Watching the boys finish dinner, Eran considered what he would teach them on this night. He had been focusing on numbers lately because it was required for any carpenter. Also, he wanted to show them how certain numbers had special relationships to each other. He understood that the concept of numbers having meaning was considered by many to be frivolous, even foolish. He knew from his own training however, that numbers carried symbolic meanings expressing complex ideas. If he could encourage the boys to think beyond the surface of things, they would embark on the path of real learning.

He gazed at John as he ate. No one living knew that Eran was the father of the boy. It was Eran's secret to keep now that Liz was gone. He and Liz had never spoken of it, nor of the drug induced coupling that had produced the boy. Eran was content to let her think that Zack was the father. Whatever Zack's suspicions, he never spoke otherwise. Eran's secret was now between him and the gods.

Whenever he looked at Jesu, he was forced to remember the bizarre circumstances of his conception. He knew that Jesus was the issue of Zack's desperate, secret rape of young Mary years ago in that cave in Emmaus. Even after all these years, Eran could not understand. He had no choice but to go along with the story that the boy was the product of her marriage to the old man Joseph. Joseph also went along with the ruse, no doubt paid handsomely by Josh to pretend.

"Eat up boys!" Eran spoke sternly. They were taking longer than usual to finish in addition to having arrived home an hour late. His patience was wearing thin, and he was tired from the long day.

"Clear the table so we can start tonight's lesson," he said to the servants standing by.

Once the remains of dinner were cleared, Eran stood and placed three apples in the middle of the table. The boys looked at the fruit and then at Eran, a puzzled look on their faces.

"Is this dessert? One for each of us?" John asked.

Eran laughed. "Not so fast. Maybe when we are finished with the lesson", he quipped.

"How many apples do we have?" Eran asked the boys.

They responded in unison, "Three," an easy calculation for either of them.

"Yes, as there are three of us," Eran nodded. He put the apples in the pocket of his robe and asked, "How many are there now?"

"There are still three apples," Jesus replied. "But now they are in your pocket!" The boys giggled.

"Alright, then, how many apples are on the table, Rabbi Jesus?" Eran teased. He had to admit that Jesus often showed the argumentative characteristics of a temple scholar.

"There are no apples on the table," John replied cutting off Jesus.

"We represent the idea of none like this." He traced the Egyptian symbol called nfr with his finger on the table. The boys both smiled but had puzzled looks on their faces.

John asked, "What good is having a number for 'none'? It seems foolish."

"Patience," replied Eran. "Now, both of you close your eyes."

"In your thoughts, picture the three apples on the table." He paused. "Now open your eyes again."

The boys did as they were told, and when they reopened their eyes, there were still no apples on the table. They looked at each other puzzled.

Eran continued, "How many apples are there now?"

"None" said John.

"but..." said Jesus.

Eran turned to the side and showed that he still had the apples in his hands behind him.

"Just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Eran continued, "When your eyes were closed you imagined three apples on the table. Then, when you looked again there were still no apples on the table. But as Jesus, pointed out, there were still three apples -- unseen but still present."

The boys looked thoughtful, considering Eran's point.

"Like dessert!" Eran said as he pulled the apples from his pocket and tossed one to each of boys and taking a bite out of the one he still held.

"Now off to bed with you" he said. The lesson was done. Eran hoped he had given the boys something to think about beyond their day-to-day world. This kind of teaching, he knew, was a gift from the gods to man.

(End of Chapter 18)