The Company Man walked through the door. The windows were open in this room, and The Company Man could feel himself breathing.

I cannot smell the river here but I know it is still there, he thought.

Mr. Kurtis stood up and approached The Company Man with an outstretched hand with his fingers pointing at him and his palm adjacent. The Company Man returned this gesture by clasping the outstretched hand and shaking it once, at which time the body contact stopped, and Mr. Kurtis gestured toward a seat. The Company Man sat into the seat that was gestured at.

This is going perfectly, he thought.

“So, Bev didn’t fill me in, Mr. Mann. What have you come in for today?” Mr. Kurtis asked.

Chili is named after the chili powder they use to make it, The Company Man thought.

“You had an incident during the night,” The Company Man said.

Mr. Kurtis looked out the window to the south. His field of Kentucky Bluegrass had been trampled and torn up. The current theory was that a kid on a dirt bike or in a car had dragged a large tree behind their vehicle and tore up the grass. Ernie thought it was a bear, but that seemed idiotic. But every explanation seemed idiotic.

“Yes, I did,” Mr. Kurtis said, “and this concerns you?”

“I am very concerned, yes,” The Company Man said.

“Do you work for Agri LifeCo?” Mr. Kurtis asked.

“Yes,” The Company Man sputtered out, “I work for Agri LifeCo.”

“So, I take it you guys got my call? It’s funny, when you guys messed up processing my first month’s payment it took you over a week to even return a phone call. Now, one single thing happens and it’s your money, you send a guy the next day. I find that funny,” Mr. Kurtis said.

“Yes, I find it funny as well, and I am the guy that they have sent,” The Company Man said.

“You know that whole field was insured,” Mr. Kurtis said.

“Yes?”

“Yes, sir,” Mr. Kurtis said. “I have it all right here. Do you want to see them?”

“No. It means nothing to me. I would like to see the field that was affected.”

“You can see it to the south, there, right out that window,” Mr. Kurtis said.

“I am going to go outside and take a look at it,” The Company Man said.

“If you want to, be my guest,” Mr. Kurtis said.

I am your guest. A mortgage is the name of the amount of money that is eleven hundred dollars. The meal known as chili is made from a powder named chili and that is what they have named it.