Grasse, South of France
‘Okay, everyone!’ declared Jean-Pierre, rushing into the room, clapping his hands in excitement mingled with a little nervous trepidation. ‘Gird your loins! Monsieur Jules Gasnier, our esteemed and fragrant demigod, has just entered the building! Deep breaths, shoulders back, and plaster on those neon smiles!’
Nerves fluttered around Gabbie’s stomach as she took up her position in the welcoming committee between Fleurette and her boss, Marianne, to greet the great man himself. Jean-Pierre may have labelled Jules Gasnier a demigod but Gabbie preferred to think of the celebrated perfumer as more of a magician; an alchemist who could create not just a fragrance but an experience, a sensation, a dream. Every morning she thanked her often-elusive guardian angel for being on duty the day she was offered her dream job at the House of Gasnier – except not that particular morning, when she would rather have been hiding underneath the duvet in her attic studio, trying to shut out the world and the scorching pain that date on the calendar always brought.
‘Gabbie, darling, you could at least look like you’re enjoying yourself!’ chastised Jean-Pierre, stretching up onto his tiptoes to peer down the corridor for a sign that his hero was approaching. ‘I know this was supposed to be your day off, but who are we to question our commander-in-chief’s last-minute change of itinerary? Anyway, I don’t know what you’re worried about – you’re our star perfumer! Monsieur Gasnier is bound to select your fragrance for the summer range, especially after you won that award for best bridal perfume in Confetti! Magazine last month. Ah, what I wouldn’t give to possess a smidgeon of your creative flair!’
‘Sorry, Jean-Pierre, it’s just nerves,’ said Gabbie, stretching her lips into what she hoped was a smile but was probably more akin to a grimace. After all, it wasn’t Jean-Pierre’s fault she’d chosen not to confide in him, or Fleurette, that the real reason she’d been adamant about having the day off work was because it was the anniversary of her mother’s passing – two years and it still felt like yesterday. Yet that wasn’t the only thing playing on her mind that morning.
‘Nerves? Pah!’ snapped Marianne, every inch the sleek, elegant French woman with her glossy magenta bob and effortless style. ‘You are one of House of Gasnier’s most accomplished perfumers, Gabbie. Haven’t I told you a hundred times that you possess le nez? Were not your last three perfumes the most successful since Jules Gasnier launched his debut fragrance, Juliette, two decades ago?’
Initially, Gabbie had been a little intimidated by her boss’s stern, rather aloof personality, but Marianne had proved to be a fabulous mentor who had unselfishly shared her vast knowledge and experience of the perfume industry, quirks and all, with her enthusiastic students. Her perfectly applied Cupid’s bow of deep-burgundy lipstick gave the impression she had just taken a last languid sip of delicious red wine, extinguished her Gauloise, and strolled into work from the pavement café at the end of Rue de Bouvier.
‘Relax, Monsieur Gasnier is going to love every one of the fragrances we’ve created! And Gabbie?’
‘Yes?’
‘Smile! Like it or not, we work in the romance industry where there’s no room for anxiety, only for supreme confidence in our unassailable abilities to create liquid magic. How do you think Monsieur Gasnier made his eponymous perfume house one of the most prestigious in the whole of France? Today, we must strive to ensure that everyone – and everything – is joyeux or magnifique or incroyable!’
Gabbie knew Marianne was right. She adored her career and had been surprised, and grateful, for the accolades that had come her way. She had been told she had what was known as le nez; the ability to identify the individual components of any given perfume, and also to understand which aromas would combine to create the ultimate olfactory experience. She was confident she could answer any question thrown at her by Jules Gasnier – House of Gasnier’s maestro – who had decided to grace them with his aromatic presence in order to select next summer’s eau de parfum personally.
She knew the perfume she had spent the last three months pouring her heart and soul into was unique, and because Monsieur Gasnier was renowned for being a highly-strung perfectionist, she had practised her presentation speech until it was pitch-perfect. For once, her hair had not sprouted wings, but remained in a stylish chignon, courtesy of her flatmate Jasmine’s nifty fingers. Sartorial elegance usually provided her with a boost of confidence, and her friend had loaned her a beautifully cut lemon shift dress and pair of towering heels. Except, this morning, her careful preparations weren’t working their magic to eradicate her jitters.
Gabbie loved her life in Grasse, the acknowledged capital of the perfume industry. Just being there enriched her creativity and increased her desire to design the most exquisite perfume, not to mention providing welcome distraction from her heartache. She loved the tiny apartment she shared with Jasmine, the sunshine and hustle and bustle of the attractive town, and her French was improving every day. And yet she had started to realise that, despite all the career successes, something was missing, something she hadn’t been able to put her finger on until recently. She had hoped to spend the day dissecting what it meant for her future, as well as remembering all the happy times she had spent with her beloved mother, experimenting with fragrances, before the scourge that was breast cancer had snatched her away from her family.
Monsieur Gasnier’s timing couldn’t have been any worse. It wasn’t fair, but then she knew more than most that life wasn’t. She had known how difficult the anniversary of her mother’s death was going to be; that’s why she had asked for a day off work. But there were lots of good days too, like the long weekends she got to spend with her grandparents in a small village just outside Genoa, where she could submerge herself in their stories about her mother Sofia’s childhood: her love of ballet, of her pet Pekinese, and how she had met Gabbie’s father, Jeff Andrews.
‘I’m with Gabbie,’ announced Fleurette, her long, slender fingers fluttering at the silver, heart-shaped necklace around her throat. ‘I don’t know how you can remain so calm, Marianne. Monsieur Gasnier is the most notoriously demanding perfumer in the whole of France. I haven’t been this nervous since Didier introduced me to his mother – and look how that turned out! She still hasn’t forgiven me for breaking her precious Louis XVI vase.’
‘Just as long as you don’t touch anything, Fleurette, you should be fine,’ said Marianne, barely concealing her impatience with Gabbie’s famously clumsy colleague with the spectacular, liquorice-coloured ringlets. ‘Now, is everything ready?’
‘I think so.’
‘Don’t just think so, know so!’
‘Yes, everything is ready, Marianne,’ said Gabbie, surprised to detect a tiny crack in Marianne’s legendary composure. If Marianne, famous industry-wide