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Chapter One

The problele stereotype in print, filossip was true Mary folded her arms across her chest and atte crack of ass peeking above the overzealous waistband of Leroy’s Dockers pants

He pointed at the se of the pipe from her toilet to parts unknown “This is where the real problens

All she saas sludge “What is it?”

“Roots”

“Roots? What kind of roots?”

“Probably froers With the drought being as it iswe’re finding this all too often Poor trees need water and your pepper has found a mainline IV of the stuff”

“In my toilet?”

“In the drainage from your toilet”

The postage starass the size of her thurass was all but dead with the water police happily fining anyone found watering their yards outside the mandated times

Leroy tugged on his caer under her nose in an attempt to block it

It didn’t work

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll ree is to the pipe”

The putrid s her full hand over her mouth

Leroy si in a meadow

“How long will this take?” she asked

“Depends on how long these roots have been here and how far down they go”

Oneacross the street to my friend’s I’ll check back in about an hour”

Leroy released a toothy sloved hand in the air as she turned and nearly ran out the door

Once the door closed behind her, she shivered and sucked in a breath of fresh air It helped that thethat reached to her portion of Orange County If only that moisture had resulted in actual raindrops, probleht not have happened

She jogged across the street even though there wasn’t any traffic to speak of Most of those orked normal hours had left before the sun rose to rush to the freeway and crawl their way to the sources of their employment