Thursday, April 14, 2016

WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN… BY YVONNE


…someone tells you that you smell like their grandmother?

The receptionist at the doctor’s office could not have been nicer; she patiently made calls searching for records lost in the system. She took a pause to spit into a bottle. When she did that a second time, I asked her if she was all right. She explained that she was pregnant with her second child and had hypersalivation.  All I could say was, “Oh.” I wanted suggest that she turn away when she spits but I needed those records.



Happy that she located them, she told me, “You smell like my grandmother.” I was speechless. I never equated my grandmother to any kind of smell outside of the kitchen where the aroma of  her chicken and dumplings ruled, but I wasn’t wearing Eau de Chicken and Dumplings. 

“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Whatever you’re wearing, it smells like her.”
“It reminds me of my grandmother, she died and I’m getting sentimental.”

I thanked her for her patience and wished her well. I hope she teaches her children to think before they speak, impress upon them the importance of language and social skills and to never spit in public or at their desks.





6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very funny!
Happens often. Fragrance trends change from decade to decade. Some "accords" or fragrance families being more used in one decade than another. So when you use one of the grand classical fragrances that have been around for some time, it the scent might evoke a sudden memory of - in this case - a person from the past.

But you smell like my grandma is certainly nothing you should say to a classy lady! She needs to work on her language skills :-)

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha! Love it, not sure how I would have reacted… but the spitting really would have got to me, so disgusting in front of everyone, I would have been mortified!

Anonymous said...

I hate her. My grandmother smelled like mothballs.

Anonymous said...

You smell divine to me.

Anonymous said...

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in order to witness the expression on your face after she said that to you. Very funny! And yes, one should always think before they speak.

Unknown said...

Well, it could have been worse: she could have said you look like her grandmother.