Ode to the Plumber

Ode to the Plumber

Oh, Mr. Plumber
Please come soon
There’s a mosquito-breeding puddle
in our bathroom.

You’ve come before
Will you come again?
Perhaps you’ll tell the truth
as to when.

Don’t tell me what I want to hear
Tell me what will be
Bring the pipe and the receipt
and I’ll pay you the fee.

Ever since moving into—I want to say “our lovely little home” but that’d hardly be the correct description—our spacious flat on the fourth (or fifth) floor, we’ve had a large puddle on the floor in our main bathroom. The pipe connecting the toilet to the wall is old and needs replacing, so there is a constant steady drip. John put a cup under it so that one wouldn’t have to hop over the puddle to get to the toilet, but it fills up in a couple of hours and there’s no way I can remember to dump it out every two hours. So this puddle has been a part of our abode since we moved in about eight weeks ago.
The landlord was aware of this issue and got a plumber to fix it. This is where the woes really begin:
One warm Sunday morning, just before nine o’clock, found us locking our front door and heading out to catch an auto to the CBN office so we can get a ride with our supervisors to church. As we turned to leave the flat, the plumber arrived. John explained to him that Sunday doesn’t work; we go to church on Sundays. We let him in the apartment to see the problem and he states that we need a new pipe—the current one is rusted. He then says that he’ll come the next Sunday, but John tried to explain to him that we go to church on Sunday and it’s not a good day. Can he come on Monday? The plumber agrees, though reluctantly. Monday passes with no sign of him… Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… still no sign of the plumber. Sunday morning rolls around again and as we get ready to head down the stairs to church, the plumber shows up again! Once again, John explains that Sunday won’t work…can he come some other day? Once again, he agreed reluctantly. Another week passes…
Sunday comes once again, only this time I’m home as John and Kumar have gone to a village for the day; however, no plumber.
The NEXT Sunday, as once again we’re getting ready for church, he comes. It’s hard to understand this. John tells him he has five minutes. He goes in the bathroom, looks at the pipe, and tells John that we need a new pipe and that we need to give him 100 rupees ($2.50) to go get one. John tells him to go buy the pipe, and bring it, along with the receipt, back on Monday, and we’ll pay him for it. We then talk with the landlord on the phone, and the plumber speaks with him as well and it is (apparently) agreed upon that the plumber will come back Monday or Tuesday with the pipe and then John will give him the money for it.
After this encounter, two weeks (including Sundays) pass without seeing neither “hide nor hair” of him. We talk to the landlord again and according to him, the plumber’s already been paid for the job. Maybe that’s why he’s taking his time with getting back to us.
Finally, the plumber shows up again today when John’s at work. The door buzzer or a stranger’s voice, woke Aria prematurely from her nap and guess what the plumber does? He goes in the bathroom, looks at the pipe and says we need a new one; then he asks for 100 rupees to go get it. Oh my goodness! That’s what he said last time! I’m feeling upset and frustrated with this guy and, though it isn’t his fault, blaming Aria’s lack of sleep on him as well (not verbally).
So, I say to him, “That’s what you told us last time. You were supposed to bring the new one with the receipt and I’d pay you for it.”
He agreed to getting one reluctantly and said he’d come back at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. I told him that he had said two weeks ago that he’d come back on Monday and didn’t show up for two weeks. I didn’t know what to do; I tried calling John, but his phone was switched off, so all I could do was agree, let him go, and go comfort my daughter. I guess only tomorrow will show if we’ll have a puddle-less bathroom floor!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 10th, 2006 at 4:25 am and is filed under Rachel's Musings, Reflections & Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.