Scent of Magic (5 page)

Francesca had some errands to run, so she took the morning off and entrusted opening the store to Juliette -- who was not a morning person. There had been no other option.

"Come on Starley, I'll give you a ride to school on my way out of town," Francesca offered.

"It's only two blocks," Starley said crinkling her nose. "Besides, Rue always waits for me on the corner. If I stand her up, she'll be pissy."

Juliette snorted into her coffee.

"Language," Francesca admonished. "Well, I'd hardly just pass Rue by and not pick her up. Come on, it will give us a chance to talk."

Inwardly, Starley groaned. She avoided one-on-one conversations with Francesca because they usually wound up being question and answer sessions. Where Francesca asked a lot of questions and Starley figured out the best one-syllable answer to respond with that would give away the least amount of her private life.

"Okay, fine. But you'll have to talk fast if you intend to get all twenty of your questions in before we stop for Rue," Starley grumbled.

Juliette snorted again, and Francesca gave her a withering look. "You," she said, pointing her index finger at Juliette. "Try not to scare away all of our customers this morning with that winning personality of yours."

Juliette stuck out her tongue. "Not even one? You're no fun at all."

"Some days your maturity level astounds me," Francesca said as she pulled on her sweater and grabbed her purse. Starley trudged out the door behind her.

The car door had barely closed before Francesca had the first question out of her mouth. "Have you noticed any strange things about the people of Prosperity?"

Starley knew Francesca was referring to her ability to see creatures. Francesca tried not to let her concern show, but even if she hadn't voiced it, it was written all over her face. Francesca and Juliette both had their doubts about Starley's peculiar gift of sight.

Starley took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. What the heck. Now was as good a time as any. In fact, it might be the best chance she would get since their time together was limited.

"There have been a few strange sightings, yeah. But I'm still not sure how this can be considered a gift," Starley said.

Francesca's tightened her grip on the wheel, and a faint but telltale smile curved at the corner of her lips. "Let me be the judge of that. I've had more experience."

Francesca kept her eyes on the road and slowed the car to a crawl. Starley slouched in the seat, hopeful no one she knew would see her. It wouldn't do much good since everyone in town knew who the old station wagon belonged to.

"Start talking," Francesca said. "I've got all day."

"Fine, take Pastor Byrd for example," Starley said. She chanced a sideways glance at her sister. "When I look at him I sometimes see a wolf. If I blink or look away and then focus on him again, I see a sheep. Rue says it's because he's a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Francesca slammed on the brakes and gaped at Starley. Someone behind them honked their horn and Starley cringed. "
Rue
? Rue knows about your gift?"

Starley nodded. "She can see them, too. She was with me when it happened during class on the first day of school."

Francesca pulled the car to the curb to let the string of traffic backed up behind them go around them. "Are there a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing running around Prosperity?"

"I've only seen one," Starley said. "But, one of my teachers is a devil. One's an angel. Would you believe those two are married to each other?"

"Hell's bells," Francesca murmured.

"I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with this so-called gift of mine," Starley said.

A knock on the window interrupted their conversation. Rue stood with her arms folded across her chest, peering into the car. Starley sighed and opened the door before sliding across the bench seat to make room for Rue.

Rue's forehead creased, and she leaned forward to look at Francesca. "Um. Thanks for the ride."

"Starley was just telling me about a couple of your teachers," Francesca said.

"Oh, you mean the teacher creatures?" Rue said.

Francesca pursed her lips and stared straight ahead. "Yes, I'm anxious to learn more. Are there others besides the devil and the angel?"

"You mean teachers?" Rue asked.

"Yes," Francesca said.

"Yeah, they're all over the place. Our chemistry teacher's a slug. One of the custodians is a bear. But that's usually only if he's been on an all weekend bender and
really
hungover. Most of the time, he's normal," Rue said.

"Frank, you just drove past the school," Starley said, thumbing over her shoulder.

Again, Francesca hit the brakes. She threw the car into reverse, thankfully checking in the rearview mirror first to make sure no one was behind them.

"What about students? Or is it just the adults?" Francesca asked as she rolled to a stop in the school parking lot.

"Some of the older kids, seniors mostly, morph into strange, unidentifiable creatures. I think it's something that happens to them as they start getting more mature," Rue said with no more concern than if she'd been talking about who the football team was playing on Friday night. "They're more able to control it when they get older. Of course, they don't know that anyone else can see them, either."

"Do you think they can see each other? I mean, do you think Mrs. Peterson knows her husband's a devil?" Starley asked.

