I never thought I would discover something quite so
amazing by accident. I was a chemist at the Amos
Cosmetics factory in New Jersey, USA, trying to design a
new perfume when it happened.
I was trying out all the usual mix of ¯owers and things ±
just like I always did ± when I decided to throw in a piece
of the fruitcake Momma had packed for my lunch. I don't
know why I did it ± I just did.
5
I put it into the mix with all the other things. Before
long, I had a little bottle of perfume made from the things
I had mixed together. I put some on the back of my hand. I
thought it smelled nice, but there was nothing special
about it, so I put the bottle into my handbag. I couldn't
give something like that to my boss. After all, I am a
chemist and my job is to make perfumes in a proper way. If
I told him how I made this one he would tell me not to be
a silly girl. Later, he would probably make a joke about it
to his friends at the golf club.
That's the kind of man my boss was.
`Anna!'
It was my boss, David Amos, the owner of Amos
Cosmetics. He happened to be walking past where I
worked. He never usually spoke to people like me. What
did he want? I felt nervous.
`Yes, Mr Amos.' I said.
`You're looking terri®c today! Mmm . . . what's that
lovely smell? It's like fresh bread and ¯owers and sunshine
all mixed together with . . . I don't know ± is it you,
Anna?'
I didn't know what he was talking about. I couldn't smell
anything special.
Mr Amos had an expert nose for perfumes. And he
knew it.
`Yes, it is you!' he said loudly. All the other chemists
nearby could hear. It was embarrassing.
I had never heard my boss speak to me like that before.
Or to anybody else, come to think of it. David Amos is a
dark, handsome English guy who would never dream of
saying nice things to ordinary looking girls like me. He
6
preferred to be with pretty young models who liked his
appearance and his money. When he did speak to the
chemists he was usually complaining about something. Was
he playing some kind of joke today?
Suddenly he came over right next to me. He spoke in a
quiet voice close to my ear.
`You know, Anna, I've never really noticed it before ± I
can't think why ± but you really are a beautiful woman!'
`Mr Amos. I . . .' I tried to answer but I didn't know
what to say.
`No, it's true, Anna,' he said. `I must see you outside this
dull factory. Will you have dinner with me tonight?'
`Well, I . . .' I was still too surprised to speak properly.
`That's great! I'll pick you up at your place tonight at
eight. See you then,' he said.
He was gone before I could say anything.
As I went home on the bus I thought of the strange
situation I was in. My boss, who was famous for going out
with beautiful women, had told me I was beautiful and had
asked me out! But I know I am just ordinary looking and
not his usual type at all. When I got home my Momma
was in the sitting room talking to my Aunt Mimi.
Aunt Mimi. I like my Aunt Mimi, but she simply can't
mind her own business. She has wanted me to ®nd a
husband for ages. She didn't like the thought of me being
single and having a career. She thought it wasn't natural for
a twenty-seven-year-old woman like me not to be married.
Aunt Mimi thought that the least she could do for me was
to ®nd me a husband. I was used to this by now, but it was
still embarrassing.
`Aunt Mimi ± how nice to see you,' I said.
7
Aunt Mimi looked at me and smiled. `Anna, my little
girl . . . but look at you: you're not a little girl any more,
you're a twenty-three-year-old woman already! How time
¯ies!'
`Actually, I'm twenty-seven, Aunt Mimi,' I said. She
always got my age wrong.
`So soon? And you're not married yet? Your mother was
married when she was eighteen. Eighteen! And you were
born when she was nineteen!' Aunt Mimi looked sad as she
said this.
She decided to say what she thought at once ± as she
always did.
`So when are you going bring a nice boy home?' she
asked, looking me right in the eye.
`There was that boy Armstrong you saw two years ago.
He was nice,' said Momma, trying to help me.
`Momma, Armstrong was the pizza delivery man,' I tried
to explain, but Momma never did listen.
`Armstrong was here a few times. I liked him,' said
Momma.
`Momma,' I said, `that was when the cooker broke down
± remember? We ate pizzas for almost a week until it was
®xed. Armstrong just delivered the pizzas.'
`I don't care,' said Momma. `I liked him ± he had nice
eyes.'
Aunt Mimi raised her eyes in surprise.
`You mean to say you let this Armstrong boy go?' said
Aunt Mimi.
