The day after Memorial Day, when I got into my car, it reeked. A strong, foul odor greeted me that morning. It had rained a lot during the long weekend, and I hadn’t driven the car. I figured it was just some water sitting somewhere. It ought to evaporate soon enough. The smell seemed to be coming from the vents, so I figured I could help it evaporate by running the fan as much as possible.

I’ve been dealing with the smell ever since then: windows open, fan on full blast, as often as possible.

This morning I noticed a chewed Kleenex with rodent droppings attached to it in the glove box. I also noticed Kleenex bits and more rodent droppings on the floor mat below the glove box.

So I have a more sinister enemy here.

I dropped by the mechanic over lunch to make an appointment. I explained the symptoms. He looked as me suspiciously.

“But how would a rodent get in there? Hmm… I forget — do you live in the country?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Oh, well that would explain it then.”

It reminded him of other rodents he’s done battle with — pack rats that have chewed up wires and hoses, including one that was still alive and in the vehicle when he started working on it.

So I asked him how expensive this was going to be.

“Well, I don’t know. It could be easy, or it could be interesting. You just never know when you’re dealing with rodents.”

He promised to call me if it looked like it might be interesting.