On Every Side (13 page)

You're so good, God… first seeing Jordan last night and now this.
“Thanks, Joshua.”

“It's what your dad would have done.”

“So what happens next? When's the hearing?” The anger had turned to something altogether different, a sense of justice, of fighting for what was right. It resonated in Faith with a strength that was foreign to her, and she suddenly had to know more details, find out where she fit into the picture and how she could be part of the solution.

“The judge assigned us a date, four weeks from tomorrow The last Wednesday in September.” He paused. “The guy from HOUR tried to talk us into taking the statue down without a fight, met with us yesterday afternoon. When we told him no, he filed suit and headed back to New York.”

New York?
Faith's fingers began to tremble. “I
have to get back to New York…
New York… New York….”

It couldn't be. He would never have been involved with an organization such as HOUR, not in a million years. Still, how many other New York attorneys had passed through town yes-terday? Her throat was suddenly dry and she had to work to find her voice.” Did you get the guy's name? The attorney, I mean?”

“From HOUR?”

“Yeah, the man from New York?” Faith held her breath as she heard Joshua shuffling through papers.

“Yeah, just a minute.” There was a pause, and Faith didn't think she could stand the suspense. Even if she was right, if it
was Jordan, she had no intention of telling Joshua she knew him. It was all too much of a shock.

“Okay, here we go… just a minute… let's see… it's right here.”

No, don't let it be… it can't be…

“His name is Jordan Riley.”

A
t five minutes before eleven Jordan tuned his satellite receiver to a channel he'd never watched before his brief visit to Bethany: WKZN out of Philadelphia. Since Philadelphia was a major market, it made sense that Jordan's satellite service would carry it, but he was surprised all the same.

Since seeing Faith the night before, feeling how she worked magic on his heart and soul, he'd been plagued by more doubts than he cared to admit. He had never experienced a connection that strong to any woman, never had the unexplainable urge to take a woman home right then and marry her…

Of course his feelings didn't matter. What mattered was that he and Faith had grown into adults who stood on opposite sides of a religious Grand Canyon. As strong as their opposing views were, he knew there would be no bridges to build, no earthly way to span the distance between them. Any chance that may have existed would be demolished after Faith learned the truth.

No, he'd never hold her again, never have the chance to tell her that he would remember last night as long as he lived… but he still had her news show. Once he found the channel, he sat stone still and waited for the broadcast to begin.

The music came first, then a gradual close-in on Faith and her coanchor. The man spoke first. “A second victim in last week's local gun battle is dead today as police continue looking for the suspect.”

It was Faith's turn.” And in Bethany a powerful law firm takes aim at the city's favorite landmark.”

Jordan searched her beautiful eyes for any sign that the story
had hit her personally, but he saw none. He could only imagine what sort of emotional turmoil was going on just beneath her polished veneer. He studied her eyes, her hands.
Don't hate me Faith… this has nothing to do with you.

“Good evening everyone, I'm Ron Leonard…”

“And I'm Faith Evans, welcome to tonight's edition of WKZN's Nightly News.”

Leonard talked a few minutes on the gun battle story; then the camera fixed on Faith.

“An attorney from Humanity Organized and United in Responsibility filed suit yesterday against Bethany claiming that the nearly hundred-year-old Jesus statue violates the Constitution's call for a separation of church and state.” Faith kept talking but the camera cut away to a shot of the Jesus statue, with young children playing nearby. “For nearly a century the Jesus statue has stood as a landmark in Bethany, Pennsylvania, without a single complaint waged against it.”

Jordan watched, his palms sweaty. Did she know he was the attorney?

“But all that changed yesterday when Jordan Riley, an attorney with the HOUR organization, filed suit asking that the statue be removed.”

Well, that answered that. A strange sadness settled over Jordan. After spending more than a decade wondering about Faith, looking for her, they'd lost each other again in less than twenty-four hours. The camera cut back to her.

“There'll be a hearing on the matter Wednesday at which point Judge Randall Webster is expected to make a decision. Hundreds of citizens from Bethany and surrounding communi-ties are expected to attend.”

