“In drag?” I said in disbelief.
“Exactly, great isn’t it?”
“But Dion, Ladies’ Night. You’ve never even been to Ladies’ Night.”
“He’ll be fine,” Dion insisted, Thiasus are playing tonight.” That didn’t inspire me with the confidence it obviously gave Dion. “He just needs to borrow some of your clothes, put on a bit of make-up. It might even do him some good.” It was obvious that he hoped Pentheus would go to the club and see it was harmless. He believed Pentheus would be won over by Mae’s voice, have a little drink, a dance, a good time and come back home good-natured and ready to embrace Dion, Libertia and all they stood for. It’s what he clung to anyway. I watched Pentheus leave the palace, tottering on my Manolos. The only dress Dion could find to fit him was a last season white Dovas. He reminded me of a white sail.
We can’t know what actually went through Pentheus’s mind as he entered the club dressed like Cocktail la Cure. He was able to get past the bouncers without any trouble. Witnesses later reported that one of the bouncers took a shine to ‘her’ and let ‘her’ jump the queue. On entering, Pentheus would have walked through the foyer, filled with pictures of Semele that Kadmus had donated to the club. After checking in his coat, no 356, (the only one left at the end of the night), he would have been free to go on the dance floor.
There were two floors above the dance floor and witnesses later reported seeing an elegantly dressed woman walking around the floors and looking down at the dancing below. When one or two approached, ‘she’ assured them ‘she’ was fine and simply looking for somebody. When offered a drink, ‘she’ declined. However, some witnesses did report her ‘bobbing’ occasionally, out of time to the music.
Now, I have never actually been to a Ladies’ Night as Nyx never went, she couldn’t see the point. If she wanted to be around women she could just go to the washroom. Dion felt that there should be a space where everyone got a chance to be free. He understood that women needed to be free and to enjoy themselves without men, especially the residents of Persephone House. I wondered what Dion did to be free of me, but was too afraid to ask. Anyway, it appears that on Ladies’ Night, the ladies really did let their hair down and as the evening wore on, Dion’s liquid flowed and the women became more and more relaxed.
At some point, Pentheus leaned over the edge of the second floor railings. Possibly he had seen his mother or one of his aunts, we’ll never know. His wig slipped and the woman nearest to him saw his neat short back and sides and, realising he was a man, shrieked and her companions went for him. There was kicking and slapping before the bouncers were conscious of what was going on. Unfortunately for Pentheus, one of them turned out to be the fellow he had met on the door. Realising he had been duped by a man, and fearing jibes from his workmates, the bouncer punched Pentheus with all the force of his disgust. Pentheus fell backwards over the balcony and landed at the feet of his mother who, not realising who it was, but aware that someone had disrupted her dancing, gave the motionless body a kick for good measure.
How had Dion spent the evening, whilst pandemonium ensued at his club? At home with his wife and baby, dining with his grandfather and playing chess with Tireseus (who always won but who was gracious enough to say that it took longer to beat Dion than any other component).
In the morning, we went down for breakfast and were told that Kadmus had received a phone call and had left early. There was no sign of Pentheus, but Dion didn’t look concerned. He presumed his cousin was still in bed; after all, it was where he
would have been after a night at the club.
Finally, Agave and her sisters appeared, looking like disheveled older versions of Thiasus. They had turned their noses up at my initial offerings of infusion, so I had since, let them work out the effects of the night before on their own. They had poured themselves coffee and were sitting with their heads in their hands when Kadmus entered. He looked ashen.
“Well Agave, did you have a good night?” He addressed his eldest daughter.
“It was the best! Apart from when some idiot bloke got in and disturbed me just as I was trying a new move!”
Dion and I exchanged glances, but remained silent.
“Really? What happened to him?” Kadmus pressed her.
“Oh the bouncers soon sorted him out.”
“How?” Kadmus asked quietly.
“It’s best not to question their methods father. He got what he deserved. Where’s Pentheus? Has he already left?”
“Yes,” said Kadmus slowly.
“That boy works too hard. He’s got too much of his father in him. If I had known what a killjoy Echion would turn out to be, I’d never had married him. Where’s Pentheus now?”
“He’s at the morgue,” said Kadmus, gently. Dion and I froze.
“At the morgue?” said Agave. “What’s he doing there?”
“He’s not doing anything.”
“What do you mean?” Agave’s eyes narrowed.
Dion: His Life and Mine Page 11