Chapter 2

Luz started to complain in Tagalog, but Mrs. Gallardo quickly silenced her by tapping the girl’s head with her purse. Actually, it was probably a bit more than a tap with how violently Luz recoiled and mewled in displeasure.

Mrs. Gallardo, for her part, started her own Tagalog tirade that I couldn’t hope to follow. Luckily, salvation from the awkwardness of the unfolding family dispute came in the form of my mechanic.

“Mr. Sheffield?” Paz called from the other side of the apartment, her clear voice breaking through the tumult. “Could you come here?”

I quickly excused myself, retreating through the living room to the service section. There, I found Paz squatting by the mortal remains of the washer. She’d taken off the top and front panels of the old front-loader and had an arm fully inserted into a cavity while shining a penlight into the crevice with her other hand.

Her ass wiggled hypnotically as she tried to get a better look at ... whatever she was looking for. I only lamented that she was in overalls, because that was a plumber’s crack I wouldn’t mind seeing.

“Mr. Sheffield,” she said, breaking me out of my reverie. “I’m pretty sure the thread snapped.” She jerked her arm out of the machine with several grunts that made her jiggle in all the right places. “Or maybe the gearbox gave out. Problem is, either of those things will require me to take this whole thing apart to even check.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, not even trying to hide how lost I was.

She wiped the glistening sweat from her face before turning around. “If it’s the thread, it’d be worth it. I can fix a broken thread. If it’s the box ... this model’s too old. I called my uncle, and he said we don’t have a spare one for this kind of machine. You’d have to buy a whole new washer.”

“Damn.” Figured it’d be something annoying like that. “I guess if it’s not worth it, I should just bite the bullet and buy a new one.”

“I’d advise doing so regardless, yes, but...” She looked up and to the right, lips pursing as she thought about something. “I can’t check without taking it apart, but you might be able to. My arm’s too short, and if you can reach all the way to the back, you should be able to touch the gearbox and check. If the thread’s still on, then we’re out of luck. If not, I can start the job. Do you want to try?”

I hummed in thought. That sounded like too much of a hassle for gear I’d need to replace as soon as possible anyway. I mean, I could just take the clothes to a laundromat; I was just being lazy about it. Yeah, I should just check if Paz’s family sells—

A loud, shrill ‘Mama!’ came from where I had left the Gallardo family. Paz glanced over at where the noise had come from, but judging from how unimpressed she looked, I could only guess that this wasn’t unusual for those two. Maybe I did actually want to spend a little more time here after all...

“Sure,” I said, taking a knee. “You’ll have to guide me, though. I’ve got no clue what I’m doing.”

“Don’t worry,” Paz assured me. “It’s not hard to find, and I disconnected the machine from the power, so there’s no danger.”