As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been married to my husband for too long. He knows all my weak spots.
A couple of nights ago at supper, he asked if I wanted to watch an episode of Castle that evening. I almost never watch TV, but occasionally he suggests a show he thinks I’ll like, and I’ll watch a few episodes with him. I’ve seen quite a few episodes of Castle over the years, so I knew I’d be entertained.
But I was busy (as usual), and I just don’t enjoy watching TV that much. So I offered a noncommittal response and retreated to my office to commune with my computer.
A couple of hours later, he employed the most potent form of persuasion in his arsenal.
He made popcorn.
There are a few scents I’m reasonably certain would raise me from my deathbed. Popcorn is one of them. Hell, for popcorn, I’d come back from beyond the grave.
Needless to say, we watched the show.
I don’t know what it is about popcorn. I can’t resist it. Even the horrible super-salted petroleum-coated crap they sell in theatres draws me like a ball-bearing to a magnet. I know it’s so salty my mouth will feel like the Sahara Desert the next day. I know I won’t finish even the smallest bag. I know that bag contains an entire day’s allotment of calories and enough saturated, hydrogenated, and/or trans fat to harden every artery I own. But I have to buy it, and the first few mouthfuls are pure greasy heaven.
There must be pheromones in it. Or crack. Or something.
But I’m pretty sure it’s only a Pavlovian response. I love the smell of popcorn because I anticipate the enjoyment of eating it. I wouldn’t want to smell it all day long.
That got me thinking about scents I find completely irresistible, and it’s a very odd list. Here the top ten things I’d happily smell for hours, in no particular order:
- Moist garden soil
- Leather
- Lilacs
- Sun-ripened strawberries
- Gun oil and/or gunpowder
- Balsam poplar
- Vinegar
- Engine oil and warm rubber
- Fresh-cut cedar or pine
- Line-dried sheets
Any of these scents will make me halt wherever I am, inhaling until my lungs are stretched to capacity. If nobody’s looking, I’ll creep closer and closer, sniffing like a bloodhound on uppers and trying not to drool like one. If I could find perfume that smelled like any of these things, I’d roll in it.
So perhaps it’s not coincidence that Hubby likes to garden, wears a leather jacket, brings me lilacs and fresh strawberries from the back yard, enjoys shooting and fireworks and camping and tinkering with cars, douses his french fries with vinegar, and owns two chainsaws.
Now if he’d just do the laundry and hang the sheets outside, he’d be perfect…
What scents do you find irresistible?
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I’m celebrating the release of A Spy For A Spy! If you happen to be in the Calgary area the evening of May 9, please stop by and see me at The Owl’s Nest Books & Gifts, 815A – 49 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB, Canada, between 5:30 and 8:00 PM. We’ll have sips and nibbles, and I’ll be doing a short reading and Q&A session at 7:00. Hope to see you there!
Author Diane Henders 