Wednesday stayed blank.

The plumber could come on Wednesday evening or the following Tuesday. I chose Wednesday. Then I looked at the little row of blue squares on my calendar and briefly resented a man who was coming to stop water appearing under my sink.

I had been swimming regularly and liked it. Afterwards, I coloured the day blue. It was a pleasant record until the record began suggesting that a blank square might undo the previous ones.

The repair took most of the evening. I sat at the kitchen table answering practical questions and learning that the phrase "just a washer" could contain several further discoveries.

I considered some unhelpful arithmetic.

When he left, the pool session was nearly over. I considered going anyway, then adding a second swim the next day, then colouring the square because I had intended to go. None of these plans had much to do with swimming.

My friend called while I was putting the cleaning cloths in the wash. I told her I had broken the run of blue days.

"Did you like the last swim less because you missed this one?" she asked.

No. I could still remember the slightly cold first length, the woman who always had a spare hair tie and the relief of finding my own locker without trying the wrong row.

I left Wednesday blank. I did not write "plumber" in it, although I wanted to submit supporting documentation.

Friday required no ceremony.

On Friday I packed the same bag. The pool was in the same place. Nobody at the desk asked whether I was beginning again.

I swam the session I had planned for that day. I did not add lengths on behalf of Wednesday. Afterwards I talked to the spare-hair-tie woman about a book she had brought for the bus.

Back home, I coloured Friday blue. There were two filled squares with a gap between them. I found this mildly irritating for about the time it took to hang up my towel.

The following week I kept the calendar. I liked seeing the days I had gone. I just stopped treating the empty spaces as instructions.

Under the sink, the floor remained dry. It was quite a good result for a Wednesday.