Sada mends insulated coats. A repair must hold when the person paying for it is out in the cold; she applies approximately the same standard to statements about public service.
She and her daughter have found space at the Commons after a sequence of promises involving beds, wages, water, and the bundle somebody else was holding for them. A correct announcement delivered too late can cost as much as a lie. She knows this without requiring a theory.
She will tell you what the mistake cost. She is less interested in helping you have a meaningful experience of being sorry.
Around the kitchen, she repairs donated things and negotiates work. Her daughter can turn several incompatible blankets into one useful object. Neither regards that as a metaphor.