“I know, but what I said is true. The bed is comfortable and the mirror’s big. Do you think they could have put whatever it is it in the guest bathroom?”

“It’s a tiny bathroom. It wouldn’t take three football players to carry in anything that could have fit in there. They couldn’t even get in there, at least not all three at once.”

“A new toilet?” Michelle suggested. “They’re really heavy. And a new toilet has to be set up and hooked to the plumbing. Maybe that’s what Ken meant when he said it had to be plugged in.”

Hannah shook her head. “No way. They couldn’t put in a new toilet without getting permission from the homeowner’s committee. I’m on the homeowner’s committee and no one has asked permission for at least two months.”

“You need permission just to put in a new toilet?”

“Yes, for a brand new one. You don’t need permission if you’re just doing repairs on the old one. Our handyman does that free of charge to the homeowner. The problem is that the condo association is responsible for the plumbing and the electrical in all of the condos. If something goes wrong, our handyman fixes it. If the job is too big for him, we pay a plumber or an electrician to come in.”

“That’s nice, but I still don’t understand why you need permission to put in a new toilet.”

“It’s simple. People buy all sorts of fancy things with hookups in different spots like a bidet or whatever. The plumbing might need to be changed for those, and we want to check it out first to make sure that our handyman can do it. Changes to the plumbing are our responsibility and we don’t want to pay for re-plumbing a whole bathroom to accommodate a fancy toilet.”

“But what if you want a fancy toilet?”

“Then you have to pay for the plumbing and we have to authorize the permanent changes and inspect it when it’s completed. We’ve done it in the past for several units, but you have to come to a meeting with the plans and get our approval before you can start.”

Michelle thought about that for several moments. “I’m not sure I want to buy a condo,” she said.

“I wasn’t sure either, but that’s what was available in my price range. And it’s a lot easier now that I’m on the board.” Hannah stopped speaking and sighed deeply. “Actually . . . I’m not sure it’s easier. It’s easier for changes that I’d like to make, but I don’t really want any changes. And the board meets twice a month with meetings that last a couple of hours. Now that I think about it, I really don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“Would you rather have a house?”

“Maybe, but then all the headaches would be mine, and all the expenses, too. This way it’s a shared responsibility. I’m just not sure which I’d prefer, but this is what I have and I’m happy with it.” She stopped and motioned to Michelle. “Come on. My grand prize has to be here somewhere. We need to find it.”