Act of Faith

Short Story by Priya Leth-Jorgensen

An Act of Faith

Anne studied her reflection in the rectangular face mirror in the sacristy. Even the old, stained surface could not hide her glow and happiness. The day she had dreamed of for the last eighteen months was finally here. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She had insisted that her bridal skirt be flared, so she could have pockets. She activated the facial recognition to see a message from Marcus. ‘Can’t wait to kiss you, Mrs. Jefferson’, followed by a champagne bottle and three heart emojis.’ Anne’s heart leapt. She typed out ‘I love you. But isn’t it bad luck to talk to the bride before the ceremony? and added three kissing emojis. The reply was quick. ‘My run of bad luck has ended. With you I am the luckiest man in the whole world’.

Anne choked a sob as she put the phone back in her pocket. She loved him so much. And yes, he had had more than his share of bad luck. She dabbed her eyes delicately with a tissue. “Hey, hey, hands off your face, you’ll ruin your perfect make-up.” Althea entered the little room balancing a gigantic vanilla cotton candy cloud. She placed it gingerly on a chair and adjusted a sparkling tiara on top of it, with the concentration of a bomb defuser. “Little sis, she looked at Anne’s face critically, you are going to be the most gorgeous bride this church has ever seen.” “Thank you, Allie, said Anne gratefully, and then added tentatively, are mom and dad on the way?” Althea grimaced. “Mom is tem minutes away with Alex, Gustav and the girls. Don’t worry about dad, he’s a stubborn mule, and in any case, Alex will give you away with more flair than dad could ever manage.” Althea walked back out, to carry out some more maid of honour tasks she had taken on upon herself. Anne bit the inside of her cheek. As the youngest child of four, she had always been her father’s favourite, at least until she had carried out the ultimate betrayal by falling in love with Marcus. Her father had been furious, displayng a rage she had not thought he was capable of, and then, when he realized that she would not change her mind, he had adopted a cold silence, ignoring her texts and calls, and shutting himself in his office whenever she visited her parents’ home. But she had hoped that when her big day came, he would swallow his disappointment and more importantly, his loathing for Marcus and be the ‘proud father of the bride.’ She felt mildly resentful that although he had initially disapproved of her oldest brother Alex’s homosexuality, he had quickly overcome his pique, welcomed Gustav into the family, and was now a doting grandfather to the couple’s adopted daughters. He had not exchanged a word with Anne for half a year now. Anne knew that he was heartbroken, but she also knew that she could not be expected to blame herself. She took a deep breath. She would not let anything dampen her joy today. Not her father, not the protesters outside the church, not the tabloid journalists who were hoping for some drama with which they could satisfy their readers’ hunger for prurient details. “Heeeere comes the briiide, this one has not yet died….rang out a rich baritone in perfect pitch, wherrre is the groom, the murdering tycoon” A tall, handsome man in a fitting tuxedo stepped forward with an impish grin.. He bowed deeply in front of Anne who looked at him fondly. “Artie, she begged, could you please, please lay off the jokes just for one day?” Arthur was her favourite sibling, but his use of humour was inappropriate at the best of times, and the tension today would bring out the worst jokes at the worst possible moments. “I don’t know sis, I don’t think I can rewrite my ebst man speech at such short notice.” He took one look at Anne’s expression, and gave in. “Okay, okay, he conceded, I will be on my best behaviour. Can’t have Murdering Marcus mad at me. Is it okay I call him that, He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, before she could react, and retreated from the room, just as Fr. Simon walked in. “Good day, padre, he quipped, without stopping, and he was gone before the priest could even respond. 