Oh, they are, are
they? Jordan raised a single eyebrow. Despite his boss's warning that this case could gain national attention,
Jordan hadn't really expected a fight. Case precedent on such matters was clear: Whenever a city had chosen to erect a reli-gious display or statue, almost without exception the city had been made to take it down. Jordan wondered if maybe Faith was talking about herself or if she knew for a fact that citizens had already rallied against him.

Faith turned to her partner. “Quite a case, huh?”

Ron shook his head. “Bound to be in the news for a while.”

The camera hadn't focused back in on her, but still Faith con-tinued the conversation with her coworker. “I'm from Bethany as you know, and all I can say is that this Jordan Riley—whoever he is—doesn't know what he's getting himself into.”

Jordan felt as though he'd been stepped on by an elephant.
Whoever he is?
Faith—his childhood best friend, the woman he'd kissed so gently the other night—had referred to him on East Coast television as
whoever he is?
She must be furious with him. The knowledge of that truth cast another strange layer of grief over him. What was wrong with him? Was he surprised that she was angry? He should have expected it the moment he realized she still lived in Bethany.

No, there was nothing shocking about Faith's reaction. After all, Jordan had always known how she loved Jericho Park and the Jesus statue in particular. But somehow he'd hoped she might understand, that she might see how God had let him down, how He'd taken his mother, his sister… even his chance at a relation-ship with Faith. Jordan wasn't the bad guy here, couldn't she see that? Jesus was.

The lawsuit was an act of mercy, really. No city in America should have a statue honoring such a cruel God.

The minute the newscast was over, Dick Baker marched across the soundstage, the capillaries in his temples purplish and threatening to burst through his skin. He pointed his finger at
Faith's partner. “Leonard, out!” Dick's bellow echoed off the stage's fiberboard sets.

Faith gulped.
Ij he fires
me,
Lord, let me get out of here without crying.
Ron Leonard, his hair and stage makeup still perfect, scowled at their boss, looking as if he might argue the station manager's approach. But instead he gathered his things and stormed off the stage. When he was gone, Dick turned to her.

“I warned you, Evans. What you did out there tonight was over the top. I mean completely unprofessional.” He was breathing hard, his face almost as red as the veins in his neck. “The story didn't call for you to talk about the citizens of Bethany. What…were you out taking a private poll this morning?” He barely paused to grab another mouthful of air before he answered himself. “Of course you weren't. You said hundreds of citizens from Bethany and other towns were expected to be at the hearing and that is simply a lie. A complete fabrication of the facts.”

There were knots in Faith's gut but it was too late to back down now. She'd made the decision to express her opinion on the air because it was the least she could do. If people knew that Faith Evans didn't want the Jesus statue moved, they'd likely side with her. She had that kind of following. The elderly saw her as a pretty daughter they needed to protect. Women related to her freshness and lack of guile, and men, well, it had never been dif-ficult for Faith to gain the support of men. Not since she was ten years old and won a beauty pageant at the county fair.

He was waiting for an answer, and Faith met his gaze head on.
Okay, God,
give me
the strength…

“I live in Bethany, Dick. I know the way people think there. It'll probably be more like a thousand people. That's how much they love that statue.”

“No
one—” he shouted the words and then gritted his teeth as
he struggled to tone his voice down— “no one at this station is free to present his or her own news without some kind of outside research. Otherwise we're reduced to a group of op-ed mouth-pieces spewing
our
thoughts and
our
ideas and
our
take on the news as it relates to
us!”
He paced two steps out and then back again, his hand raised for emphasis. “And what was that ad-lib thing you did? The camera wasn't anywhere near you! It was Ron's turn to speak, and all of a sudden we hear little Miss Opinionated talking about how this attorney from HOUR doesn't know what he's gotten himself into?” Dick massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger, then he peered over the top of his hand and his eyes locked on hers. “Who in the world gave you permission to make such a statement?”

