Nawt goes in Search of Answers

To catch up on the adventures of Nawt so far, if you’re new, you can go here.  This is the continuing adventures of Nawt Agin, rookie perfumer for Irrational Fruity Florals

When we last left Nawt, he was waking up from a very bad dream.  After a very sleepless night, Nawt was sitting in front of a big mug of coffee, inhaling deeply (smelling everything deeply was a habit) and reading the newspaper.  A story caught his eye.  Jean Claude Ellena was in town!  Could this be what he was looking for?  Could the perfect JCE help him?  And what truly did he want JCE to help him with? He knew he could make the Celebridrool that he had been assigned to do, it would be easy, could do it with his beakers tied behind his back, but maybe JCE could tell him how to turn it around into something really good, and it just wouldn’t hurt to meet The Man.

Nawt checked the article for JCE’s itinerary and picked up the phone and dialed.

Nawt:  (nasal, choked voice) Halooo?  Yes, dis is Dawt.  Dawt I said, N-a-w-t.  yes, Dawt.  Sick tuday, berry, won’t be in. With what?  Dose broke.  Dose, n-o-s-e.  Can’t sbell, sssssmmmmelllll.  Tanks.

He hung up the phone, headed into the shower and got dressed.  Two hours later, he was pulling up to the museum where JCE was due to receive an award.  He parked and waited.

Off in the distance he saw something odd walking down the street. It looked like a man, an impossibly good-looking and distinguished man — Nawt felt a little breathless just looking at him —  but around his feet was some kind of cloud.  He got out of the car to get a better look.

As the man got closer, he saw it was definitely a dust cloud of some sort around his feet, but there were things popping up out of it.  Really random things… like a… perfume bottle?  And was that a cunning Red Manolo heel in there?  Attached to a very shapely leg?

Nawt stood dumbfounded as the Man in Cloud approached.  From his chiseled cheekbones, graying hair at the temples to the luminous smile, this was the most perfect man Nawt had ever seen.  He could now make out what was in the cloud, it was women engaged in a catfight — two, maybe three or more — and perhaps some perfume? as The Man walked on, oblivious to what was happening under his feet.

And… it WAS Jean Claude Ellena.

Nawt:  Monsieur Ellena, Monsieur Ellena, I beg you, can I have a moment of your time!

JCE:  Slowing down, he stopped, and the cloud of women and perfume continued to swirl beneath his feet. He turned to Nawt and aimed his beatific smile at him and said:  Je ne parle pas l’anglais.

Nawt:  What?  You speak English, right?

JCE:  Looks perplexed, smiles radiantly, smelling divine, shrugs, starts to walk away.

Nawt:  No, no, wait. I’ll find someone to speak French. Just wait, don’t go anywhere!!

(Nawt looks around, starts stopping people and cars, asking them if they speak French, gets ignored, spat on or handed a quarter. He’s getting desperate and then he spies a familiar face….

Voracia:  Hey, Perfume Man, I know you!!!

To be continued…

Original artwork by Adam Smith