The Perfume Workshop – Part 2: Base Notes

The finished scent took three more weeks.

Camille worked in the evenings, with Julien at her elbow, adjusting one drop at a time. Vetiver, oakmoss, a thread of tomato leaf, a trace of tonka bean like warm sugar. The blend deepened and settled, slowly, into something that made her chest ache.

On the day of the presentation, she stood before the master and the committee, trembling. She handed out the blotters. Nobody spoke. A man at the back closed his eyes. A woman wiped her cheek.

"This," said the master, at last, "is a memory."

"Yes."

"Whose?"

"Mine," said Camille. "And now, perhaps, yours."

The applause was quiet and long. The master shook her hand. That evening, in the empty lab, the late sun slanted gold through the tall windows. The blotters lay scattered across the bench like fallen petals. She sat on a stool with a glass of cheap champagne, shaking with relief.

Julien came in from the storeroom, carrying a box. He put it down and stood in the doorway.

"You did it."

"We did it."

"It was your memory."

"It was your vetiver."

"Can I ask you something?" said Julien.

"Yes."

"May I smell the scent? Properly? On you?"

She flushed. She pushed up her sleeve and held out her wrist. He bent slowly and breathed in. His eyes closed. When he looked up, they were bright.

"It is the most beautiful thing I have ever smelled," he said, hoarsely.

"May I kiss you, Julien?"

"Yes," he said. "And if you say stop, you must make me a scent of my own."

"I've already started."

She kissed him, soft and warm, a hand rising to his rumpled hair. He kissed her back with a quiet reverent tenderness, tasting of champagne and cedar. The lab smelled of vetiver and rain. The last light slid across the amber bottles and turned them to gold.

When they parted, both of them were smiling.

"Green?" he asked.

"Green," said Camille. "Very green."

Their first joint scent is called Greenhouse. It sells out each spring. The label says only: A memory, with someone.

More romantic stories: Salt and Sugar · The Chess Club · The Glassblower's Daughter