Day after day, Ezekiel visited Simon while he worked on his boats. Within a month, the frame boards were lashed together, revealing the shape. The process fascinated Ezekiel. The smell of pitch and freshly hewn wood filled his nostrils as the planks were nailed in place and shaped by Simon’s skillful hands.
Toward the end of completion, Ezekiel took a few days off from the fish market. Simon needed to dry the cedar wood by the fire and coat the boats inside and out with pitch. Ezekiel manned the pots of boiling pitch so each boat would be watertight. It was hard, backbreaking work, but Ezekiel liked it, even though he came home smelling more pungent than usual. He could see what was accomplished. It was more satisfying to watch a hull take form than to look at empty baskets of fish every evening. At each sundown, the boats became darker with thickening layers of pitch.
“So, how about the rest of the money?” Simon asked.
“You’ll get it when the boats are tested.”
“It will take a week for the pitch to dry fully. I can do no more as of now. I need the money.”
“You will get the money when they are tested, no sooner,” replied Ezekiel.
Simon shook his head as he picked up his tools. “Are you sure you don’t have Roman blood running through your veins?”
“I’m Hebrew. Like you.”
“No, you are nothing like me. Come, let’s go and find some fishing nets for your new boats.”
Ezekiel smiled as he went after Simon.
The market was slowing down as Ezekiel followed Simon through the winding streets. They came to a net and tentmaker of Samaritan descent. His face was pitted, and a scar, shaped like a jagged dagger blade, adorned the right side of his face.
“Simon, my friend. Have you come here to cheat me again?”
“Not this time, old man. I found some younger blood to do that for me. This is Ezekiel. He’s decided to get into the fishing business, though I don’t know why.”
“I have my reasons,” Ezekiel stated.
“You’re impudent, Ezekiel. That’s a good first step,” replied the Samaritan. “So where did a young rat like you get the money to buy boats and nets?”
“That’s my business, not yours.”
“It’s my business if you’re going to buy nets from me with stolen money.”
“It’s not stolen money.”
“I wish I could take your word for it, but it’s been my experience that only the best proof is what the Romans rely on these days.” He pulled his right arm from under his cloak, revealing a stub where a hand should be. “So telling me is not enough, I’m afraid.”
The Samaritan looked closely at Ezekiel.
“Sir, I need nets, and you obviously can’t use nets. I propose the less you know, the better. You can’t be held accountable for something you don’t know.”
This brought a smile from the Samaritan. “You remind me of myself at your age. I think six talents for each net is a fair price. There are no finer fishing nets in all of Galilee.”
“I’ll give you four.”
The Samaritan laughed. “No, my boy, my price is firm. If you don’t like it, then you can find someone else in town who will give you a better deal. I don’t need your money.”
“Then we’re done here.”
“So be it,” the Samaritan replied with a sober nod.
Simon pulled Ezekiel outside. “What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? We could go before the Pharisees for going into his house.”
“It was the best deal you could find.”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead bartering with a Samaritan!”
“And what makes you so different? You think I don’t know that your father was a thief?”
Ezekiel just looked at him.
“That’s right. I did a little digging. You insulted my friend. There may come a time when you need him. He may be a Samaritan, but he’s connected. Rest assured, if you ever do need him, he won’t be there for you now.”
Despite Simon’s words, Ezekiel felt he was right. He decided to shake it off as he walked through the market to find another net maker. The shops, however, were about to close. After Simon said his goodbyes, Ezekiel decided to call it a day. He walked the familiar path back home, feeling good about the progress made.
He would see if Rina was home and if she wished to walk with him. Coming to her house, he was greeted with a warm smile. Rina was covered in flour from preparing bread for the evening meal.
“Mother is in the other room. You shouldn’t be here, you know.”
“All the same, here I am.”
“I just denied another suitor. Mother thinks I’m foolish. But I’m not ready to settle yet.”
“Even with me?”
“Look, Ezekiel, I don’t see a future with us. As much as my heart tells me to be with you, I must honor traditions. And, well, you don’t even have money for a dowry.”
“What if I told you I did?”
“Then I would have to question how you came into such an amount of money.”
“I’ve been saving up.”
“Really? Working at a fish market stand, you’ve been able to make enough to pay a dowry and sweep me off my feet? Ezekiel, I like you, but even my faith isn’t strong enough to believe that one. Why don’t you take me as your friend for now?”
Ezekiel searched her face. Was she afraid? Did she like him? He said in a low voice, “If I were to get this sort of money together and build a life, would you want to be in it?”
“Look, I care for you very much. And in some ways, I might even love you, but you and I both know that it’s impossible. I’m sorry. But I have to take a suitor sooner than you could get the money or a life together.”
“Come with me. I have something to show you.”
“I can’t right now. Can we talk after dinner? I’ll meet you near your spot if Elyam is back.” She breathed a quiet sigh of relief to herself. She had almost slipped and said our spot.
“I think he decided to move to Jerusalem, but I will see if he is coming back,” said Ezekiel. “I can meet you there anyway.” Rina turned and left.
Ezekiel nodded as he walked away. The east wind seemed unbearable under the weight of the unknown. His walk home had never seemed so long. Each memory of growing up on the Sea of Galilee had Rina in it. Somehow, the world made sense when she was around. He could not imagine a life without her. Her eyes smiled when he was around, and he took comfort that she seemed at ease with him in a way she never was around anyone else. It was understandable of her to desire security. For the very poor, security was a treasure locked in a glass chest—something seen but never felt. To their imaginations, a windfall of money seemed as tantalizing as the food of God’s table. For Rina, her beauty was a currency that could be exchanged for a key—to unlock a lifetime of luxury. It would be a shame to throw it away.
