ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
“You know what,” he said.
“I know who loves the beach. Gary. Fuck it, I’ll give him a ring and see if he wants to come.”
One of Sam Hatton’s favourite Sunday rituals is a quick dip in Lake Betoota followed by a nice, hearty brunch at the nearby Yacht Club.
But this Sunday past was especially difficult for the 28-year-old buyer’s agent.
Surrounded by his real, non-work related friends at the Betoota Dolphins Leagues Club on our town’s picturesque southside, he was innocently enjoying a few drinks and laughs when a drug detection dog came in through the entrance, his little tail wagging.
In a panic, he had to eat four low-quality MDMA capsules that were burning a hole in his pocket all Saturday.
“So needless to say,” he told our reporter.
“I was in a very fragile and dark place yesterday. I still am to be fair, but I’m on the way out of the tunnel now,”
“So when I thought a nice frolic and swim down at the Lake would sort me out, it dawned on me that having some company would make the whole experience more palatable.”
Enter Gary Tucksworth.
For a few months now, Sam and Gary’s work friendship has grown from strength to strength.
Normally, agents working in the same agency are trained to systemically undermine and loathe each other, both professionally and socially.
But these two, friends say, are different.
“When Sam rang me up early on Sunday morning, I didn’t know what to think,” said Gary.
“But when it wasn’t work-related, and he just wanted to see if I wanted to go to the beach with him, I was surprisingly pleased,”
“When he asked me to put some sunscreen on his back and legs, I was kinda wigged out a bit, but I went along with it. I was apprehensive at first but I ended up having a great time.
Onlookers say the two were seen running up and down the beach, hand in hand, in a heartwarming display of friendship.
From all accounts, the friendship has graduated from one that only operates from 9 to 5 to the point where they follow each other on every social media platform they have.
More to come.
