When Angels Play Poker

by Maura O'Leary

  Jimmy replied, “You’ll find a way, kiddo. But look, I’m eyeing some beautiful babes across the room on the dance floor, and I think I need to go check them out. Man, being dead has its benefits!” Jimmy laughed. “By the way, make sure you and Bob don’t leave here too soon, because I want to get a chance to dance with these hot ladies for a while.” With that, Jimmy glided easily through the crowd to the dance floor.

  Maura was too upset to reply or stop him. She looked back at Bob and started to get choked up. Tell Bob that I just saw, talked to, and danced with his dead brother? Inconceivable! He would never believe me, and it would just upset him. With that thought, Maura started to feel overwhelmed with emotion.

  She quickly said, “Bob, I need to get some air. It’s really hot in here. I’ll be back.” Before Bob could say anything, Maura pushed her way through the crowd quickly and went out the front door. She frantically turned left then right, looking for the alleyway, and once she found it, she ran down toward the end. Once there, she leaned against the cool wall, taking deep breaths and trying her best not to cry.

  Maura couldn’t believe what had just happened. It isn’t fair, damn it! Why me? Why am I the only freak in the whole bar that could not only see a spirit but also dance with him and then have a telepathic conversation with him as well! And what if this wasn’t Jimmy? What if I am becoming delusional and completely losing my mind? With that thought, she started to breathe quicker and deeper.

  At that moment, Maura bolted awake in her bed. She found herself breathing quickly and covered in sweat. She couldn’t believe the dream she’d just had and knew that, though it was disturbing at best, she must remember it. So she sat cross-legged in her bed, thinking through and replaying as many of the details of the dream as she could remember.

  Everything in her mind said, “It was just a stupid dream; calm down,” but in her gut she knew that wasn’t the case. She knew intuitively that she had just met Jimmy—that is, if the dream was to be believed. Maura sighed and thought, This has never happened to me before. I have never been able to connect with a spirit guide, except once on an Ouija board, but that doesn’t count. All the times I tried and couldn’t connect with my grandmother, when I needed her—yet this happens instead.

  She stayed in bed another half hour, thinking about all of it. And in the end, she came to the conclusion that she had another psychic talent that she never knew she had: channeling spirits from the other side.

  At that point, Jimmy turned to Norm and said, “Wow! That was really intense. I felt like I was back in the bar I had visited with Bob a couple of years ago, like it was yesterday. The difference was that this time I could really dance and not feel out of breath or tired. I actually felt young again. It was awesome!”

  Norm smiled and said, “So then being dead isn’t that bad, is it? As you said to Maura, it has its benefits.”

  Jimmy replied, “Ya know, little man, it’s okay. I’m getting used to it. And I’m realizing you’re right about Maura. She definitely is something special. So, what’s next?”

  Norm chuckled. “Glad to see you’re so eager, Jimmy! But for now, let Maura digest all that’s happened. We need to give it a couple of weeks before we try to reconnect with her.” Jimmy was disappointed with this answer, but he quietly said, “Okay” and left it at that.

  Norm looked at him seriously and said, “Realize this, Jimmy: You were very successful in a very short period of time to connect with Maura. She knows where you are and who you are—her guardian angel. And that makes your second assignment a great success!” With that, Norm turned and was gone.

  Jimmy watched him leave, and was pleased with how well things had gone, and more importantly how happy Norm seemed with him. Keep this up, he thought, and maybe I’ll be free to visit with others sooner than later. He smiled contently.

  Over the next week, Maura tried to take in what had happened. She realized and accepted that for whatever reason, Jimmy, Bob’s brother, was her guardian angel and was trying to connect to Bob through her. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all, but she needed to find a way to tell Bob.

  Maura still wanted to know why though. She knew there must be a special reason this happened, considering the fact that she had never connected with a spirit guide before. She was determined to get an answer to that one. What Maura didn’t know was that Jimmy was assigned to her for an infinite amount of time, no matter how boring it might get.

