I knew how to use the rice cooker. Marian taught me some of the basic chores that a woman should learn before getting married. Although I didn’t want to have a husband, I couldn’t hurt Marian’s feelings when she insisted on teaching me.

Cooking rice was easy as 1, 2, 3, but since Dominic only gave me thirty minutes to prepare his meal, I checked the pantry and the refrigerator to look for something I could cook during the allotted time.

Gotcha!

I crushed some garlic while heating the oil and when it was ready, I threw them into the pan. Before burning the garlic, I managed to add the...