I walked out from the bathroom feeling energized. I stopped short when I entered the kitchen. On the table, Gabe had set up what looked like a mini science lab. There were small bottles, test tube racks with empty tubes. On the floor was a hard case that was standing up and opened. One side had drawers and the other had more bottles strapped with Velcro straps.
"Welcome to my traveling lab Trouble!" Gabe was standing on the far side of the table and had his arms spread wide to showcase everything in front of him.
"I didn't think the traveling kit would include all of this Meanie. You carry this around with you?"
"Well obviously not everywhere. It is usually at Victor's house, but I bring it over to my house sometimes. Want to get started?"
I bounced on my toes, excited now that I saw everything on the table. "Yes, yes I do! What do I do first?" I stood in front of the table and started to reach for one of the bottles. Gabe reached over and slapped my hand. I looked up at him stunned.
"You can't just go fucking grabbing shit without thinking." He picked up a small composition notebook that was on the edge of the table. "You start with this. Once you get started you could be going for an hour or more without stopping and you will forget what you were even trying to do. The notebook keeps you in check. Write down what you are looking to accomplish and then write down all the different tests you do." I must have looked confused because he picked up my hand and placed the notebook in it. He then picked up another notebook, but this one was worn and the pages were dog eared. "This is my notebook, well my current one." He randomly flipped to a page and held it open. It had his writing all over the page. There were names of herbs and oils scattered all around the page. The rest of the writing seemed like thoughts of the combinations, like 'not minty enough' and 'too strong'.
Gabe turned the book so he could see the pages. "This way I can go back and see what I have already done and what the results were."
"Do you do a lot of test?" It looked like he did 100s of combinations and he said that this was only the current notebook.
"Yeah, you could fucking say that. I am the go to guy for anyone that needs a new scent or needs to smell like something specific."
"What do you mean something specific?"
He pursed his lips a little, like he was trying to think of something. "Let's say someone has to go to a club and act like they are drunk."
"Why would someone want to do that?" Do they do that kind of stuff for the Academy?
"You never know when something will come up Trouble. Anyway, I created cologne that would make that person smell like they have been drinking all day. And I even found a way to make it last longer than most off the shelf cologne." He was grinning and nodding his head up and down in excitement.
"Now, Trouble. Is there something specific you would like to create? Maybe something you could put on your pillow that makes you think of me when you fall asleep." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
I just stared at him. I couldn't think of anything – is that how he worked, he just thought of random things he wanted to create and then he did it?
"Ok, I will give you an example. I have been working on this one for months and I can't seem to get it right. This guy came into Pam's salon one weekend and I have been trying to recreate his scent ever since." I just stared at him. He has been working on one scent for months? And he wanted it to smell like some guy? Why?
"I know what you are thinking Trouble. It is probably the same thing the other guys thought. I know it seems random, and kind of weird, but it is a scent I have never smelled before – but it was subtle and strong all at the same time, it became an addiction to know what made it. Plus, I haven't had many projects recently so I want to make sure I stay in the zone for when a new project comes up."
As he was talking he took a larger bottle out of the case on the floor and uncapped it. He also flipped to a page in his notebook and placed it on the table. "This is where my notes start on this scent. And here is the base of it. I am pretty sure I narrowed down part of the scent to this. But it is still fucking missing something." He hand me the bottle and I held it close to my nose. I jerked my head back when the scent made my nose burn. "Hold it away from your face Trouble, and wave your hand over it towards your nose. This will give you what it will smell like in small quantities. Most scents are way stronger if you try to inhale a whole bottle of them." He was smiling at me and winked. Right, that made sense. I did as he suggested and immediately froze. Something about this scent was familiar, but I couldn't place it. I waved my hand over the bottle again. And then it hit me. Visions of riding in Mr. Blackbourne's car while trying to think of a way to escape came flowing over me. Gabe was right though, something was missing in it. "Jasmine" I whispered it so quietly I was not even sure if I said it out loud. I didn't mean to actually say anything; it just came out on a breath.
Gabe tilted his head to the side and took the bottle back. He took a small dropper and added a few drops of the liquid into an empty test tube. He moved over to the case and started scanning the rows of bottles. He grabbed one and got out a new dropper and added two drops to the same test tube. He stirred it with a thing metal stick and then picked it up. He waved his hand over the top of the tube and his eyes closed as he took in the scent. His eyes opened wide and he handed the tube to me and I repeated what he did. As soon as the scent hit my nose my heart rate picked up.
"How the fuck did you know Trouble? That is exactly what I have been trying to get it to, but you knew right away." Gabe was looking at me intently, waiting for my answer.
"I didn't know, I mean I didn't really know what you were looking to get. But when I smelled your base scent it reminded me of someone and the jasmine was the only thing missing – now it smells just like him."
"Like who Trouble?"
"Volto."