CHAPTER 1

            “How’s retirement treating you, Simon?”

            Simon Greyve looked up and smiled warmly up at the café owner.  “Thank you for asking, dear.  It’s… fine.”

            The café owner giggled, which drew startled looks from her employees.  “You make me feel so young, calling me ‘dear’!”

            Simon chuckled.  The café owner was a kind woman in her fifties who had blessed Simon with regular coffee and pleasant conversation for nearly twenty years.  “You’re nearly twenty years younger than me, Elise.  You are young.”

            Elise scoffed, but her round cheeks flushed with pleasure.  “I’ll be right back with one of my almond croissants – on the house!”

            Simon hesitated.  He wasn’t hungry anymore, but his smile never broke.  “You are a treasure, my dear.”  He watched her prance behind the counter and into the kitchen before allowing himself to relax in his window seat and sigh.

            It appeared he would be having an almond croissant for dinner.  It was only mid-afternoon.  If he ate the croissant now, what would he do during his normal dinner hour?  A glass of wine was pointless without a savory accompaniment.  He’d only been retired a week, but he was already bored.

            He was bored and alone – and he missed his husband with a fierce longing that hadn’t ebbed in twenty-seven years.  Simon coughed to hide the sudden sting of sorrow on his heart.  He sipped his gingerbread latte quickly, schooling his expression back to dignified elegance.

            Rhett, that careless bastard.  He’d been so absorbed in the light novel on his phone that he’d crossed an intersection – right in the path of a heavy semi-tractor.  They’d only been married five years, and then he was gone… just like that.

            That hadn’t been part of the plan.  A nice apartment with an in-house washer and dryer, a cat, a kid, and an annual botanical garden membership.  That had been the plan.  Rhett never gave a damn about Simon’s plan for them.  He’d only laughed, held him close, and ask that a decent library be up for consideration.

            Simon set down his cup.  He had been so lost and angry after Rhett had left.  He’d thrown himself into the glamorous career of a corporate drone, adopted and cremated a darling senior cat named Pouncessa, and had even acquired a washer and dryer set that ran with criminal efficiency.  His retirement cake had been a hummingbird cake with the perfect level of sweetness.  What else did he need from life?

            Time had tempered his anger into sorrow, and sorrow into acceptance.  He had loved and been loved.  He’d had a respectable career and a decent home.  Was this it?

            “Is this seat taken?”

            Simon looked up and blinked at the tall, elegant woman standing by his window table.   She looked to be in her early forties, with silvery strands artfully woven into a dark chignon.  She had dark eyes that shone with a strange, warm light.  He got up and pulled out the chair for her, ignoring his protesting joints.  “Please – I would welcome the company.”

            The woman thanked him and admired the slice of cake on her plate.  “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

            It was Black Forest cake.  Simon’s polite smile froze.  It had been Rhett’s favorite cake. He coughed again to hide another rush of emotion.

            Time passed in an easy silence.  The bakery was packed with customers now.  He idly wondered if Elise had forgotten the almond croissant promise.  Perhaps he could have a glass of wine tonight after all.  The woman took her time eating her cake, relishing every bite.  When she was done, she daintily patted her lips with a handkerchief and sighed, physically and mentally sated. 

            “You miss him.”

            Simon frowned.  “Pardon?”

            “Rhett Greyve.  You miss him.”  The woman’s serene expression didn’t change.

            Simon stilled.  His frown deepened.  “Do I know you?”

            Her smile widened.  “Not quite.  Neither you nor Rhett were very social creatures.  Pouncessa and Elise were your only friends.  Your social battery is high-performing, but with very limited longevity.  … You may call me Nataly.  Yes, I think I’ll go with that name today.”

            Simon studied the woman more carefully.  She was impeccably dressed in luxury brands from head to toe – and the pearls that graced her throat and ears had small, natural imperfections.  He looked into her dark eyes and his breath caught in his throat.

            They were glowing.  It wasn’t noticeable at a glance, but they were actually glowing with a subdued golden light.  A myriad of thoughts crowded into his mind, threatening to overwhelm him.

            Was he dying?  Was she God?  He’d always considered himself as being agnostic, but if she was a God – what did that make him now?  Did the label really matter?  Gods like cake.  Who didn’t like cake?  Heathens didn’t.  Was he actually dying?  If would be so unfortunate to die in Elise’s bakery.  Not only would it be bad for her business, but he didn’t want to traumatize the kind dear.  She really was his only friend.  He’d revised his will recently.  She’d get everything.  If he died here, would foul play be suspected?  No, no, no.  He watched and read too many crime dramas.  He couldn’t have that on his conscience.  Would he still have a conscience after death?

