When Angels Play Poker

by Maura O'Leary

  E. B. smiled slowly and said, “Welcome to the miracles of heaven, Jimmy. The army of angels are always around us and at my command when I need them. I asked them to come down today to surround Maura with as much love as possible, in the hope that she feels it.”

  Jimmy jumped down in front of Maura again and exclaimed, “Maura, I SO wish you could see the hundreds of angels surrounding you!”

  Suddenly Maura looked up and seemed to stare right at him. At that moment, Winston came barreling around the corner of the seawall entrance.

  “Wait,” Norm said loudly. Winston immediately sat down gladly. He was panting with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.

  Norm, still circling above, said, “Catch your breath. Calm down. I don’t want you showing up ready to drool all over her!”

  “Ohhh boy, do I need to cut back on the doggie biscuits!” Winston said in between big breaths.

  “Okay, Winston, trot slowly over to Maura as if it’s just another day on the seawall. But stop just before you get to her, and sit up against the wall itself. In order to pat you, she’ll need to come away from the cliff’s ledge.”

  “Got it, boss.” Winston proceeded to move slowly down the path toward Maura.

  Norm flew high above and watched to see if miracles would unfold.

  When Winston was almost to the center of the seawall, Maura turned her head, gazed away from the water, and spotted him. She stared wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open as Winston inched closer.

  Winston didn’t have a tail, but it didn’t matter. He started wiggling his hips and butt like crazy as he got closer. He stopped about ten feet from her and sat down against the seawall. There he waited to see what Maura would do. Then he put his paw up in the air as if batting at something, hoping she’d reach back and grab it.

  Maura just sat there stunned, not moving. Soon she said softly, “Ugly! Is that you? It can’t be.”

  Winston barked loudly, looked up at the sky, and said, “You’re kidding me, right? We might be a bit of a homely breed overall, but I am one of the more distinguished-looking ones.” Holding his head up high, Winston looked up at Norm and said, “Look at this face—not just a mother could love it!” With that he focused back on Maura and raised his paw in the air toward her.

  Maura was transfixed. She couldn’t believe she was looking at the same dog that had brought Bob and her together so many years before. He was an English bulldog with no collar or ID, a stray that followed them around. And so they called him Ugly affectionately. And now, on a day that she was so upset over Bob, after all those years, out of nowhere an English bulldog had appeared again.

  Winston wiggled his butt and stretched out toward her just enough so that Maura would have to lean back to pat him. And it worked; she started to shift her body away from the edge of the cliff and slowly reached back toward him. Winston made sure he was back up against the seawall, pulled his head and paw back, and waited.

  Maura inched closer to him and started patting his head and said “Oh, Ugly, I’ve had such a bad day, but seeing you here has to be a sign from above.” She reached out to cradle his paw, and with that Winston leaped up and started smothering her face with sloppy kisses. He knew she needed that more than anything.

  Jimmy jumped up and exclaimed, “E. B., look! She’s moved away from the cliff’s edge! Yes!” E. B. smiled and clapped. And in response, angels from above starting singing. Jenny stayed in the middle and kept sending light and love from her celestial being.

  But Winston knew his job wasn’t done yet. So while Maura thought he was playing with her, he started gently tugging at her jacket until he had inched her closer to the wall and further from the cliff edge. At that moment, Winston spotted her sneakers, and he knew what he had to do.

  He lay down and turned over on his back, so his stomach was exposed, and looked up at Maura. She laughed and started to rub his belly. At that moment, Winston pulled a ninja move. He rolled back over in the other direction, leaped to his feet, grabbed one of her sneakers in his mouth, and started backing away from her and the seawall, moving toward the entrance path.

  Maura couldn’t believe how fast he had moved and that her sneaker was in his slobbering mouth. “Ugly, wait! That’s my sneaker. I need it!”

  Winston kept backing up with his eyes glued to her, whispering to himself, “Come on, come on.” He started wiggling his butt again.