`But he was only the pizza delivery man,' I said, weakly.
`Then he was. By now he probably owns the company!'
said Aunt Mimi. `And you let him go! Anna!'
8
It was no use arguing. I knew they were not going to
listen to me. So I changed the subject.
`That fruitcake was nice, Momma,' I said.
`Aunt Mimi brought it,' said Momma. `But don't change
the subject ± your aunt has something to say to you.'
Oh no! She's trying to ®nd a husband for me again!
Aunt Mimi began, `I've found the perfect boy for you,
Anna. Well . . . he's not exactly young, but neither are you
any more . . . and he's still got his own hair . . .'
I decided I had to put a stop to this ± I didn't want
to meet Aunt Mimi's `boy' even if he did have his own
hair.
`Thanks, Aunt Mimi,' I said. `But I'm already seeing
someone tonight.'
I hadn't meant to tell them but I had to do something to
stop Aunt Mimi. It certainly surprised them. They both
looked at me with their eyes and mouths wide open like a
couple of ®sh.
`Yes,' I went on. `I'm going out with my boss, Mr Amos.
He's picking me up at eight.'
That certainly surprised them!
***
Momma and Aunt Mimi were very pleased, of course.
They went off together to plan the wedding and left me to
get ready for the man they hoped would be my future
husband. I was beginning to wish I hadn't told them. After
all, I had no idea why my boss had behaved towards me in
that way. He had never even noticed me before now.
However, he had noticed the perfume I had been wearing.
Lately I had been wearing a perfume called Intrigue. It was
9
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
10
should 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 the Intrigue 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
11
for 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
ฉันไม่เคยคิดว่า ฉันจะค้นพบบางสิ่งบางอย่างมากดังนั้นน่าทึ่ง โดยบังเอิญ ผมเป็นนักเคมีที่โรงแรมอมอสโคโรงงานเครื่องสำอางในนิวเจอร์ซีย์ สหรัฐอเมริกา การออกแบบการหอมใหม่เมื่อมันเกิดขึ้นฉันพยายามออกปกติผสมของ± ¯owers และสิ่งเหมือนเสมอค่ะ±เมื่อฉันตัดสินใจโยนตัวของ fruitcake แม่ของมีบรรจุสำหรับอาหารกลางวันของฉัน ฉันไม่รู้ฉันทำไมมัน±เพียงไม่ได้5ฉันใส่มันไปผสมกับการสิ่งอื่น ๆ ก่อนที่จะยาว มีขวดน้ำหอมที่ทำจากสิ่งเล็ก ๆ น้อย ๆฉันมีผสมกัน ฉันใส่บางที่ด้านหลังของมือ ฉันคิดว่า กลิ่นดี แต่ไม่มีอะไรพิเศษเกี่ยวกับมัน ดังนั้นฉันใส่ขวดในกระเป๋าของฉัน ฉันไม่สามารถให้บางสิ่งบางอย่างเช่นเดียวกับที่เจ้านายของฉัน หลังจากที่ทุก ฉันเป็นนักเคมีและงานของฉันคือการ ทำน้ำหอมในแบบที่เหมาะสม หากผมบอกวิธีทำนี้หนึ่งเขาจะบอกไม่ต้องผู้หญิงที่โง่ ภายหลัง เขาคงให้เล่นเลยเพื่อนของเขาที่กอล์ฟคลับนั่นคือชนิดของคนที่ถูกเจ้านายของฉัน'แอนนา'ก็เจ้านาย โรงแรมอมอสโค David เจ้าของเครื่องสำอาง เขาเกิดไปเดินผ่านมาฉันทำงาน ไม่เคยจะพูดกับคนอย่างผม อะไรนะเขาต้อง ฉันรู้สึกประสาท'ใช่ โรงแรมอมอสโคนาย' ฉันเคยพูด' พัก terri เกี่ยวกับ ® c วันนี้ Mmm...นั่นคืออะไรกลิ่นดีหรือไม่ เหมือนขนมปังสด และ ¯owers และซันไชน์ทั้งหมดผสมกัน... ไม่ทราบเป็น±คุณแอนนา?'ฉันไม่รู้ว่าเขาถูกพูดถึง ฉันไม่สามารถได้กลิ่นanything special.Mr Amos had an expert nose for perfumes. And heknew it.`Yes, it is you!' he said loudly. All the other chemistsnearby could hear. It was embarrassing.I had never heard my boss speak to me like that before.Or to anybody else, come to think of it. David Amos is adark, handsome English guy who would never dream ofsaying nice things to ordinary looking girls like me. He6preferred to be with pretty young models who liked hisappearance and his money. When he did speak to thechemists he was usually complaining about something. Washe playing some kind of joke today?Suddenly he came over right next to me. He spoke in aquiet voice close to my ear.`You know, Anna, I've never really noticed it before ± Ican't think why ± but you really are a beautiful woman!'`Mr Amos. I . . .' I tried to answer but I didn't knowwhat to say.`No, it's true, Anna,' he said. `I must see you outside thisdull factory. Will you have dinner with me tonight?'