The following Tuesday, Rosa arrived for her scheduled visit and asked whether everything was settled. I told her about the police report and the September entry. She tested the water, studied the readings, and said the pool's chemistry had again been affected by the additional bather load and the debris introduced during unauthorized visits. The water could be treated, she explained, but we were approaching the end of the operating season, when she would normally assess cleaning, wear, and winter maintenance anyway.
The pool's interior also needed attention. The waterproofing had aged in several areas, and there were small sections near the steps where the finish had begun to show wear. Rosa had mentioned the issue earlier in the summer, before the conflict became so time-consuming. A full cleaning and planned resurfacing would be sensible before the next opening, provided the water was removed and restored under professional supervision with attention to groundwater conditions.
I asked her to prepare a recommendation in writing. She did, specifying the condition of the water and the work she believed should be considered. I forwarded it to a pool-renovation contractor and requested an inspection. I did not decide to drain the pool because Sandra had used it. I decided to schedule maintenance because the season was ending, the water needed correction, and repairs that would require access to the concrete shell were due. Sandra's behavior made me less inclined to postpone the work, but it was not the reason the work existed.
Complete draining of an in-ground concrete pool is not something a responsible owner treats as the equivalent of emptying a bathtub. The contractor assessed the site, discussed groundwater and hydrostatic pressure, and described the precautions required before removing the water. His crew planned the work around the weather and local conditions. They would handle the pump, inspect the shell, prepare the surfaces, complete the waterproofing and interior painting, and ensure that the pool remained safe while empty. I accepted their written proposal and scheduled the work.
The proposal, naturally, went into the file.
On the morning the crew arrived, I made them coffee and moved my patio chairs away from their equipment. They set temporary safety barriers where necessary and reviewed their work area before beginning. Water gradually disappeared from the pool, revealing the pale interior and making the depth more visible than it ever looked when full. I had forgotten how strange an empty swimming pool could appear, like a room whose roof had been removed.
I watched from the kitchen while the level dropped. A few leaves clung to the steps and a narrow dark line marked where the water had been. Without sunlight moving across the surface, the pool lost the quality that had made it seem alive. It was only concrete, tile, plumbing, and carefully installed equipment, which was the practical truth beneath all the summer memories. I found the sight a little melancholy, but not alarming. Every maintained thing has intervals when it is closed for work.