When Angels Play Poker Read online

  WHEN

  ANGELS

  PLAY

  POKER

  Maura O’Leary

  Copyright © 2017 Maura O’Leary.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Inspiring Voices

  1663 Liberty Drive

  Bloomington, IN 47403

  www.inspiringvoices.com

  1 (866) 697-5313

  Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

  Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

  Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

  ISBN: 978-1-4624-1213-6 (sc)

  ISBN: 978-1-4624-1214-3 (hc)

  ISBN: 978-1-4624-1212-9 (e)

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017904351

  Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

  Inspiring Voices rev. date: 04/25/2017

  Contents

  Chapter 1 Last Thoughts

  Chapter 2 “Hey, You’re In Heaven Now!”

  Chapter 3 The Assignment

  Chapter 4 Learning About The Assignment

  Chapter 5 The First Connection

  Chapter 6 The Second Connection—The Dream

  Chapter 7 Waiting And Playing Poker

  Chapter 8 The Poker Table

  Chapter 9 The Birthday Celebration

  Chapter 10 The Championship Game

  Chapter 11 Meanwhile, Back At Walden

  Chapter 12 The Seawall

  Epilogue Two Months Later

  Acknowledgments

  To my beloved Babbo

  CHAPTER 1

  Last Thoughts

  Jimmy practically skipped down the hallway of the retirement complex to his room. He would have literally skipped, but he was sixty-four and didn’t want his babe of the night, who was watching him, to see his attempt at skipping especially if it came across as lame. Instead he tried to look and be cool. It was his MO in life. Why change now?

  Man, oh man, he thought as he entered his room and quickly shut the door. He looked around his tiny apartment and realized he had just made what was by far his best con move. Though he was a seasoned con man, he had to admit it was pure luck—and some masterful BS—that had gotten him into and accepted at the town’s best retirement home.

  He mused, No harm in lying a bit about age, disability, and joblessness, and throwing in a bit of luck as well!

  And lucky is what I’m gonna get tonight. Yeah! Jimmy smiled and clapped his hands. Who knew that a retirement home would actually have some good-looking chicks’ right down the hall?

  To top it all off, even his brother Bob was stunned that he’d gotten into the place. Bob wanted to celebrate by taking Jimmy furniture shopping the next day. Thinking of Bob made Jimmy remember the message he’d left him earlier that day, razzing him about having a good time with his girl that night and wanting all the juicy details when they met.

  Jimmy jumped in the shower, and as he was lathering up, he mused, How ironic! We’re both lucky men tonight! Bob won’t be the only one with a story.

  As Jimmy came out of shower and started to get dressed, his thoughts wandered to Bob’s girlfriend. She must be pretty amazing, because I’ve never seen my brother so happy. I hope I get to meet her soon. She sounds like my kind of woman—lots of curves, Irish, and feisty. Who knows? Maybe if Bob messes this up, I’ll have a go at her and repair the damage.

  This made Jimmy smile and then shake his head quickly. He had other things to think about.

  Now smartly dressed in a nice blue shirt, blue jeans, and leather jacket, Jimmy walked over to the dresser, looked in the mirror, and murmured, “Forget Bob’s girl. I have my own hot woman to think about and get back to”

  He reached across the dresser to his favorite cologne and suddenly felt an excruciating pain go up his right arm. Jimmy tried to move it a certain way to ease the pain, but instead the cologne fell out of his hand, crashing to the floor.

  And Jimmy followed it.

  The last thing he remembered thinking, as he hit the floor, was I’m not going to get lucky tonight. And then everything went black.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Hey, You’re in Heaven Now!”

  Jimmy woke up to the brightest light he had ever seen, and it was surrounding him in every direction he looked. It had a feeling of warmth to it, like the sun, which made him wish desperately for some shades. He reached instinctively into his pocket and realized he was touching air. And when he looked down, all he saw was a white formation—and no clothes. This had him a bit panicky and confused, but also annoyed.

  He shouted, “Where the hell are my sunglasses? Damn it! And better yet, where the hell am I?”

  He suddenly noticed that he was in a white hallway, and a little old man was zooming down the hall toward him, like he was on some mobile scooter. But from what Jimmy could see, there was no scooter. He was moving toward him at a good clip, and the man had a big file under his arm. As Jimmy stared at him, transfixed, he realized that the man was sort of gliding along, but with a mission.

  The man finally stopped right in front of Jimmy, who towered over him, looked up, and said, “Hello, Jimmy. I’m Master Norman. I am your elder guide. In answer to your outburst of questions, let me tell you something you must never forget: Do not say hell here! It’s not allowed.”

  Jimmy looked down at him and said, “Hey there, little man, I really don’t care if you don’t like my language. I am a bit peeved at the moment because I’ve got a really hot chick waiting for me. I plan on getting laid tonight, and for some crazy reason, I seem to have hit a major detour down a white hallway with you.”

  Norm burst out laughing. “You could definitely say you’ve hit a detour, my friend. A somewhat permanent one, I might add. Just be glad it’s a white hallway instead of a dark one.”

