Page 12 - The Myth and the Moment

Morning

with the brush: that looks plenty official. Front door on the left, by
the garage door; definitely not the service entrance. Flagstone path
along the other side, obviously leading to the back yard. Sounds like
people are back there. Gate just has a latch on it.
“Hello! I’m from the pool service.”
See my bristling ten-foot pole? I mean business, you in there.
“Oh, goodie! You come in quick, fix pool. My husband, he try
clean and make dirty.”
Chinese? Korean? Filipina? About thirty, but tough and stringy.
Hair an impossible arabesque. Purple lipstick and nails. Ice clinking
merrily near sliding glass doors to the house: the guests are here
already. Am I too late to save this charming lady from disgrace?
“I see, Madame. Could you direct me to the pump and filter
housing?”
“Huh?”
“Yes, I see it over there. Thank you very much.”
Now, why do I feel embarrassed? I’m the one who can talk
straight, right? Right, Nate, and talk’s cheap—cheaper than
fluorescent pink high-heeled slippers. So, let’s see the patient: typical
Hollywood kidney pool, ten or twelve feet at the deep end, silly toy
diving board. Gutter looks okay, no algae, but—oh, all that gunk on
the bottom by the drain: he must have tried to vacuum it himself and
screwed up the connections. Great. Ten minutes and I’ll be out of
here. Hodges will have to pay me for half a day, definitely worth the
investment of one burrito. Yep. It’s set to backwash the filter right
into the pool. Brilliant. A flick of the wrist—urk! He really tightened
up on these valves! No need for that. I’ll use his vacuum, save a trip
back to the truck. Hose in good shape; probably never used.
Ah, right in the socket and away we go. Not too fast, or you’ll stir
up clouds; not too slow, or you’ll fall asleep. What is it, ten o’clock? It
must already be up in the nineties. The pool almost looks good
enough to jump into. But not for me. I’ve seen too much. These
people may have the pH balanced, but that won’t kill off the parasites
that—
“Nate? Are you Nate Evangelino? I don’t believe it!”
“Eh?”
Damn, dropped the pole in the pool.
“Sir, I believe you have the advantage of me.”

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