Max entered Perfumes by Gemma Clare near close of business on Monday. Gemma stood behind the counter, gift-wrapping a box, in conversation with a female customer. She gave him a bright, welcoming smile.
He nodded at her, then began browsing.
The customer talked on and on about how the moon's phases affected her mood before finally leaving with her purchase.
Gemma made her way to him.
“Remember me?” he asked.
“How could I forget you, Max?”
“And how could I forget you, Gemma?”
“No one can.” She shrugged, amusement in her expression. “You know, I'd have gambled a great deal on the fact that I'd see Jude before I'd see you again. I'd have lost that bet.”
“Life lesson for you. Always bet on me.”
She groaned.
He chuckled.
“Are you here to buy something for the woman in your life?” she asked.
“Don't you meanwomen? You do me a disservice to assume there's only one.”
“Businessperson to businessperson, I have no issue with selling you products for multiple women, instead of just one.”
“Sell me several things, then. Take all my money.”
“Happily.”
She explained that if he were to smell everything in her product line, his nose would fatigue. Even if a fragrance was perfect for him, if it was the tenth one he smelled, he'd be unlikely to recognize its perfection.So she provided a verbal summary of the scents and asked which three or four sounded most appealing.
Max rattled off the ones he wanted to smell.
When she gave him a scent strip for Hope and Spice, he narrowed his eyes at her. “That should be illegal. It’s . . . downright underhanded. Were you wearing this the other day when I met you?”
“I was.”
“No wonder I was devastated when Jude made me leave. Maybe I'll just buy it and douse my sheets in it.”
“I won't argue with that plan.”
In the end, he bought two bottles each of three different perfumes. By then, his admiration for her skill as a perfumer and salesperson had grown exponentially. “What are you doing when you get off work?” he asked when she was ringing him up.
“Heading home. No plans.”
“How about you come to a clam dig with me and Jeremiah and others from Jude and Jeremiah's family?”
“Where?”
“Sears Island.”
She said nothing for a few seconds. “Will Jude be there?”
“We invited him and he turned us down. Work, he said.” Max rolled his eyes, which was misleading, seeing as how he was far more of a workaholic than Jude. “But if Jude knows you'll be there, he will come.”
“I'm not sure that he will.”
