Page 25 of The Reverse Cinderella
Chapter 4
Piaget opened the door to find Max standing on the other side with a tool box. She cocked her head to the side. “You need to call before you knock. I might not have been home. Or at the very least, I could have put on makeup and jeans.”
“Makeup only enhances your natural beauty which you have in abundance,” he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Plus, I get to see those beautiful legs.”
Piaget shook her head and decided to ignore the comment. “What’s with the toolbox?”
“This?” He hefted the box. “I thought I’d wow you with my skills. How long has the bathroom tap been dripping like that?”
“For as long as I’ve been here,” Piaget watched him make his way to the washroom. “Come on in.”
Max grinned over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
Piaget followed him, watching as he opened the cabinet doors and started taking things out.
“Why doesn’t the superintendent fix it?” he asked, his voice muffled as he pulled out a handful of salon products.
Sitting on the tub, Piaget eyed her cutoff sweatpants and debated throwing them away. She probably should replace them with something more appropriate, but they had been comfortable since she had put on some weight. However, if she was going to have unexpected visitors like today then she really needed to get rid of them. “I live in a building with inexpensive rent. It’s kind of an unwritten rule that nothing gets fixed. I learned that after I complained about the tap multiple times.”
“Well, it’s getting fixed today,” Max turned the shut off valve and then drained the water from the faucet. “I watched some YouTube videos and got some advice from a guy at work. Piece of cake.”
“You’ll have to forgive me if that doesn’t sound too confidence inspiring,” Piaget said dryly.
“It’ll be fine. It’s either one of two problems. The first option is your filter is dirty and needs replacing.” He unscrewed the end of the faucet, revealing a small grid-like covering. Grabbing a package out of his pocket, Max unwrapped the replacement and screwed it on to the faucet. He ducked under the sink and turned on the water. Even with the taps off, it began the steady drip again.
“Option two?” Piaget asked doubtfully.
“Is changing the cartridges,” Max shut off the water again. “This is a little bit more involved.”
Piaget watched as he selected a screwdriver and carefully began by dismantling one of the handles on the faucet. He popped them off and then had to use an adjustable wrench to free the cartridge inside the handle. In moments it was out and there was a fountain gushing water all over the sink, countertop, mirror, floor, and Max. Piaget threw her bath towel over top of the sink. “I thought you said the water was turned off!”
“Um, let me check,” he crouched under the sink again. “What about now?”
The spray of water picked up force. “No!”
“Okay, then it has to be this way.”
The fountain resumed its original gushing pace. “I don’t think this is supposed to be like this.”
“He did say there would be some water. Now, there’s a washer and a spring that have to come out. Then I have to insert the new ones and the new cartridge. Tighten it up and if it’s not this side, then we repeat with the other handle,” Max looked around. “Do you have some tweezers?”
“I think you should call your plumber friend and get him over here to help,” Piaget rummaged in the medicine closet behind the mirror and tried to ignore the box of tampons staring both of them in the face. She quickly grabbed the tweezers and slammed the mirror shut. “Here.”
“He’s not actually a plumber. Plus, he’s away for the weekend,” Max lifted the towel and began poking in the fountain of water with the tweezers. “He told me step by step what needs to be done so what can possibly go wrong?”
“Well, my feet are getting wet. I don’t think that’s supposed to happen,” Piaget grabbed more towels and laid them on the floor and on the counter, hoping to soak up some of the water. She then grabbed some of the items that he had taken out of the cupboard and moved them to higher ground, namely the bathtub.
“If you have anything plugged in, you may want to unplug it. Just as a safety precaution. Ah ha!” Max grinned as he held up the spring and rubber washer. He frowned as he compared the cartridge and components to the ones in the package that he had bought. “I was sure I had gotten the right one.”
“Don’t tell me…” Even Piaget could see that the spring and washer were a different size than what was in the package.
“I need to go to the hardware store for just a moment,” Max grabbed the receipt and the two packages. “I’ll exchange these and be right back.”
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” she called after him as he left.
“Channel the water down the sink!”
Piaget heard the door close after him. She stared at the gushing water. “This is ridiculous.”