Dead!

Chapter 66

Chapter 66

I was relaxing in my apartment one day when I got a text. Adam and I had our first anniversary that day, so he was wondering if I wanted to go out for dinner. Of course, I told him that I would love to go.

I perused through my wardrobe, and eventually settled on the dark blue dress that I had purchased a few days earlier. I put the dress on, grabbed my purse, and walked out the door.

As I walked down the street to the restaurant where we had agreed to meet, I thought about how safe Heaven had become. It had been over a year since we had discovered the Demon Summoning System in Henri and Jack's backyard, and I never stopped marveling at how much of an effect this discovery had on Heaven. There hadn't been any demon attacks in Cedar Creek since we removed the Summoning System, and the same thing had happened in other communities where the Demon Summoning Systems were removed. Slowly but surely, the demons were being chased out of Heaven, and it felt wonderful to be a part of that.

In the meantime, not much had changed. Heaven was back to normal, and the afterlife simply continued on. I still had three and a half years before I could be reincarnated, and I was sure that I would enjoy that time. I wasn't sure if I would want to be reincarnated at the first possible opportunity, but that was a decision that I would make in three and a half years. In any case, I would miss the many people that I had met and become close with in the afterlife, including Adam.

I arrived at the restaurant and quickly found Adam. He was wearing a nice shirt and slacks, and he was staring out the window. "Hi Adam," I said.

"Ivy!" he exclaimed. He got up, kissed me softly, and said, "You look so pretty."

"Thanks Adam," I said.

"How have you been?" he asked me.

"Alright, I suppose," I said. "I haven't done a whole lot since last week."

"You must have done something interesting," Adam said. "You're Ivy Livingston. You're always up to something cool."

I laughed and said, "Not always."

"Just tell me something," Adam said.

"Well, I went to the mall a few days ago," I said. "That's where I got this dress."

"It looks so nice on you," Adam said.

"Thanks," I said. "You wouldn't believe who I saw though."

"Who did you see?" Adam said.

"Maya!" I exclaimed. I didn't usually see Maya all that often since she moved out last October, so it was a surprise when I saw her in the mall that day. "Guess where she was."

"Hot Topic?" Adam guessed.

"Okay, that was too easy," I said. "Where else would she be? Anyways, she's doing well. She's thinking of writing a new Frerard book."

"How many of those is she going to make?" Adam asked.

"I have no idea," I said. "Too many. She's also thinking of publishing Forbidden Love, but she doesn't want to change the names."

"You showed that to me once," Adam said. "Don't tell Maya this, but I hope it doesn't get published."

"Yeah, it's really bad," I said. "I hope Henri gets that spot in the orchestra that he wanted to get into though. That would be nice."

"I do too," Adam said. "He's very talented. You know, you have some really great friends, Ivy."

"They are pretty awesome," I admitted. "I still wouldn't really consider Maya to be one of my friends though."

"That's okay," Adam said. "As long as you keep being nice to her."

"I have been nice to her," I said. "Then again, that might just be because I haven't seen her as much as I've seen everyone else. For example, I talk to Samantha nearly every day."

"A lot of that is for your job," Adam observed.

"It's not my fault that Samantha is involved in just about every interesting thing that happens in Heaven!" I exclaimed. "I guess this is what I get for having a social justice warrior for a friend. Then again, I did interview Raj once."

"What was that for?" Adam asked.

"Remember when Raj started that youth hockey league?" I said. "It was an article on that."

"Oh yeah, I remember that," Adam said.

"What's new with you?" I asked Adam.

"A lot of work," Adam said. "I do love my job though. I just love being around the plants."

"That's really nice," I said.

"I've been practicing the piano too, and I'm thinking of having a few friends over on Wednesday for a video game night," Adam said. "Do you want to come?"

"Sure," I said. "That sounds really fun. Who's coming?"

"It was going to be me, you, Raj, and Laura, but then Jack heard about the games that I had and wanted to come," Adam said. "So I invited him, and then I invited Henri as well, because I felt bad about inviting Jack without inviting his boyfriend."

"Can I invite a few friends too?" I asked. "Maybe this would be a good opportunity to get the gang together."

"Yeah sure," Adam said. "Just let me know who you want to invite."

"Okay, I'll do that," I said.

The waiter came over to our table and took our orders. I ordered a pasta, while Adam got an eggplant parmesan. The two of us continued to chat about just about everything while we waited for our food. "I love you so much, Ivy," Adam said right before our food came.

"I love you too, Adam," I said, smiling. As I ate my pasta, I thought about how much had changed and how much had stayed the same since I had died. I was a different person than I was when I had died. In a way, maybe the afterlife was a little bit like life on Earth in that way. Everyone has the chance to reinvent themselves, and more than anything, I was thrilled with how I had done that for myself.