I was returning Karen & John’s vacuum cleaner. Mine had blown up a couple of weeks earlier, and I hadn’t spent the money to fix it or buy a new one yet. I didn’t know either Karen or John particularly well; they had only moved into our duplex about 3 or 4 months before, and what with work schedules and all, I only ran into them at the mailbox or front door a few times for a couple of seconds.
Anyway, Karen answered the door, and as I thanked her for the use of the appliance, she