A nice, respectable lady with the most delightful, savory scent of perfume got on the bus and took the seat beside me. She was dressed in a classy outfit that screamed “high tea at 3 and a mystery novel at 4.” Her hair was perfectly done, her posture was royal, and the fragrance she wore… oh, it was mesmerizing. Like a warm bakery tucked inside a fancy Paris boutique.
After a few moments of silent sniffing—discreetly, of course—I finally gathered the courage to speak.
“Excuse me, lady,” I said, trying to sound casual but probably sounding like someone who just discovered soap, “do you mind me, please, to ask you what perfume you’re wearing?”
She smiled politely, her red lipstick as pristine as her pearls. “Why, thank you, young man,” she said in an accent that sounded like it had gone to private school. “It’s Eau de Something Fancy. You like it?”
“Very much,” I nodded. “You smell like… like cinnamon rolls and expensive decisions.”
She chuckled. “That’s quite the compliment. It’s a rare blend. French. Imported. The kind you spray and suddenly everyone offers you a job.”
“Wow,” I said, nose still floating in its cloud. “My deodorant just promises 48-hour protection. Yours seems to offer life improvement.”
She grinned, clearly amused.
But then, as fate would have it, the bus hit a bump. A small bottle rolled out of her handbag and landed near my foot. Curious, I picked it up.
It read: “Vanilla Muffin Body Mist – $3.99” from a discount store I definitely recognized.
I looked up at her.
She looked at me.
There was a pause.
She gave me a sly wink. “It’s not about what you wear, dear. It’s about how you wear it.”
I blinked. “So… the French-imported, job-offering perfume is…?”
“Mostly sugar, vanilla, and ambition,” she said. “Never underestimate the power of confidence in a plastic bottle.”
The entire bus smelled like a bakery by now. I smiled, pocketed my pride, and made a mental note to stop by that discount store later.
Moral of the story? Elegance isn’t always expensive—and sometimes the fanciest things are just muffin-scented illusions worn with confidence.
