Eldora gave him a wobbly smile and nodded. 

“Wanna play videogames with me?” Claudius asked. 

Eldora made a face, but then she said, “Only if you watch a corny romance movie with me.”

“Can do, My Lady.” Claudius chuckled. 

***

The next day, Eldora had to go visit her mother at the asylum. She stuck a stick of string cheese in her mouth as she drove. God I love cheese. She thought to herself unabashedly. She drove like a mad woman, wanting to get the visit over with. She loved her mother, but her mother didn’t even recognize her half the time and for some reason insisted upon calling her, “Ducky.” 

Eldora thought about the previous night with a small smile on her face. She wanted to go to bed with her husband badly, but falling asleep on his shoulder was a good runner up. Maybe I don’t have to get divorced after all. 

She hoped she wouldn’t. She hoped to ask her mother for advice. Despite the fact that her mother was bonkers, she still had good advice for her, from time-to-time. 

She pulled into the parking lot, still eating her string cheese. She took a sip of hot coffee and then headed inside. The nurse led her to her mother’s room, and Eldora threw her arms around her. Her mother looked at her blankly. Eldora waved to her. “Hi mom, it’s me, Eldora.” 

Her mother wrinkled her nose. “You think I wouldn’t recognize my own daughter?”

“Well, sometimes you d—” 

“Hush. Auntie has something very important to tell you.” Her mother said.

“Auntie? But mom—”

“Sush!” her mother interrupted. “In my drawer, you will find something that will show you the truth.” 

“Drawer? Which drawer?” Eldora queried. 

“Just look in the drawer.” Her mother repeated. 

Eldora scratched her cheek, but then opened her mother’s top drawer. She found nothing but her unmentionables. She dug around a little, her cheeks turning red, but then her mother yelled, “You! Nurse! Stay out of my underwear drawer! Quit stealing my money!”

Eldora immediately shut her drawer and looked about, shifty-eyed for a moment, before looking in her mother’s second drawer. This was where her mother kept her shirts. She dug around in the drawer, finding nothing. 

“Foolish girl. It’s in the last drawer.” Her mother rolled her eyes.

Eldora skipped the rest of the drawers and opened the last one. She dug around in the final drawer, and she found an interesting piece of jewelry. She retrieved it, carrying it by the chain. The pendant on the bottom—a four-legged creature with pincers and pointed ears—was incredibly heavy. She cocked her head to the side. “Mom… the medal this is made of… it feels so heavy.”

“That’s because it’s made of Fairindium. It’s from another planet.” Her mother stated.

Eldora sighed heavily. A frown tugged at her lips. It was hard dealing with her mother, when she had forgotten everything. She tried to get to the bottom of things, knowing it was most likely futile. “Mom, can you tell me why you wanted to show me this?”

“Don’t disrespect your elders, selfish girl. I wanted to show you it, because it will help you find the correct path forward.” Her mother said firmly.

“The correct path…?” she repeated, tears coming unbidden to her eyes. “Oh mom…  I don’t know what to do…” 

Her mother looked at her with intense eyes. “What’s the matter, darling?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to lose my marriage!” 

Her mother drew her into an embrace. “You must build your bonds. Claudius is a good man, and you are a good woman. All should be well with you. Don’t give up. Perhaps the answer to strengthening your marriage lies within that necklace. Your father and I were once going to get divorced, but… that necklace saved us.” 

“But mom, dad disappeared…” Eldora murmured. “He left you. I don’t—”

“Who said he left?” her mother retorted. 

“Y-you did…” Eldora murmured, concerned by her tone. 

“Your father is racing.” Her mother suddenly said.

Eldora grimaced. She recognized that her mother’s mind was elsewhere now. She patted her mother’s back, before her mother pulled away from her with a shocked expression. 

“Who are you, girl?” her mother demanded. 

Eldora released her mother, and then dipped her head. “Sorry, mom. I’ve got to go.” 

“Wait! You don’t know how to use that necklace!” her mother cried. 

Eldora paused when she was at the door. 

“Use this phrase: Golin Jaku Fairlo.” Her mother said. 

Eldora made a face, but then nodded. She left the facility and then headed to work. She rubbed her tired eyes on the way there, angry that she would have to deal with her husband’s friends when she came home. 

Some of them smoked, and all of them drank and encouraged her husband to drink. Her husband always cleaned up afterward, but it bothered her that he still hung out with such characters. 

At school, she walked into her classroom, and the room was already abuzz with chatter. Her gaze swept the classroom. Some of the students were making out, others playing music incredibly loudly on their phones, and still some playing games on tablets. She swallowed her disgust. She wondered when she had become so hateful of the students she used to love, and how. She knew they were young, and all that mattered to a young person was romance and technology, but still…