The disposal even whirred back to life.

“I read the manual for my own house,” she said, tossing him a towel. “Come on. We’re buying the right tool, and then you’re buying me pizza.”

And for the first time all night, Leo didn’t feel like a plumbing disaster. He felt like a guy who’d just learned the most useful thing of all: knowing the right tool is half the fix. The other half is knowing who to ask.

For a glorious second, the water level dropped. Leo grinned. “See? Basic physics.”