  In an instant, Maura jumped up and started walking away from the edge of the seawall and toward Winston, and the path. He quickly kept moving backward, and once she was solidly on the path and close to the entrance, he dropped the sneaker.

  From high above, and circling the situation, Norm said, “Excellent work, Winston!”

  Winston, still playing with Maura and wiggling his butt off, barked, “I’m expecting a big doghouse made of dog biscuits when I get up there, Norm. A mansion-size doghouse!”

  Norm laughed and said, “Done, Winston!”

  Meanwhile, E. B. was jumping up and down in happiness to see Maura out of danger, and Jimmy was standing there in disbelief that he didn’t have to save Maura and that he got upstaged by a dog. Damn … And as his thoughts started to drift to “What’s next?”

  At the entrance to the seawall, a sandy-blond, middle-aged, tanned man appeared, shouting, “Winston!”

  Winston whipped his head around and thought, Uh oh, I not only ripped the screen door, I also ran away. So he turned, sat back down with his “sad face” look, and waited for his owner. When his owner reached him, he looked down and said, “Winston, there you are! What are you doing on the seawall of all places?” Then he glanced over and saw Maura, and said, “Did you find my dog?”

  “Ummm, no. To be honest, he found me,” Maura said as she began putting her sneakers on.

  “Huh, well, gotta say it’s really strange behavior from him. He busted through a screen door and ran away. He never does that. I was really concerned.”

  Maura looked up and said, “I’m really sorry. He just showed up on the seawall a short time ago. But he reminds me of another bulldog I knew years ago, so I’m really happy he made an appearance—even though he stole my sneaker!” Maura smiled and then laughed. That laugh reverberating off the cliff wall was music to Jimmy, E. B., and Norm’s ears.

  Maura then stood up and observed the handsome man in front of her as he put out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Cameron.” She smiled back and introduced herself.

  Winston observed below and barked his own commentary. Cameron looked down and firmly said, “Okay, that’s enough from you today, Winston! I think you’ve caused enough drama and excitement for one afternoon.”

  Maura quickly jumped in. “He’s an amazing dog, and I love his name!”

  Cameron laughed. “I named him after Winston Churchill because of his face.”

  “I can see a bit of the resemblance,” Maura replied. “And like Winston Churchill, your dog is a hero. I’m so glad I’ve met him, today especially.”

  Cameron studied her for a moment and said, “So, what brings you to the seawall today?”

  Maura looked back out over the rough water and crashing waves against the seawall. “Oh, I just came here to put my feet over the ledge and have the waves kiss my toes as the high tide came in.”

  Jimmy, who was observing this interaction from the opposite side of the path, whipped his head around to look at E. B. “She’s kidding, right?” he asked.

  Seeing his stunned reaction, she said, “Of course! She doesn’t want some stranger to know the truth of where things were heading ten minutes ago.”

  Cameron said, “Well, I’m going to head back to my friend’s beach house that I’m renting with Winston.”

  And Maura responded, “I’m going to my car on the side street.”

  Together they walked out of the entrance of the seawall path, with Winston happily in tow. When they got ou
t to the street, Cameron turned and said, “It was nice meeting you, Maura. I hope you got what you needed today from the seawall and the waves.”

  “Yes, I did—and Winston, believe it or not, was a big part of it.” As they approached her car, she turned and said, “You know what I realized while I sat on the edge of the cliff today?”

  “What?”

  “That every day God sends you love and miracles and messages. And it’s up to you to see, hear, and accept them.”

  Winston barked in agreement.

  Cameron looked down at him and back at Maura with a smile. “Well, it seems that works for Winston.” Then he looked at her seriously and said, “That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard said in a long time. Thanks for sharing that.”

  “You’re welcome,” Maura said quickly and then crouched down to hug Winston and say good-bye to him. “Thanks for showing up today, buddy,” she whispered in his ear. With that, she got into her car, and Cameron waved and shouted, “Safe travels.” She waved back and drove away.

