Prologue
Heat waves appeared in the distance across the fields outside the town of Jericho as Thomas made his way to the moderate-sized home he and Zacchaeus had been working on for nearly a month now. Thomas was surprised to see Zacchaeus already putting mud into the brick forms to be used for thehome.
“How long have you been here?” the large man asked, realizing Zacchaeus must have been well into his second hour of work by the amount of bricks he had alreadyformed.
“I can’t wait on you all day, Thomas. We may never get all the work done if we started as late as you,” replied Zacchaeus as he stretched his small but muscular-framed body to relieve the soreness he was feeling from several days of forming the mud bricks. His blue eyes seemed to glow as he welcomed hisfriend.
“Some of us don’t have a wife that requires the kind of money I put out for your wages.”
“I think it would be fairer to say that some of us are unable to attract such a woman who would be willing to marry us, and I don’t want to hear how you can’t afford a woman because you pay me too much when the truth is I make you money. How was your evening, Thomas?” he asked, turning the conversation from the usual morning ritual of seeing who could win in a verbalcombat.
“Not too bad. I visited my mother last night.”
“Didn’t want tocook?”
Thomas smiled. “How late did you work last night? We didn’t have near this muchdone.”
“Until dark. I could use the extra money.”
“Extra money is one thing. You didn’t have time for a decent night’s sleep. What do you want to work so many hours for?”
“We want to build a bigger house. We want to build one from stone,” mumbled Zacchaeus, slightly slumping hisshoulders.
Thomas breathed in through his nostrils as though he were a dragon, preparing his next breath to expel fire. “You mean SHE wants to. Do you know how much a stone house will cost you? By the time you pay the stone masons you could have built three mud brick houses yourself,” scoldedThomas.
Zacchaeus stood with his head held down, his previously glowing eyes dimmed by the truth Thomas hadspoken.
“I don’t mean to sound hateful, but I just can’t stan