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We were all talking and laughing loudly as we approached the wall surrounding my home. Listening to them talk, it was obvious their fathers all worked for Dov, and all their families were excited at the prospect of working on the new aqueduct. But they fell silent when I opened the gate and led them into our estate. A pair of servants was tending to some of the goats that we kept for milk and cheese, and I could see Judas and Abban in the storage yard way off, but otherwise nobody was moving around the grounds. I led them across the yard to the main house and opened the door. Relieved that I could finally unload my scrolls, I carefully lowered them onto the table and then stretched the cramps out of my arms.
Mom appeared in the doorway at the far end of the room. “Oh, you have guests,” she said, surprised at the half dozen boys standing awkwardly just inside the door.
I hurried over and spoke softly so the other wouldn’t hear. “Mom, you’ve met Chuza before, the biggest guy over there. But his friends helped me out of a jam today. Some other kids were starting to beat me up, and these guys stood up for me. Is it okay if we give them some food and water before they go home?”
“Of course,” she said without hesitation. “I’ll ask the servants to prepare a platter of small cakes.“ She then approached the guys and spoke in her normal tone of voice. “Young men, welcome to our home. Please wait here for a moment until we can give you a chance to freshen up. Joanna, Susanna,” she called back toward the door, “come attend to Simon’s guests.” With that she swept out of the room.
Joanna came into the room and stopped mid-stride, taken aback at the number of guys I had brought home. Then recognition lit her eyes as she saw a familiar face. “Chuza, you’ve been here before. Follow me and make yourself useful.” She snapped her finger at him to follow, and turned and walked back out of the room. Chuza smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders at his buddies before obediently following.
After he had left the room, one of the other boys snickered and said in a mocking falsetto, “Chuza, come make yourself useful.” After he snapped his finger, he said in a normal tone of voice, “I guess she’s got him under her thumb!”
“I think the word is whipped,” said another, and all of them started chuckling.
I didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. These boys’ fathers were getting work from Chuza’s dad, and they shouldn’t be making fun of him behind his back.
Then a third boy said something that just pushed me too far. “No girl is going to tell me what to do.”
“Hey,” I said sharply, crossing my arms and planting my feet squarely as I stood facing them. “That’s my sister you’re talking about. They’re getting water and towels for you to wash your feet, and then they’re bringing you food to eat and water to drink. My sister has served Chuza before, and now he’s accepted in our household. Now he’s going to help serve you. If you want to be accepted in our household, then eventually you’ll be asked to serve others too. That’s the way we do it here.”
I surprised myself that I could talk like this to a gang that had been bullying me just several weeks ago. But this was my house, and Chuza was my friend. And to tell the truth, I wanted to stop them before they got out of hand and Mom stepped in. If Mom started a fight with them, with Joanna and Susanna as her reinforcements, these guys would never dare hang around with me again.
Philip, who had made the offending remark, hung his head. “Gee, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Then don’t say things you don’t mean. It can lead to trouble. Especially when you’re dealing with my Mom and sisters.”
A minute later Joanna and Susanna entered the room carrying several small towels. Chuza followed with two small bowls of water, which he set on the floor in front of the other guys. “Here, wash your feet, all of you,” Susanna said. “We’ll be back in a few minutes with some food and drinking water.” She and Joanna left the room.
The guys seemed unsure what to do. Chuza piped up, “Well, I’m not going to wash your feet for you. You can do that yourselves. Here, watch me,” he explained as he took one of the towels and dipped it in one of the bowls.