"I'm not sure, and I don't know any easy way to find out," Rue said. She opened the car door and started to get out. "Other than coming right out and asking one of them, I'm not sure how to find the answer to that question."

"Do you think this is just something that happens in Prosperity?" Francesca asks.

Rue shrugged. "I don't know. I've never lived anywhere else."

"But what about--" Francesca started.

"Frank, jeez. We have to go in now," Starley said. She scooted across the bench seat and climbed from the car. She ducked to look at her sister. "Why don't you just make a list of questions?"

Francesca nodded slowly, her mind already a million miles away. "Have a good day. See you after school."

"Sorry about the inquisition this morning," Starley apologized.

"Meh, don't worry about it," Rue said. "It's actually kind of cool to be able to talk to someone about it. Someone who gets it."

The girls made their way to the front doors of the school. "Does your family know about your gift?" Starley asked. "Or, are they able to see the Morphs, too?"

"Morphs?" Rue chuckled.

"Yeah, you have a better name for them?" Starley asked.

"No, not really. And to answer your question, I don't think my mom and dad know. I have an Aunt, who lives in Louisiana, she can see them. I have another Aunt, who sees dead people. My mom always knows when I'm lying, but I think that's just normal mom's intuition," Rue said.

Starley blew out a noisy breath. "What are the odds?"

"Hmm?" Rue said.

"What are the odds, out of all the places Frank could have chosen to move to, she picked Prosperity?" Starley mused.

Juliette took Francesca's absence as an opportunity to change the normal music to something a little more upbeat. She propped the front doors open and set the ceiling fans on low. Picking up the feather duster, she danced around the shop. She sang along with the music, and thankfully no one was there to hear. For all of Juliette's talents, singing wasn't one of them. She couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

She had her back toward the door when she heard the unmistakable sound of a person clearing their voice. Juliette whirled around and came face to face with perhaps the most obese man she'd ever seen in her life.

"Holy devil!" Juliette gasped. "You scared the bejesus out of me."

The man's face flushed beet red, and Juliette worried he might have a heart attack. Sweat poured down his forehead. "Sorry," he said.

"No, worries." Juliette held up her hand and fluttered her fingers in the air. She walked toward the man. "I'm Juliette. What can I do for you this fine morning?"

The man took out a hanky and mopped the moisture from his face. "Freddy," he wheezed. He stepped farther into the store and took in the shelves filled with hundreds of different bottles. "I'm not exactly sure why I stopped. Something just told me I needed to come in today. And here I am."

Juliette smiled and nodded knowingly. She didn't have to touch Freddy to know what his problem was. However, obesity was often caused by something deeper, a form of addiction. She placed her hand on his arm and asked him if he'd like a bottle of water.

"Yes, please. Thank you," Freddy said.

Juliette flinched from the images that popped into her mind. Piles and piles of food. Enough to feed a baseball team for days. She intuitively knew that Freddy ingested that amount of food in one sitting. Their brief touch had shown her that he suffered from a deep sense of feeling unworthy. Not because of his weight issues, on the contrary. He used the weight to keep people at arm's length. In his mind, if he stayed grossly overweight, people would be disgusted by his appearance and keep their distance.

He was horribly shy, and it was a wonder he ever left the house. He had become somewhat reclusive over the years. The more he feared leaving his house, the more he ate. The more he ate, the more he insulated himself from life. The more he used food to insulate himself from life, the more damage he did to his health.

Juliette knew that Freddy's issues went much deeper than just his weight. She wished Francesca was there. She was better at these things. As though on cue, the eldest Duchesne walked into the store, and Juliette breathed a sigh of relief.

Francesca's eyes slid from Juliette to the obese man and back again. Francesca dug down deep for her most welcoming smile.

"Hello, Francesca," Juliette said. "This is Freddy's first visit to the store."

The smile on Francesca's face widened. "Welcome, Freddy. I'm Francesca. The Perfumery has just what you need; I'm certain of it."

Francesca stepped into the man's space and breathed in his scent. The overwhelming sense of sadness that washed over her was heartwrenching, and she reached for the counter to steady herself.

"I don't know why I'm here," Freddy mumbled.

Francesca sensed his heart rate speed up, and his breathing became quick and shallow. She knew she would have to act fast. Otherwise, he'd bolt like a scared rabbit right out the door, and they'd never see him again.

Francesca thought quickly on her feet, and she knew within seconds exactly the aroma that would help Freddy. She walked directly to the shelves and zeroed in on what she was looking for. She retrieved a brown bottle and pulled out the cork stopper.

