My Gas Leak Wasn’t an Inconvenience. It was life-affirming.

Three weeks ago, I had a gas leak. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything serious — It was a small leak coming from a gas ring on my stove. Had I not had as sensitive a nose as I do, it probably would have gone unnoticed. My CO2 alarm didn’t pick it up, nor did my partner. I was nearly too frightened to call a gas man for fear of wasting an emergency service’s time.

Thankfully, I didn’t waste their time at all. I’ve never been more relieved and validated than being told there was a minor gas leak.

However, this news meant that my stove was too dangerous to use, and I had to wait over three weeks for my landlord to arrange a replacement.

Yesterday, the gas man came bearing my new stovetop. I was in the middle of the workday, and after the formalities of asking if he wanted a cup of tea and being refused, I returned to my work.

He didn’t look like the chatty type anyway, so I didn’t feel guilty ignoring him as he went around his job. He was at least twice my height; a traditional burly Scotsman. He seemed the tall, quiet type that I’m used to living with, so when he suddenly struck up a conversation I was a little taken aback. He asked about my job and what I was working on before finally asking if I was originally from around here.