Saturday 17 September 2011

It's in the Box, short snippet of #flashfiction. A weekend chuckle.

I linked this story to my flashquake blog when my L'Aussie site was playing up yesterday but I thought I'd reprint it here in case some of my non-#RomanticFridayWriter followers need a laugh this weekend. Enjoy!



It’s in the Box

How well Alicia remembered David’s first gift, a classic perfume from the 60s by Guerlain.

‘Do you like it?’ He'd squirted the air. ‘Mmm, what a bouquet…’

Bouquet? Yes, of cow dung…‘Mmm, a certain something, darling,’ she'd replied.

She’d sprayed it around the apartment with the windows open, in the linen cupboard, in the kitchen bin, even on herself when she had to. If she used her favourite Guerlain classic Jicky, David still thought she was wearing his ‘Ikkie’ (her word.)

Last week she’d been ready when he nuzzled her ear and whispered, ‘Are you wearing my perfume?’

‘No, honey. Perfumes don’t last forever, sadly.’ Thank God.

So, another anniversary, another gift. She loved David, she really did, it was just his taste in perfume she loathed. This box, however, showed promise, nice and small, hmm, maybe...

‘Open it!’ he cried, holding it under her nose.

‘What!’ she squeaked, ‘David, you’ve outdone yourself !’

A minature bottle of ‘Ikkie.’

‘It was an extra they gave me when I bought the last bottle. I kept it for when you ran out.’

Gulp.

‘Don’t you like it darling? I thought you loved that bouquet. Why, I could even smell it in the garbage bin.’

‘David, I must tell you…’

‘Hey, look Allie. Where did that come from?’

He whipped out another little box and flipped the lid.

There, artfully arranged on white satin was the most adorable white gold sapphire and diamond ring.

‘David! It’s exquisite!’

‘And so is my Alicia.’ He knelt on the floor.

‘My darling, will you marry me?’

‘Yes, yes, yes!’

‘You didn’t think I had it in me?’

‘Er, no, of course I knew you did sweetie.’

‘Now, what about your little bottle of perfume?’

‘David, I need a change.’

‘Thought you might say that.’ He winked. ‘Hey, there might be another box...ta da!'

There it was, Jicky, its golden stopper glinting in the morning light.

‘How did you know I like Jicky?’

‘Well, do you really think I couldn’t tell the difference? But I let you go on pretending.’

‘Oh, David. I should’ve been honest. I didn’t want to hurt you.’

‘I know darling. A woman who’ll wear perfume she hates for a year must really love her man. I fell in love with you all over again when I saw you spraying it on, just for me.’

‘Oh, David…’

‘Come here love.’ He took the ring and slipped it on her finger.


I hope you liked my story for #RFWer and #Fridayflash. To read more click on the badges in the sidebar.
407 words. FCA

©DeniseCovey2011
I hope you liked my story for #RFWer. To read more click on the badge in the sidebar.
407 words. FCA


15 comments:

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Loved it and so true some men have no taste in perfume

Denise Covey said...

Jo-Anne: So right. Maybe I have some personal experience here, lol!

Denise

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Alas, Jo-Anne is right. Men rarely have good taste in perfume ... but hopefully they ask the friends of their lady! Great laugh. Roland

Michael Di Gesu said...

Perfume is such a PERSONAL thing. If a man wants to buy perfume for his girl he should shop with her. I know it kills the surprise, but fragrance smells differently on everyone depending on the body chemistry.

What smells stunning on one person can smell hideous on another.

Denise check your inbox, I sent you BG...YAY!

Have a great weekend.

BTW... nicely written entry.

JoAnna77 said...

Hi L'Aussie,
I have nominated you for the Versatile Bloggers Award - check it out on http://joanna77juliet.wordpress.com
JoAnna (Helen Clancy)

Alex Mullarky said...

Oh, that was so sweet!

Claire Robyns said...

He he, brilliant. And 10 points to David for noticing the difference. I'm convinced most men just ask the counter lady for advice, and she just recommends the most expensive.

Denise Covey said...

Roland: Yes they should.

Michael: You got that right.

JoAnna: Thank you so much.

AJ: Aw thanks.

Denise

Denise Covey said...

Claire: You're probably right, sadly.

Denise

Ava Z. said...

Very true! Good work!

I hate shopping for perfume. I find most of the perfumes too strong or not strong enough.

ruth.the.writer said...

Very true! Men don't always make the best choices for gifts lol. My first gift from my ex-husband was a set of stainless steel mixing bowls :| Loved your story. Very believable and a testament how far we'll go not to hurt the feelings of someone we love.

Sheri L. Swift, Author said...

So true, they should let us choose our own scent. A very sweet flash.

I've nominated you for two of the awards that are being presented. My link is: http://sherilswift.blogspot.com/2011/09/blogger-awards.html

Laila Knight said...

That was really sweet, and it's why my husband lets me pick out my own scents. :)

julie fedderson said...

Love this! Perfume that smells great in the bottle turns to turpentine on my skin, so my husband has been trained to only buy what I have hinted for so I have not had to go through this. However, he did buy me a vegetable steamer for our first Christmas. And I still use that thing, although now I can see the practicality!

John Wiswell said...

I have no taste in perfume. Allergic, and they all smell so artificial to me. She's lucky the ring didn't smell like dung!