  “Well,” Jimmy said, “quite frankly, the brightness is really getting to me. Do you have some shades I can borrow?”

  “We don’t need shades up here, Jimmy,” Norm patiently said. “We welcome the light, and so must you. You’ll adjust quicker to the brightness that way.”

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Jimmy said impatiently. “Where the hell am I!”

  “Well, Jimmy, exactly the opposite. You are not anywhere near hell. You are in heaven now.”

  “What?” Jimmy shouted in disbelief. “Look, little zoom meister with the big file in hand, you seem a bit out there. I am not in heaven. I was just leaving my room, ready to walk a corridor, which wasn’t all white, to meet up with a hot babe. Furthermore, I don’t even know how you know me.”

  Norm fidgeted a bit with the file in his arms and said, “Yes, well, umm, we’re all very aware of what your intentions were tonight, but your time was up. And it was decided, by the highest power, to end things before your, umm, little escapade.”

  Jimmy had started pacing in the corridor. He whirled around and said, “You’ve got to be BS’ing me. I am not in heaven. I feel great! I mean, look at me. I’m wal
king and talking and could even be chewing gum at the same time, if I had some.”

  Norm sighed and said, “Jimmy, I know it’s hard to believe, but you’re no longer in your body. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and touch your arm.”

  “Alrighty then, I’ll show you.” He reached out for his arm and—as when he had reached for his sunglasses—all he felt was air. Jimmy’s eyes widened when he realized he couldn’t feel anything. He looked at Norm and could see a smug look of “I told you so” on his face.

  Jimmy started walking backward, yelling at Norm, “Hey, you, what type of sick trick is this? Get away from me! I can’t feel anything, anywhere! What did you do to me? Wait a second. I know what this is. You’ve abducted me and taken me to Mars, haven’t you?”

  Norm chuckled and said, “Noooo, Jimmy, you are not on Mars. You’re in heaven, as I told you. And quite frankly, if I were you, I’d pipe down about it. You’re very lucky to be here.”

  Jimmy studied Norm seriously for a moment and could see that the weird little old man wasn’t joking. He quickly asked in a quieter tone, “What does that mean?”

  “It means that the huge file I’ve been lugging around, which is almost as big as I am, is your life history. Good deeds versus bad deeds are all marked down in the file. And unfortunately for you, because you were a con artist, there is a lot of bad versus good in here.”

  “Hey now! Whoa! Wait a minute. I think you should peruse slowly back through that huge file and focus on my wonderful childhood,” Jimmy said in a huff. “That shall quickly even out the good, the bad, and the ugly. I definitely belong on the good side for everything I went through early in life.” He was definitely unnerved to find out that, like Santa Claus, people in heaven kept a good and a bad list. Damn, no one told me that one!

  Norm could see that Jimmy was getting agitated, so he calmly said, “We already did that, Jimmy—took your childhood into serious consideration. And that is why you are here.”

  “Well, that’s just terrific, little man! Let’s all celebrate. Open bar for everyone!” Jimmy said sarcastically.

  “Jimmy, we don’t drink in heaven.” Norm stated seriously.

  “Oh, that’s great. This place is just getting better and better by the moment.” Jimmy retorted.

  By this point, Norm could see that Jimmy was getting more wired by the minute. In addition, he knew that, like most people who had just arrived in heaven, Jimmy was feeling confused and displaced. Norm decided to bring in the reunion gang. This was always one of the best parts of his job. It never failed to move him.

  Meanwhile, Jimmy had spotted a door down the corridor a few feet away. “Hey, Norm, what’s behind the big white door?”

  “Behind that door is the end of your journey, Jimmy, and the beginning of eternal life.”

  “Hang on a second! Where are the Pearly Gates? Did I not make the invite list? Because of my bad deeds, am I being sent through the back door? Wow! Wouldn’t the religious zealots back on earth love to know this one big news flash: ‘People, there are two doors, not one.’” By this point, he was stomping back and forth in the hallway.

  “Hey there, Jimmy, calm down! You did go through the Pearly Gates, but unfortunately you weren’t awake for the visual.”

  “Okay,” Jimmy said firmly. “Here’s the deal, Norm. I’ll walk through this door up ahead, but if anything looks suspicious or shady, I am out of here!”

  “Really, Jimmy?” said Norm calmly. “Well, there is nowhere else to go—except down, of course—so go to hell if you want.”

  Jimmy rolled his eyes, and said, “We’ll see about that. Just open the door.”

  Norm did that with a grand gesture and then stepped back to watch the spectacle. There was nothing like watching what happened next; it truly was his most favorite moment every time.

  Jimmy turned and stared in disbelief at what he saw in front of him. The first person there when the door opened was his sister, Pat, who had died several years before from cancer. She stood there smiling, and he was instantly surrounded by a very warm and bright light. He could feel total love and joy emanating from her. The feeling was so powerful, it overwhelmed him.

