Page 17 of Having the Time of My Midlife

“You are not in charge, Pandora. I am. If you want to be released, then I’d highly suggest you swallow the bile in your foul mouth and participate in a reasonably polite manner.”

Cecily was silent as she listened to the crazed woman she was housing inside her against her will.

“Dude,” Cecily snapped. “You don’t even have a freaking body at the moment. You are in no position to negotiate. I’ve locked you out once, and I can do it again. This time I’ll throw the key into the abyss. In other words, it’s my way or the highway.”

Even though we couldn’t hear Pandora, she could hear us. Cecily nodded to her mother to speak.

“Tell Cecily what you know of the Higher Power,” Lilith said.

Cecily was quiet as she listened to Pandora’s answer.

“She said the questions have to be more specific,” Cecily told us, then immediately jumped back in and questioned Pandora herself. “How do I get to the Higher Power?” She paused and listened to the voice only she could hear. “She says, to get to the Higher Power, I have to be in a dream state.”

“Interesting,” Tim said. “Makes sense.”

“It does,” Lilith agreed, shaking her head in wonder. “I’d never thought of it like that.”

“Sounds random,” Cecily said. “I mean, is it like the freakingWizard of Ozwhere I need to get caught in a tornado orAlice in Wonderlandand fall through a hole?”

“Careful there, girlie,” Candy Vargo warned, looking nervous which was rare for her. “Words got too much power in our world. My experience with the Higher Power looked like it did because I watch too many fuckin’ horror movies along with kids’ shows.”

Cecily looked alarmed. Hell, we were all alarmed. “Who here has actually been in the presence of the Higher Power? Raise your hands, please.”

As expected, Candy Vargo and Lilith raised their hands.

Gideon was the only other Immortal in the room to raise his hand.

“Welp, I kind of know how to get there in a roundabout and ambiguous way,” Cecily said. “Moving on. Pandora, what does the Higher Power look like… to you?”

Again, Cecily listened. Her brow was wrinkled in thought as Pandora spoke to her.

“What did she say?” Charlie asked.

“True beauty,” Cecily repeated. “Apparently, it’s a combo of Brad Pitt, Warren Beatty, Dolly Parton, Clark Gable and I think the last one was Jennifer Aniston.”

“Jesus,” Candy muttered. “That’s a lot tamer than my version.”

“Word,” Cecily replied. “Lilith, tell me your version, please.”

“Nirvana,” she replied. “Wildly colored flowers, vines and trees—nature at its’ explosive finest. Absolute peace and tranquility.”

“What the fuck?” Candy griped. “Not what I saw.”

Cecily ignored Candy and focused on her mom. “That’s what the Higher Power looks like to you?” she questioned.

Lilith shook her head. “I can’t say I’ve seen the Higher Power in any kind of form with my eyes. For me, it’s the place where the Higher Power resides. My communication was through nature. No words were necessary.”

And the information kept getting more bewildering.

“Gideon,” Cecily said, sounding a little desperate at this point. “What about you?”

“More like what Candy Vargo experienced.”

“You saw Pee-wee Herman?” Candy demanded.

“No,” he said, flatly. “It was full of devastation and death. Very dark, rigged with land mines and not a place I’d like to revisit.”

“Seems to me, it’s the state of mind the person is in as to what they see,” Charlie observed as Heather nodded her agreement.

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