Anne had known Fr. Simon since she was a young girl. He was a close family friend and had been a regular visitor at their home, presiding over all christenings, confirmations, weddings and funerals. But he had been reluctant to bless today’s nuptials, and only her mother’s tearful entreaties and a sharp reminder of the grand piano they had donated last Christmas had swayed him. “Alright, Melinda, he had finally acquiesced, but only because it’s your daughter and she doesn’t deserve to be punished for his sins. ” “You look beautiful, Anne, he now said, caressing her cheek avuncularly. I hope you know what you are doing.” Anne bit back a sharp retort about Christian forgiveness, and smiled brightly instead. If she put on her most sensible hat, she understood his reaction. After all, the late Mrs. Sarah Jefferson had been the parish’s biggest monetary benefactor before her untimely death two years ago. A death, supposedly brought about by her cold-blooded, wicked, godless husband, Marcus. 

Althea came back in, this time accompanied by Melinda, Alex and Gustav. They all oohed and ahhed over Anne. “Where is Sophie?” asked Anne in a panicked voice? She was referring to Alex’s daughter who was the ring bearer. “She is in the refectory with Tara. I have the rings, everything is fine, calm down, said Gustav evenly, you are getting married today.” “Only if your bridegroom’s limo can part the throngs of protesters, reporters and counter-protesters gathering outside, chimed in Alex, typing on his phone. I’m texting him to take the back route through the churchyard.” He chuckled, “that would be fitting.” The small sacristy was now crowded, and Anne was beginning to feel the prickle of sweat under her elaborate hairdo. This was one of the times she wished she had eschewed the church wedding, the champagne dinner at the Michelin starred restaurant, the speeches, the flowergirls, and just run off with Marcus as they had discussed on several occasions in the past few weeks. But she knew that for Marcus’ sake, she needed to endure this bit of discomfort. Marcus needed to hold his head high and do everything an innocent man would. Eloping would imply guilt, and reinforce the public opinion that he had something to hide. And she knew that Marcus was not guilty of anything, certainly not murder. She blew cool air into the neckline of her off-shoulder dress, just as Tara came came in, bringing with her the heady scent of Tom Ford’s Myrrhe Mystere. Anne breathed a sigh of relief. “This room is now off limits to anyone who is not the bride or the bride’s mother or a bridesmaid, she called out. Father, you too, we need to get Anne ready” she smiled broadly. 

As Tara and Melinda placed the weil on Anne’s head, Althea passed out bobby pins, and took pictures with her phone. Anne noticed that her mother looked stressed, and her make-up had done a poor job of concelaing her red-rimmed eyes. She had defintely had a big row with her father before she left. As the women discussed the merits of bobby pins over side combs, and wondered if Marcus would make it on time, Anne closed her eyes, feeling sorry for her mother, but more sorry for Marcus who had just experienced the worst two years of his life, and who even after being acquitted by a jury of his peers, would not be set free by the judges, juries and executioners on social media. 

She let their voices wash over her as her thoughts went back to Marcus… 

Marcus and Sarah had married young. She had been an only child and heiress to a reasonably successful paint and dye company started by her grandfather, and at the tender age of twenty-two had fallen hopelessly in love with her father’s executve assistant, Marcus. Her father had seen in Marcus the son he never had, and groomed him into taking over the top spot after he retired. Marcus had been ambitious, hardworking and had never let the old man down, The fortunes of the company had grown exponentially since his appointment as CEO. The fate of the marriage had been less prosperous, with Sarah realising that Marcus was determined to follow in his father-in-law’s footsteps of being a corporate success, rather than a devoted husband. But they stayed together and put up a facade of being the happy couple, although in private the distance between them increased in the same proportion as the assets on the company balance sheet. When Sarah found out she was unable to conceive due to a genetic abnormality, she threw herself into social causes, sponsoring orphanages, setting up soup kitchens, donating to youth centres, organisng fundraisers. She was tireless in her endeavour to make the world a better place. She always had a smile for everyone, and saved her tears for her failed marriage for when she was in her bathtub or when she had an occasional lunch with her best friend Melinda. Melinda and Sarah had been friends since their University days, and, before Marcus had become too busy, the four of them including Anne’s father had double-dated, and even vacationed together. Anne was born after Marcus was appointed CEO, and so she had never met him as a child.

