The young man nodded and ate the pungent pink flesh with great relish.
"it's good" he pronounced.
The battle was over. After that when ever a lobster found its way into their nets it was always cooked...often over the same fire that served as a foundry for the ore...
It became a favourite with the young me who asked hesitantly if it was now alright to eat the flesh of the wild pigs that could be heard crashing through the undergrowth from time to time.
Uncle Joe frowned."Let's break one rule at a time shall we? "
The men grinned, although Joey still took the sabbath prayers and they remembered the flight from Israel every week but the scriptural rules were often broken as a matter of survival....
The weeks past...more silvery ore was brought back but the copper was almost finished.
Joey had one more thing to make, the cup for his mother...
Twenty
The original cup of tin squashed too easily , he had to make something beautiful, something she could always keep by her side.....after...
"After what ? " Uncle Joe tried to understand but could get no further with Joey. The boy looked at his uncle with love and trust. He never said "You wouldn't understand" but that was what he meant.
Joey kept his own council on these things, some events he could foretell but others were shrouded in the mists of time. It was not yet the moment to look see the future .
The small group of men looked forward to the Spring Equinox eagerly.....they had not intended to be away from their families for so long. There was one of their number however who was not ready. Young Simon had found a girl friend in the village.
He spent as much time as he could with her after the solstice party....they had fallen in love and he didn't want to leave her.
He approached Joe cautiously.
"Can she come with us? " Joe knew that the young man realised that this was impossible.
"Come on lad....would her parents let her! "
Simon shook his head."No, but we thought maybe if she could travel...."
He saw Joe's face and stopped.
"Sorry Simon but you must know that's not possible. "
"I know....but somehow we have to be together. We have! I can't just leave her."
Joe looked at the young man, He wanted to ask how far the relationship had gone but didn't want to upset him.
Joey entered the conversation. "Can we man the boat all the way home without Simon? Uncle? "
They could.
"Do her mother and father know you love their daughter? "
They did.
"Will you find enough work to support her. And any family that may arrive ? "
The young man blushed and said" Yes, everyone in the village knows we love each other. No one seems to mind and I can live as a stone mason.....there's loads of walls that need repairing...."
Joey looked at his uncle.
"Love is the main thing after all. Love God first, then your parents, then each other...if you love this girl and if she loves you, that is sticking to the law. No where in Scripture does it say that you can only love one another if you are both Jewish. These people have a God....our God is the same. How do they mark the occasion here when a man and a woman want to live together in love for the rest of their lives."
Simon grinned. " They have a party....it's not like at home where you have to go to the synagogue. They say vows to each other in the open, under the skies, they say they will stay together always..And that's what we want!"
It was agreed then...That Simon would stay behind and that the wedding party would be before they left.
As the weeks past they increased the tin they were going to carry. It was a valuable commodity all over the world, it would secure their safety and survival all the way home. They might even arrive home rich.
There many who said that Uncle Joseph was already rich and that his home in the a Holy lands was palatial. Joey had only been there once and he had been too young to remember anything.
Money was not the most important thing for Joe though....being a good man was important he told Joey. Treating people with respect and kindness. Looking after those weaker than you and not cheating any one , they were the rules to live by.
Joey thought so too and enjoyed the travelling. He knew that one day when they returned to their small corner of the world , he would stay there. He was not going to travel all his life. He had other things to do......some of which he already knew and some were yet to become clear.
There were only weeks left though and during that time they had a wedding to plan .
Simon had started to learn the language of the Celtic race in Cornwall but Joey did most of the planning with the village elders.
Weddings were important. They marked a change for ever in the lives of those involved....and the change should start with joy, enough joy to stay with them all the days of their lives together.
Twenty-One
He asked may questions of the village people. They would leave money for a feast....a lamb should be roasted. Birds plucked and cooked, eggs from the ducks should be used to make a lighter cake then the usual.
Was there any wine? An embarrassed silence greeted this question.
Beer was brewed and drunk but wine had never been seen in those parts. They wanted to know how to make it.
Joey described the process.....first you pick the grapes......well, maybe blackberries? There none left of course, and at the end of the long winter few things hung from the ceilings and no jars of preserved fruit were available..
Joey thought hard and remembered the honey, surely some sort of drink could be made if you had enough of it. The men were sent out to all the villages....to barter tin and labour for any honeycombs they could find. A large earthenware pot was found and Joey fermented the honey into a very sweet mead.
The villagers had never tasted it before but they thought it nectar....wonderful to drink, perfect for a wedding feast.
So on the day of the nuptials the food and the drink had been prepared.
The bride looked beautiful, dressed in a simple dress of sun bleached wool.
Simon stood on a sunny day in early Spring waiting for his bride and her family. They sang as they walked in procession through the village.
Joey asked permission to say a prayer and it came in two languages....the native Celtic one and the Hebrew version.
He asked for the blessing of God on this couple and on their children. He asked that there lives would be long and blessed with abundance in every way.
They all cheered and then the feast was served There were lots of good things lovingly cooked by the ladies in the village and then the mead was produced with great cheers from everyone. Cups were dipped into the pot and filled.
Toasts and blessings were said and more mead drunk.....astonishingly even after they had all got merry with singing and dancing the mead kept flowing....no one went without who went to the jar.
As they left Simon in his new home Uncle Joe remarked on the abundance of wine at the feast and looked sideways at his nephew......a question quivering on his lips....
Joey laughed. , "A wedding should be full of joy uncle...you know that "
And there it was left. A few days later they had reached the equinox and were preparing to leave.
On the last morning Uncle Joe had been out at dawn to watch the tide turn and assess the size of the waves as they swept in. When it became obvious that it was going to cover the sand bank with plenty of room to spare for the keel he issued instructions. They were leaving.
Everything was stored in the bottom of the boat, all their spare ore, all the worked tin, and of course the bronze. It was all safely aboard. Most of their sheepskin clothing was left behind....it would not take them long to head into warmer weather.
They took on board plenty of water, dried fish and meat. And then Joey looked at Mia.
She had accompanied him on his coracle lots of time but this was different. T
here would be times when they were unable to land....and Mia needed to run on land, not on water!
Joey stood gazing at his dog, grown into beauty and swallowed hard. He should have thought about it before now. Uncle Joe gazed at his nephew.....he knew the dog must be left behind.
Suddenly they heard a shout....Simon and his young wife were running along the shore.They had a rope with them! The crew watched as Mia was tethered by Simon who waded waist high into the water to speak to Joey.
"We will look after her for you. She's a good dog." He rubbed her ears as Joey had done. Mia wagged her tail and Joey spoke to her as the tide rose and floated them slowly out.
"You are Simon's dog now Mia....good girl. Thank you Simon."
Joey sternly gulped back tears as the boat moved out...Mia barked a sharp anxious bark as the men on the boat watched Simon leading her gently out of the water and back onto the shore.
Twenty-Two
They were ready. At the precise moment of sufficient water Joe gave his instructions, they were all on board....the tide had filled the small basin and they pulled up the anchor which had not been needed all these months.
"She floats " said the men happily, they were ready to leave, to get back home to their wives and mothers.
She did float. Using paddles the men helped her out into the main stream and then cheered as the tide took her. Slowly she edged her way over the bank which had kept them prisoner for six months.
Suddenly there was a wail from Joey.
"The bell, my bell, my bronze bell. He pointed. "We forgot it! We've left it behind! "
The men turned as Uncle Joe clamped his hand over Joeys arm. There was no turning back now.