After getting her aunt to tell her personal things about Dr. Johansson, albeit reluctantly for some reason, Bambi sang the doctor’s praises to Aurelia from the time they left his office all the way to the restaurant. They were now in her family’s home lab/garage experimenting with original perfume formulas and she was still talking about the man.
“I bet Dr. Johansson would love this scent on you,” Bambi said after taking a long whiff of the perfume her friend just created. She twirled the long wooden handle of the cotton swab in the air a few times and smelled the tip again. “Yep, he’ll definitely love this on you.”
Aurelia chuckled. “I’m not interested in your doctor, Bambi, so you can just stop matchmaking right now,” she replied, using another cotton swab to dab the fragrance on her left wrist so that she could smell it on her actual skin. “As for this scent…Mmm…the more I smell it, the more I like it,” she said after another deep whiff.
“Why don’t you package it and sell it? It could make you a lot of money, if you marketed it right,” Bambi said, speaking with confidence as she put her swab down and started lining up empty perfume bottles on the stainless steel countertop.
Though formally educated as a chemist at AU, Bambi had been introduced to the basic elements of chemistry as a child. Her maternal grandmother taught her perfumery when she was ten, detailing how to combine the right ingredients in the proper measurements in order to make outstanding fragrances.
Bambi became so good at perfumery that she could now mimic any designer brand on the market. Her enlightened sense of smell could also accurately identify the main ingredients in any fragrance just from a single whiff. That little trick went over well at parties where she usually blindfolded herself and engaged in random sniff tests.
Over the years, Bambi developed her own line of scented soaps, perfumes, and colognes. Her Peaceful Bamboo line was currently being sold in the chain of beauty supply stores her family owned in predominantly black neighborhoods. She also knew how to make wigs and hairpieces having garnered that expertise from her father’s side.
As a result of her considerable talents, Bambi has earned enough money to pay for her own college education. And she certainly didn’t need to live at home with her parents, grandmother, and four siblings. Yet she continued to do so because she liked having family around her and because she actually liked the tradition of a girl waiting until she was married to move out of her parents’ home.
“Do you really think someone would want to buy my perfume?” Aurelia sniffed her wrist again and smiled with pleasure. The concoction of jasmine, lily of the valley, orange blossoms, vanilla, and various spices was undeniably appealing. Maybe someone other than her would like it enough to buy it after all.
“Trust me. I’ve been making perfumes since I was a tween. I know a hit when I smell one. Your perfume is refreshing like flowers, seductive like a woman, and hot like passion burning in the veins. It enters the nostrils like a strong wind and then softens like a whisper. Women are going to love wearing it. Men are going to love smelling it on women.” Bambi chuckled and added, “I just wish I’d thought of it.”
Aurelia laughed. “If you show me how to mass produce and market it, I’ll split a fair share of the profits with you. After all, I made the prototype in your lab with your ingredients,” she said with sincere eyes.
Bambi paused from her task and smiled, pleased by her friend’s sense of integrity and equality. If Aurelia kept this up, she was going to be reassigned to the BFF (best friend forever) category. “Agreed. I’ll draw up some tentative business plans by next week. I’ll also show you how to patent your formula for your own protection.”
“Thanks a lot, girl. I really appreciate this.” Aurelia’s eyes shined with emotion as she moved towards the wheelchair to give Bambi a hug. Inside she could feel the shackles of poverty falling off her and her family already. Come prosperity come. Run fast!
“You’re welcome,” Bambi replied, receiving that warm hug of gratitude with a smile. “Now back to your love life,” she said, smoothly changing the subject as they released each other. “
Please don’t let it be Claude. Please don’t let it be Claude, Bambi recited inwardly to the rhythm of Dorothy’s ‘There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home’ recital in The Wizard of Oz.
Aurelia smiled. “I got my sights on a handsome Latino right about now,” she said, returning to the wooden stool at her workstation. “He’s not quite thirty yet, highly intelligent, and seems to know all the right things to say and do to me.”
Bambi sighed in relief. Based on that detailed description, Aurelia’s love interest wasn’t Claude. It wasn’t Claude! Her smile was wide and gleeful now.
“What is this mystery man’s name? Where is he from? Does he live in town?” Bambi asked, returning to her previous task of lining up small glass bottles for Aurelia to pour her new perfume into. They would be taken home for personal use or as free samples to help drum up business.
“Because we still have a few things to work out, all I can say right now is that his first name is Barry, he’s from
“You still have a few things to work out? Things like what, a wife? Barry’s not married, is he?” Bambi frowned.
Aurelia chuckled at her stern motherly look. “No, he is definitely not married, unless you count his job as a spouse. It’s his job that’s standing in our way of being together. Once Barry gets his business issues under control, it’ll be smooth sailing for us in every way. I can hardly wait.” She giggled.
“In that case, I wish you and Barry well.” Bambi’s gleeful smile returned.
“Thanks.” Aurelia returned her left wrist to her nose and inhaled. “Now if you’re done with all the matchmaking, let’s get back to the subject of my new perfume. I’d like to call it
“Try again.” Bambi shook her head. “Disney already has a scent called
“Awww, man.” Aurelia pouted, folding her arms across her chest. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Bambi confirmed with a chuckle. “Now stop pouting.”
Aurelia grinned. “Yes, Mommy,” she playfully endeared in a little girl’s voice, twirling a finger in her right dimple for extra effect.
Bambi burst out laughing, thereby setting off a laughing spree among them.
When their mirth finally calmed down, the two women bottled Aurelia’s perfume and packed them into a medium-sized box. The whole time they worked, they brainstormed about possible names for the fragrance. Name after name was checked on Internet databases from Bambi’s laptop. Name after name was crossed off their list when discovered that they were already taken by someone else.
Finally the women settled on the name Aurora’s Whispers. That name stayed in line with Aurelia’s original idea and incorporated a bit of the description Bambi had assigned to the fragrance earlier.
So excited about the new name, they even designed and printed out computerized labels for the bottles. Now Aurora’s Whispers actually looked like a professionally made product.
Later, in the wheelchair equipped vehicle that Bambi used to drive Aurelia back to campus to retrieve her own car, they discussed the business side of the perfume industry. That conversation ended up with them agreeing to become 60/40 partners with Aurelia garnering the largest portion. Now all she needed was her part of the required capital to successfully launch the fragrance to the buying public.
© 2009 by Mi’Chelle Dodson/Suprina Frazier
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Here’s the link to a website that teaches you how to create your own perfume:
To all: Enjoy this time of peace while you can. When the drama cranks back up, it's gonna last for a LONNNNGGGG time. lol.
ReplyDelete(Spoiler) There are MANY villians in this story.
Be back with more in a few minutes.