“Is he back?”
“No.”Her laugh is breathy.“No one has seen him in a mile radius.”
“What happened?” I ask, calmer this time. I got so riled up over just her worried voice on the phone. I glance at the rooster, waiting for her reply. He crows again, taking another step toward the door. Looks like he stopped approaching when I stopped paying attention. Damn bird.
“Something in the kitchen. The pipes.”Her tone is higher than usual, like she’s on the verge of yelling.“They’re hissing and dripping,”she continues, while I analyze every bit of her cadence.
I grab my coat and car keys. “Is it gas?”
There’s a moment of silence and then a shushing argument with Roman before she returns.“I don’t think so. I mean—it smells like water? Does water even smell? Or metal. I don’t know, but it sounds like it’s about to geyser our whole diner into the skies.”
“Turn off the oven and don’t put it back on until I get there.” I start the engine.
“Okay. Roman, turn this whole thing off.”She talks off the phone while I listen for the hissing. She’s right, it’s loud, but it’s definitely not gas. Better be safe than sorry though. Then to me,“Can you come here when you have a chance?”
“I’m on my way already.”
A loud sigh of relief is music to my ears.“Thank you.”
The front entrance to the diner is propped open with a bucket and a sign that says “CLOSED UNTIL THIS STUPID THING IS FIXED.” I step inside, the scent of coffee and burned sage greeting me like an old comfortable blanket. Nora probably burned it to cleanse the space of some mean spirit she thinks is playing around with her pipes.
“In here!” Nora calls from the kitchen.
I find her crouched near the industrial sink, hair up, apron splashed with coffee, water, and who knows what else, and an expression like she’s been fighting a battle for months. Roman is crouched next to her, not looking even slightly better. There’s a giant puddle in the middle of the kitchen with no particular source.
“Thanks for coming,” she says, pushing up to stand. Her eyes almost brighten when she sees me. At least I think they do and it’s not just wishful thinking.
“How long have you been at it?”
“For days,” Roman replies grouchily while Nora says, “A couple of hours.”
“Days.” Roman shoots her a stare. “I told you it was broken, and you’re too damn stubborn to believe me. Just like your grandma.”
She points a finger at him. “I take that as a compliment, thank you very much.” Then she turns to me, her hair is a wild mess. She has raccoon smudges under her eyes and a black patch on her cheek. In one word, she looks totally edible, and for a moment I forget what I came here for. “To be fair,” she starts in a lower voice. “There’s been a slight noise from the pipes for a couple of days.”
“Weeks,” Roman mumbles.
“Fine! Weeks.” She throws her hands in the air. “Weeks. We’ve been having these issues for weeks, but the only plumber we have around here is working at Dick’s Diner.There’s no chance in hell I’ll be calling him to come and check it out. The whole town will know that something is broken. And Moons’ is not broken.”
Roman watches her for a few seconds before speaking. “Hours. It’s just been going on for a couple of hours. Contractor.” He points his meaty finger at me. “Pipe.” He shifts it toward the hissing pipe. “Nora.” His finger moves to Nora while he levels me with a stare. “Fix this.”
I chuckle. “Was going to.” Dropping my toolbox next to the sink, I crouch to look under it.
The pipework is a mess—old, patched together, half rust and duct tape. I see the slow drip, hear the faint hiss. Looks like a pressure issue, maybe a cracked seal.
After cutting off the water, I pull out my multitool and get to work. The bolts are old, corroded. I brace myself and give the first one a good twist. It budges, leaking nasty fluids on the bottom of the cabinet. The whole thing needs changing if Nora doesn’t want to have a flood on her hands.
She hovers behind me while tryingnot to hover. Needless to say, she fails miserably as her presence is loud. I know where she is at any given moment even when she’s not moving a finger.
“What’s the problem there?”
“You mean besides the duct tape holding everything together?” I answer while droplets of stagnant water land on my face.
“Yes, besides that,” she giggles.
“It needs changing.” I press the tape back together and crawl out. “I’m gonna run to the hardware store and buy everything needed.”
Her face falls.
