Life after Death: The Afterlife of Hezekiah Chamblee

Chapter Two: Winterhaven Confessions

Hezekiah's POV

Winterhaven, one hour later...

"It's an honor to have you young men stay at my place, even more so since I've been hoping that you'd stop by," Landon McMurray says as Chance and I finally arrived in the winter-themed neighborhood of the Nexus and crossed the threshold of the chalet-themed house of the resident in question. "Although things might've been in different circumstances with what's going on and all."

"It's good to be here," I replied, my soulmate squeezing my hands as the designated seraphims who acted as our escorts helped us with our bags. "And yeah, I kind of wished that things might've been under different circumstances with Rosalia Domingue's jealousy turning into a rage after Chance and I became official."

"Definitely," Chance agreed. "I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with her, but she's not going to back down unless I either choose to become hers or she gets rid of us. I'm actually surprised that she kept up her 'Catalina Slade' persona for this long. Still, it's all the more reason to keep low and all."

"All will be well," one of the seraphs assured him as he and his partner gave us our bags. "God and Lucifer will make sure that Miss Domingue will be dealt with. For now, just let Mr. McMurray show you boys the best of Winterhaven. Eris and I will be watching from afar to make sure that there's no danger."

I nodded. "Thank you," I said gratefully.

After Landon showed us to the guestroom that Chance and I would share together and getting settled in, we soon ended up in the living room as our hosts distributed cups of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream as a platter of fresh fruits served as snacks. "So what's your story, Mr. McMurray?" I couldn't help but ask. "You seem to know more about Chance and myself and how we came here. Let's get to know a little more about you."

The older man nodded, pausing to sip on his cup of cocoa before setting it down on the coffee table. "I assume that Louis the gatekeeper gave you a small insight of my life story," he replied.

"He did mention that you died in a car crash back in the sixties," Chance commented. "And that you had to hide your sexuality for the most part of your life."

"That's definitely true, given that I was from an extremely religious family that left no room for disobedience," the older man stated. "And in the Deep South during the time of Jim Crow, my family believed that the parents had to make sure that their children obeyed them. With me being an only child, it was even more so since my father was a preacher and expected me to be a man's man. That meant no lusting after other guys, finding a suitable woman who was loyal to the faith, and being able to provide. Add in mandatory attendance at church every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday; and you can say that everyone who knew my family would make sure that I was the perfect son."

"Did you ever rebel in any way?" I asked.

"Not once, seeing that everyone in my old neighborhood knew one another and gossip flowed like water. And trust me, if a kid or teen was caught in the act of disobedience your parents would know and you'd be punished before you had the chance. Again, boys, everyone knew my dad and my family was well-respected so I had no other choice but to put on the performance of a lifetime."

"Wow," I breathed. "I can definitely understand how that's like since I had to make sure that I stayed on my toes and never misbehave, even though I never made any social appearances since my family didn't want the public to know about me."

Landon gave me a look of pity. "We all have our burdens, son," he assured me. "Anyway, I never got the chance to know whether or not I was truly gay since homosexuality during my lifetime was seen as taboo. After finishing up with college, I was soon arrange to marry the daughter of one of my father's friends and let's just say that the relationship that we had was indifferent at best and cold at worst. Laura Coates hated me because she thought that I wasn't the handsome military man that she wanted to marry. Our parents hoped that our marriage would seal the deal and maybe make us more closer. Well, ten years went by before Laura left with our daughters to find her military dreamboat, leaving me with the divorce papers and the home that we shared. In the letter she left me, she said that I wasn't man enough for her and that she wished that she had jilted me at the altar when she had the chance."