but of course , madam , he replied , opening the large pantry cabinets to the side of his refrigerator . if she could do it , so could i. i tried with all my might to perform magic . without tenure , his job was as secure as the next round of budget cuts . she did n't feel like he wanted her to , just that he had to get that said . the rest of the night was spent setting up the operation for later that day . 