made by another company and I actually preferred it to the
perfumes we made. Mr Amos did have a very good nose
for perfumes. Perhaps Intrigue was so good he just couldn't
stop himself. Who knows?
Anyway, I had to get ready for my evening out.
Although I couldn't explain why Mr Amos had suddenly
found me attractive, I really wanted to ®nd out. In my own
way I'm as bad as my Aunt Mimi, I guess. The funny thing
was, I don't really like men like Mr Amos. But I wanted to
®nd out why he had changed.
So I put on my best black dress, lots and lots of
Intrigue and my one pair of high-heeled shoes. The
handbag I use for work is the only one I've got because I
don't go out that often. I took it. Then I heard the doorbell
ring.
Momma and Aunt Mimi were at the front door before I
could move. They wanted to see my date. Both of them
were trying to get me to hurry up. They had big smiles on
their faces.
I opened the door.
`Hello, Anna.'
It was Mr Amos. He looked very handsome. However,
he was quieter than before and was looking down at the
¯oor. I could hear Momma and Aunt Mimi behind me. I
could tell they liked him. It was embarrassing.
`Hello, Mr Amos,' I said.
I was expecting him to say something friendly, like `Call
me David' or something. But he didn't.
I managed to get him away from my Momma and Aunt
Mimi without too much trouble. I guess they thought we
10should be alone together if they had any hope of hearing
wedding bells in the future.
He hardly said anything in his car, either, apart from
polite conversation about how nice I looked. I could tell he
didn't mean it. Men have a way of calling you `nice' when
they really mean they don't care how you look.
Anyway, he drove me to an expensive French restaurant
where we spent some time having drinks and ordering
food. All the conversation was of the polite kind, but I
could tell he was getting ready to say something. Then he
turned to me with a serious look on his face and spoke.
`Look Anna . . .' he began.
I knew it! He'd changed his mind and was trying to
think of some excuse to get out of our evening together.
`. . . about today, at the factory,' he continued. `I don't
know why I behaved like that.'
`I thought it was because you found me attractive, Mr
Amos. And because you liked my perfume,' I said,
wondering why theIntrigue I was wearing didn't seem to be
having any effect on him. But it was obvious he hadn't
been listening to me.
`You see, Anna,' he said, `if we can see this as . . . as . . .'
`As what, Mr Amos?' I asked.
He suddenly put on a smile. `As a reward for all your
hard work at the factory. After all, you are one of our best
chemists. It's the least I can do to show how much I value
your efforts. Have this meal on me! I'll pay for it!'
If the meal had been there it would really have been on
him ± I would have thrown it at him! So he had changed
his mind and now wanted to get rid of me. I didn't believe
11for one moment that this meal was a prize for being a good
little chemist. I needed to be on my own to think what to
do.
`Excuse me for a moment, Mr Amos,' I said, getting up
from my seat.
`Of course,' he answered, looking less nervous than
before.
I went to the ladies' room. I felt like breaking the
furniture or something. I was annoyed! I had my pride,
after all! And why hadn't my Intrigue worked? Perhaps I
hadn't put enough on, even for his expert nose. I decided to
put a lot more on. Perhaps that would work. I looked in
my handbag ± it wasn't there! All that I could ®nd was that
bottle with the fruitcake in it that I had made at the
factory. I didn't care, I put it on. I used up half of the
bottle. Then I went outside again.
As I was walking back to the table I almost ran into the
waiter who had served us. He stopped and looked at me
with a stupid look on his face. Then he remembered he
had a job to do, walked on and knocked down a table with
some cakes on it.
When I ®nally reached the table, Mr Amos was looking
embarrassed, as if he didn't want to be seen with me. I
could see he was trying to hide it but he couldn't. Suddenly
a strange thing happened: he opened his mouth, as if he
was going to speak, then stopped. He had smelled the
perfume ± the fruitcake special ± that I was wearing, and
the change that came over him was immediate. His look of
embarrassment just disappeared. Instead, he looked like a
dog who had just found a bone; his eyes shone and he
12smiled until I thought his face would break in two. He
stood up.
