The Marriage Act(40)

The depth of his desire for her took him by surprise. He had been used to suppressing it after the night they’d made love and he’d imagined himself being with Jem Jones. He’d almost called Jada by Jem’s name. At the time, after day after day, month after month, Jem had become all-consuming. She had been the only thing Anthony thought about. Even all these weeks after her death, barely an hour passed when he didn’t dwell on her. He hated the hold she had over him.

Tonight, he couldn’t allow himself to act on his impulses. Work was his priority and nothing – not even his lust for Jada – could get in the way. In three years’ time, and when early retirement welcomed him, that’s when they could all finally be a proper family. That’s when he could become the man Jada thought she’d married. Then they’d buy the beachfront house in Saint Lucia they often spoke about and Jem Jones would be nothing but a dim and distant memory.

Anthony turned his head towards a digital swatch of wall-papers by her side. ‘What are you working on?’ he asked.

‘A nursery for a couple of guys on a surrogacy journey. But they’ve just been Levelled up so I guess it’s on hold until they know how that pans out.’

His attention was drawn towards the muted television. ‘What are you watching?’

‘A documentary about Jem Jones and the Marriage Act.’ Anthony’s skin prickled. ‘Did you know her family still aren’t telling anyone where in the world she died? All they’re saying is they’re not burying her in the UK because they’re scared her grave will be desecrated by anti-Acters. Can you believe it? Even in death, they won’t leave her alone.’

Anthony knew threats to Jem’s final resting place were a lie because he had sanctioned the use of Bots to flood social media with said threats, leading to the story being picked up by internet news sites.

‘It makes sense,’ he replied. ‘Why would they want to return her to a country that drove her to her death?’

‘Or perhaps she’s not really dead,’ said Jada. ‘Maybe it’s a huge publicity stunt and she’s going to suddenly reappear.’

Anthony shrugged. ‘Stranger things have happened.’ But he knew better. Jem was most definitely dead; he had seen to that personally.

‘They were discussing how she encouraged hundreds of thousands of couples to sign up for the Act,’ Jada continued. ‘That’s some Influencing.’

‘It used to be reality TV stars people listened to. Now it’s anyone with a camera and halo lighting. They wield too much power, and we just sit back and let them tell us where we should be spending our money, which party we should be voting for and how we should redefine our marriages.’

‘You don’t think upgrading did us any harm, do you?’

‘No, but it’s not just about us, is it? If you’re still traditionally married or if you’re single, you’re effectively a second-class citizen. It wasn’t long ago that we were having to remind people – no, strike that – shout until they listened – that our lives mattered. Thank God our son will never know what it’s like to have to justify and quantify why he should be treated with equality.’

‘Where’s all this coming from, babe?’ she asked.

‘Sorry, it’s been a long day.’ He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Both heard something click in his spine.

‘That did not sound good,’ said Jada. ‘I’m sure I can find a way of massaging the tension right out of you . . .’ She slipped her hand along his thigh and rested it close to his groin.

‘I’m really sorry but I can’t tonight,’ Anthony replied. ‘I need to get a head start on tomorrow.’

‘You’re going back to work?’

He nodded.

‘It’s almost ten o’clock.’

Anthony knew that if the roles were reversed, he’d be feeling as frustrated as Jada. He wished he could explain how the all-encompassing nature of his next project was tearing into him even at this early planning stage. And how if he didn’t decompress in the sanctuary of his sterile office soon, then he would not sleep at all that night.

‘I’m sorry,’ he offered weakly.

‘Babe, we need to talk about this . . .’

He knew what was coming: it wasn’t the first time she had wanted to have this conversation. His eyes moved towards her Smart watch, indicating she would need to choose her next words carefully. She moved her phone to her lap and began to read from the Notes section. She was prepared.

‘I want to ensure our marriage stays on track without the need of outside interference,’ she began.

‘Um, so do I,’ he replied. ‘But we’re okay.’

‘I’m not saying that we’re not,’ she said, looking him in the eye before her gaze returned to her screen. ‘However, the barriers that prevent us from speaking as openly as we might like can make it difficult for us to have an open, two-way conversation. And if the other person is unwilling to listen, it can be hard to express if we’re unhappy with a situation.’

Anthony didn’t know how to respond. So he did what he always did and became confrontational, knowing that Jada wouldn’t push back and risk their Audite being alerted to conversational discord.

‘Are you saying you’re unhappy with me?’ he asked.