Christine stopped, Chéri turned and for a moment they were a little worried the woman could have been offended by something they said/did. But no, she laughed and protested. Chéri shrugged “If you had become smart” read: educated “but were poor, you’d be spending your time figuring out how to make the money instead of speaking to me now.” And then they shrugged and turned. Chéri seemed absolutely sure. The things seemed to make him smile and laugh more than anything else.

Chéri laughed a little and added “Well, that is part of it: you need to look like you are in need. What you need, you can decide based on what you think the person in front of you can give you.” they added a wink and then laughed further.