Himself told me you were here. At first I was so upset you were dead, but when he told me about the Tribunal, I jumped at the chance to help out. I think he was a little surprised when I told him I didn’t want any favors to do it.” She leans closer. “Rumor has it Daniel drove a hard bargain, but I’m glad he finally agreed.” She winks at me and continues talking a mile a minute. I’m still trying to get over the fact she isn’t punching me in the face.
When I can finally put words together I ask, “You’re not mad at me?”
Confusion clouds her face. “Why would I be mad?”
“Well, um, you know, because of the party,” I stumble, still bracing for an attack.
But she just laughs. “I guess your memories are still catching up with you.”
I shrug. “I guess.” Either Madeline is a great actress or she’s really not mad. Though I’m still cautious, I feel the tension in my body easing.
“Then let me fill you in. Follow me. I hate this cloudy open air business they have around here.” She leads the way to a door, opening it for me to walk through. I barely cross the threshold when I stop short. In front of me is a coffee shop. I mean, an honest to goodness, barista-wearing-green-smocks-and-smiling-at-us-as-we-walk-in kind of coffee shop. I can even smell the fresh ground coffee lingering in the air.
I look at Madeline in surprise. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s coffee in the Afterlife?”
She giggles. “Only the fair trade variety. I thought you would like it. And it’s not just in the Afterlife.” She nods toward a door on the far end of the room.
There’s a sign that reads, MEMBERS ONLY.
“Who are the members?” I ask, taking in the scene of people sipping lattes and talking.
“Souls who have crossed into Heaven.”
Now I’m looking at her. “You’re kidding?”
She shakes her head. “It’s a new perk,” she comments, leading the way to the counter.
As tempting as a caramel macchiato sounds, I have to ask, “Don’t I still have that whole fix-my-past thing to deal with?”
She nods. “Yep, but what is it you say? There’s always time for coffee?”
I do say that. “So, we just order?”
She rolls her brown eyes and links her arm with mine. “It’s not rocket science. Everything is pretty much the same as on Earth.” She gives the barista a bright smile and rattles off her drink of choice before turning to me. “What do you want?”
I hesitate for a moment before ordering my drink and then follow her to a pair of oversized brown leather chairs. “Don’t we need to pick up our drinks?” I ask. I know it sounds lame, but seriously, this chick should hate my guts and the fact that she’s hugging me and wanting a little girl time is freaking me out.
“Shayna will bring them.”
Hearing her name, one of the baristas looks up and gives a slight wave. “Don’t tell me the souls behind the counter are part of a work release program from Hell? Why would someone want to spend eternity making coffee drinks for people when they could float on a cloud or something?”
She looks thoughtful. “I suppose if you were a philosopher contemplating stuff that would be one way to spend your time, but it doesn’t sound like fun to me. I would rather be interacting with people instead of being alone, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess. Wait, so everyone works up here? What about resting in peace?”
She’s trying not to laugh at me. I can see it. Except, she’s not really laughing at me. For the first time, I consider the idea we might be friends. The details are still a little fuzzy, but I don’t think Madeline is pretending.
“No one has to do anything,” she says, her smile as bright as ever. “After all, we’ve already served our time on Earth, doing what we have to do. Once we get here, how we spend our time is up to us. We get to do the things that we’re passionate about.”
Shayna appears at that moment with our drinks. I glance down at the foam and find my initials floating on top. “Let me see if I understand this,” I say, turning to Shayna. “What did you do when you were alive?”
“I was a doctor,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “Now you brew coffee?”
Her smile is blinding, even brighter than Madeline’s, and I wonder if they hand out whitening strips