`Well, I . . .' I was still too surprised to speak properly.`That's great! I'll pick you up at your place tonight ateight. See you then,' he said.He was gone before I could say anything.As I went home on the bus I thought of the strangesituation I was in. My boss, who was famous for going outwith beautiful women, had told me I was beautiful and hadasked me out! But I know I am just ordinary looking andnot his usual type at all. When I got home my Mommawas in the sitting room talking to my Aunt Mimi.Aunt Mimi. I like my Aunt Mimi, but she simply can'tmind her own business. She has wanted me to ®nd ahusband for ages. She didn't like the thought of me beingsingle and having a career. She thought it wasn't natural fora twenty-seven-year-old woman like me not to be married.Aunt Mimi thought that the least she could do for me wasto ®nd me a husband. I was used to this by now, but it wasstill embarrassing.`Aunt Mimi ± how nice to see you,' I said.7Aunt Mimi looked at me and smiled. `Anna, my littlegirl . . . but look at you: you're not a little girl any more,you're a twenty-three-year-old woman already! How time¯ies!'`Actually, I'm twenty-seven, Aunt Mimi,' I said. Shealways got my age wrong.`So soon? And you're not married yet? Your mother wasmarried when she was eighteen. Eighteen! And you wereborn when she was nineteen!' Aunt Mimi looked sad as shesaid this.She decided to say what she thought at once ± as shealways did.`So when are you going bring a nice boy home?' sheasked, looking me right in the eye.`There was that boy Armstrong you saw two years ago.He was nice,' said Momma, trying to help me.`Momma, Armstrong was the pizza delivery man,' I triedto explain, but Momma never did listen.`Armstrong was here a few times. I liked him,' saidMomma.`Momma,' I said, `that was when the cooker broke down± remember? We ate pizzas for almost a week until it was®xed. Armstrong just delivered the pizzas.'`I don't care,' said Momma. `I liked him ± he had niceeyes.'Aunt Mimi raised her eyes in surprise.`You mean to say you let this Armstrong boy go?' saidAunt Mimi.`But he was only the pizza delivery man,' I said, weakly.`Then he was. By now he probably owns the company!'said Aunt Mimi. `And you let him go! Anna!'8It was no use arguing. I knew they were not going tolisten to me. So I changed the subject.`That fruitcake was nice, Momma,' I said.`Aunt Mimi brought it,' said Momma. `But don't changethe subject ± your aunt has something to say to you.'Oh no! She's trying to ®nd a husband for me again!Aunt Mimi began, `I've found the perfect boy for you,Anna. Well . . . he's not exactly young, but neither are youany more . . . and he's still got his own hair . . .'I decided I had to put a stop to this ± I didn't wantto meet Aunt Mimi's `boy' even if he did have his ownhair.`Thanks, Aunt Mimi,' I said. `But I'm already seeingsomeone tonight.'I hadn't meant to tell them but I had to do something tostop Aunt Mimi. It certainly surprised them. They bothlooked at me with their eyes and mouths wide open like acouple of ®sh.`Yes,' I went on. `I'm going out with my boss, Mr Amos.He's picking me up at eight.'That certainly surprised them!***Momma and Aunt Mimi were very pleased, of course.They went off together to plan the wedding and left me toget ready for the man they hoped would be my futurehusband. I was beginning to wish I hadn't told them. After
all, I had no idea why my boss had behaved towards me in
that way. He had never even noticed me before now.
However, he had noticed the perfume I had been wearing.
Lately I had been wearing a perfume called Intrigue. It was
9
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
10
should 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 the Intrigue 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
11
for 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
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