"Karen, there will be a plumber outside this morning. He's replacing the old galvanised pipe with a copper one. Once he's finished we should finally have some decent water pressure here. Just remember that there won't be any water until he's finished. Once the new connections are made he'll want you to go around the house trying each tap to make sure the added pressure hasn't caused any leaks."
"OK, dear. I'll keep out of his way. It won't be a problem. I trust you filled the kettle so I can make some coffee?"
"I have. I wouldn't leave you without your coffee," her husband said with a laugh.
He departed and Karen went back to bed for a while. No water meant no long morning shower which also meant to need to get up in a hurry.
The trouble was, Karen found, that she was wide awake. She didn't want to stay in bed. Sighing, she got up, put on a short robe, and went and made herself some coffee.
Drinking coffee and watching TV. The coffee was fine but the TV was boring. Total inanity combined with presenters who assumed that their viewing audience were morons. It would be an insult to her intelligence but they obviously believed she didn't have any. She turned off the TV.
Looking out the kitchen window while putting her mug in the sink. That must be the plumber. He was a honey. Tall and dark, with muscles yet. He looked to be in his mid-thirties but that was OK. She liked older men.
She glanced down at herself. She slept nude and all she currently had on was that flimsy bathrobe. It did cover her completely the way she currently wore it, but some might argue the point. It only came down to mid-thigh, showing a lot of leg. OK, so it nearly came down to mid-thigh. What was a lousy inch or two? It certainly covered her groin and that's what counted. As she hadn't bothered with any buttons, just loosely tying the belt, there was a certain amount of cleavage showing. Maybe if she just adjusted it a little? A little tugging showed a little more cleavage. OK, so it showed cleavage nearly to be navel, it wasn't as if she was showing off her breasts. Maybe you could see the sides of her breasts, and you could certainly tell she didn't have on a bra, but she wasn't actually showing anything she shouldn't. Mind you, she'd have to be careful walking or she might just flash a little more leg than she intended, but she'd be careful.
She strolled outside to ask the nice man how much longer he'd be.
Jackson had finished laying the new pipe and was working on doing the connections when the lady of the house came out. He flicked a glance towards her, blinked, and hurriedly turned his attention back to his work.
"Excuse me," Karen called, smiling sweetly. "I'm Karen. Ah, how much longer do you think you'll be?"
Jackson looked at her and nodded.
"Morning, Ma'am," he said. "Not long now. Ten, maybe fifteen, minutes."
He turned back to his work. Karen frowned. Was the man blind? He'd given her the barest glance. He should still be looking, preferably drooling with lust at the same time.
"Um, I believe that you'll want me to test all the taps when you've finished?" she ventured.
This time Jackson didn't even bother to look, just continuing with his work while he answered.
"Eventually, Ma'am," he said. "I'll knock and tell you when. Won't be long now."
Gay or an eunuch, Karen decided, giving him the evil eye. How dare he not even look at her?
"Are you gay?" she demanded.
Jackson blinked and finally turned his head to look at Karen.
"Gay? What the fuck does my sexual orientation have to do with my ability to dig a ditch and lay some pipe? No, I'm not gay. Why on earth would you ask such a fool question, anyway?"
Karen shuffled her feet, in her irritation forgetting that she had intended to watch how she moved, not wanting the robe to give too much away. Jackson, for his part, noticed what the robe was revealing but didn't say anything.
"Just wondered," she said. "I mean, you only gave me the barest of glances. Men usually look at me for longer than half a second. Hell, half of them are making passes after the first minute."
"Yeah? Well don't worry about it. I'm not going to make a pass. I'm not going to rape you either if that thought crosses your mind."
"Why not?" Karen felt quite indignant being brushed off so cavalierly.
"Why not what? Make a pass? It's against company policy. I'd be reprimanded and could lose jobs where there are women on the premises. As for rape, that would get me fired. Why would I risk it? The fact that you're walking around naked doesn't change the risks."
"I am not naked," protested Karen.
Jackson looked at her and laughed.
