A friend took me to task for cooking with so much garlic. “Why do you always put so much in the rice? It stinks up the kitchen.”
“When I’ve put lots of cumin in the rice, the kitchen also smelled,” I said.
“Garlic and cumin are from different gastronomical worlds.”
“You made that up.”
At that moment the cat arrived. My friend said “He seems ill, it’s the garlic.”
The cat leap onto the counter, then suddenly jumped down to the floor and walked out of the kitchen. We were taken aback.
“Must we always choose between madness and Lean Cuisine Basil Salmon?” said my friend, backing away from the stove. From the hall the cat stared intensely at the pressure cooker, which was now making the same sounds cats make when they fight. I had bought it last Spring at Albert’s garage sale for a very modest sum.
Long story short: everything turned out okay that day so I’m not sure it’s fair to say that Albert gamed me, though the device was worth less than I thought. But the thing is, when I later met with Albert’s brother Kyle to discuss a separate issue, he made pawing movements. It really spooked me.