`At last you're back ± I missed you, Anna,' he said. `I've
been in a terrible dream and I've just woken up.'
`A dream, Mr Amos?' I asked. I didn't understand what
he was talking about.
`Call me David, darling . . .' he said.
Darling? What did he mean? What was happening?
`Yes . . .' he continued. `I dreamt that I was being awful
to you, treating you as if you were just someone who
worked for me. The truth is that you mean so much more
than that to me . . .'
I wondered what he meant. Was he going to raise my
pay?
He went on. `You must realise that I'm crazy about you,
darling.'
He was calling me darling again. He was being serious.
I have to say that at this point I was feeling very
confused. Five minutes ago my boss didn't want to be seen
with me. Now he was saying he was crazy about me! What
could be making him behave like this? Then, all at once, I
realised: it was the fruitcake special! Intrigue might smell
great, but it didn't make a girl attractive to men. But my
fruitcake perfume did.
`I feel my heart growing with love for you, Anna,' said
Mr Amos. He was looking at my body through the black
dress.
Just then a waitress came to the table. She told me that I
had a telephone call and asked me to answer it in the
lounge.
13I wondered what it was about.
`Excuse me, David ± I won't be long,' I said.
`A minute is a long time when you're gone, Anna,' he
said. His words were like conversation from a bad movie.
But I kept quiet about it ± he was my boss, after all, even
if he had gone crazy.
When I got to the lounge I took the phone. I noticed
someone waving their arms at me from another phone
across the large room. I could see it was that waiter again ±
there were bits of cake all over his trousers.
Now what could he want?
I soon found out.
`Miss . . .' his voice was excited at the other end of the
line. `. . . I know I am only a poor waiter but love makes
me brave . . .'
Why did everybody sound like bad movies tonight?
`When I saw you just now,' said the waiter, `I couldn't
stop myself from falling in love with you. You are so
beautiful. Please tell me you will see me . . . I know I can
offer you more than that rich fool you're sitting with. I may
not have his money or his looks, but I love you far more
than he ever could. Please be mine!'
`Wait a minute, Romeo,' I said. `Why don't you just
calm down and serve the lobster, like a good little waiter?'
It was the perfume, my fruitcake special again. The
waiter had a good smell of it when he had passed by earlier
and now he thought he was in love with me, the poor man.
It wasn't his fault. I told him that if he loved me he would
not talk loudly about it.
`Of course, my love. I will not embarrass you . . .
darling!' the waiter said.
14So far I'd had two men call me darling in one evening.
Aunt Mimi would be pleased.
But if the perfume had worked in that way on the
waiter, I had better take care not to pass by any other males
too closely. I could end up with a group of men following
me home, all saying they loved me. And wouldn't that be
awful? Well, wouldn't it? Well, maybe not but it wouldn't
be easy to explain to Momma. And I wouldn't even
mention it to Aunt Mimi!
Thank goodness the place was quiet that night. I walked
back to the table, trying my best to keep away from other
men who were in the restaurant. I was lucky; it seemed that
they would have to get close to the perfume to get the
effects.
When I got back to the table I saw that David had been
joined by Sabina, a beautiful young model who was his
latest girlfriend ± their pictures had been in all the papers
recently.
`So, you're Anna. I haven't seen you before, Anna.'
Sabina said my name as if it were a dirty word. `Don't you
work for David making perfume or something? Terribly
exciting.'
She held out her hand to me as if I were expected to kiss
it. I didn't.
`Sabina,' said David. `Anna is the woman I love.'
I could hardly believe my ears. David Amos was telling
me he loved me right under the nose of his beautiful
girlfriend, Sabina. All because of my fruitcake. I had to say
something. This was getting to be silly.
`David, I really think . . .' I began.
