Mary Ellen ran sobbing into the garden, tripping over the pieces of the half-built spaceship and spooking the herd of unicorns in the process.

"There's another woman!" She collapsed in a heap, her long black hair spilling around her in disarray.

Maggie sighed heavily and set aside her trowel.  This looked to be a bad one.

"Mary Ellen'" she said, striving for a reasonable tone as she approached the younger woman, "get a hold of yourself.  You've battled werewolves and vampires, for goodness sake.  You're tougher than this.  Besides, we've been through this before."

"But this is different!  It was bad enough before, when he started with David.  But at least then it was just a man.  I still had hope that he'd want me back eventually.  But this time he's thrown me aside for another woman!"

She took the rag that Maggie offered and dabbed at her tears, smearing mascara across her porcelain cheeks.  "Now I understand why you always hated me so much."

"I never hated you, dear.  I hated the spaceship.  Especially when he never even finished the stupid thing.  And I hated that ridiculous magical rabbit, even before it found its way down here and started ruining my garden.  By the time you and the unicorns came along, my reaction had mellowed to more of a mild annoyance."

"But what am I going to do?"

Maggie helped the girl to her feet.  "First, you're going to gather up the unicorns, before they wander into any of the darker corners where he keeps the monsters.  Then you're going to come inside and have some tea, relax, and find something to keep you distracted until he's ready to call you again."

The brilliant green eyes that he had invested so many extravagant adjectives in flashed angrily.  "What?  You can't be serious!  I'm never going back up there.  Not after this."

"Yes you will, Mary Ellen.  It's how you're made.  It's how we're all made. Just look at David.  He's put that boy through seven kinds of hell, but David keeps going back every time he calls.  And so will you."

"But he has her now.  He'll never need me again."

"Yes he will.  You're much more interesting than she is.  He'll see that, soon enough.  And then he'll call for you."

"How can you be so sure?  He's never called you back, and it's been almost twenty years."

The older woman smiled drolly.  "Well of course not.  He killed me, remember?"

"Oh, right.  I forgot."  Mary Ellen blushed slightly at the reminder.

Maggie held up a hand for silence.  "You hear that?"

Mary Ellen concentrated for a moment.  "I don't hear anything at all."

"Exactly.  He's stopped typing.  He must be blocked again. Just sitting there staring at the keyboard, thinking in circles.  I told you this new girl wasn't as interesting as you are.  He never got writer's block with you." She sighed again.

"I've gotten him through this before.  I'll just slip up to the front of his brain and give him a nudge, and be back here to Memory Lane before you know it.  Call David to help you with the unicorns, then go inside and make tea for all of us."

She started to leave, then turned back. "Oh, and don't forget to fix your face.  You want to look your best for your next book, don't you?"