The Mormon Candidate - a Novel (53 page)

The line tightened, and it wasn’t a false alarm. Rex reel
ed
in
a
hefty
s
triper that fought to get away.

Once it was safely in the net, Rex
started disassembling the rod. “These two will give us enough food for tonight.”

Ben helped him tie the rod sections together. “What values were in conflict?”

“My last name is Levi. Do you know what it means?”

“Your family traces its roots to the tribe of Levi.”

“That’s right.” Rex shook the net with the two fish until all the
water drained off and slipped them
into a plastic bag. “When
I left the Marine Corps,
I
found a job
in
Baltimore
as a computer tech
. I
attend
ed
services at the LDS ward
and dated nice Mormon girls who wanted a good husband and
a
bunch of kids
.
During my annual interview with t
he bishop
, he gave me a date to do
the
posthumous baptizing for my grand
pa
rents
. I
hesitated, explaining how the old man was a Jew through and through
, how my grandma was the daughter of a rabbi and so proud of it
. T
he bishop was very kind, spending time with me, discussing
G
rand
pa
’s life and our family’s history back in Russia.
In the end, I
accepted that it was my duty to invite
their
soul
s
into the True Church. But then, things went weird. I was called to meet the
p
resident of the DC
t
emple and was asked to sign a statement requesting posthumous baptisms for all my relatives
, not just Grandpa
.
Turned out that the Church had been dealing with
unhappy
Jewish leaders, who were resentful of posthumous baptisms for Holocaust victims
. The LDS Church agreed to sign a
settlement agreement,
which led to more problems and another agreement. Now,
only dead relatives of Mormons could be baptized by proxy.”

“And your relatives include all Jews.”

“You got it.” Rex tied the duffel bag back on the bike. “
My
last name
—
Levi
—
meant that our hereditary line had been carefully maintained under
Jewish tradition
for centuries. It was a proof that I was a
direct descendent
of
Levi, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham
—the ultimate Jewish patriarch. I
t meant
that,
according to the Jews’ own
rules
,
I was
a direct relative of all Jews who ever lived. Therefore,
even
under the
strict
settlement
the
Mormon Church
had
signed with the Jewish leaders,
I had the right
to request
posthumous baptisms for
every
one of my dead relatives, i.e. every
dead Jew in history.”

“
But you felt it was devious?”

Rex nodded. “It was technically
defensible
according to the lawyer from Salt Lake City
,
who
flew in
to
obtain
my signature
on the paper
requesting posthumous baptisms for all my dead relatives
. But it stunk of deceit
and put me in a terrible bind
. I
had to choose whether to
be faithful to my Mormon Church
or to
G
rand
pa’s
memory.
B
eing
a young man,
fresh out of the Marine Corps,
I decided that
Always Faithful
was
n’t about obeying authorities—military or religious. It was about faithful adherence to principles: Tradition.
Integrity. Honor.
”

The ride back followed a different route, which took them into a small town with a single gas station, a general store, and a cemetery. Rex stopped the KLR on the side of the road. Without getting off the bike, he pointed at a double
stone, set slightly to the side from the other graves. It was carved with a Jewish star and the name
Levi
.

Chapter 52

Ben
pushed aside his
dinner
plate, having eaten every last crumb of Rex’s fried fish
with onion
s
and cabbage. “Th
at
was delicious!”

Streep, Powell, and Dreyfuss nodded, their mouths still full. Rex was at the sink, scrubbing the frying pan. “Practice makes perfect,” he said.

“Which is why I don’t feel ready for tomorrow,” Ben said. “By the way, what if they ask about the nasty wound on the back of my shoulder?”

“Memorize this information.” Dreyfuss gave him a piece of paper. “Dr. Glenda Monroe is your dermatologist. She operated on you in her office last Friday, outpatient procedure, to remove skin cancer from your upper left back. Her office is near
In
ova Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. She just left on a cruise to the Greek Islands, but her nurse will answer the phone and confirm your story, if it ever comes to that. Her name is Eve, and she’s a friend.”

He read the information twice and
gave the paper back
to Dreyfuss
. “Got it.
”

“Tell me.”

Ben recited
Dr. Monroe’
s
address and phone number.

