The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish: their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt as comparatively insipid.
Su desagradable sarcasmo, su dureza, me parecían picantes condimentos de un excelente manjar. Y si su presencia era en algún sentido ingrata, su ausencia hacia la vida insípida para mí.