“I work hard in the orchard, not for the money anymore, but for something I can't explain. Something worth more than money.”

“He looks again towards the door, expecting Mum to walk in and remind him of something he's forgotten. He smiles awkwardly. 'Is that it, Dad? I've got to go.' 'Your Mum said I should mention ... um ... satisfaction.' 'What!' 'She said young men should know things, should be told things so that the girl won't be ...' his eyes plead for understanding, '... disappointed.'[...] 'No worries, Dad. My biology teacher said I was a natural.' Dad looks confused.'I'm kidding, Dad.' [...] Poor bloke, having to do the dirty work while Mum's off with her gang. 'Dad? What did Grandpa tell you about sex?' 'He said if I got a girl pregnant, he'd kill me.”

“He did what he could, and that was more than enough.”

“Nobody in school is stronger than me. But when Sally Holmes kissed me, I never felt so weak in all my life.”

“I'd go off alone,because you can't trust those who want to break the rules and you certainly can't trust those who make the rules so you do the only thing possible,you avoid the rules.”

“But when I look at this farm I keep thinking it's not whether I have the guts to go but if I have the guts to stay.”

“He hands the page to his wife and looks across the room to Colleen's picture, listening to her absence, breathing deeply the air she can't share.”