Though he understood that perspective, Ezekiel saw things differently. He felt as though they had just heard an enthralling call to adventure—as if some kind-faced king had charged them with a priceless dagger of his own making. It seemed that now Ezekiel and Rina stood at a cliff. He looked on as she considered casting the blade to the rocks, to the gnashing teeth of the tide, for fear it was secretly cursed. He hoped, as only a young man can hope, that she realized the promise of security—not their love—was secretly cursed, for no dowry, or marriage, or any other mirage of security could protect her from life’s sandstorms. Ezekiel had learned that lesson the day he finally accepted his father would never return.
As he walked home, with her decision still uncertain and their cliffside moment suspended in time, Ezekiel felt that spirit roiling in his stomach again. He feared to lose the most precious thing he had laid eyes upon, and he imagined her standing in the doorway, freshly ground flour clinging to her palms. He remembered how a single lock of hair had escaped from her headscarf, lifted by a soft wind. The moment, vivid now in Ezekiel’s memory, felt like a good omen urging him forward. That playful lock of hair seemed to whisper a promise: “If you choose wisely, one golden evening, you will watch her take down every strand on her head—the day of your wedding.” Emboldened, Ezekiel channeled his energy into saving what stood to be lost forever. His love for her was an awakening, and there was no chance of falling back asleep.
“Slow and steady will win,” he told himself as he neared his door.
“You don’t smell of fish today. That’s a welcome change!” Aaliyah quipped, setting a place for dinner. “It’s just going to be the two of us today.”
Ezekiel kissed his mother on the cheek as he got ready for a meal of lamb, grapes, and bread. “It smells wonderful, Mom.”
“I know you won’t be here forever, and I would like to spend a little time with my only child.”
“I’m not a child anymore. I’m twenty years old.”
“You will always be my child. And, yes, I know you’re a grown man. I haven’t told you enough how proud I am of you.” This made Ezekiel smile.
“You didn’t deserve the lot you were handed, and I will forever live with the guilt in my choice of husband.”
“You didn’t have much choice in the matter.”
“That doesn’t make the feeling go away. Just please tell me you’ll be careful in those boats you’re building.”
“How did you know about that?”
“I may have been foolish with love, but I am no fool when it comes to my son. I hope you’re not in debt.”
“I’m not, Mom. I’ve been doing extra work to pay for the boats. I hope to have the nets soon.”
“I have no doubt you will make a great fisherman, but I worry about you. Please be safe.”
“I’m always safe. Sometimes I think I try to be too safe.”
“Those are the comments that worry me.”
“Don’t worry. I will always be around to take care of you.” Ezekiel smiled at his mother’s scowl.
They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. As they cleaned up, Rina announced her presence before entering the house.
“Rina, I didn’t realize you were coming over tonight.”
“Sorry, Mom. We’re going for a walk, but we’ll be back before too long, alright?”
“If I refuse, would it make a difference?”
“You won’t refuse, and I love you for that.”
“Hmm.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he’s safe,” Rina said sweetly.
Ezekiel smiled, and they made their way onto the street.
“I didn’t think you would come.”
“Well, I couldn’t talk there. Mother was in the other room listening to our every word.”
“So, were you lying back there when you told me you need security more than love?”
“No, I wasn’t. Look, my heart says one thing, but my mind is telling me there are other options. I care for you, Ezekiel, but I have my entire family to think of.”
“Is there someone else?”
“There’s one suitor who’s trying to get me to agree to marriage. He comes from a wealthy family, and my family would want for nothing as long as they lived if we married.”
“Do you love him?”
“I can learn to.”
“I wanted to show you something that might change your mind. However, if you’ve already made up your mind, then it will be worthless.”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” she said.
“So, do you want to see it?”
“See what?”
“It’s a surprise.” Ezekiel winked.
“Well, lead the way!”
He took her along the shore to where Simon worked on the boats.
“I’m learning the fishing trade, and these are my boats.”
Rina looked puzzled. “How could you possibly afford this?”
“I recently came into a lot of money.”
“By dishonest means, no doubt.”
“No, not at all. I just sold something and . . .”
“What? What did you sell?” she interrupted.
“Just something my father left me.”
“So it was by dishonest means.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“I need to go, Ezekiel.”
“Well, wait, I—”
“Don’t say anything else. I cannot marry a thief.”
“I’m not a thief!”
“Your father was. Anything he gave you was stolen. If you sell something that was stolen, then you are no better than the thief.” Rina walked away.
Ezekiel was so taken by surprise that he didn’t bother going after her. He kicked the dirt in frustration and returned home.
This was his future. There was no way he could attain it without the promise of a career. He was lucky. He could just as easily have been a beggar on the street. But this was an opportunity he could not pass up, even for Rina. He wouldn’t give up on her. She just needed time to think about things.
The next few months passed in a slow and painful march of time. Ezekiel began his fishing career. The bounty was plentiful, and he prospered. He soon hired a crew of eight, then twelve. It wasn’t long before his name grew in stature among the regions—a young man who’d made something of himself from so little. It was an act of godliness to create something out of nothing. To some, he became a hero. Others looked upon him with suspicion and jealousy. Ezekiel took it in stride as he worked hard six days a week, sunup to sundown.