Utilitarian

It was with dread that we greeted the arrival of this month's City utility bill. After last month's experience, it was only to be expected that (a) the water bill would be estimated, (b) the reason given would be the invented vicious dog of last month, and (c) the usage billed would top even the record high of last month. But, no! This month's bill does not show that the water use was estimated, and the amount of water billed for was the lowest ever in the entire time of residence in this house. There's an entire month to wait until the next bill arrives. Oh, the suspense.