All about Tony

So now I've got to meet Tony. I've got an appointment with him - first thing. Well, you have to ask, don't you. Everybody's said he's special, so come on then, tell me. Exactly what is so special about him ? There's obviously something, because all the other dead girls giggle and go all girly when they mention him and all the dead blokes go Huh! and mutter stuff under their breath. Obviously issues there. I've heard that sort of thing before and it usually means trouble.
In case you were wondering, yes, now I've been here a bit longer, I'm getting on a bit better with the other dead people - well, what choice do you have ?
It's a bit like being the new girl in an office - once you've been there a while you stop thinking they're all a bunch of weirdos and join in with stuff. Mind you, they often are a bunch of weirdos, it's just that you stop seeing how strange they are, because you see them every day.
This place isn't any different, really. I still don't go much on the "you don't have to be dead to live here, but it helps" poster. It was a bad enough joke up there - down here, it's not even that funny.
Anyway, enough of that, let's go back to talking aboutTony.
The way they all talk about him, he seems to have a lot of clout with the powers that be. And I mean real clout. It seems that whatever he says goes. Is he the chosen one or something ? Is he due to get resurrected and so can do pretty much what he wants ?
It appears that he's got his own office and "counselling" suite down here, and his own secretary too, who makes all his appointments for him. Probably does a lot of other stuff as well, if I know blokes and work, for which he will take the credit. Men usually do.
I try to find out a bit more about him, but all I get are just the girly giggles and the blokey grunts. And raised eyebrows. No help there. None whatsoever. It's all a bit of a mystery.
So anyway, then it's time to go down there - it's in a really nice bit of Asphodel, nice views of the Styx ( if you can call anything with that river in it nice) and there's some pretty plants in the waiting room - well, until you take a closer look. Pomegranate trees, if I'm not mistaken. Not quite in fruit, but heading that way. So I'm thinking - someone's obviously got a bad sense of humour in there.
I'm standing outside, by the reception desk, and his secretary, who's a real gorgon - I don't mean she really is - otherwise there'd be a few statues round the foyer - but she's a bit like someone's mother, no way is she easy on the eye, and she's got a bad atttitude to go with it - snaps at me to sit down and wait. So I do.
Wait for quite a while - I don't think it would be smart to ask, after all, down here you tend to get comments like "what else have you got to do all day? It's not as if you're dying to go somewhere"
Then the secretary gets the call from him, summons me and I go in.

So - now I find out what all the fuss is about. And how. He's gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous. If I wasn't already, I'd say he was drop-dead gorgeous. Probably - no, definitely - the best looker I've ever seen. And I mean ever - not just ever have, but probably ever will.
My god, he's beautiful. Eyes that you could fall into and lose yourself, a face that looks like - oh, everyone's dream of what a man's face should be, a smile that would melt a glacier and a body that's well, just - you know, muscles in all the right places, and none where they aren't needed - just the perfect shape. And then he says Hi and gives a little laugh with it, and it hits all over again - his voice - it sends shivers up your spine. The voice, the laugh, just gives you tingles - you want him to say something, anything - even the speaking clock would be like a heavy chatline if he was doing it. Wow !
And he's got a grace about him that you can't really describe - when he moves, it's like watching the planets orbiting the sun - or a bird in flight, just perfection in motion. You just want to watch him, in case he moves.
If you can think of all your favourite film stars and put all their best features into one person, that'd be our Tony. I won't mention names, because we might not have the same taste, but believe me, he tops the lot.
I'll be honest, my first thoughts are not ones I'd want to share with anybody. Certainly not. Far too rude. Need to take a cold shower.
So anyway, then I think about what are my second thoughts - and first up - he's got to be gay. Just got to be. In my experience no-one that good looking has ever been straight. Never ever ever ever ever. Not a chance. No way. That's just the way it always is. Not fair, maybe, but that's just how it always seems to turn out.

