Schemes Come to Naught novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: Dry Pipes

On Saturday morning Ines put a wrench in my hand and told me to fix the pipe.

"You want me to do it?" I said. "Alone?"

"You broke it."

"A pipe froze. I wasn't even here."

"You owned the house," she said, "and you never found the valve. Seven winters I did it. Today you do it."

The lake house belonged to the trust, and the trust was frozen at First Ohio.

Nobody objected when she let us in with the key she had never given back.

The kitchen floor still had a water stain in the shape of a boot.

She sat on the counter with a thermos of tea and watched me crawl into the pump closet.

I found the main valve on the left side, where her text had said it would be.

"Is that the right one?" I called.

"Does it say Main on it?"

"It says Main."

"Then it is probably the right one."

I turned it.

Something in the wall clanked.

Water ran into the new copper pipe she had paid a plumber to put in last week, with the part Ben had bought, and I waited.

Nothing sprayed.

Nothing dripped.

I put my palm on the joint and felt it hold.

"It works," I said, and came out of the closet with dust on my knees. "Ines. It works."

"I heard." She was smiling into her cup. "Congratulations, Mr. Lowell. You have fixed one pipe."

"I want a medal."

"I'll put it on your performance review."

She slid off the counter and wiped dust from my chin with her thumb.

That was all it took.

I kissed her against the cabinet, tasting tea and cold air, with my wet hands still dripping on her sweater.

She laughed into my mouth.

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