“There’s not much carpet used in Belize,” I told Mario. “That’s why I had to special order this from the U.S. Putting down the padding and the nailing strips that hold it in place is easy but once that’s done the really hard part starts.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have to stretch the carpet so it doesn’t leave any rolls or bumps.”
“Isn’t it break time?” Mario asked.
Mario, my friend and sometimes handyman, never misses a chance for break time.
“Yes, but I wanted to get this done before Sherry gets back.”
“We got time for a quick smoke and beer, don’t we?”
“I guess so, but we can’t smoke in the house. Let’s go out on the porch.”
By the time we finally got the carpet in place and got it stretched out it was getting late. We sat back to relax and check out our work
“What’s that?” Mario said, pointing to a small bump in the carpet.
“Oh, no!” I said, as I felt my shirt pocket. “My cigarettes must have dropped out of my pocket. We’re going to have to rip all that carpet up.”
“No, we don’t,” Mario said. “Watch this.”
He pounded the cigarettes with the hammer until they flattened out and the bump disappeared. Sherry arrived home as we made our way to the front porch for another cigarette and beer break.
“Look at this,” I said to Mario. “My cigarettes are right here on the deck. They must have fallen off the table.”
“What was that lump in the carpet, then?” Mario asked.
Sherry stuck her head out the door.
“Hey, Dennis. I accidentally left the door open to the parakeet’s cage. You didn’t let him out of the house, did you?”
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