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It was the new diorama that was coming next week, it was making Octavius worried sick 12/7.
“They won’t swap Rome for Greece, it’s just for a few weeks while the movie is on display” Nick said (for the third time only this night).
“Well, I always knew the glory of Rome—”
“I can’t deal with it anymore, I just can’t. It’s gonna be okay; Jed, talk to him. I’ll be back later.”
“Yeah, partner, it ain’t no reason to worry. They’ll come and they’ll go. Now…wanna go for a ride?”
“Hm.”
“Come on! Airplane!”
The new diorama came at afternoon and, exactly at the sunset, Larry and Nick played a best of three of rock-paper-scissors. And Nick lost. That meant he would explain to the new miniatures that they were just museum figures (and he’d probably be attacked by them) and, more difficult, why they were so small. For this, he brought Jed and Octavius, whose couldn’t explain why, but maybe could exercise some empathy.
The new diorama looked like a beach, with a war camp. The figures took their sweet time to adapt and understand they didn’t need to fight the war there (though they weren’t exactly fighting at that point, just waiting for Achilles to do something). Anyway, the troops found it nice to visit the rest of the museum. And they seemed to like when the other miniatures appeared to visit them. The visitors would spend most time at the beach (especially the wild westers, they seemed very fond of the sea, though most of them apparently didn’t know how to swim) and Achilles and Patroclus never left the diorama, which Octavius found a little odd (he was still afraid of a possible swap, which made him distrust even his own shadow). He talked about it with Jed, but he didn’t seem to find it weird. “They’re just enjoyin’ some time without worries about their war. Let them be” that’s what he said, as he understood it so well.
Nick was the official life saver (since he was at vacations). It meant he couldn’t let the wild westers drown, which was a difficult task since they all find really funny to jump in the sea all together at the same time. At some point he starts to regret coming to the museum instead of staying home playing videogames.
Some days after, they also went to the beach: Jed, Octavius and Jolene (Jed’s friend from the bar).
Jolene placed a towel on the sand and sat very satisfied. Octavius took of his sandals.
“I’m going to put my feet in the water” he said and left the sandals with Jed. Now that he knew for sure that they wouldn’t swap the dioramas, he looked like he was having the time of his life. Jed watched him going, then sat by Jolene’s side. He saw Octavius happily putting his feet in the water, then took a moment to notice the others. Achilles and Patroclus seemed very happy, though it was something odd about them.
Jedediah was watching Octavius again when he realised why he was finding Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship so strange: they knew each other before the museum, they weren’t strangers. He wasn’t accustomed with this, he only knew impossible love stories; love stories that only exist because of… because of the museum, everything all of them have only exist because of the museum, everything.
“Why are you starin’ at the happy couple?” Jolene asked. Oh, he was staring at them now.
“They always had it. It’s just— Before we were here, we didn’t have anything. And they always did.” He couldn’t explain the exact course of his thoughts, so she understood it differently.
“That’s historical jealousy” Jolene said, trying not to laugh.
“It ain’t jealousy, it just makes me think about it.” Would he ever have met Jolene if it wasn’t for the museum? But he didn’t have the chance to say it to her.
“If it helps, their history goes by Patroclus dying by Hector’s hand. Then, Achilles will kill Hector and die soon after it. Even though they reunite in the ‘after line’, it’s a tragedy.”
“It doesn’t help, it’s just very sad. And why the heck do you know all of it?” He wouldn’t have met Jolene, would he? A voice in the back of his mind was insistently asking.
“Nick told me.”
“Why?? And I ain’t jealous. I was just thinking.” He wouldn’t have met Octavius either…
“Yeh, I know.”
He thought a lot about it and, some nights after, he tried to bring that subject to Octavius. How they wouldn’t have met each other if they weren’t at the same museum and how they were so lucky but, at the same time, that was so unfair.
“But it’s not their fault.” He was talking about Achilles and Patroclus as example, but it wasn’t about them. To talk about them was not Jed’s intention.
“I don’t think it’s their fault, I just think it’s unfair...” … that we ain’t like them, but he left this part inside his mind.
“I think the best would be to focus on how lucky we all are…”
So he did. But the same feeling came back later, and he talked about it again.
Octavius couldn’t understand why he was complaining (it wasn’t his intention, but Jed was, in fact, complaining), and he tried to explain.
“I ain’t complainin’, it’s just… I don’t know, maybe I…” he couldn’t continuate, so he said something different “…Just wanna go put my feet in the water with ya.” It wasn’t a lie, though he didn’t really like water.
That existential crisis wasn’t doing good for his nerves.
“I don’t think this is what you wanted to say.”
“It is! Let’s” he got up and pulled Octavius for a sloppy dance while he started to sing (without any rhythm) “let’s go to the beach, put our feet in the water, jump on the waves, let’s—”
“You’re crazy” Octavius said, laughing.
So they went to the beach, and this was pretty much their routine now.
Jed and Octavius almost got friends with Achilles and Patroclus. Almost.
On a wednesday night, two months later, Larry came to talk to them. The greek diorama was leaving on friday. The west diorama was especially sad, but nothing compared to Octavius.
“I thought you’d be happy” Larry said to him.
“I was enjoying having them here.”
“Well, I think they’ll do a rotation program here. With four dioramas per year. So, the greeks will be back next year.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”
Even then, the west diorama was planning a goodbye party for them, and that made Jed busy. They reunited almost every miniature, and made lots of food (west), and by the end they were probably all drunk (Rome’s wine).
Nick put music on so they could dance, which probably was a mistake, since all of them started to move at the same time and suddenly the diorama was very small for all of them.
“Come on, one dance” Jed asked, quite drunk.
“I’m not in the mood…” Octavius said, though he was smiling.
“You’re always in the mood for a good dance with me. And they actually put music on.”
So they danced until it was almost sunrise.
The greek diorama wasn’t there next night. And, despite the alcohol effect, they were all very sad.
“Oh, guys, don’t be sad, they’ll come back next year. And, and there’ll be another diorama soon!” Nick said, trying to cheer them up. “And they’ll probably have a beach too!”
“What will it be?” Jed asked.
“I think it’s from this show Our flag means death…”