It had been some three years ago that Sarah had mentioned to Melinda over a sushi lunch that she and Marcus needed a fulltime assistent who could co-ordinate their business and charity event calendars. Marcus had been very upset that she had been unable to attend a client dinner, as she had a fundraiser for her vaccination clinic on the same day. 

Melinda had proposed her youngest daughter Anne who had just returned from Hanover with a Bachelors in Arts, and was now looking for a job. Anne had started working at the Jefferson home and quickly managed to organise their hectic, overlapping schedules into a smooth and seamless flow, rebooking trips, re-arranging dinners, pre-empting their requests and becoming an indispensible part of their lives. Sarah and Marcus began to communciate to each other exclusively through her, and trusted her to make sure that messages were passed on accurately and in a timely manner. 

And then one day, Anne caught Sarah in a passionate embrace with the Director of the orphanage of which she was the Board Chairperson. Sarah begged her to keep her secret, and told her that she felt starved for affection, and that the affair did not mean anything. Anne wondered if Marcus was also playing around, and began to spy on him. After careful observation, she concluded that Marcus’s only flaw was that he was a consummate workaholic. Repulsed by what she saw as Sarah’s betrayal, she began to work more closely with Marcus, taking on his wellbeing as part of her responsibility; she sure he had time for lunch and built time for breaks in his schedule.. She slowly but surely began to fall in love with him, his professionalism, his passion for results. But she also knew that he was a man of integrity and would never leave Sarah, even though it was clear that he did not love her. Anne was just as virtuous and refused to be a homewrecker, so she just pined for him in secret. 

And then one day, Sarah died in her sleep. Marcus had left that morning for New York, and it was the housekeeper who discovered the body. At first, it was assumed to be a heart attack, but an autopsy showed that she had died of formaldehyde poisoning. An investigation showed traces of the toxin in her Omega-3 capsules. Marcus had been arrested on the paperthin evidence of his fingerprints being on the bottle and him having access to the chemicals at work.  

Overnight, Marcus went from being CEO of the year to a brutal murderer on trial. Her family and friends, with the exception of Tara were mortified when Anne visited him in prison regularly. While some of his colleagues initially showed up to support him, it was not long before Anne was his only visitor, as the trial prolonged and public opinion prejudged him as a wife-killer. Anne’s heart broke when she heard Marcus painted as the manifestation of evil, who had ony married Sarah to take over her father’s company. She wanted to scream out about Sarah’s infidelity when witnesses described her as the poor little rich saint who could do no wrong. But she knew that the information would only hurt Marcus more. Every positive testimony in favor of Marcus was deemed paid for, and every dollar Sarah had raised for charity was multiplied by a thousand. Through it all, Marcus remained stoic and dignified, a demeanour described as cold and unfeeling in the media. 

Everyone was shcked when the jury declared the Marcus was ‘Not Guilty.’ Anne’s solitary cheers in the courtroom were drowned out by loud boos and accusations of jury tampering. She drove him home, and seeing how broken he was, she moved in to make sure he ate well, and eased back into his role as the Company CEO. However, Marcus did not spend as much time at work anymore. He usually had dinner at home with Anne, and grew to admire her enthusiasm, her unfailing loyalty to him, and her defiance of her family and anyone who thought he has been unjusty acquitted. Six months later, on Christmas eve he kissed her for the first time as they ate the meal Anne had prepared. It was a subdued romance. The age gap, the shadow of the trial and the need to stay out of the public eye did not make for grand gestures. But when Marcus had proposed, Anne had accepted without missing a beat. 

Now, as Anne looks into Marcus’ eyes, she hears Fr. Simon intone ‘Do you take this (pause) man to be your lawfully wedded husband?

She knew he wanted to say ‘murderer’ and she understood why everyone thought she was insane to marry a ‘maybe’ wife killer.

But she has full faith in his innocence. After all, she was the one who added coolant into Sarah’s capsules. 

She thinks her heart will explode with love as she says, ‘I do.’