Houston, We Have a Problem

A couple of hours after I posted about my retreat in the Mothership, I heard a loud bang, followed by the sound of running water. What the–? At first I thought it was something outside. Then I saw the water pouring out from under the kitchen sink counter, spreading across the floor…

I ran outside to shut the water off, and then started pulling things apart. Drawers full of dishes, full of water, too. What a mess. All I could tell for sure was that the water had come from under the kitchen faucet. I spent about two hours mopping it all up. Finally, about midnight, I sat down with a heavy sigh to figure out what to do next. Sproingggg! The window shade beside me abruptly unrolled all the way to its end. Is this a sign?

Next morning, I established that both water pipes to the kitchen faucet had popped loose as one and started pouring water into the space inside the cabinet. Some disassembly later, I found that the plastic connectors on the underside of the faucet had cracked and let go. With no separate shut-off valves to the sink, I was sunk. My water system was kacked until I could get a replacement faucet. A few phone calls later, I knew there were none to be had on the Cape. A few hours later, I packed it in and headed home.

But not without a final bike ride to the beach and some time contemplating the surf rolling in. Bright side: While sitting there, I found (I hope) the solution to the plot problem that had been eluding me, and I wrote a couple of pages on that before I broke camp for home.

Here’s a glimpse of the better side of the retreat…

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