Page 55 of Ancient Obsession

They crossed the street, and Dave held the door open for Oliver. Cody and Demetrius were already sitting in their usual spot near the back, and they made their way through the tables to join them.

Demetrius stood and gave them both a hug, holding Oliver a few seconds longer.

“How are you doing?” Demetrius asked, pulling back but keeping his hands on Oliver’s shoulders.

“I’m doing pretty good, thanks.”

Cody stood to allow Demetrius to sit by the wall before taking the outer seat. Oliver sat across from Demetrius, and when Dave sat, he and Cody had to rearrange both of their long legs to fit comfortably.

Margie approached with a smile. “It’s so good to see the four of you together. And after next Saturday, you’ll be the power quad of the town.”

“Power quad?” Cody said. “That makes us sound like ATVs.”

Margie gave his shoulder a light smack. She took their orders and hustled off to the kitchen.

“Why am I always the one getting hit?”

“Because you’re the one who’s always mouthing off,” Demetrius said.

Cody leaned in and whispered loudly in his ear, “I thought you liked it when I mouthed off on you?”

Demetrius’s cheeks burned. “Stop it. You said you’d behave tonight.”

“I am behaving. I’m the picture of behavement.”

“I don’t think that’s a word,” Oliver said.

“It should be.” Cody sat back and put an arm along the back of the booth, fingers lightly touching Demetrius’s shoulder. “You’ve got the floor, Ollie. Get us up to speed, including your theories.”

Oliver told them everything that had happened so far. At one point, he reached into his bag, withdrawing Samira’s notebook and the fabric inside the plastic baggie. Demetrius and Cody examined the material, and then Demetrius slowly flipped through pages in the notebook.

“She didn’t quite finish the scroll,” Demetrius said. “Appears to be some question about the use of mery.”

“Right,” Oliver said, leaning forward as the words came out faster. “It could be someone’s name or a term of endearment. She believes the scroll was most likely written by Amenmose himself, and that he may have been attracted to a male scribe within the royal household. Mery could have been the name of that scribe, but it’s also a term of endearment, so it’s not really clear.”

“Mary was a man’s name in Egypt?” Cody smirked. “That could really change up the holy birth story.”

“Oh my God,” Demetrius said with a shake of his head. “You are so blasphemous.”

“You love me for my blasphemy.”

“Among other things.”

“Anyway,” Oliver said. “Mery—” He raised his eyebrows at Cody. “Spelled m-e-r-y, may be a key to all of this.”

Cody made a face. “I like my idea better. Hey, how many how many wives did he have?”

“Over two hundred.”

“Damn, that’s a lot of wives.” Cody smirked at Demetrius. “Can you imagine having two hundred of me?”

“I shudder to think about the laundry.”

“Hey now…”

“Back to the mystery,” Dave said. “What if Amenmose was in love with another man? Haven’t some sculptures or images from that time period showed two men together? Ancient Egypt didn’t seem to have a problem with same sex relationships.”

“You’re right,” Oliver said. “They were a lot more accepting. What are you thinking?”