I went out to wash the windows. Plain water wouldn't cut it. I came in after the swabbing brush and the Dawn dish detergent. And I headed out again to hose down the windows and scrub.

"I'll help," says Jane. The wind is blowing a gale. She comes out of the house.

The door slams.

We are, yes, locked out. We have a 6 foot fence around the back yard, and we believe the back door is open. But—it requires climbing skills to get over that fence. The ladder is lying, yes, inside the fence. All the...