But at that moment our waiter made another
made by another company and I actually preferred it to the
perfumes we made. Mr Amos did have a very good nose
for perfumes. Perhaps Intrigue was so good he just couldn't
stop himself. Who knows?
Anyway, I had to get ready for my evening out.
Although I couldn't explain why Mr Amos had suddenly
found me attractive, I really wanted to ®nd out. In my own
way I'm as bad as my Aunt Mimi, I guess. The funny thing
was, I don't really like men like Mr Amos. But I wanted to
®nd out why he had changed.
So I put on my best black dress, lots and lots of
Intrigue and my one pair of high-heeled shoes. The
handbag I use for work is the only one I've got because I
don't go out that often. I took it. Then I heard the doorbell
ring.
Momma and Aunt Mimi were at the front door before I
could move. They wanted to see my date. Both of them
were trying to get me to hurry up. They had big smiles on
their faces.
I opened the door.
`Hello, Anna.'
It was Mr Amos. He looked very handsome. However,
he was quieter than before and was looking down at the
¯oor. I could hear Momma and Aunt Mimi behind me. I
could tell they liked him. It was embarrassing.
`Hello, Mr Amos,' I said.
I was expecting him to say something friendly, like `Call
me David' or something. But he didn't.
I managed to get him away from my Momma and Aunt
Mimi without too much trouble. I guess they thought we
10should be alone together if they had any hope of hearing
wedding bells in the future.
He hardly said anything in his car, either, apart from
polite conversation about how nice I looked. I could tell he
didn't mean it. Men have a way of calling you `nice' when
they really mean they don't care how you look.
Anyway, he drove me to an expensive French restaurant
where we spent some time having drinks and ordering
food. All the conversation was of the polite kind, but I
could tell he was getting ready to say something. Then he
turned to me with a serious look on his face and spoke.
`Look Anna . . .' he began.
I knew it! He'd changed his mind and was trying to
think of some excuse to get out of our evening together.
`. . . about today, at the factory,' he continued. `I don't
know why I behaved like that.'
`I thought it was because you found me attractive, Mr
Amos. And because you liked my perfume,' I said,
wondering why theIntrigue I was wearing didn't seem to be
having any effect on him. But it was obvious he hadn't
been listening to me.
`You see, Anna,' he said, `if we can see this as . . . as . . .'
`As what, Mr Amos?' I asked.
He suddenly put on a smile. `As a reward for all your
hard work at the factory. After all, you are one of our best
chemists. It's the least I can do to show how much I value
your efforts. Have this meal on me! I'll pay for it!'
If the meal had been there it would really have been on
him ± I would have thrown it at him! So he had changed
his mind and now wanted to get rid of me. I didn't believe
11for one moment that this meal was a prize for being a good
little chemist. I needed to be on my own to think what to
do.
`Excuse me for a moment, Mr Amos,' I said, getting up
from my seat.
`Of course,' he answered, looking less nervous than
before.
I went to the ladies' room. I felt like breaking the
furniture or something. I was annoyed! I had my pride,
after all! And why hadn't my Intrigue worked? Perhaps I
hadn't put enough on, even for his expert nose. I decided to
put a lot more on. Perhaps that would work. I looked in
my handbag ± it wasn't there! All that I could ®nd was that
bottle with the fruitcake in it that I had made at the
factory. I didn't care, I put it on. I used up half of the
bottle. Then I went outside again.
As I was walking back to the table I almost ran into the
waiter who had served us. He stopped and looked at me
with a stupid look on his face. Then he remembered he
had a job to do, walked on and knocked down a table with
some cakes on it.
When I ®nally reached the table, Mr Amos was looking
embarrassed, as if he didn't want to be seen with me. I
could see he was trying to hide it but he couldn't. Suddenly
a strange thing happened: he opened his mouth, as if he
was going to speak, then stopped. He had smelled the
perfume ± the fruitcake special ± that I was wearing, and
the change that came over him was immediate. His look of
embarrassment just disappeared. Instead, he looked like a
dog who had just found a bone; his eyes shone and he
12smiled until I thought his face would break in two. He
stood up.