            “Breathe, dear.”

            Elise was right.  Being called ‘dear’ did make him feel young.  He was too young to die.  He really wasn’t.  He stood by his earlier thoughts.  He didn’t really want anything more from his life.  But he did!  Just not this life!  If Rhett were still here –

            “Breathe,” she said again, touching his hand.  Her skin was cool and he instantly felt his thoughts settle.

            It was a wondrous sensation, feeling chaos dissolve into peaceful order.  “Am I dying?”  The question was delivered with casual curiosity.

            Nataly’s smile was melancholy.  “You don’t have to.  You have a good twenty years left.  They will be lonely, but comfortable.  I want to offer an alternative.”

            Simon’s eyes narrowed.  “Are you a demon?  A dark god, perhaps – come to offer me a deal?”

            Nataly’s eyes sparkled with amusement.  “It sounds like you read and watch too many fantastical dramas as well.”

            “I have diverse tastes,” Simon muttered defensively.  “Well?  Are you a demon?  Or a god come to whisk me away to a medieval fantasy land overrun by demons?  Is there a demon lord that needs to be defeated by an otherworldly hero?  I’m telling you now – I would rather very much not.”

            Nataly’s eyes widened.  “You’re quite astute.  I am offering you a chance to reunite with your Rhett’s soul – ”

            “I’ll take it.”

            The woman’s face softened at his immediate acceptance.  “I haven’t told you the terms yet, child.  You shouldn’t agree too quickly.”

            “Where is he?”

            “His soul was as rich as yours – and very fine.  It slipped through time and space to another one of the worlds I oversee.  ‘Medieval fantasy land’ doesn’t quite suit it – it’s more of the urban fantasy genre, to be quite honest.  It’s a world of were-creatures, vampyres, fae, magic…”

            She drew out and dangled the word ‘magic’ out like a carrot.  Simon didn’t bite.  “What’s the catch?  Is there an demon lord?”

            Nataly sighed.  “Not a demon lord, no.  There are, however, some unsavory characters that world can do without.  I’m asking you to raise the ones who will do that business for me.”

            Simon blinked and shook his head.  He was getting bits and pieces of information that didn’t make sense.  He wasn’t a young man.  He didn’t have time for disorganized propositions.  “In four sentences or less, tell me what you want me to do.”

            Nataly considered it.  “I’ll do it in five.  I am a grandmother with a few hundred ‘greats’ in front of that word.  I have two grandchildren left here that are… hurt and struggling.  I need you to raise them on the other world, with a grandchild from another branch of my family.  I need you to bring order to a monster-infested wood.  I want you to find your Rhett and live a long, full life with him.”

            Her last request shook him to his core.  He didn’t much care for the ‘monster-infested wood’ bit, but if he could be with Rhett once more… A thought jumped out at him.  “Why do you care about… us?”

            “I like to watch.”

            How… disturbing.  For just a second, his expression matched his true feeling.  Nataly chortled, enjoying her words’ effect.  “I am an overseer, child.  Watching is what I do.  The love you and Rhett shared… it was beautiful.  A lovely harmony of pride and compromise, of chaos and order.  It deserved… more.”

            “… Thank you.”  He didn’t know what else to say.

            Elise was approaching their table, looking frazzled but determined.  She was carrying a cake box that was entirely too large for a single almond croissant.

            “May I have your phone?”

            He handed it to her without another question.  She opened his app store and typed out a word in the search bar: Divinity Management.  An app popped up with a golden rose icon.  She handed it back to him to allow the app’s installation.  “This is most unusual,” he muttered, torn between amusement and disbelief.

            “Your login name is ‘Greyve1’.  You can find the ‘Otherworldly Application’ in the administrative documents section under your account details.”

            “Did I say unusual?  I meant absurd.” Simon stared as the app finished its installation.  “What’s my login password?”

            “It’s ‘RhettXSimon4Ever!’.  Uppercase ‘R’, ‘X’, ‘S’, and ‘E’ with the number ‘4’, not the word – with an exclamation point.”

            Simon’s head snapped up, his cheeks red for the first time in over a decade.  “You’re not serious!”

            Nataly was gone.  Her empty plate with cake crumbs was gone.  Elise beamed at his exclamation.  “I’m so sorry for the wait, Simon.  I packed a few quiches in with the croissant – all your favorites.  Spinach, mushroom, and ham!”

            Simon forced a smile to his lips.  “Delightful.  Most… delightful.”