We had our first guest visit us last weekend. It was a friend of David’s who came down for business and was able to spend Friday night with us. They arrived earlier than I expected so the beach dogs hadn’t been fed.
While Dan freshened up with a shower, David and I went down to feed the dogs and spend a little time with them before visiting with our guest. Now, I had envisioned a relaxing evening on the balcony with adult beverages while enjoying our beautiful Caribbean ocean vista.
All of that was about to change, when Dan calmly came out on the balcony and quietly asked David if there was a special way to turn off the water. When we first moved into this condo, we had problems with the toilet in the master bathroom constantly running. Since the guest bathroom hadn’t ever been used, I thought that he was having problems with the water running in the toilet. I learned, never assume anything!!!!
David got upstairs before I did and came rushing down, saying that there was water everywhere and to get help NOW! Normally, on a Friday night, the day staff is gone by 5:00. It was now, 6:00 and thank goodness, there was a late arrival coming in at 8:30. So, the manager, Raquel was still in the office…thank goodness, because the problem was hot water was gushing out of the shower head and the shut off valve for the water was no where to be found.
The shower is a walk-in style and the water was gushing out so fast, it couldn’t drain fast enough. By the time Raquel and I got upstairs, the water had flooded the bathroom, bedroom and was spreading into the hall. Welcome to the DR, Dan!!!
Four of us were mopping up the water with towels and a mop, while Raquel tried to locate a plumber. Within a half-hour, the plumber arrived….he was quite the character….originally from Germany and had been living here for 13 years. I think he had started his weekend because he had alcohol on his breath. Thankfully, he knew what he was doing. The shut off valve is behind the wall and he had to remove the tile to finally get the water turned off. Then, it was determined that the faucet was stripped and needed to be replaced.
While waiting for the new faucet to be purchased, Dan, David and I decided that we did indeed need an adult beverage. I offered a beer to the plumber and he said, no he didn’t drink while on the job. So, we were sitting on the balcony and a couple minutes later, the plumber said…”Oh, what the heck, it is Friday, after 5:00, I’ll take that beer!!”
The faucet was replaced and after an hour of chaos, everyone left and all was quiet. David and I were laughing so hard. Poor Dan….I mean, his first time here, our first guest and everything went wild. I said, welcome to the DR where everything looks so nice, but don’t touch anything!! It so wasn’t how I had planned a nice evening of visiting!
The rest of the visit with Dan, was quite uneventful. The time passed way too quickly…you need to hurry back, Dan!