  As she got onto the main road in Marblehead, Maura sighed. She started to boot up her cell phone, which she had left in her car, and thought, What a crazy emotional day this has been … BUT I’m still here.

  And at that moment, an alert came through on her cell phone that Bob had called twice but left no message. Maura stared at the phone and said out loud, “Whatever. I can’t deal with anything else today.” She turned the tunes on and drove toward home.

  Meanwhile, as Cameron and Winston walked back to the beach house, Winston looked up at the sky and barked, “Thanks, boss, for the adventure.”

  Cameron looked down at him and said, “Honestly, Winston, what is up with you today?” If Winston could talk he would have said, “Look up—that’s the whole point!”

  Norm, still sailing high above them, said to Winston, “You are the rock star of the day. Thanks for the miracle. I promise you will get your biscuits.” And with that, he flew out of sight, toward the opposite side of the seawall.

  As Norm reappeared to Jimmy and E. B., they were all smiles and excitement.

  “Norm, that was a great idea we all had,” Jimmy stated happily. “It worked, and Maura’s on her way home, and alive.”

  “Great job protecting her, Jimmy. You really showed me how far you’ve come in the short time since you’ve been in heaven.”

  “Great, Norm! Hey! Doesn’t this mean I won the Roman coins? And we can all play poker again?” Jimmy quickly replied with a hopefully look on his face.

  Norm chuckled and said, “Ahhh, Jimmy, I’ll work on getting the poker games reopened for everyone.”

  E. B. murmured, “Thank the Lord for that.”

  Jimmy smirked. “Game on, E. B.!” He then looked serious and said, “Wait! What about my brother?”

  “Pat’s coming to get you and will fill you in on the latest,” Norm replied.

  With that, Jimmy started to walk toward the entrance so Pat could connect with him there. As E. B. watched him go, she turned back to Norm and stated with a smile, “Another day, another miracle for us.”

  Norm replied, “Not 1 miracle, but 2 happened today, and that’s why I showed up.” With E. B. looking at him quizzically, he smiled and said, “Let’s go home!”

  As they both looked up, there was Jenny smiling down on them. Using all her celestial energy she created an exquisite staircase made of crystals and light for Norm and E. B. to climb up on and head back to heaven.

  Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs, and wonders, ye will not believe.

  —John 4:48

  EPILOGUE

  Two Months Later

  Maura was lying in bed, totally exhausted. It was time to get up and get ready for work, but she had already hit the snooze three times. “What is wrong with me?” she mumbled.

  It seemed that every other day she was dragging around with no energy. Even more annoying was it seemed she was developing a sensitive stomach. Randomly she would feel sick.

  Over the weekend, Maura thought she had the flu, so she had laid low, tried to eat better than normal, and gotten a lot of sleep. She had hoped that had done the trick, but now it was Wednesday, and she didn’t feel good again.

  Maura sighed, pushed herself out of bed, and got ready to start the day. But as soon as she went to brush her teeth, she immediately turned toward the toilet and threw up. She sat down on the floor, weak from the experience, and said to herself, “Again?”

  And that’s when she froze. Everything stopped, including her breathing, as a thought clicked in her head. “Every morning!” Maura gasped. As the reality of that statement sunk in, she started shouting, “No, no, no, no!” She promptly ended up vomiting again from the reality of the situation.

  She finally got up and reached for a washcloth, poured cold water on it, and promptly put it on her forehead. Sitting back down on the bathroom marble floor, in the silence she could hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

  Maura hadn’t heard from, talked to, or seen Bob since the infamous day on the pond and the seawall. She had decided not to talk to him until he left her a voicemail explaining where things stood, and see if he had a change of heart. She never thought she’d go that long without talking to him, and she felt lost without his presence in her life. He hadn’t called even once, and she was blown away by that.

