We had almost finished taking the old pipes apart before putting in new ones. I was on my hands and knees beside Steve when I heard an unfamiliar voice, a man’s voice. “Hello?” he said through the screen door of the kitchen. I jumped, bumping my head under the sink. “Oh!” I said, holding the back of my head. A very handsome man stood at the screen door. He was so good-looking that he could have been a movie star. His hair was blond and his eyes sparkled blue. Something about him made me feel both thrilled and nervous. “I knocked at the front door, but you didn’t hear me,” he said. He opened the screen door and came into the kitchen. “I phoned yesterday. I booked the night here.” He carried an overnight bag. Now I knew who he must be. “Mr. Henderson,” I said. I got up off the floor and offered him my hand. We shook hands before I realized that slimy stuff from the old kitchen pipes covered my fingers. “Call me Brent,” he said. He looked down at his hand. It, too, was now dirty with slime.