She passed the container to Freddy. "Here, this is just for you."

Freddy looked at her skeptically and took the bottle. He sniffed the aroma and narrowed his eyes before pulling in another deep whiff. "What is this? It smells vaguely familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."

"It's just a little something I put together the other day. Do you smell the orange and vanilla?" asked Francesca.

Again, the man took another sniff. "Yes. Yes, I believe that's what it is. Maybe something else. Is that cucumber I smell?"

Francesca grinned. "How very perceptive of you, Freddy." Neither confirming or negating his observations.

Freddy paid for the perfume and left the shop.

"You used his love of food to sell him on that scent," Juliette said shaking her head. "Brilliant."

Francesca said, "Yes and no."

"Will it curb his appetite?" Juliette wondered out loud.

"Yes, somewhat," Francesca said. "But it's also going to go deeper and get to the root of the problem. If I tried to fix the outside without first working on the inside, it would never last. We don't do anything halfway here at The Perfumery."

Juliette laughed. "Indeed."

Afternoons were usually the quiet time of the day. A bored housewife here, a troubled teenager there. Francesca often spent her time meditating, which she did best by working on a different crossword puzzle each week. Juliette liked to experiment with new scents, and somehow, she magically came up with the perfect aroma just when it was needed.

Juliette came out of the backroom wearing a smug grin. "This one, Frank. I swear it's the best one I've ever made."

Francesca smiled and shook her head. "I thought I was the brilliant chemist in this family."

"You are," Juliette said. "You're the romantic one. I'm the magical one."

"True, with my nose and your touch," Francesca said folding the newspaper. "We might just rule the world someday."

The bell over the front door rang, and an attractive man walked in. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties. Nice clothes, nice hair, everything about him appeared nice.

Francesca looked up and smiled at the man. "Welcome to The Perfumery."

"Thank you," he said quietly. His voice had no inflection; there was no emotion in his aura. He stepped into Francesca's space.

She inhaled deeply and everything on the inside of this man came drifting out. Tiny fingers of information floated her way. She closed her eyes briefly and took a step back. He had a neutral feeling about him. No negativity. There was nothing. He was hollow inside. Only an extremely depressed person emitted that deep sense of void.

"Juliette, could you come here for a moment and wait on Mr. … I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Francesca said.

"My name is Nathan Gilmore, Nate," he said. He extended his hand toward Juliette.

She grasped his hand. "Hello, Mr. Gilmore. Juliette Duchesne."

When Juliette shook his hand, in the brief instant their palms touched, she got a very clear picture of what was going on with Nate. Nate was a very lonely man. Nate needed a date. She bit the inside of her cheek. Attractive enough, but totally not her type.

"Were you looking for something special?" Juliette asked, and even though she knew he had no one whatsoever in his life, she added, "Wife, significant other, sister? Unless of course you were perhaps looking for something for yourself?"

Nate hung his head. "No significant other, I'm ashamed to admit."

"No shame in solitude," Francesca interrupted. "You know what they say."

Nate's eyebrows dipped in the center. "No, I'm afraid I don't know what
they
say."

Francesca took a deep breath. "They say that you have to love yourself before you can give your heart away to another person."

Nate rubbed the back of his neck. "Am I that obvious? Do I have 'Loser' written on my forehead?"

"Of course not," Juliette said. "We're businesswomen; it's our business to intuit exactly what our clientele needs."

"I'm an attractive guy, maybe not God's gift to women, but I don't think my looks send people screaming in the other direction like a bad zombie movie," Nate said. "I'm intelligent. I bathe regularly. What's
wrong
with me?"

Francesca's eyes crinkled at the corners. "Fate will bring love your way when it's time, and not one instant sooner."

Juliette smiled and handed Nate the bottle of her latest creation.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Go on, try it. See what you think," Juliette said, urging him to open the bottle.

Nate touched the glass as though he was afraid it might burn him. He carefully took it and sniffed. Peacefulness passed over his face. 'Say, this stuff doesn't smell half bad."

Nate paid for his purchase and was about to leave the store when Starley skated up.

Starley removed her skates and walked into The Perfumery stocking footed. Her eyes went wide when she saw the man at the counter. A giant tortoise. Starley never realized turtles could walk on their hind legs. When he noticed her, his neck disappeared, almost as though he was trying to withdraw into his shell.

She blinked a few times and shook her head, watching him go down the sidewalk away from the store. "Was it my imagination, or did he just float down the street?"

"He just needed a little something to come out of his shell," Francesca said.

"You have no idea," Starley whispered.