The repairman parked his service van in the driveway of the well-kept Tudor house in Lakewood and shut off the engine. Guzzling the dregs of his doughnut-shop coffee, he climbed out and went to the rear, where he opened the double doors and slid his tool-box out. He carried it to the front door of the residence, whistling the tune from a nonsense-rhyme his daughter was particularly, if briefly, taken with, and rang the doorbell. After a moment, the door was opened by a tall, striking redhead, in her mid-thirties, with emerald-green eyes. The man thought she looked vaguely familiar, but decided he must have been mistaken. He'd read her name, "J. leBlanc" off the service-order, and hadn't recognized it. She had gathered a quilted silk robe about her, which very ineffectively hid a voluptuous body beneath. A brief flicker of recognition passed over her face as she eyed him, which was soon banished....
That's a hard dime, he thought, and not a penny in change! Turning on his professional mini-smile, he said, " 'Mornin', Ma'am – Crescent City Appliances. You called us?"
"Oh, yes – yes, I did!" she replied. "I told your secretary that my dishwasher was on the fritz, and she said it might be a day or two before they could get a repairman out here. I'm surprised to see you the first thing the next morning – but pleasantly so, I assure you! I had forgotten how much I hated doing the dishes, but suddenly I remember very well!"
He quickly explained the charges and billing procedures: forty dollars for the call, less ten for the Yellow-Pages coupon, thirty dollars per hour after the first. The coupon would also entitle her to ten percent off the cost of any parts which might be required. Then, he suggested she show him to the machine, asking her to tell him what the original problem was.
"Well, she said, "every time I run the dishwasher, it pumps out OK, but as soon as it quits, all the dirty water flows back into it! As you can see, nothing gets done...."
"Yeah", he replied, "that's a remarkably common complaint, and usually there're only a couple of conditions which can cause that...." He began to remove the contents of the dishwasher, stacking them in the half of the double sink farther from the device. He reached into the silverware basket and pulled up a gold-tone chain with seven three-quarter-inch silvery balls spaced evenly along it, and a stainless-steel ring at one end. Holding them in front of him, he examined them quizzically.
"First set you've seen?" she asked. He looked up at her and saw she had an amused smile on her face. Suddenly, he knew what they were. "No", he said, "but the first I've ever had in my hands!"
"Occasionally", she purred, "they come in VERY handy – but never mind. Do you know what's the matter with my appliance?"
He straightened and reached his hand into the waste disposal beneath the half-sink basin next to the dishwasher, feeling for the output hole. His experienced fingers found the problem straightaway – or at least half of it. There were potato-peels blocking the port. He asked her for a coffee-cup and went out the back door into the garden, scooping a cupful of dirt. Returning to the kitchen, he dumped the dirt into the disposal, then, discerning which switch controlled the unit, ran some water into the bowl and turned it on. At first, the water, brown with soil, began to rise in the sink, but then, as the coarser grains of dirt scoured away the peels, quickly swirled away and down the drain. "That's half of it", he said, "but there's another problem. I'll be right back." He strode past her and went outside to the truck. Returning a minute or so later, he had with him a small plastic part in a cellophane envelope. Squatting on the kitchen floor, he removed four screws holding the facing of the dishwasher, then the panel itself. Removing a spring-clip, he replaced the check-valve and buttoned up. Rising again to his feet, he began placing the dirty dishes and silver into the dishwasher, then, with a wink and a tight little smile, the set of anal beads. He reached under the sink and withdrew a box of dishwasher detergent and poured a measured amount into the appliance. Setting the dial at the correct point, he closed the locking lever. The machine started up nice as you please. "Now we wait....", he said, looking over at her. He noticed immediately that her robe had come open somewhat, exposing a deep cleavage between a pair of excellent breasts. He glanced away, professionally, but was unable to resist another peek, then, moments later, still another.
After the dishwasher had completed its coursing and spraying, it pumped out smartly and stopped before going into "rinse". He opened the door and found the bottom dry. With a satisfied nod, he re-closed the machine and allowed the rinse-cycle to proceed. Looking over at her again, he saw she'd let her robe fall completely open, revealing her superb body in all its glory. "Tell you what, stud", she said with a sassy smile, "turn off that clock of yours, and I'll demonstrate those anal beads – or, maybe, you will...."