  Jimmy didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want the moment to ever end. His sister looked radiant, the most beautiful he ever remembered her looking on earth, and she seemed very happy. He realized it was worth it to die, if only to see her.

  Then he looked beyond her and saw other people, ones he had not seen in decades in some cases: war buddies, kids he grew up with, and some distant relatives. It was unbelievable to him.

  All of a sudden, Jimmy felt like he was talking to them all at once. Then he realized that, yes, he was doing that, but not really talking. It was all done by telepathy, which he realized was much faster than talking. Yet his emotions were still there, and he could convey them easily. He can also feel their emotions—joy, love, surprise-based on the level of warmth coming from them to him. All of this was happening instantly around him.

  It was the coolest thing Jimmy had ever experienced. It was overwhelming, but in a wonderful way. All of those people who had made him the happiest in life were surrounding him in death. This revelation made Jimmy realize that he was lucky to be there. It was awesome to know that he would be able to hang out with his sister and friends endlessly in the future. He thought, now THAT is cool.

  He turned, looked at Norm, and said, “Thank you, Norm, for bringing me to see the people I loved the most when they were on earth. I’m sorry if I gave you such a hard time earlier, cause if this IS heaven, that’s just fine with me!” he grinned.

  Norman bowed and said, “Well, Jimmy, we’re all so glad you approve. I’ll give you another few minutes to visit with them, and then we need to move on.”

  Jimmy stared at Norm in disbelief. “Wait! What do you mean I have a few minutes left to visit with them? I want to hang with my sister and friends that I haven’t seen in years. I want to stay with them.”

  “Jimmy, I know this is hard, but unfortunately we need to continue moving along.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, where are we going that’s so important I have to cut short visiting my sister, who I’ve missed a great deal? We have a lot to catch up on.”

  Norm replied, “You’ll see soon enough. But one important piece is that you’ll be given an important assignment. Now don’t waste any more time asking me questions!”

  Jimmy turned around and went back to the warmer light around his sister. He realized that she had the brightest light of anyone around him, so he asked, “Why is your light so bright?”

  Pat replied, “Because I’m an angel, Jimmy, at a higher power level than you and everyone else here.”

  “Wow, that’s so cool! Leave it to my sis to be at the top of the class, even in heaven,” Jimmy laughed. “Can I be like you?”

  She replied with a soft smile, “Not yet, Jimmy. It takes a long time.”

  With that, they started exchanging telepathic thoughts at the same time eagerly, and Pat accelerated the thought speed because she wanted to find out everything she could about what had happened over the last several years on earth while Jimmy and she had been apart.

  Before Jimmy knew it, Norman was signaling to him that he needed to leave and move on. Jimmy turned back to his sister and said, “When and how can I see you again?”

  Pat sighed and said, “It probably won’t be for a while, Jimmy. But don’t worry, as soon as you complete your assignment, you’ll be allowed to hang with me for a bit.”

  Jimmy looked discouraged. “Pat, this just isn’t fair! I thought when you went to heaven you got to hang out with your loved ones, and protect those on earth you left behind as well. I thought I could hang with you, and we’d watch over the funeral together. Speaking of the funeral, how is everyone handling my death? How did I die? I don’t even know that much!”

  Pat said solemnly, “Unfortunately
, badly. Your heart attack was so sudden, everyone is in shock, even your ex-wives. But the people who are taking it the hardest are Mom and Bobby.”

  Jimmy started to pace again. He turned to Norm and said, “Damn it, I need to be there! I need to be watching over my brother, mom, kids, and others. That better be my assignment, Norm.”

  Pat said quickly, “Jimmy, don’t worry. I’m watching over the family, and I will be at the funeral.”

  Jimmy looked at her solemnly and said, “Okay, I feel better knowing that. But promise me you’ll check in, especially on Bobby. He gets depressed sometimes, and this is gonna send him reeling.”

  Pat smiled and said, “Never worry about that. I watch over Bob every day.” With that she turned and in a blink of an eye was gone.

  Norm had Jimmy slowly walk away after saying good-bye to his remaining friends. Then the two of them started to glide away at a slow pace in the opposite direction. Jimmy looked back sadly at them and then turned forward and concentrated on gliding along in heaven, thinking, “What a wild and crazy day this has been”.

  CHAPTER 3

  The Assignment

  As Norm and Jimmy slowly glided along, Norm commented, “We’ll go to a meeting chamber to discuss where we go from here and what your assignment will be, Jimmy.”

  They continued until they came to an alcove, which they entered and immediately saw in front of them a beautiful, lush green courtyard with a waterfall cascading over a beautiful rock garden. Jimmy had never seen such a sight in his life. He was awestruck by the waterfall.

  They sat down on a bench in the garden, and Norm opened the big, thick file he had been lugging around with him since Jimmy had set eyes upon him. He poured through a couple of front pages, looked up at Jimmy, and said, “You’re now a Level 1 guardian angel, Jimmy, otherwise known as a spirit guide. And that’s where you’ll be staying for a while until you get a few successful assignments under your belt.”