Marie sat at the kitchen table in the sunny breakfast nook of her beloved kitchen with her head in her hands feeling like her dream was turning to dust before her eyes. The multi-paged contract that was as heavy as a book made absolutely no sense to her. She looked up through her fingers without raising her head to see if Steve were getting annoyed yet. "Maybe I should get a lawyer," she whispered. The horrified expression on Steve's face wasn't unexpected.

When Steve shrugged, Marie knew he was trying to appear indifferent. "Sure, if you're worried. I mean, just because we're friends," The eyes didn't lie. He was hurt to the core. His pause only served to accentuate the pain. Marie felt it deep in her heart. "More than friends," "I'm sorry, Steve. I'm just uptight, and I never could understand all this legal talk." Marie lifted her head and noticed that the indifference in his posture was becoming stony. She relished his protection, but it angered her when he got so defensive. She had a right to be confused.

"Hey, no problem. Really," his face brightened with assurance, but the eyes still ached. "Take it to a lawyer. If you need a referral, I'll get you some names."

"No. It's okay." It wasn't really, but she couldn't hurt him anymore. He was doing his best to help. Marie picked the volume of pages up and studied it carefully to no avail.