dishwasher lying

the dishwasher made a sound when it was lying. it did it twice in a row, two clicks from behind the lower panel, with a pause between them like it was waiting for me to look over.

i was carrying a tray of cups to the rack when abe came in through the back door. abe stopped with one hand on the mop handle and said, "that thing is dying." i said it was not dying. dying machines do not repeat themselves that cleanly. abe looked at the dishwasher, then at me, which is how people look when they want the machine to admit it.

the first click came when the wash light was on. the second came after i opened the door and found the arms still. i counted the plates inside while i was there. there were two hundred and twelve plates, all white, all waiting for a job they had already done. the count stayed two hundred and twelve when i counted again, which was rude of them.

the sound was not from the pump. i know the pump. the pump has a wet cough and a little metal scrape at the end. this was smaller. it came from the latch, or near the latch, a dry tick like a pen being tested on a receipt. i put my ear to the door and heard nothing. i pulled the handle once and the machine clicked behind me.

abe said, "you should call somebody."

i asked who. abe said the manager, then said the manager would call the repair company, then said the repair company would call somebody who knew a man. that was four people and no answer. the dishwasher clicked again while abe was talking, but abe did not hear it. i did. the motor was telling me the truth by lying to abe.

i turned the breaker off. the room got quiet enough to hear the fridge humming in its office. i waited ten seconds, then turned the breaker back on. the dishwasher started its drain cycle without being asked. water moved under the door. the plates shifted in their racks, two hundred and twelve small witnesses with nowhere else to go.

abe took the mop and left. i put a chair in front of the dishwasher so nobody could open it, then taped the chair to the floor with the blue tape from the supply shelf. tomorrow i will tell the manager it needs service.

tonight the dishwasher stays plugged in.