Page 75 of The Scrooge Effect

I wasn’t ready to deal with anything but my wife. However, I had plans to get to, and this was only delaying them.

I hit the button and smiled at what was about to happen. “We are a-go.”

“A-go,” Harper snorted.

“What?”

“Nothing, it just sounds so…”

“So, what?”

“I don’t know. Hollywood.”

“Hollywood. You think we sound Hollywood?”

“Well—”

The controlled demolition I had planned for the house was nothing like I expected. A massive explosion ripped through the sky, sending flames shooting toward other houses. But just as I thought something else would catch fire, the explosion quickly died, replaced by fireworks.

Red, green, and white shot into the sky, spelling out Merry Christmas. People rushed out of their houses, watching the show as they tucked their loved ones to their sides. It really was a sight to see.

“It’s beautiful,” Harper grinned. “Who would have thought blowing up a house would bring so much joy to the neighborhood?”

We both looked at each other and laughed. “IRIS.”

22

MICHAEL

The church was beautifully lit with candles that each person held. The soft music playing from the organ filled the Christmas Eve service with joy I so rarely felt in my life.

But being here now, looking at my sons with their families, I knew that no matter how terrible a father I had been, they’d turned out alright. And Izzy…she was so beautiful, so well-adjusted, considering all the hell she’d been through. She needed a strong man by her side, and Jason was exactly the man to help her through the worst of it.

Yeah, life hadn’t turned out how I wanted, and even though I was stuck somewhere in between heaven and hell, watching over my kids was the greatest gift I could have ever received.

“So, you’re ready.” I glanced to my right and found an angel sitting beside me, staring at the front of the church.

“Uh…ready for what exactly?”

“To move on.”

“That depends. Where are you sending me?”

He smirked at me, which I really didn’t understand until wings popped out of my shoulders and filled the pew. “What the⁠—”

“Ah! You can’t talk like that in heaven. It’s sort of a thing.”

I grimaced at the thought. “So, I have to watch my language.”

“Listen, it took a lot for me to convince the big guy to let you in, but you did save more than one soul the other night. Apparently, that’s earned you the right to take your place in heaven.”

Huh. That was pretty interesting. I thought for sure I was headed south. “So…is Claire there?”

“She’s been waiting on you since the moment you died.”

Well, that was good to know. “So, we’ll be married and everything still?”

“Yep.”