eye, and gave him the small nod to come over, smiling at him.
@alandofmyown.bsky.social
young Yosef circled the courtyard with his tray of drinks, offering them with a warm open smile to the guests. They all took from him rather than the other attendants offering drinks and canapes.
He was proud of the hard worker Yosef had grown into now three years into his service.
He caught his +
Captain Potiphar's end of harvest celebration was going very well, if he said so himself.
Looking around him, his guests seemed delighted by the assortment of food and drink provided. He quietly loved the feeling on evenings like this of being able to provide happiness for others.
He watched as +
Potiphar looks over his shoulder and is content when he sees that the fiend is secured by his guards - and apparently pliable.
It's not a far walk to his grand estate, and he waits for the guards by the entrance.
'Take him to the dungeons. Ensure he has no weapons on him...'
'Liar,' Potiphar said, fury boiling within him. The man was trying to shame him in front of the whole market.
'You will answer to the accusations in my court. Guards! Arrest him. And ensure this charlatan tradesman's goods are destroyed.'
He turned and walked away, not needing to be involved now.
'Pfft!' Potiphar exclaimed, indignant at the man's audacity. 'You insult the honour of my wife? You claim that she... When it is clear what you are! A hustler and a trickster!'
Potiphar scoffed.
'My wife informs me that you gave this to her. As a 'love token'. Is this a common game of yours? To go round seducing Captain's wives?'
Potiphar storms to face the man with long hair, slamming a pendant necklace onto the table.
'Is this your handiwork?' he says, face red with fury.
@thenazarene.bsky.social
'Where is the man called Yeshua? YESHUA!!' Potiphar bellowed in the middle of the market square, flanked on either side by two fearsome guards.
Potiphar scoffed.
"When *you* pay for the food I eat, the clothes I wear and the bed I sleep in, then I will serve you. But as far as I am aware, it's currently the other way round. With comments like that, no wonder my guests last week called you a most arrogant and lazy worker."
“Oh? Are you stood in the sun?” he asked haughtily. “How silly of me! You should come relax here in my chair, take a lovely long drink of wine, and I’ll attend to you, hold the frond to keep I’m you in the shade. How does that sound?”
“Yes, my boy?” he asked, turning his head to look at the young slave holding a large frond to protect him from the midday sun.
Captain Potiphar was proud to claim @alandofmyown.bsky.social as his.
"Poor, poor Yosef," he said, with an affectionate pat on his shoulder.
"Ah. Well, take it easy. Don't want my star worker out of commission if we can avoid it!"
"Achey?" he said, face sharp with concern. "I hope that's not from working too hard..."
"Everything alright, my boy?"
"I'm proud of the man you've become. The boy who ran away, who spat his hatred at me... I knew he could grow into the man I see before me today."
my grasp.”
He nodded.
“I would never ask the second of you, my boy. Know it is the first I offer. Security; stability; a knowledge that you are wanted. Under my roof, and by my side in our efforts of work. Carry that with you, as you dream of far off lands. You have a stable base beneath your feet, and in +
With all my heart. With love."
His heart swelled as Yosef's hands clenched his. The young man seemed to be trusting; believing that his word was his honour.
The older man edged himself closer so that the two men were close together, their hands interconnected.
"Receive it in the manner with which I intend it, my precious man. +
heard him.
I've considered you more than 'slave'... More than 'servant'... 'Mine' yet so much more... More than anyone in my life. You are *Yosef*. Frightened yet fierce; bashful yet bold. Beautiful in your contradictions. Brave. Ready for what's to come."
His eyes searched Yosef's handsome face: hoping he +
Potiphar reverberated with the honesty of Yosef's words. How they spoke so starkly to what had grown between them. Spoken with clarity, his entire face that Potiphar had watched grow into a man illuminated with truth.
"You *are* far more than what was bought, sweet Yosef. These last few years, +
Potiphar needed him to know he was safe. That he would provide stability, kindness, *compassion* for as long as the young man needed.
"What do you see, Yosef, when you look at me?"
however... scary they might feel. Stay with me. Be present."
His eyes didn't leave the young man's. Not for a second. He meant every single word.
He kept his other hand around the young man's palm and shook his head.
"Yosef... This is no time for talk of work. I care not a jot for your service right now. You are growing... healing... Breathe. I sit here not as your 'master', but as the man by your side. Don't run away from emotions, +
the match to bring it back to you, I will graciously receive your thanks, my boy."
He smiled, the creases of his face gathering as he saw hope reignite in the young man.
He took his thumb and softly traced it across Yosef's cheek, catching the warm tear before it splashed below his chin.
"That's what I like to see. Fire in your belly. If I played even a small part in striking +
