She said: ‘Did you bring the mattress?’ ‘Mattress?’ I asked her. ‘What mattress?’ ‘The mattress you were supposed to bring. The mattress I was having re-covered.’ ‘We aren’t mattress men, ma’am,’ I told her. ‘You’re not?’ ‘No. I’m a plumber and my friend here’s an analytical chemist.’ She blinked at us. Then she repeated: ‘A plumber and an analytical chemist?’ I nodded. She thought for a moment, and then she said: ‘I don’t remember calling for a plumber and an analytical chemist. What’s to plumb? What’s to analyse?’
