This is the second time I've written something after comments. This is what happened to Julia from "You've Been Served" after she died. I stole quite a bit from The Good Place because I think it works here and makes it a little more light-hearted. If you have seen the show, you will know what I'm talking about.
If you have issues with the gay pastor in "Breaking the Delusion" on religious grounds, then you are going to hate this story.
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Julia's eyes opened abruptly, and she gasped with surprise when she found herself sitting on a metal chair. She surveyed her surroundings. She was in what looked like a drab waiting room. The chair that she was sitting on was one of many lined up against a wall. The walls were beige, and the floor was lined with worn carpet tiles. One or two ceiling tiles were missing and one of the overhead lights flickered so badly, that it irritated the eyes. There wasn't a single window.
An elderly lady sat behind a desk and was typing away on a keyboard which was attached to a computer that judging by the size of the monitor was almost thirty years old.
"Hello, dear," the lady said with a friendly smile when she looked up and saw Julia.
"Where am I?" Julia asked with confusion.
"Purgatory, dear," she replied. Before Julia could say anything, the lady told her, "Peter will see you now," and she indicated the door to the left of her desk.
Julia made her way to the door and gave the lady an uneasy smile as she passed her. Something about the lady made Julia nervous.
When Julia tentatively passed through the door, her breath was taken away. In contrast to the drab waiting room, the office she entered was sleek, bright, and modern. The walls were white and modern art hung on the walls and the floors were laminated wood. Modern and stylish lights hung down from the white plastered ceiling. To one side a sofa and armchair surrounded a glass coffee table. There were shelves with books and pot plants. Dominating the office was a desk made from maple wood. On the desk was a modern, curved computer monitor and a wireless keyboard and mouse. At the far end was another door. Again, there were no windows.
"Julia, welcome! Come and take a seat," the friendly-looking man with the greying hair from behind the desk said indicating the chair in front of his desk.
"Where am I?" Julia asked again, still looking confused. "The lady outside said this was purgatory."
"That is right," the man smiled.
"And that your name was Peter."
The man nodded sensing that Julia was about to realize what had happened to her, "You probably know me better as St Peter."
"That must mean-," a look of horror came over Julia's now ashen face. "That must mean I'm dead."
"That is right," Peter said gently, "you are dead."
This was always a difficult time for the recently deceased. If they died of old age, then normally, they were prepared for it and even welcomed it. For those who died from unnatural circumstances, the process was a lot harder.
"Please, no! Don't make it true!" she said as she began to sob.
"I'm afraid it is," Peter said sympathetically. "The first moments after death are always the hardest. You will get plenty of therapy to help you adjust. I always find that it helps if we just crack on and figure out why you are here. Can you tell me what you remember before you got here?"
Julia's brow furrowed as she tried to recall what happened, "I was at home with Quentin. He was angry with me. He became always angry and jealous after I left Tony and moved in with him. I remember that we had a big argument. He was crazy and I was frightened. I ran and hid. I tried to send Tony a message for help, but Quentin found me before I could send it. He punched me and punched me again and again then I found myself here."
"When you say Quentin, you mean Quentin Chalfont and Tony is your husband, Tony Mikelsen?"
Julia nodded her head.
"I'm sorry to tell you that you didn't die from the punches. Quentin smothered you with a pillow after he punched you unconscious and you died from suffocation."
"Oh, no!" Julia gasped as she realized the true brutal horror of her death, but she was surprised that she wasn't crying.
"Now, then," Peter said smiling as he turned to his monitor and put on a pair of glasses, "Let's look at why you are here in purgatory. Normally, most deceased go straight to either Heaven or Hell depending on how they lived their lives. Those who are on the borderline, come and see me. Let's see, Julia Mickelsen nee Taylor, you were born on the May 15
th
1976 and you died on the December 3
rd
2023. You are survived by your husband Tony Mikelsen, as you are yet to be divorced, and your three children Hayley, Kelly and Jack."
"How are they?" Julia asked worriedly. "How are Tony and my children?"
"Your children are very upset. They miss you terribly. Tony misses you less."
Julia looked crushed and tears began to flow down her cheeks.
Peter looked at her sympathetically before he continued, "You worked as a defence attorney for which you did some very good work. You worked pro bono to prevent a child from getting tried as an adult for a crime he didn't commit, and successfully defended an abused woman who nearly killed her abusive husband, I believe most thought she was going to jail for the rest of her life, and successfully defended a young man falsely accused of rape when he had already been judged by society amongst other good work."
"I am very proud of that. I made no money from any of those cases," Julia said with a smile.
Peter returned her smile, "You did a lot of work for charity. You donated a lot of money, but you gave something more precious, your time to those in need. Well done. You were until recently a good and loving mother and wife." Peter's face then darkened, "Now the not-so-good, you successfully defended a guilty rapist who went on to rape again, destroying the reputation of the victim in the process. You refused to defend a man who was wrongly convicted of murder and who is now spending the rest of his life behind bars."
"I was just doing my job. I did what I was told," Julia said trying to defend herself.
Peter gave a small chuckle, "If I had a dollar for the number of people who come before me and say I was just doing my job or I was just following orders. You always have a choice. Anyway, despite it all your good outweighed the bad as far as your job is concerned. The reason you've been sent to me is because of your marriage."
"My marriage?" Julia asked sounding confused.
"Yes, in particular, your infidelity," Peter said, his voice laced with disapproval.
"Oh," Julia said sounding disappointed.
"You made a vow before God, saying you would forsake all others and you didn't. We take infidelity very seriously. It is mentioned twice in the Ten Commandments."
"But I'm not Jewish," Julia said still sounding confused.
Peter pinched the part of his nose between his eyes like he had heard that many times, "I wish God had been clearer to Moses that the Ten Commandments applied to everyone and not just the Jewish people. You are bound by the Ten Commandments, as is everyone, and you broke clause 7, "You must not commit adultery," and clause 3, you took the Lord's name in vain a few too many times but we tend to look over that these days. God is a bit more tolerant these days. But clause 7 is why you are here."
Julia became wide-eyed with panic, "Am I going to Hell?" she asked starting to hyperventilate.
"Not necessarily," Peter told her. "Tell me why did you do it? Why did you betray your husband? Tony is a good man; did he deserve your betrayal."
Julia's eyes burned with indignation before the flames were extinguished by guilt and she looked away from Peter, "No he didn't," she admitted. "I don't know why I did what I did. Tony wasn't just a good man. He was an excellent husband and lover, and he gifted me three beautiful children. I was very lucky to be married to him."