  And boring it was for Jimmy. Maura led an ordinary life of work, eat, sleep, socializing with friends, and some travel. BUT exciting it was not. She didn’t go out partying a lot, and she never went to dance clubs—Jimmy’s favorite hangout spot. In his mind, things could be a lot more interesting if Maura looked around her and noticed the twenty-eight-year-old guy at work who had the hots for her and who wanted to put the moves on her. But Maura was oblivious to anyone but Bob.

  Thus, one day, when Jimmy thought he would lose his mind from boredom, he summoned Norm to his cloud cube. When Norm showed up, Jimmy was pacing and looking agitated. Norm apprehensively said, “Jimmy, what’s going on?”

  “Look, Norm, I cannot take this anymore! You need to assign me to someone else or someone additional to Maura. I could be helping so many other people, but no, I’m stuck with this woman who leads the most unexciting, ordinary life I’ve ever seen. And the fact that my brother doesn’t seem to have any desire to see Maura more frequently is driving me crazy. Doesn’t he have any idea how much he is hurting her? Why can’t he figure out or see just how much she loves him? Maura deserves better than this, and I’m really upset Bob is acting like he doesn’t know who she is deep down inside.”

  “Jimmy, calm down!” Norm replied. “I told you it would get boring at times. As for your brother, WHY do you think you’ve been assigned to her? It is to be her protector against all the hurt he will inflict on her over time—that’s why. You cannot see into the future like I can, but trust me, she is really going to need you down the road as things get tougher for her. There will be events that unfold that she will have no control over, and yet she will get hurt in the end by Bob, because he will not communicate with her when he should. You will play a very important role in helping her get through all that will come to pass. You have to trust me on this.”

  Jimmy quieted down upon hearing what Norm had to say. He believed him and wanted to ask more about what would happen, but something told him not to go there. Instead he said to Norm, “Okay, I believe you, but that doesn’t solve my immediate problem: boredom. Norm, something has to give.”

  Norm smiled slowly and said, “I’ve been expecting this from you, Jimmy. You’re someone who loves being active, and more importantly, being around other people, especially fun people. Therefore I do have a solution for you.”

  Jimmy said eagerly, “What? I’m ready for anything!”

  Norm chuckled. “Have you ever played poker?”

  “Yeah, I have—years ago though. I’m pretty rusty. Why?”

  “Because I’m going to let you in on a little secret up here in Heaven. But you have to promise me that you don’t let any earthlings you encounter know about it, because I’m not sure it would go over very well down there.”

  “Okay, little man, my lips are sealed!” Jimmy stated firmly.

  “Well, the secret is that many angels, like you, get bored—especially those just assigned to one person. Being a guardian angel isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. So it was finally realized that we had to come up with a solution that would pass the time slowly and hold people’s interest. And that solution was poker!”

  Jimmy laughed. “No way! You’re allowed to play poker in Heaven?”

  Norm nodded. “Yes sir, you are—as long as it’s approved by someone like myself. So I approve you to play poker—in the viewing room, of course—as long as you still keep an eye on Maura.”

  Jimmy grinned and exclaimed, “Hot damn
! That’s just fine with me!”

  Norm replied, “Okay then. Let’s go back to the viewing room and set things up.” With that, they both glided down the hallway quickly.

  When Jimmy walked into the viewing room, he couldn’t believe his eyes. In front of him, seated around an authentic poker table, were all his buddies from the Vietnam War—the ones he had played poker with back then. Actually, they had taught him how to play. With his buddies in front of him, Jimmy grinned and knew it was going to be a much better day

  CHAPTER 7

  Waiting and Playing Poker

  Meanwhile, back on earth, Maura was waiting to hear back from Bob. She had promised herself to leave him alone to work through his brother’s passing. Being kindred spirits, Maura understood the need for space. In her mind, solitude was the only way to handle and process emotional situations. It was opposite the reaction most people had, but that was just one more reason Maura and Bob understood each other on a deeper level.