“Good.
Now, considering
that Sampson Allard
was
in the
t
emple only a few days ago
, someone might question what you
’re
doing back at the temple so soon. Your response is simple: The pathology results are due in a day or two, and the wound
has
been bothering you, so where else would you go for comfort and hope but to the
t
emple
, where God’s
rituals—”

“Ordinances.”

“
Correct.
O
rdinances
and endowments
. You hope
the cancer
hasn’t
spread,
but you feel the need to
be in the best position
, just in case
.
S
ervi
ng
as proxy in receiving endowments for the dead
will
bring you closer to exaltation
and help you
win entry to the Celestial Kingdom of God.”

“The way I feel,
” Ben said, “
I won’t be lying.”

“Get a good night sleep
,” Dreyfuss said
.
“
Tomorrow is the big day.”

“One way or another,” Streep said as she collected the plates from the table. “Whatever happens
at the
t
emple, d
on’t underestimate the
s
aints.”

A few minutes later, when Ben was already in bed, reading
Mormon America – The Power and the Promise
,
by Richard and Joan Ostling, t
here was
a
knock on his door. When he opened it, Powell was there, his hand held forward, his large palm brown and creased and meaty, dwarfing a
small box.

“Take it,” Powell said.

Ben looked at him. “What
’s
inside
?”

Powell opened the box. Resting on a felt cushion was a ring. At first it looked like brass, but Ben realized it was gold
.
The setting was a crown that hoisted the diamond over a circle of blue gems. The band was crafted as a leafy branch, fixed with tiny rubies.

“I don’t understand,” Ben said. “What is it?”

“A piece of history,” Powell said. “The man who owned my great-grandfather had it made in England as an engagement ring for his
fiancé
e
, the daughter of another plantation owner in Georgia. The leaves are tobacco, the rubies are drops of slaves’ blood.
Three decades later, t
he owner and his four sons died in the battle of Columbus. After the
C
onfederates lost the war, the wife deeded the land in small parcels to the freed slaves who had worked on the plantation, gifted her jewelry to the house slaves, and drank a jar of lemonade
laced
with
a
rsenic.”

“A sad ending.”

“And a happy beginning of freedom for our famil
y. Four wonderful marriages
started with this engagement ring—including mine, which turned sour only after Mormon racism poisoned it.” Powell held out his hand. “Take it. It belongs on the finger of a beautiful black woman.”

The proper thing to do was to decline, but Ben sensed that this was a test—not a test of his good manners, but of his true feelings about race. Was Keera’s black skin the real reason for his ambivalence about marriage? “Thank you,” he said,
taking
the
box
. “It’s an honor.”

Part VII
I
:

The Candidate

Chapter 53

When Ben woke up, he found a set of white Mormon undergarments
neatly
folded on a chair. Hanging from a hook on the back of the door, still in plastic wraps from the dry cleaners, were his clothes for the day—a white shirt, a white dress-suit, and a white tie. Before getting dressed, he shaved and asked Rex to change the dressing on the back of his shoulder.

A thin layer of frost coated the seat of the GS, and Ben wiped it
off
with his hand. The four of them watched him pull on the riding pants and jacket on top of the white suit. Underneath, the Mormon undergarments felt like plastic against his skin, but he didn’t mind. The three layers would keep him warm.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m ready.”

No one said anything, and the way they were looking at him made Ben realize their feelings were more complex than he had thought.

“Do
you miss it?” Ben
looked
at each one of them. “
Do you miss t
he life
among the
s
aints
? T
he
shared
faith in the True Church
? T
he
wholesome community of brothers and sisters on the path to exaltation
?”

Dreyfuss took off his glasses and pretended to clean them.

Rex
looked around at the q
uiet farm buildings. “Sometimes
,” he said.

“
All the time,” Powell said. “I
miss it every day
, all these years.
”

Streep shrugged. “How can you not
miss it
? There’s so much damn love there, so much kindness
and support and joy
—if you’re lucky not to fall in
to the hands of
a shitty husband
, that is
.
”

“It’s true,” Dreyfuss said, his voice barely audible. “For the most part, t
here
a
re n
o people as good as the Mormons.
”

“Now I’m really confused
.
” Ben pull
ed
on his riding gloves. “
If this is how you feel,
why are you trying to destroy
the Church
? Why ruin
it
for all those good
Mormons
?”

“We’re not trying to destroy it!” Powell
pressed a
clenched fist
to his chest
. “As God is our witness, we do not wish to harm the Church. On the contrary! We wish to save it!”