The Other Side of Heaven by Jacqueline Druga Page B

Disappointed?”
    “You kidding me? You’re my
favorite big sister.”
    “I won’t tell that to Debbie.”
    He laughed. Oh, his laugh. How I
missed it. Grabbing my hand he led me to the couch. “Let’s sit.”
    “Why do you suppose this is the
place? Is this heaven?”
    Again, he laughed. “No, I think
this place has to do with your resolution. Not sure. I liked this apartment,
Barb, but not enough so spend eternity here.”
    He made me smile. “I missed you
so much.”
    “I miss you too.” He tapped my
hand. “So fire away. I know you have questions. Probably why it’s you, because
you won’t forget what you have to ask me.”
    “You’re right.”
    “Go on,” he nodded.
    I hadn’t forgotten them.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    “Barb,” he chuckled out my name.
“I’m dead.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “For a dead guy, I’m good.”
    “Happy?”
    “Yeah, for a dead guy I’m happy.”
    “Jimmy.”
    “What do you want me to say?”
    “Do you feel like a dead guy?” I
asked.
    “Ah, I do, actually. There’s a
lot of things missing,” Jimmy said. “See, right now I am a physical being. For
the most part I feel physical, but I know I’m an essence unless I mentally make
myself whole. I miss eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom. I mean, in this
body, I can have a pizza, and getting into this physical being is a state of
mind. I miss feeling an abundance of anything. Cause everything feels like I am
in control. None of this makes sense to you, does it?”
    “It kinda does.”
    “There’s an aspect of being alive
and it’s not just breathing. It’s being alive . I can’t describe it any
other way. Once here, you can’t get overly angry or overly happy. It’s a
spiritual Prozac.”
    I shook my head with a smile. “Do
you see Mom?”
    “Why did they segue from Prozac,”
he laughed. “Yeah, yeah, I do. Dad, too.”
    “Good. I wanted to hear that. I’m
sorry your life was cut short.”
    “Me too. I’m sorry for all the
pain I put you through.”
    I exhaled. “Why didn’t you pop
the one in the chamber? You could have checked.”
    “How do you know I didn’t?”
    “Because I just heard the
exchange between you and Freddy.”
    He lowered his head. “I didn’t
want to come off as dumb, besides, the safety was on. Who would have thought it
would malfunction.”
    “You weren’t in a lot of pain,
were you. The coroner said you probably didn’t feel a thing.”
    “I didn’t. Funny thing …” Jimmy
stood up and pointed to the television area. “All that disappeared and turned
white, bright white, just before the gun went off. It was in my hand, the light
appeared, then everything flashed. Next thing I knew I was standing behind the
couch looking at Freddy freaking out. Trying to call for help, while holding
me. It was heartbreaking.”
    “How long did you watch?”
    “Until Dad died.”
    “What?” I stood as well. “You
were stuck in this apartment for six years.”
    “No. For the most part, in the
beginning, I was stuck to Freddy. I was glad, because I was worried. Especially
when they investigated him.”
    “Yeah, had he not have been so
torn up, the charges may have stuck. Freddy was bad.”
    “He was bad.” Jimmy clenched his
fist. “I felt so awful. I felt awful for all of you. The pain mom and dad went
through. The crying. I always wanted to make you guys smile and I failed at
that. Remember how I said on this side you don’t feel? Well, when I stayed on
that side, I did. I allowed myself to be punished.”
    “I dreamt of you. It was really
vivid. Was that you?”
    “I don’t recall entering dreams.
However, you may have picked up on my presence.”
    “I thought I was crazy, but I
always felt you around. You said in the beginning you were stuck with Freddy.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, then I was able
to move about. As long as I ran from the light. And I did. Let me tell you,
remember the movie Ghost?”
    “Sort of.”
    “Well, I’m not the only