`At last you're back ± I missed you, Anna,' he said. `I've
been in a terrible dream and I've just woken up.'
`A dream, Mr Amos?' I asked. I didn't understand what
he was talking about.
`Call me David, darling . . .' he said.
Darling? What did he mean? What was happening?
`Yes . . .' he continued. `I dreamt that I was being awful
to you, treating you as if you were just someone who
worked for me. The truth is that you mean so much more
than that to me . . .'
I wondered what he meant. Was he going to raise my
pay?
He went on. `You must realise that I'm crazy about you,
darling.'
He was calling me darling again. He was being serious.
I have to say that at this point I was feeling very
confused. Five minutes ago my boss didn't want to be seen
with me. Now he was saying he was crazy about me! What
could be making him behave like this? Then, all at once, I
realised: it was the fruitcake special! Intrigue might smell
great, but it didn't make a girl attractive to men. But my
fruitcake perfume did.
`I feel my heart growing with love for you, Anna,' said
Mr Amos. He was looking at my body through the black
dress.
Just then a waitress came to the table. She told me that I
had a telephone call and asked me to answer it in the
lounge.
13I wondered what it was about.
`Excuse me, David ± I won't be long,' I said.
`A minute is a long time when you're gone, Anna,' he
said. His words were like conversation from a bad movie.
But I kept quiet about it ± he was my boss, after all, even
if he had gone crazy.
When I got to the lounge I took the phone. I noticed
someone waving their arms at me from another phone
across the large room. I could see it was that waiter again ±
there were bits of cake all over his trousers.
Now what could he want?
I soon found out.
`Miss . . .' his voice was excited at the other end of the
line. `. . . I know I am only a poor waiter but love makes
me brave . . .'
Why did everybody sound like bad movies tonight?
`When I saw you just now,' said the waiter, `I couldn't
stop myself from falling in love with you. You are so
beautiful. Please tell me you will see me . . . I know I can
offer you more than that rich fool you're sitting with. I may
not have his money or his looks, but I love you far more
than he ever could. Please be mine!'
`Wait a minute, Romeo,' I said. `Why don't you just
calm down and serve the lobster, like a good little waiter?'
It was the perfume, my fruitcake special again. The
waiter had a good smell of it when he had passed by earlier
and now he thought he was in love with me, the poor man.
It wasn't his fault. I told him that if he loved me he would
not talk loudly about it.
`Of course, my love. I will not embarrass you . . .
darling!' the waiter said.
14So far I'd had two men call me darling in one evening.
Aunt Mimi would be pleased.
But if the perfume had worked in that way on the
waiter, I had better take care not to pass by any other males
too closely. I could end up with a group of men following
me home, all saying they loved me. And wouldn't that be
awful? Well, wouldn't it? Well, maybe not but it wouldn't
be easy to explain to Momma. And I wouldn't even
mention it to Aunt Mimi!
Thank goodness the place was quiet that night. I walked
back to the table, trying my best to keep away from other
men who were in the restaurant. I was lucky; it seemed that
they would have to get close to the perfume to get the
effects.
When I got back to the table I saw that David had been
joined by Sabina, a beautiful young model who was his
latest girlfriend ± their pictures had been in all the papers
recently.
`So, you're Anna. I haven't seen you before, Anna.'
Sabina said my name as if it were a dirty word. `Don't you
work for David making perfume or something? Terribly
exciting.'
She held out her hand to me as if I were expected to kiss
it. I didn't.
`Sabina,' said David. `Anna is the woman I love.'
I could hardly believe my ears. David Amos was telling
me he loved me right under the nose of his beautiful
girlfriend, Sabina. All because of my fruitcake. I had to say
something. This was getting to be silly.
`David, I really think . . .' I began.
But at that moment our waiter made another
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