My family and I are walking on campus, going to see the cherry blossoms. As we pass a woman walking the other way, I get a waft of a familiar smell. Not cinnamon, but...

"Ah! Nutmeg." I say to myself, placing the smell.

"What?" asks my wife.

"Nutmeg." I repeat, perhaps a bit sheepishly. "That woman smelled like banana bread."

"Oh! You think she smells nice?"

"No," I prevaricate, realising, too late, the dangerous road I have started down, "I was just trying to place the smell."

"Why don't you go get a good sniff then? Why not go take a bite, if you think she is so delicious?" My wife can get jealous at the smallest things.

I'm suddenly on the defense. Lucy and Lisa look worried, they sense a fight coming. This will ruin the day. Their eyes are pleading. But I sense it is too late. I should have played if off as a curse. I should have said, "Oh, nutmeg! I forgot my phone." That probably would have worked, but I was off guard. Too relaxed by the pleasant spring weather.

"You think she would be okay with that?" I ask, thinking to go all in, take it to the absurd, get some laughter.

Lisa does it better. "I like kimchi better than banana bread!" she says, biting my wife on the arm. "Mmmm. Delicious!" She runs off.

I bite my wife too. "Mmmm. That's a spicy!" I too run off, chasing Lisa around the corner of the building.

Crisis averted.