Then I think - more than think, maybe I hope a bit - perhaps he's bi, goes both ways - and that would give me a bit of a chance with him. The really worrying thing is that right now I reckon I'd be willing to work on it. Just for a while, just to see if he was. Still think he's gay though.
And then I think about the gorgon secretary. And I think a bit harder. He's the most beautiful man anyone's ever seen, so it stands to reason he could have his pick of secretaries - male, female, whatever.
If he was gay, he'd really appreciate a looker, someone aesthetically pleasing, someone really easy on the eye, someone all the straight clients would really fancy, and probably a bit of a bimbo, so he could be all superior with her, they'd think she was his bit on the side and his boyfriend wouldn't be threatened by it, he'd think it was a laugh.
Same would apply if he was bi - except she probably would be his lover as well, and still not a real threat.
And if he was straight and in charge, he'd definitely do the same - pick someone really cute because he could. And she'd be his mistress if he wanted and be glad to do whatever he asked. Work and other stuff. I'm about to put myself down for the job, or at least apply for it, when the awful truth sinks in. And then it becomes really, really obvious. He's not gay, he's not bi, he is straight - only he's not in charge. There is someone else involved in this, someone who can tell him what to do, someone who can decide for him that his secretary is going to be an old(ish) bat who is as attractive as Medusa on a bad day. That means he belongs to someone, and that someone's got a lot more clout down here than even he has. And it's got to be a woman. Probably an older, richer, more powerful woman. That's Not Fair. Even less fair than him being gay - you know you can't win there if he is, but now it feels like you could win, just that someone has loaded the dice so you never will. If he can't even pick his own secretary, he sure as hell won't be able to do anything interesting with anybody else, either.
You know, it's worrying me quite a bit that I've almost forgotten about being rescued - which is very odd. Maybe finding him with that Penny has changed how I see him, or maybe he was never that good in the first place. Or just maybe our Tony does have some sort of power over women. I guess I'd need to be away from him to find that out for sure.
Right now, I've got this strange feeling that I want to find out more about Tony and this mystery woman who pulls his strings, who can decide he has an ugly secretary. She must be really powerful down here. So who is she ? I've just got to find out.
Anyway, now he's Mr Professional Counsellor - he wants to talk to me - well, actually, he wants to listen to me - he asks me to tell him all about it. So I do. And I mean all - everything, even stuff I've kept secret from everybody else including my plans, the snakes, setting it up, being rescued, the stuff about him and Penny, all the dream stuff, the lot. Whew. He looks a bit taken aback by it all - as if it's all a bit too odd. And then he smiles at me. Just once. And my heart does several circuits round the room and winds up in my throat. Not what I need right now. My pulse rate is going through the roof. I didn't realise it got so hot down here this side of Tartarus. Then I realise it's just me, blushing. More than a little, too. That's worrying too - I don't usually do that. Not my style. Not at all.
So having listened to what I have to say, he tells me that everything I've done is perfectly normal for someone in my situation, and that in his view, he thinks it would make sense for bereavement counselling to wait until either I'm rescued, or it's obvious that I'm not going to be.
He says he'll square it with them upstairs about the dreams and that - and to come back and see him if himself doesn't show in the next few days.
What a man. My hero. There's just one issue though - now I do want counselling, well from him anyway. So how can I make that work ?
Make out that I'm getting really upset by being left waiting down here ? He might go for it, but he's very professional. Wouldn't really get me anywhere. So I obviously need to find a way to get him on his own away from work. Away from being a counsellor. So when the session's over, I decide to make a bit of a play for him - well, why not - and so I ask him if he ever goes for a drink or something after work with his clients. He says - he doesn't usually - not at all, it's kind of against the rules, bad professional conduct and so on. But, he says, that because he thinks I'm about to be rescued, and I won't need counselling after that, he'll make an exception in my case, as long as it's not for too long, as he says she might get a bit jealous if he's out too late. So I ask, all innocent, who do you mean? And he tells me. As if it was so obvious to anybody. Persephone. So now I know who the mystery woman is. It all makes some sort of horrid sense. The most powerful woman in this world, bar none. Great. Now I know what I'm up against. Not that it helps to know - the queen of the dead is sure as hell not someone you'd want as an enemy! Not even if you were alive, but certainly not if you're dead yourself. No way. Could get very nasty.
So we still make an arrangement to go out later on - about half six or so. He says he knows somewhere where you can just go and talk without being disturbed. So I agree to meet him there. Feeling a little bit apprehensive about what I'm getting myself into here, but quite looking forward to meeting up with him and talking about things. He's so cute. I'm not so sure of what I want to happen here - not sure about my motivation - I'm about to be rescued, by the man I love, supposedly, and now I'm not sure I want to be, well maybe not by him, anyway. And that makes me feel odd too. So now what do I do ? Not an easy situation, I'm sure you'll agree. Anyway, I'm fed up of waiting. I've never been the patient type. I'll just go with my instinct, seems to be the right thing to do in a way. See what happens. But why do I feel as if it could all go so wrong? Maybe that's part of the problem - sometimes your instincts aren't quite right, so you go with something that seems right, but isn't. Too late to stop it now, let's just see what happens and sort out any problems later.