  As Bob’s 50th birthday was looming, Maura decided to give in and call him. Bob was very happy to hear from her, and they quickly made a plan to celebrate his big milestone. Maura was busy with a charity event the weekend of Bob’s birthday party, so they made plans to get together the following weekend.

  Maura got off the phone feeling please that they had made plans and that Bob sounded happier. She thought that maybe things were going better for him overall. While Maura was thinking about her conversation with Bob, Jimmy was watching all of it in the viewing room, even if it was only out of the corner of his eye.

  Over the past month, Jimmy had been playing poker nonstop with his war buddies, since Norm had given his okay. Within a couple of weeks, he had mastered some nuances of the game again—sharpening the skills needed to play a winning poker hand as well as getting a feel for other people’s reactions, otherwise known as tells. Jimmy could figure out when they were bluffing based on a hand dealt. He learned quickly that the best way to win at poker was to follow his motto in life, which was always to “look and be cool.” Thus he found his niche in Heaven-Poker.

  Jimmy never gave away the strength of his hand, because he was always acting chill. He found himself looking forward every day to playing poker, because he was completely in his element. Thus he started winning a lot of poker games!

  Now in Heaven it was obviously much different from earth, and betting for real money was absolutely not allowed. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t play with real chips; they just weren’t able to cash them in. So Jimmy began making major wagers against his pals as each day passed and grew more confident in his poker skills. Every day the pile of chips grew larger on Jimmy’s side of the table.

  Sometimes Jimmy’s war buddies would get pulled away for an angel call and have to leave abruptly. And that’s when it became even more interesting for Jimmy because random people would drop in, sit down, and play a few hands with him. Jimmy loved it when this happened, because it tested his abilities and showed how far along he was advancing in the game, especially since he could not read the people very well. As a bonus, he got the opportunity to start meeting other people in heaven.

  One day one of his pals suggested that Jimmy play in the major poker tournaments around Heaven. Jimmy didn’t even know such events existed, and he was thrilled to partake. He dove in immediately and signed up for two tournaments. Though he didn’t win either, he did very well overall. It didn’t matter to him that he didn’t win; it was the thrill of knowing that he could hold his own in just a few weeks at tournament level status that had him really excited.

  On the day that Maura was to meet Bob to celebrate his birthday, Jimmy sat in the viewing room alone, sulking. He had heard a rumor about a big Poker Tournament that night and that it could turn into a final championship. It was the biggest tournament he knew of so far, with numerous participants who had been playing for several years, but with no final outcome.

  Jimmy sighed, thinking about the tournament, knowing he couldn’t even be a bystander, never mind a player, because Maura was meeting Bob that night. His obligation was to focus on Maura and Bob from the viewing room, not participate in the Poker Tournament. Jimmy was thrilled to be seeing his brother again, as well as Maura looking so happy, but it was difficult to focus on the upcoming event on earth when all he could think about was the poker game in Heaven.

  Maura went shopping during the day to find an outfit that Bob would like. She finally settled on a hot-pink cotton blouse that had a sixties style to it, with flowing long sleeves and a tie at the top of the blouse, which had a circle cut in the middle top part – —showing a hint of her cleavage.

  From a distance, Jimmy approved of her choice. Pink was a good color for her, and he wished he could tell her that. Maura had a way of looking classy but sexy when she wanted to, and it was something Jimmy really liked about her—as did Bob. In Maura’s mind though her assets were very limited, and she did the best with what she had.

  As Maura happily hurried home to get ready for seeing Bob, Jimmy realized there were worse things he could be doing. Who knew—maybe the tournament would really be intense and he would be humiliated, and in addition not get to see his brother. So Jimmy settled in front of the Viewing Room, ready for whatever would happen that night. As he was sitting there, it suddenly dawned on him that, unlike the last time, his sister hadn’t appeared to take him down to earth.

