“She didn't have an answer for that. People like her only ever have questions.”

“And I feel like a real Dad when I read to her at night. She won't sleep without one story, at least.”

“Bloody rain” says Mr ChiversBouncing a basketballOn the one dry patch of courtbloody rain” he nods to our Sports classAnd gives us the afternoon off.Bloody rain all rightAs Annabel and I run to Megalong Creek hutFaster than we ever have in Chivers’s classAnd the exercise we have in mindWe’ve been training for all yearBut I doubt if old ChiversWill give us a medal if he ever finds out.We high jump into the hutAnd strip downClimb under the blanketsAnd cheer the bloody rain As it does a lap or twoAround the mountainWhile Annabel and meEmbrace like winners shouldLike good sports doAs Mr. Chivers sips his third coffeeAnd twitches his bad kneeFrom his playing daysWhile miles awayAnnabel and IScore a convincing victoryAnd for once in our school lifeThe words “Physical Education”Make sense…”

“He looks a hell of a lot like me, only a fair bit older.”

“I'm glad she left me the kids. I'd be lost without them. Lost and bitter. With them here, I'm only bitter.”

“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.”

“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.”