Ben never really cared for holidays. It was one of his quirks that could really bug me. He usually forgot my birthday. He totally spaced our third wedding anniversary. So, the holiday season was no exception. (He blamed it on a mental block brought on by traumatic childhood memories. But those are not mine to share.)
Anyway! When it came to Christmas I always had to remind him, and tell him exactly what I wanted. For Christmas 2005, I wanted him to pick out a new perfume for me to wear. I had been wearing the same scent for a while. I gave him a list of three different options to smell.
Two weeks before Christmas he got it. He told me as soon as he picked me up from work. I could tell that he was proud of himself, and excited to give it to me. He told me all about how he boldly went into the department store, and carefully smelled almost all of the available scents. He had spent almost two hours before he found the perfect one. According to him, it was better than any of the perfumes I had thought of.
He had taken this assignment more seriously than I wanted him to. His heart was set on me loving what he chose.
I was completely willing to wait the two weeks so that I could open it on Christmas morning. BUT he was so excited that he gave it to me that night.
It was still in the shopping bag when he handed it to me. I had never heard of the brand or perfume before.
As soon as I sprayed it on my wrists....my eyes teared up. And not from emotion... It was overpoweringly strong, and stung my nose. The stuff smelled awful.
I looked up and saw him smiling, eager for a positive reaction. I had to lie.
Holding back my gag reflex...
I told him I loved it.
That next morning I reluctantly decided to wear it to work. I was relieved that no one said anything negative about how I smelled... (But they didn't say anything positive either!)
I told a few close friends the story behind it. They all told me how I needed be honest with Ben and I tell him how much I hated it. I saw their point. And it was valid.
But I never could bring myself to do it.
I still have it. The bottle is old, scratched, and half empty.
Every once in a great while, I'll spray my wrists. My nose will sting all over again. I'll still dislike what I'm smelling. But the thought of that sweet man braving the beauty department...for two hours...melts my heart every single time.
I love him.
4 comments:
That is so cute!! I love it!
This touched me and made me want to share a story. So if you don't want to be bored you can stop reading right now.
Jodi one day decided she was going to cook a vegetarian lasagna. Instead of noodles it had egg plant. I had egg plant a lot on my mission so I was game. She cooked it. It was quite the effort and took a few hours. Well it was BYU game day, and I don't miss games. In fact I haven't missed a game at Cougar Stadium since 1997 (dang mission reunion)!
Anywho, my brother comes to pick me up and the lasagna is still cooking. I couldn't leave without eating it especially after all the work she had put in. So I tell him I will be late to the game and drive myself.
Jodi sets it down to eat. I dish up, and it is perhaps the sickest thing I have ever eaten. I did not however want to hurt her feelings, so I continued to eat telling her it was good. About 5 minutes into lunch, she puts her fork down and says, "You better get something at the game". She thought it was terrible. Not sure why I just told you that, but I did.
LOL I love that! I'm sure Ben had to fake enthusiasm with a few of my meal experiments, too. :)
how sweet!
Post a Comment