  “Just one more thing to make the night drag on!” Jimmy mutter out loud with a long sigh.

  He missed Pat and wished she would find the time to drop in more often. Speaking of dropping in, Jimmy remembered that he hadn’t seen Norm in ages either. Though Norm could be very commanding sometimes and quirky in his own ways, he had grown on Jimmy.

  “Who knew?” Jimmy chuckled to himself. He had scarcely seen Norm since he had started playing poker. As a matter of fact, during the few times he dropped in while Jimmy was playing cards with his buddies, the other guys at the table had gotten really quiet—almost like they had gotten caught.

  Once, after Norm had quickly left, Jimmy said to one of the other players, “Damn, Norm is a busy little man! What the heck does he do all day?”

  His war buddy looked at him strangely and said, “I think that’s a question for Norm.”

  “Why? Do you know him?” Jimmy asked.

  His buddy laughed and said, “Everyone knows Norm at some point in their journey here.”

  Jimmy wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he didn’t say anything at the time, but he knew he needed to ask Norm more questions about what he did all day. He thought maybe he could even help Norm out.

  With that final thought, he refocused on the viewing screen, wondering how he was going to help Maura if he was in heaven and she was there. At precisely that moment, Norm appeared in the viewing room. Jimmy turned around, stunned to see Norm entering. He said, “I was just thinking about you!”

  Norm responded with a gentle smile. “I know, Jimmy. That’s why I’m here.”

  Jimmy leaped up, started pacing around the room, and said excitedly, “Well, Norm, ya know I was thinking, since you seem so busy, and we both know I don’t have a lot to do, that I could help you out?”

  Norm looked pleased with this, and responded, “Jimmy, I am so impressed with your progress in Heaven! Do you realize what a major step this is for you?”

  Jimmy replied, “Huh?”

  “You’re asking how you can help others. That’s what it’s all about, my friend. Sadly, you lost track of that on earth.”

  “That’s not true! I certainly helped others in my lifetime.”

  “Actually, Jimmy, you were more concerned with who was doing what for you in your later years, and it took a toll on those around you.” He realized as he spoke that Jimmy was looking perplexed and sullen, so he added, “But enough of dwelling on that for now. We have other things to do.”

  Jimmy asked, “Like what? Aren’t yo
u sending me on an angel adventure down to earth to hang with Maura and Bob?”

  Norm replied, “No, I’m going to leave that adventure to your sister, Pat, this time. But I have something for you that I think could be more challenging.”

  “Really? What would that be?”

  “How would you like to play in a Poker Tournament that has been going on and off for over twenty years?”

  “Really?! Is that the tournament some people have mentioned recently?”

  “Yes, and it’s tonight.”

  “Wow! Cool! I would love to play in it.”

  Norm said firmly, “Well, I must warn you, it’s not your usual stakes.”

  “You mean not for money? That’s okay, Norm. We just play with fake chips anyway.”

  “Well, that won’t be the case this time. You’ll be playing with real Roman gold coins.”

  “OK, that’s just fine with me,” Jimmy replied with a grin. Then he paused and asked seriously, “But wait, Norm. What about Maura and Bob? How can I be watching them if I’m playing in this big tournament tonight? I thought I was never to let anything take precedence over watching Maura?”

  “That’s exactly right. Don’t worry. There will be a Viewing Room where we’re going.”

  “But won’t the other players object, since this is such a serious tournament?”

  Norm said with a laugh, “Trust me, my friend, they won’t. Okay?” He put his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and gave it a firm, quick squeeze.

  Jimmy felt an immediate sense of calm engulf him and responded, “Sure, whatever you say! Lead the way, little man!”

  As they started to glide down the hallway, Norm replied, “Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, weren’t you looking for these?” He produced Jimmy’s sunglasses, which he’d had the night he died on earth.

  “My shades!” Jimmy exclaimed happily. “Thanks, man! Now I can go to the tournament looking and being cool.”