Days turned into weeks as I waited for the bus to be fixed. I got to know Sam and Andy well in that time. Sam told me of his life before Warrangatta. He used to have a small hobby farm until he fell off his horse and damaged his left knee. These days, he had to use a cane to help him walk. He didn’t complain, but I could tell it upset him. I think what made him most upset was that three weeks after his knee was damaged his fiancé left him for a Spanish man. She was his entire world. He said he was a broken man for a long time after she left.
I told him of my family. He was wonderful to speak to because he didn’t offer any advice or tell me how I should be feeling. He would just sit at his desk at the front of the store and listen.
Andy was entirely different to Sam. He didn’t just sit and listen; he poked fun at me from the time we met. When I would tell them my most painful memories, Sam would listen, and Andy would say something ridiculous to make me laugh. I felt comfortable with both of them, so when Sam offered me a job, it was an easy decision to stay in Warrangatta. Using the money Tess had given me, I was able to by a small house on the outskirts of town. It needed a lot of mending—but so did I.