Marie shifted on the padded stool and leaned her good arm on the counter to support her back.

"Want your job back?" Karen rushed about behind the counter slinging plates of food in front of waiting customers. Marie chuckled, and shook her head. In the last two weeks, she'd come to rely even more on her friend's shoulder. With her connected past exposed, her wisdom was even more appreciated than ever, and certainly better understood.

Karen stopped her mad rushing about. "You know, it's good for the soul."

Marie looked around the crowded room with its shabby, but freshly painted walls. Customers laughed, and joked as they ate. They were regulars most of them, and just like family to each other. Yeah, she could see it as a remedy for a failing psyche. She looked back at Karen. "Why didn't you make more demands?"

Karen looked confused.

"The divorce. Surely Steve had money back then. His family did. How did you get such a raw deal?"

Karen shrugged and turned back to the transom to grab a newly deposited plate. "Who says I got a raw deal?"

Marie sat up straight, and moaned at the effort it took. She watched as Karen happily went about her job. "So you're not…"

"Poor?" Karen laughed. "Not hardly. But you should know by now that money doesn't make you truly rich."