Faith didn't blink. “Ad-libbing is part of the job. It sounds conversational and approachable and friendly. It makes viewers tune back in tomorrow. Remember, Dick? Those were your words from last month's editorial meeting.”

Dick glared at her and slammed his raised hand down on the countertop between Faith and him. She started from the ferocity of it. “You know darn well what I meant in that meeting! I was talking about scripted ad-libs. The kind that bridge us from news to weather, and weather to sports. Not a free-for-all, utterly biased conversation where all of Philadelphia gets to hear Faith Evans's opinion of HOUR.”

Faith sighed. “Listen, Dick, I'm sorry I didn't think it was out of line.”

The station manager threw his hands in the air. “Sometimes I can't believe the networks are considering you for a national spot. I mean, don't get me wrong, Evans. You're beautiful and bright and you connect with our viewers like no other female anchor in the last decade.” He moved closer and the corners of his eyes narrowed. “But the network has made it clear that I'll lose my job
if I let you or anyone else use airtime for their own agenda. I can-not—
will
not—tolerate your Christian posturing on my news program.” He was so upset his hand shook and he drew it back. “I could fire you, Evans, you know that?”

She knew he was right. Her contract included a promise of no biased reporting, which meant that even though it might look to the public like religious discrimination if she was let go, the truth was it would be perfectly legal.

Do not be dismayed, daughter, I am with you…

The sudden silent reminder of God's presence in her heart caused a warm calming feeling to spread out from her gut. Baker was waiting for an answer, and Faith forced herself to reply. “Yes, sir. I know”

“You will take tomorrow off without pay and you're to see me before going on the air Thursday.”

Thursday? That meant she wouldn't be there for the
Wednesday's Child
segment. If she didn't do it, no one would. She had planned on running the segment on Rosa again in hopes that someone, somewhere would fall as quickly in love with the pre-cious child as Faith had. Making her miss Wednesday was the worst punishment her boss could have meted out.
Lord, see what happens when I try to stand up for my beliefs? What good did it do?
There were no words in response, only images. A candle under a bushel, a buried coin, and walls around something Faith couldn't quite make out. It didn't matter, the message was the same: God wanted her to be bold, no matter the cost.

Dick's voice was so loud Faith was sure most everyone at the station could hear him. “Tomorrow I'll write up a probation form, which we will both sign…and the next time you pull a stunt like this, Evans, you're fired. It's that simple. You can forget about any help from the network. The big boys like your talent, but pretty mouthpieces are a dime a dozen. If I don't keep the
executives happy they'll have both of us gone before the week-end.” He lowered his face so that he could stare straight at her. “Have I made myself clear?”

There was no point arguing. “Yes, sir.”

Dick spun and walked away. Faith watched him go and knew she should have felt discouraged, and she was—about missing
Wednesday's Child
the following day. But as she left the station she felt strangely inspired, uplifted—as though she'd taken the first step toward a life that God had been calling her to for years. It was a small step, but it was in the right direction, and though her job hung in the balance, Faith was curiously unconcerned.

By walking the narrow path ahead of her she somehow knew she would be safer and more secure than at any other time in her life. Faith paused as regret hit her over one fact: Jordan had become an enemy overnight, someone attacking her home, and she wondered for the hundredth time since Joshua's call why her long-ago friend had filed the lawsuit in the first place.

And how he'd had the nerve to hide the fact from her that night at the diner—and later in the parking lot. He had filed suit that very day… he must have known she would be upset by it. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so evasive when she asked him why he was in town.

The thought of it turned Faith's stomach.

Had he only wanted to trick her, use her for a night of remi-niscing? And what did he have against Jericho Park and the Jesus statue? Faith had no answers, but there was someone who did. As she climbed into her car that night she made a plan to get Jordan's phone number and call him.

Even if it was the last time the two of them ever talked.

The easiest way to find him, Faith knew, was to call the HOUR organization in New York, so at two o'clock in the after-noon the next day from her mother's kitchen she did just that.
Once Faith had Jordan's number from the operator, she was con-nected to his secretary in less than a minute.