While it may seem nothing to brag about, less than 24 hours ago I was locked in my neighbor’s bathroom for 30 minutes with their two overweight Labrador dogs breathing through the crack and secretly laughing at my predicament. Someday, perhaps, I will laugh about it as well. Not today.

These are the neighbors who moved directly across the street from us. I have referred to them before. These are my friends from long before they lived across the street. I sold this house to them three years ago, but we have been friends for over 25 years. Our children have all reached adulthood together and they, too, are still friends. It is for this reason that I would feel comfortable enough to run over and use their bathroom without so much as even knocking on the door first.

I blame our floor. As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we are drowning in dust and sediment, as we are in the midst of major construction. As such, we have little to no access to any of our restroom facilities throughout the day. Once the crew goes home for the night, we can usually access one of the bathrooms, but until they are gone, we are left to the mercy of the nearest vacant gas station restroom. Fortunately, I have had years of experience with this.

Having spent much of every day in my car traveling from place to place, I know the best options up and down the Wasatch Front (most Maverik’s are safe). If I am at my office, I’m fortunate to have clean indoor plumbing here as well. Yesterday, however, both bathrooms were blocked and the toilet to the third bath is sitting on our back porch. Since I had just downed two bottles of water in the last hour, I was desperate. It was at this point I helped myself to the neighbor’s more accessible bathrooms.

Keep in mind, I sold this home to these neighbors. They had a thorough home inspection done before the purchase went through. All the important systems were checked: the plumbing, electrical, HVAC systems, decks, railings, windows, doors, foundational and structural components. All was well. Imagine my surprise then, when I proceeded to unlock the pocket door on the guest bath after my furtive use of said facility, only to find that the lock would not move. I was stuck in my neighbor’s half-bath with nothing but a toilet, a sink and my phone to aid my rescue.

At this point, I could hear someone in the hallway talking. It was my friend’s husband. I yelled out for help, but to no avail. Perhaps it was because the two heavy-breathing dogs were masking the call of my voice with their covert mocking. I called him on my phone. I could hear his phone ringing, but he didn’t answer it. I tried the lock again. It wasn’t budging. Then my phone rang. It was a client. He wanted to let me know they were ready for pictures on his home we were listing. I looked at my calendar, went to my photographer’s website and scheduled pictures for the following Monday. We chatted a bit longer and I hung up. How much time had passed? How could I not negotiate this lock? Negotiating is what I do for a living, but I am unable to do so with a simple lock.

Another 15 minutes had passed. I called my friend. “Linda, where are you? I’m locked in your bathroom and I can’t get out. Is there a secret to turning this lock?” I begged.

“What?” She sputtered through a not-so-discrete chuckle, “I don’t know. Nobody has ever tried locking that door. I’m on my way home. How can I help?”

“I just need some pliers and I think I can get out of this,” I explained. Right then, I tried twisting the lock one more time and, low and behold, it opened with ease. The Law of Attraction is real.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com.

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