"How's the café going?" Shelly asked Miranda. "You know, with the economy and everything." Miranda and Rona had been meaning to go back home, but after bumping into Hannah and Shelly they were persuaded to join them for another coffee instead. Hannah joked that, it having been St. Patrick's day earlier in the week, she might have an Irish Coffee, and Rona asked her where the Irish was in her family.

"It's doing okay" Miranda said in answer to Shelly's question. "Because we're not some fancy restaurant, we don't really get people coming in for special occasions. So we just provide a kind of pretend luxury service, I guess. People can come in and have a nice coffee, or lunch or a snack, and feel like they're treating themselves, but they're not breaking the bank. I mean we don't sell as many meals as we used to, that's for sure, so in the kitchen it's a bit quieter, but the café's still doing okay."

"That's good" Shelly said.

"Yeah, I mean look at us now" Miranda continued. "Here we are, sitting down to get a coffee, and we're not even thinking twice about it. So, you now . . ."

"How much is the rent on your new place?" Hannah asked Rona.

"About eighteen-hundred a month" Rona answered.

"For a three-bedroom place?"

"Yeah, I mean it's more than I wanted, but less than we would've been paying at the old place by now. And the bedrooms are all about the same size, so we can divide it up evenly."

"Hey we need to buy some vegies for dinner tonight" Miranda reminded Rona.

"Yeah, we need to find somewhere else to buy it from, too" Rona insisted. "Like, maybe not tonight, but just in general. That supermarket is so expensive."

"Food's expensive everywhere these days" Shelly said.

"Yeah, that's what Sacha says too."

"I mean with the drought, and petrol prices, and now the fires . . . Either that or you just pay top dollar 'cause it's imported from, like, Argentina or China or somewhere."

"Then you've gotta worry about the carbon miles" Miranda said.

Hannah saw Shelly getting her coin-purse out. "Hey no, sweetheart, what are you doing? You paid for the last one, remember? Put your money away, this one's my shout." She looked around the table. "For everyone" she said.