The hours after returning from a vacation are often a bit rocky. It’s that transitional time for reading the week’s mail, readjusting to one’s smaller-seeming apartment, refilling the refrigerator…

Well, just minutes after returning from our Sag Harbor idyll,  I discovered, when getting ice water from the fridge to cool me in our stifling, un-air conditioned apartment, that our refrigerator was busted.

And the smell:  I couldn’t identify it at first. But it seems that the smell of moldy cucumber is nearly excruciating.  We tried desperately to shield ourselves it   (hand to nostril, t-shirt over head). But once the refrigerator door was open there was no containing it.

What a way to come back from a vacation! We’d had some indication that the refrigerator was on the outs a few weeks back.  But it seemed fine before we embarked on our vacation one week ago.

Keeping the refrigerator door closed seemed to be the best plan while we carried our bags up three flights of stairs and brought some semblance of order to the disorder of suitcases, canvas bags, computers, instruments, and food that we were returning with.

Showering was the next order of business as we were sweaty and tired after our two hour drive from the Hamptons. Leaving the house was also essential for prolonging that vacation spell.

Too soon it was to come back to all this.

We went to a party down the street, which we didn’t want to miss – a great way to put the odor and the worry about the refrigerator out of our minds for three hours or so.

Once home, we bravely emptied the contents of the refrigerator into the garbage. That’s when we discovered the mold covered vegetable compartment and the wretchedly spoiled cucumbers, lettuce and other unidentifiable.

Unspeakable. I heard my son say to his friend, "Sorry about the smell."

My husband handed me the plastic refrigerator drawers and a pitcher of apple juice that had turned to hard, foul smelling cider. I immediately went to work pouring dish soap into and onto everything and cleaning the guck off. On my knees, I scrubbed the refrigerator trying to rid it of any evidence of the food’s demise.

Today we think about a new refrigerator, an exciting prospect. Stainless steel, perhaps. Freezer compartment in a big drawer on the bottom? Ample room for all our food coop bounty. My kids want an ice maker and drinking water on the door.

At this point, I’d just be happy to have somewhere to put milk, orange juice, and all the other essentials…

Anyone know the fastest way back to Sag Harbor?