JASMINE IN THE EVENING

Joimus knelt in the grass beside the long, narrow garden that backed up against the wall of the L-shaped house, digging in the dark, rich
soil with a small trowel. This would be the fifth jasmine vine she planted in the area closest to the door. She wanted them eventually to
climb up over the small peaked roof above the entrance so that as he came and went, the scent of jasmine would remind him that he
was home.

Patting the soil around the roots and using her large watering can to soak the plant in well, she then stood and walked back further into the
large yard just so she could stand there and gaze at the house. It was two stories high and every bit of it was rust-colored, roof, walls, chimneys.
She liked that. For her, rust had always been his color. It was why the house had so appealed to her, why when Jack had suggested his good
friend, General Maximus Decimus Meridius, join them in Australia, she had arranged for the old house to be shipped piece by piece from Kent.

She and Maximus had settled there in south-central Kent only last year in the centuries-old house her great grandmother had left her. He had
taken a great fall when his horse had stepped in an unseen burrow and during his recovery, the house in Kent had seemed the perfect place.
But everyone they knew was far away and the the small parcel of land upon which the house was seated did not permit for horses or crops
or any of the interests Maximus had known during his earlier life in Spain.

Then Jack and Bridgid had stopped by, anxious to see their old friends, and after listening quietly to them speak of The Glen and all their plans
for settling there, Maximus had turned and looked at his wife. "Would you perhaps consider...?"

"I would!" Joimus had smiled, knowing exactly what he was thinking. She had always adored the whole concept of Australia and when Bridgid
had elaborated on the amount of land that would be available to them, there was no doubt but that a move would be just what the doctor ordered.
Maximus had a slight, lingering limp that would, hopefully, disappear with use, and she could see that glow of anticipation in his eyes at the thought
of what he could do if he only had sufficient land.

It was the house, though, that also tugged at her heart. She'd grown to love it during their months there, but it was nothing compared to seeing
that glow in his eyes. Bridgid, always sensitive to such things in a woman's heart, had been the one to suggest that the entire house could be
moved. Jack, bless him, had instantly jumped on the idea and made shipping arrangements. The house had been carefully dismantled, each piece
laboriously labeled and packed, and then the crates put on a cargo ship for Australia. During the time it had taken for the transport, she and
Maximus had toured Sydney, then driven up the coast and from a hotel suite in Coffs Harbor, had overseen the digging of the foundation, the
paving of a small lane, the beginning of construction of a large stable and several out-buildings. She had haunted all the garden centers in the
countryside for miles around, making plans for vast gardens after the house was reconstructed.

Every evening they'd drive together back to their hotel. She couldn't quite remember when she'd last felt so completely happy. A large part of
that, she knew, was due to his happiness. When he was not overseeing the construction around their homesite, he was off scouting the horse
farms, choosing his stock. The whole process had taken a good four months so that by the time they were able to leave the hotel and actually
move in to The Glen, several other couples had also arrived and a real sense of community was already forming.

Now, here she was, having just planted jasmine for him. Near her grew yellow roses and pink ones, daisies of all sorts, lilies had sprouted tall
and boasted fat buds. Never had she seen plants grow so fast or so well. She bent, smelling a particularly large pale yellow rose.

That was how he saw her as he topped the low rise on Legion, the white stallion he'd chosen as his personal mount. He sat there a long moment,
his hands crossed in front of him, just watching her delight in the rose. "Joimus," he murmured softly into the air. His eyes then traveled slowly from
his wife to the house then over to the stables and the broad fields beyond. "Home."  He ran a palm down Legion's neck, then rode down the
slope, a quiet smile on his face.