  What Maura didn’t know was that Bob had called her twice while she was on the seawall, and when she didn’t answer, he felt that was a message back to him that she wanted nothing further to do with him—as hard as that was to comprehend. Bob sadly acknowledged that he had lost his favorite girl—and soulmate—for all the wrong reasons. He walked around in a stunned daze most of the time and had gone on more than one bender to help dull the pain. Pat was constantly at his side, trying to give him signs of guidance—but he wasn’t sensing them.

  Maura sat there alone on the marble floor, and wondered, How am I going to tell Bob? She stared into space, then closed her eyes and rocked back and forth.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Life is like a tapestry of intertwining events, encounters, and serendipity. I believe it’s all orchestrated from Heaven as part of each soul’s path and intentions on earth. Based on this personal belief, I am writing these acknowledgments to show how this book came to be over time.

  About ten years ago, I was in Vegas, celebrating a birthday with friends. One of my best friends gave me a gift certificate to the hotel spa. It was for a relaxing massage, and I couldn’t wait to chill out.

  I ended up with a young woman who seemed a bit nervous, but was sweet and kind. Unfortunately it didn’t start off right; she ended up dripping oil over my third eye, and the oil ended up almost going into my eyes, my hair, and all over my face. But I took some deep breaths and tried to relax. She continued but kept staring at me and saying she thought I reminded her of someone. She swore we had met, but I said, “No, that hasn’t happened. I never come to Vegas.”

  At the end of the spa session, as I was about to get up, she exclaimed excitedly, “I know who you are! You’re an earth angel!” She proceeded to tell me she had been at an angel seminar the weekend before, and because of that class, she knew how to identify me.

  I was thinking, What? but instead I laughed, said, “Thanks for letting me know,” and I bolted out of the room in search of my friends.

  When my friends heard the story, they almost fell off their barstools laughing. And for the rest of the trip, I was constantly introduced as “the earth angel.” Who knew that was the beginning of a long, strange, but wonderful trip to enlightenment?

  My friend Christine was so amused by that whole encounter that she kept the joke going after I got home, and she bought me a subscription to Angels on Earth that Christmas. Who publishes that quarterly booklet? Guideposts. Thus was the beginning of my journey with angels—stories, encounters, and even hearing them.

 
; Five years later, while in Maine for a getaway weekend, I picked up a pen and started writing this book. I can honestly tell you I didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, till my hand hurt so much I had to finally put the pen down. By then, I had written five chapters.

  I will always feel then and now that I was spiritually guided to write this book. I didn’t know about automatic writing at the time, but I can reflect back and tell you this is what it felt like. The thoughts, the words, the characters, and the images were urgently waiting to be put down on paper.

  There are SO many wonderful people and places that helped make this book happen.

  Like Tim, a seasoned poker player who took the time out of his day job as bartender at the local Cuban restaurant to guide and teach me about the ins and outs of serious poker tournaments. Tim, without your knowledge, I never would have been able to write about the Poker Game. Thanks so much!

  To the incredible spirit artist Rita, who drew a picture of Jimmy, when I went to her and said, “I can’t stop hearing this man’s voice in my head!” Thank you for making me realize I was not losing my mind. Rita was also a key part of my spiritual development over time. Most importantly, her encouragement and feedback helped me finish this story.

  Thanks also to Karen Paolino, for her incredible Angel Knowledge, and the amazing classes at Heaven on Earth.

  Though there were many interruptions in finishing this book over the years because of life’s demands, the following people never lost faith in my ability to tell this story, so it could be shared with others. They pushed me forward constantly with their encouragement and love of the book:

  My number-one fan from the day she read the first first chapter, Gina you are such an inspiration. I can’t thank you enough for all your love and encouragement.

  To my top readers, supporters, and editors along the way: Christine, Maryanne, Alan and Isadora, Cathi, Michael, Michelle, Jayne, and Gretchen. There were so many others that said, “Keep writing,” including my Mom. Thank you!