The leak was getting worse.
They hadn’t long moved into the house. It was a bit of a fixer-upper, but they were just happy to have a place of their own. His work was in town and hers was to think about how the place could be made more, ‘them’. This was straightforward enough until they discovered that the dripping under the laundry sink was getting louder.
He grimaced, saying, “Look. You find someone, preferably local. After all, you’ll be here to show them the problem.”
She nodded. “OK. I’ll look for someone on line. There must be heaps of plumbers out there. I’ll pick one.”
“Good on you, pet. If you have any problems, give me a call.”
Later that morning she did her research and came up with a couple of phone numbers. She rang the preferred mobile number. A man answered and she gave him an idea of what the problem was. To her delight, he was about to finish a job and go home for lunch. He could be there early afternoon.
She put the phone down with a satisfied look on her face. “Wow! That was easy,” she whispered, mentally patting herself on the back.
As expected, just after one, a van pulled up in the road and a man in a boilersuit carrying a large tool box rang the bell.
She was leading the way down the hall towards the laundry when she realised that the tradesman had stopped. She turned and walked back smiling. The cupboard door was open and he was staring in.
“You like the costumes, I see,” she said.
He stood nodding.
“My husband works for an entertainment supplies agency. Sometimes these costumes come back needing small repairs before going to the cleaners.
He looked awkward. “Reminds me of school,” he said.
She pointed down the hall. “Shall we?”
“Yes, of course, I’m sorry.”
“That’s OK,” she said as they entered the laundry. “Shall I leave you to see what you can do?”
“Sure,” he said, setting down his toolbox.
After a few minutes, he called out. She joined him and listened while he explained the problem. He said it was serious and shouldn’t be left. The problem was it was going to take a couple of hours.
“Oh! Really?”
He wrote into a pad with estimated hours and cost. ”Yes. I’m happy if you want to get other quotes or have me come back when it suits. There’s no call out fee, and I won’t charge you for a quote. It’s up to you.”
She thought for a minute, knowing that she had to shop for food. “I’m happy for you to go ahead. I have to go out for a while this afternoon, but I’m sure I can leave you to it. A couple of hours, you say?”
“About that,” he replied, taking another look under the sink.
“That’s fine then. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving,” she said, and left him to it.
It was only minutes before she had got herself organised for the shops. She stuck her head in, saying, “OK. Shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
He was on his back with his head under the pipes. “Okey dokey,” came the reply, amid a clatter of metal on pipework.
She drove off, mentally figuring out where to shop first. As she pulled into the underground carpark fifteen minutes later, she suddenly realised she had left her carefully set out shopping list at home. Annoyed with herself, she drove out again.
When she arrived at the house she went straight to the laundry to let him know it was only her.
He wasn’t there.
Her eyes widened, as she looked out of the back window’
He was dressed in a full Dalmatian’s costume, shuffling around the back lawn on all fours, barking!
“I sure can pick ‘em…,” she whispered.
She found her shopping list and left, closing the door quietly behind her.