Gary, at the age of 45 and 11/12ths, decided to purchase a stereo to replace the one his parents gave him when he was nine (and I was one.) One day he just showed up with a stereo. It made him feel so good, the next day he brought home the rest of an entire home theater system. The next day six speakers came home with Gary. Throughout the buying process he was very careful to evaluate where the components could be hidden and if wires would show. I, my mom, and most women I know, feel about visible wires the way Joan Crawford feels about wire clothes hangers.
Since he was so thoughtful to ensure that anyone walking in to our living room would think "why, these people must just read books all day long," I hated to complain that he was TOUCHING MY STUFF AND MOVING IT AROUND, even for a moment, even to hide wires, even if he was moving it right back, even if he lives here. I had joked that I would like my couch potato back again, the husband who never did any projects around the house. Finally, after a few days of installing the components, we resolved it was best if he installed it late, after I went to bed. Well, that sounds like he resolved it after a fight. Okay. Actually, that's pretty much how it was.
Late the next night he started drilling holes in the walls. This woke me up, and even though he was doing it to hide speaker wires inside the walls, within seconds I felt agitated and controlling and got up. Within those same seconds he progressed to drilling holes in water pipes and blasting water into his new home theater system. I did get to see the deluge in mid-blast, since I had got up to say "Gary, are you drilling somewhere inconspic -- Auggh!" Luckily, most of the water collected in his stereo receiver. There was only a 6 foot puddle on the floor. This gave me a chance to be as tolerant as I had been controlling, so that was good.
He called the plumber and took the day off to deal with everything. Before the plumber came the next afternoon we plugged the hole by poking a pencil in it and filled up the tub with water. (I got this idea only after I brushed my teeth with water from the dog bowl.) He only bossed me once during this crisis and he apologized twice. In fact, when the plumber came Gary hearkened back many centuries to the Catholic belief that if you pay enough money, your sins will be absolved. The plumber was in the house 45 minutes and Gary signed up for the yearly preferred customer maintenance agreement, paid to have the pipe fixed, paid for a new faucet the plumber had on the truck which we needed anyway, and paid to have it installed.
So, I got about $1,000 of plumbing done to the house, and after the receiver dried out it turns out it's a pretty cool fully-concealed Home Time-Wasting System. Gary is up in the attic now snaking the back speaker wires through the attic (it turns out those water pipes lay low to the ground. Sneaky.) The only sign of damage is the square the plumber cut in the wall, which hides nicely behind the Entertainment Center/Media Shrine. Overall, it was a good experience for me.
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