Scent
Would you turn down an inconvenient job in a time of recession? Well, most people wouldn’t have the option to say no….
Not too long ago, I left for five weeks to work in Michigan. But this job came at a very inconvenient time- right when me and my friend and I were discovering that our late-night conversations, our ability to create art together, and the way we both felt after I spent the night with another boy, all meant we were perhaps more than just friends.
Would you be jealous if I said my job was to shop? Well, some girls would be…
So there I was in the Gap, and upon my exit, I recognize the cologne bottle on the display table.
Would you think me creepy if I said I knew it was his scent because I’d peeked into his medicine cabinet, sniffed bottles, examined prescriptions, and made assumptions about him based on the current condition of his toothbrush? Well, some people would…
I spritzed it on myself. And then proceeded to float around the mall the rest of the afternoon, like I was wrapped in the sun’s corona. At night, I laid the shirt next to me, settled into the unfamiliar sheets on the unfamiliar bed, feeling warm and at home.
Would you feel empathy for me if I said I had to go into the Gap several times over the duration of my trip? Well, some people would…
Every time I excited the store, I sprayed myself with longer, more drawn out spritzes of the Eau De My Man. But slowly, after a while, the scent started to become a bit overwhelming. It eventually started turn my stomach. The more I sprayed, the less time I could spend in the clothes. I would have to return to my temporary apartment and strip off the shirt his scent was so deeply embedded in. Eventually, he made me sick.
Would I be lying if I claimed this wasn’t a metaphor? Well, probably…
