The next morning Zack woke before dawn. He felt distracted and agitated by the message he had received in his dream.

How could he yet father a child -- if not by Liz, then by whom? He puzzled.

He lay in bed, replaying the dream sequence in his head. He needed to get away from the house and take a walk by himself in the countryside. It would give him a chance to enjoy the natural surroundings that Josh did not own. And it was a good chance to think about the angel's mysterious promise. He wondered if there would be a purple flower in the garden like the angel had said.

Throwing on his outer robe, Zack tiptoed to the door and quietly pried it open. He could hear the sounds of birds chirping outdoors, and smell the fresh mountain air coming into the room. It made him eager to be outside to enjoy one of the benefits of being in his in-law's home.

It seemed that no one else was awake yet. It was quiet in the patio area except for small birds hopping about on the stone floor. The glow of morning light was just beginning to appear in the east.

The house and surrounding grounds were a protected sanctuary in the hills that most people never enjoyed.

Zack remembered a shortcut to enter the gardens behind the house at the corner of the patio, a half-sized door that opened to steps leading to the gardens behind the main house.

The door had been there for many generations. Its original purpose was to create a safe exit in the event of an attack. He wondered how many times it had been used for that purpose. It wasn't a secret to family members or to the servants who used it to enter the gardens.

Zack slipped through the hidden passage and emerged in the garden. There were rows of vegetables and fruits planted, which seemed to stretch over the horizon. There were olive trees and grapevines planted ­ just waiting for the rains and warmer weather to bring them to life. It would not be long now.

It was early in the growing season so there was not much above ground. There were a few dozen mature cedar trees, planted along the garden walls to provide a windbreak.

At the back of the property was a small storage building, for tools and animal feed. Zack made his way toward it, wondering if he might find some of the purple flower growing there. There were no other flowers visible to him in the planted fields.

As he got closer to the storage hut he was surprised to hear muffled sounds coming from inside. There were grunts and moans that kept repeating. He wondered if there was an animal trapped inside, trying to get out. Maybe it was one of the servants. The sounds intrigued him. At first, he thought who or whatever was making the sounds was in distress. His curiosity got the best of him so he decided to investigate.

Zack slowly opened the door. He peaked inside and through the low light he could see the slave Eran, standing, with his back to the door, partially hunched over a bale of hay. He was completely naked except for his sandals, his sweaty backside glistening in the morning light from the opened door.

Beneath Eran, was another naked body. Zack peered more intently to see if he could make out who the woman was. To his surprise it was Josh, whose legs were spread wide and wrapped tightly around Eran's waist. It was Josh who was making all the noise. They were both drenched in sweat. When they realized someone had entered the shed, they were struck speechless and frozen in place.

Zack gasped, and quickly shut the door. He was confused and astonished. He had trouble thinking for a moment. A sense of panic rose up in him as he realized what they were doing. They were having sex! Eran, a servant, was entering Josh, his master! First thing in the mourning! In a shed behind the house! On the Passover holiday!

Zack quickly moved away from the door, hoping he had not been recognized. He stood frozen against the wall for a moment, and then moved quickly, to disappear into the trees nearby.

Zack's mind was reeling as he walked away. Not sure of where he was headed, he hardly cared. He was afraid and embarrassed about what he had seen. He wasn't completely shocked though given Josh and Eran's public behavior, it was all starting to make sense to him now.

When he thought that he was far enough away, he sat down against an olive tree to rest and collect his thoughts.

Catching his breath, to calm his mind, Zack wondered to himself what should he do with this revelation. He knew that men did such things, despite the restrictions forbidding it. "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination," the Torah says. But he also knew, from being a Rabbi and from his work with people, that in this life there was no direct punishment from God for committing this type of sin. The punishment came instead from men, who imagined that they were doing God's bidding.

Indeed, sex with another man did not result in children -- there were no lasting consequences. As far as he was concerned this was between the two men. He would pretend that he had never seen them. That he had never been in the shed. They were pretty drunk anyway. He knew Josh would be too embarrassed to mention it. Maybe they didn't even care if they were seen.

If word of their behavior ever got to the Sanhedrin Council, Josh and Eran would certainly be prosecuted. Because Josh was well known and wealthy, he might be able escape punishment with a bribe, but Eran would certainly be put to death -- by stoning. They might both be stoned. It would destroy their lives. Even if he wasn't brought before the council, Josh could easily be blackmailed.

The repercussions of this discovery swept over Zack. He sat for a while, trying to imagine what he should do -- if anything at all.

No matter how obnoxious his rich brother-in-law could be at times, he did not deserve a fate like the one Zack could foresee. Josh had been very generous to Zack and Liz. Exposing Josh would be no way to repay his generosity.

But what about Ann, he thought. Did she know of this relationship? Was she suffering quietly in a 'sham' marriage to Josh? Wives were required to obey their husbands no matter what. That was the way of things. She would have no recourse. Ann certainly seemed happy -- certainly much happier than Liz! Maybe Eran satisfied both their needs in this way. After all he was their slave. What an interesting world his rich in-laws inhabited.

After a while Zack stood and he began to make his way back to the house. His mind more settled now, he remembered that the angel instructed him to collect some of the purple flowers. According to the dream, the flowers were somehow connected to having a child of his own.

Perhaps it was for concocting a potion that would make Liz fertile he thought, or even make her want to have sex with him. Both ideas seemed far-fetched.

He looked around as he walked and soon spotted a vine with the purple flowers. The flowers seemed familiar to him. He remembered them from his youth. His mother had warned him never to touch them. She said that they would make his stomach ache. He wondered how that could be helpful?

He plucked the blossoms and some leaves. As beautiful as they were they had no scent that he could detect. He put them in a pocket inside his robe, and continued his walk back to the house.

How strange this day was turning out to be.

(End of Chapter 7)