Who'd touch Grandma's Perfume? - Day 447: 5 Minute Freewrite: Thursday - Prompt: perfume
In Grandma's bedroom,
hidden in plain sight on the dresser, the little glass bottle stood: “Muguet de Bois,” Lily of the Valley, the only real perfume Grandma ever owned, and she hoarded it like a dragon in his lair. I don't know if she bought it for herself or someone bought it for her, but it was hers, and it would never so-help-me-God run dry.
source
We would slip into her room
when she was busy playing that card game, Hearts, with Grandpa and our parents. While Grandma was forever dodging the Queen of Hearts, we were forever dodging her censure. Don’t touch the walls, you with the dirty fingerprints; go take your noise to the cellar and play down there; eat everything on your plate because a child in Africa is starving; above all, never waste a single drop of anything that comes in a bottle!
Gingerly, we would unscrew the lid and inhale the aroma of lily. Unlike the cheap stuffl, real perfume smelled just like the flower, and it was heady, magical.
Oops, don’t let your nose touch the glass!
What if Grandma smells lily on you?
What if your germs seep into the precious perfume and weaken it?
If Grandma ever dared to wear that perfume, I never smelled it on her. The odor of denture-breath is the one smell I associate with Grandma.
Years passed and that bottle of Muguet du Bois
remained on Grandma’s bedroom dresser, pristine, never going empty. If Jesus were in town, would our grandma do like Mary Magdalene did and pour it over our Lord's feet? Grandma was too busy being Martha, the worker, but she didn’t complain like Martha did that the idle dreamer claimed the better portion. She just cooked and cleaned and preserved and saved.
By the time Grandma died, I was a mother myself. I dared to open that bottle of Muguet du Bois once more. It still smelled of the real deal, lily of the valley, and I still could not bring myself to apply any to my own body. Her indoctrination was that powerful.
I’d like to say that we emptied that bottle of Muguet du Bois over her body and buried her with the scent of lillies, but nobody ever did dare to use that perfume. As far as I know, the bottle now resides somewhere in my father’s house, no longer hidden in plain sight but buried deep, far from prying eyes and sneaky little-girl fingers.
R.I.P. Grandma.
If I ever find that glass bottle with the white lily blossoms painted on the front, I shall liberally dispense it over your grave.
This made me think of my grandmother and smile at her unique personality. Thanks.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
Some grandmas smell like sugar and spice and everything nice. My grandma's kitchen smelled like boiled potatoes and gas burners that lit with a match. :)
Lily of the valley has a great scent. Nice memory.
Funny thing, I cannot recall any perfumes or other sort of toiletries in my Grandma's house, although she surely must have had... weird.
On the other hand, I wish I had that bottle of perfume as lily of the valley is my favorite flower. Sadly, over here they're in season for a very short time.
That is so very German - save everything for that special day! I have that in me too and make a conscious effort to use things and enjoy them. Thank you for that reminder!! Am on vacation right now and shall use things liberally 🤪 ❤️
LOL!! I love meeting fellow Germans. I'm fourth-generation-American, to no avail; the urge to conserve is in my DNA. My mom would hide the paper towels when her city sister-in-law came to visit; she couldnt bear the "waste" of throwing after one use instead of using a wash-and-reuse rag to wipe spills. I could go on... but you probably know more of these thrifty, frugal, even OCD habits than I can list! "Use things liberally" - my friend's mother never broke out the good linen from the chest, and her house burned down with all the "good stuff" having been UNUSED all her life. Now that's a waste! Sometimes our German instincts lead us astray when it comes to defining what's wasteful and what's sensible. :)
For sure!! But I totally understand your mom and the reusable rags lol Now it is also a matter of sustainability.
I have some beautiful old linen I never use - but partly because it is so labor intensive to wash, starch, and iron them that I just don't want to go through the trouble. Hoping my house won't burn down 😱 😉
Enjoyed reading this frewrite. She is a nice lady and good grandmother. :).