Oz opened his eyes angrily. "Okay," he thought, "that truck
really should have killed me. I
mean, it was huge! It ran over me. It hurt really bad,
too." Then he looked around at his new
location. "Hmm, this does not look like a hospital room.
Is this actually a cloud? I thought that
was just a cheesy thing they did in movies to represent heaven."
Seeing a man sitting at a
desk nearby, Oz rose from the bed on which he lay and ran toward him.
"Excuse me," he
called. "Where am I?"
"What is your name?" the man asked, catching Oz
by surprise.
"Um, Oz Walker," he replied. "Why?"
"Cordelia's husband?"
"Yes," Oz said in a confused voice. "Do you
know her?"
"Of course I do," the man responded. "You'll
find that I know everyone who enters that gate
over there," he said, nodding towards a large gate that stood not far
from Oz's temporary
bed. "My name is Peter. I think that Cordelia's waiting
for you over at the bar."
"There's a bar here?" Oz asked, unable to keep the
incredulous note out of his voice. "Is
this heaven?"
"Yes it is. And yes, we have a bar.
Why is everyone so shocked when they find that out?
Do you all think that angels and saints are completely boring?"
"Well, um, I guess so. Anyway, what is she
doing at the bar? Has she started drinking?
And is Willow here too?" Oz demanded.
"She's listening to music, no she hasn't started
drinking, and yes Willow's here too. She's
at the bar with Cordelia."
"My daughter's in a bar?" Oz asked. "Where
is this bar? Does Cordelia know I'm here?"
"No, she doesn't know you're here. I was going
to tell her, but the Boss told me not to. He
wanted to surprise you."
"The Boss? God?" Oz was astounded.
"No, Bruce Springsteen," Saint Peter clarified.
"Everyone has been talking about you.
They've all been waiting for you to join Cordelia and Willow.
They all love both of them, and
they didn't want them to be unhappy."
"Okay," Oz finally said, confused beyond belief.
"I'm going to go find my wife and daughter
now. Is that alright?"
"Of course," Peter answered. "Just follow
this street right here and it'll take you down to the
bar."
"Okay, bye!" Oz called as he quickly headed down
the street.
As he approached the bar, he could hear a voice
drifting out of it. For a moment he thought
it was... "No, that's not possible," he thought to himself. Then
he entered the bar and looked
up at the stage. There, in the body that he had in his prime,
stood Elvis Presley. He was
singing "Jailhouse Rock" and the audience was going wild. Looking
around the bar, he
quickly spotted his wife and daughter and snuck up behind them.
He put his hands over his
wife's eyes and whispered in her ear, "Guess who!"
Cordelia gasped as she heard her husband's voice.
"Oz!" she exclaimed, whirling around
to see him, assuring herself he was really there.
"Daddy!" Willow cried, throwing herself into her
father's embrace. "I missed you!"
"I missed you, too, munchkin," he told her, hugging
her close.
"Wow!" Cordelia breathed, staring at her husband.
"I missed you so much," she said, tears
of happiness slipping down her cheek. "What happened?" she asked,
hoping that her
husband's death hadn't been too painful for him.
"I got hit by a truck," Oz explained.
"Ow!" Willow said in sympathy.
"Yeah, it was pretty ow-ish," Oz agreed.
"I'm sorry," Cordelia said.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Oz reassured her.
"I would endure much more to be with you.
I'm just glad I get to see you again. So, what have you been
doing up here?"
"We've been making friends," Willow informed her
father.
"Really? Like who?" Oz smiled.
"Well, like him for instance," Cordelia answered,
nodding at the stage. "Hey, Elvis!" she
yelled. "Oz died!"
"Well, good for him!" Elvis Presley laughed.
"I'm happy for you Cordy."
"Thanks. Can you sing a song for us?"
"Sure, sweetie. What do you want to hear?"
"Nothing too sappy," she answered. "How about
'Don't Be Cruel'? We both like that one."
"Sure thing," he said, launching into the song.
After they had listened to Elvis and then Buddy
Holly sing several songs, Oz, Cordelia, and
Willow left to go home. Oz was shocked when they told him they
had a house and
everything. "Wow!" he said. "I didn't think we'd have a
house or anything."
"I know," Cordelia agreed. "I was pretty amazed
when we got here, too. This place is
awesome, though."
As they passed by the Saint Peter's desk, he called
out to Oz. "Oh, Mr. Walker!" he said. "I
forgot to say something when you first woke up and were so eager to
find Cordelia. Welcome
to heaven," he smiled. "I hope you enjoy your stay."
