Page 15 of Having the Time of My Midlife

Abaddon, Cecily’s handsome Demon mate, joined the discussion. “The Higher Power is more of an entity than a being—an elusive light. Smoke and mirrors—danger, love and wickedness personified. Not something to be questioned or called on. The Universe is neither black nor white. It’s gray. The Higher Power could also be considered gray.”

Cecily squinted at him. “There’s a problem.”

He raised a brow and waited.

“I’m about to call on It. And I have a lot of questions. You just said that’s a no-no.”

Abaddon held up a hand. “You’re not calling on It to come to you. You’re going to It. You’re not questioning the existence of It. You’re demanding specific answers to a specific situation. Words are made to be interpreted in many ways. Keep that in mind.”

Charlie waved his hand in a circular motion and the images sped up. “This next part is irrelevant.”

“Wait!” Candy griped. “Ain’t this the part where Tim tells Cecily to pinch her weenus and she thinks he means penis?”

I chuckled despite myself. The weenus-penis convo had been undeniably funny.

“So embarrassing,” Tim lamented, blushing.

“It was fuckin’ hilarious,” she insisted.

Charlie gave Candy the side eye. That shut her up fast. No one wanted to piss off Charlie. “It is, and we’re skipping it. It has no pertinent intel on the Higher Power and Cecily could arrive any moment. I’d suggest we only watch what’s necessary.

“I agree,” I said, trying not to snicker. “Everyone, zip it and watch.

Cecily glanced around the room. “Has anyone actually seen It?”

“With our eyes?” Charlie asked.

“Yep. Eyes,” she confirmed.

“That ain’t how you see the Higher Power,” Candy Vargo volunteered.

Abaddon, who seemed to sense that Cecily’s patience was wearing thin, spoke up. “Think of it like an immersive experience.”

“Like one of those water tanks where you get all weightless and shit,” Cher chimed in.

“Not really,” Abaddon said. “It’s a state of mind. Sort of.”

Cher clapped excitedly. “Like wearing those fancy VD goggles the kids love these days.”

“Are their goggles for venereal diseases?” Tim asked with a horrified expression.

Candy flicked a toothpick at him. “She means VR goggles. Virtual reality, not a sexually transmitted disease.” She sniffed. “It ain’t a half-bad notion.”

Cher preened at her buddy’s compliment, her green and red lips smacking as she grinned.

Cecily shook her head. “Unless someone actually has goggles that will get me where I need to go, this is really unhelpful. Okay. Let me try again. Where is the Higher Power?”

“On a different plane,” Tim said. “Similar to the Darkness and the Light, but different.”

“Do we transport there?” she asked.

No one spoke.

Cecily tried again. “Like to the different plane? Do we transport?”

Silence.

“Let’s break this down.” Cecily began to pace the room. “Either no one knows the answers, or you’re not allowed to share. However, I have Pandora inside of me, and I want her out. If there’s another way to do that, I’m all ears. If that’s not the case, then I have to get to the Higher Power, and I would seriously appreciate some layman’s instructions.”

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