I've been through some unusual meetings in my time, with unusual guests. I certainly never have expected to be led through lower Manhattan by a cat inhabited by the soul of Elvis Presley.

"Man, you are so tense. Be cool, it's just Lilith and Luce and the little girl."

"You don't understand. Lilith is trespassing, Luce is going to lay a huge guilt trip on me for not standing up for him, and the girl does not want what the All-Father has planned for her. There's a lot of pressure on me, as the Angel of Mediation and Harmony, to fix things."

"Wait, now...did you just say you're God's 'fixer?'

"No, no. That's not how I work. I mean..."

But he stops me cold. "I don't know, Raguel. That's sure what it sounds like. He messes up and sends you in to make things right. Yeah, I understand that kind of pressure all right." I swear, the cat looks as if it's thinking, then throws me a curve ball when he asks, "You ever fail at making things right?"

"Yes," I admit.

"What happens?"

"Oh – a cure for cancer is never found because someone didn't fund the research and funded artificial intelligence instead. Some belligerent narcissistic idiot becomes President of the U.S. A multi-billionaire buys a social network because he thinks the world wants to hear what he has to say. Netflix cancels its top-rated shows..."

"Ouch. We're here, man. How long has it been?"

"A lot longer than your nine lives."

Eden has only gotten more beautiful. I breathe air that smells clean, crisp and additive-free. You can identify the scent of individual things – trees, flowers, animals. What's missing is the welcome party.

Elvis has his head cocked to one side. "She says she's busy with other unexpected guests, and we should take our time. She wants to meet...wait, are you sure? Okay, okay...we're to meet her at the orchard."

"An orchard?"

"THE orchard."

After a minute or so, we are swarmed by small, winged creatures with human bodies. They look like the cherubim, but smaller. "Who are you?" I ask one of them.

"That's a rude question. I live here with Momma Lilith. I'm Ming-Na Chan. Who are you? You look like Uncle Lucifer."

So, these are Adam's first children? We Archangels have only ever seen the monsters. 'You're right," I answer politely. "Luce is one of my brothers. My name is Raguel."

Another one, a strapping darker-skinned boy, says "Oh, yes. He says you're the one who needs some down time."

"Now, Rajah, be nice. It's been hundreds of thousands of years since he's been here. And he's been working all that time. See? He's here to relax. Right, Uncle Raguel?" The airborne fairy (for lack of a better word) is an Indo-European shade of golden brown, with black, tightly curled hair.

"I'm here to meet more of my brothers." As we strolled along a pathway that seemed to simply extend itself in front of us, no matter which direction we took, we accumulated something of a crowd of nieces and nephews. Dwarves, pixies, gryphons, gargoyles, elves, monkeys, and others airborne and aquatic joined our ranks.

When we get to THE orchard, I understand the significance of the location. It's where mankind's first home eviction occurred. We were the first ones to arrive, so we sat on the grass and munched on apples. Gabriel arrived next, escorting Uriel. They kept looking everywhere, their mouths gaping open.

"I'd forgotten how amazing this place is," said Gabriel.

Uriel wept openly. "How long did mankind stay here? How many millennia?"

"Less than 300 years, I think," I said. "It wasn't long. Gabe spent the longest time visiting, didn't you, Gabe? All those progress reports, both before and after the apple fiasco.

"Yes,honey, I did," Gabriel sighed musically. "Notre Pere put a lot of himself inthis place – I bet y'all didn't know that, did you? Yes, I know – the wholedang universe is him, but a lot of it sorta shaped itself once alla the physicsand astrowhatsit were in place. But Eden...he saw to every flower, every birdsongand lizard skin, every fruit and tree, river and mountains and bobcat...it all was carefully and slowly put together."