The Book of Longings

Determined to meet the man who helped her in the market, Ana visits the cave regularly until finally she meets him. They exchange names. Jesus tells Ana he is a stonecutter from nearby Nazareth. He is in the city because Herod’s building projects mean work. When it begins to rain, they move into the cave and break bread before Ana returns home.

Ana’s parents will present her for marriage at the banquet hall of Herod’s palace. Ana arrives, bejeweled and perfumed. While she waits, she meets Herod’s Greek wife, Phasaelis. The two bond immediately. Phasaelis tells Ana that she too was pledged into a loveless marriage with Herod when she was Ana’s age. Ana desperately prays to God to “visit a pestilence upon my betrothed” (93). Soldiers interrupt the preparation banquet by bringing in two chained prisoners, members of the radical underground movement determined to end Roman occupation. Ana recognizes one is her cousin Judas.

A fever descends on the city. Nathaniel falls sick. Ana feels “relief, hope and gladness” (99). Phasaelis summons Ana to the palaces. She tells Ana that Herod has found her appearance striking and wishes Ana to pose as the model for a mosaic for the palace.