Work Text:
Amanda knew she had far too many candles already, but when Angela asked her on one of their days off if she would like to go to Yankee Candle with her, there was no way she was going to turn her down.
She told herself that they were just going because the new Halloween and fall scents were out. She told herself that they would likely simply get a casual coffee after their casual outing. She told herself that she just wanted to spend a day with her friend. Her friend. That’s all.
She did not listen to the other voice in her head that was telling her that the last statement wasn’t entirely accurate. In truth, Amanda felt something quite a bit stronger than friendship—or even best friendship—for Angela. But there was not a right time or place for that, nor would there ever be. They were coworkers, after all.
So, Amanda woke up, showered, and got dressed for a regular girls’ day out with Angela. Who was, again, just her friend.
Angela had volunteered to drive them both, and the thirty-minute drive to the store that late morning was as fun as it always was. Music blasting, windows rolled down just a couple of inches to let a breeze in, the two of them joking and doing bits and laughing. They entered the candle shop with huge grins plastered across their faces.
There were some people milling about the store chatting with each other, along with the sounds of glass jars being lifted off shelves and opened (and sniffed) before being set back down with faint ‘clanks’ creating comfortable brown noise. A clerk briefly greeted Amanda and Angela before returning to their task. The environment was perfect for the women; they could enjoy this leisure time with each other.
“Ooh, Pumpkin Spice, I love it when they bring this back,” Amanda said as she inhaled the scent of a large orange candle. “Pumpkin pie and lattes.” She held the jar out to Angela, who leaned in to smell it herself.
Angela made a face after doing so. “But it’s, like…. Kind of like a kid’s idea of what pumpkin pie is. I’ve definitely smelled this in the house of a church volunteer with three kids under ten. Their version is too much of a ‘mom’ scent, you know?”
Amanda laughed. “Are you implying that that’s why I like it?”
Angela rolled her eyes. “Look—Banana Bread!” Angela exclaimed, opening a tan jar. “….Well, this one just smells like Shayne’s banana bread. But not as good as the real thing. It’s more like when he describes his banana bread to someone who’s never had it. Oh, what about this? See, now this is more like you!” She opened a black candle labeled Witch’s Cauldron. “It’s like Practical Magic! This is totally what Sandra Bullock smelled like during that movie.”
Amanda couldn’t disagree. It was a warm scent, with notes of patchouli, vanilla, and cinnamon, and it did remind her of the dark comedy with its fall scenery, moods, and magic.
Now their sniff-testing was turning into a game. They were almost competing to come up with the most vivid image that the scents could provoke in their minds, with bonus points if the name was more of an abstract idea than an obvious flavor. Amanda grabbed a beige candle named Scrapbooking Sunset. “This one’s a grandmother. She’s just tucked her grandkids into bed, because they’re visiting her on fall break, and now she’s going to settle into her big comfy chair and work on her scrapbooks and her quilts.” It smelled of apples, ginger, tonka bean, and nutmeg.
“Mystical Moon,” Angela said. “Berries, violet, wood….” She read aloud the scent profile of a dark blue candle. “This is that Halloween party that you go to, but you don’t really wanna go, and for some reason it’s a whole week before the actual holiday, but you don’t have any other plans, so you just throw on some cat ears and do a smoky eye and spray some perfume.”
“Cashmere Blanket. It says it’s citrus, bergamot, and musk.” Amanda thought for a moment about the cream-colored candle she’d just sniffed. “This is when your mom has to wash your security blanket when you’re six because you never let go of the darn thing, and it comes out of the dryer smelling not quite right, not quite the way it should smell, so you have to snuggle it extra hard every night until it smells like you again. And this one’s Mossy Vineyard, with a dark grape smell.” She smiled mischievously at the label on a purple jar. “It’s like if going to Olive Garden was a black-tie event, but the vibes of the party are still very much just pretending to be fancy, while at the same time believing that you actually are fancy. So you order one of the really nice wines and have a wonderful evening with your fellow businesspeople!"
As the women moved further into the store, the candle names became more obscure, and their opinions of each scent became more absurd. And they were loving it.
“Summer Daydream…. Backstage before a community theater improv show, and you want to do warm-ups with everyone else, but you can’t focus because your crush is supposed to be in the audience tonight, and suddenly it feels like you’re in high school again hoping that the new cute transfer student will ask you to go roller-skating next weekend. But he doesn’t ask you, and he transfers schools again two months later, and you never spoke to him more than a couple times while he was at your school anyway.”
“Kayaking on the Lake—you’re at Girl Scout camp. It’s a beautiful morning with colorful little flowers blooming on the opposite shore, and there’s still mist on the water, but the big campfire with s’mores isn’t until tomorrow night, and you didn’t sleep well, and the other girls all think you’re weird.”
“To be fair, you are pretty weird.”
“Shut up!”
Finally, they reached the last shelves at the very back of the store. Each of them now carried a shopping tote filled to the brim with heavy glass jars of their favorite ‘characters’. Amanda reached for the pair’s last un-smelled candle. “Lovely Love…. This might be the lamest name we’ve seen today.” She scoffed as she opened it, then froze as the scent of the candle hit her. It was a deep garnet color, and its fragrance was absolutely enchanting. She read the notes—it was supposed to be rose, jasmine, wine, raspberry, and amber.
But the only image in Amanda’s mind was Angela.
“Lemme smell,” Angela took the candle from Amanda and breathed it in. “Oh, wow,” she said, her eyes wide. “This is the best one…. Um, what’s the scene? The character? To you, I mean.”
Amanda thought for a moment before speaking. “It’s…. just like it says. Two people, deeply in love,” she responded, avoiding meeting Angela’s eyes.
“What are they like?”
Amanda didn’t want to tell her. Her friend….
But then she spoke. “Like us,” she answered quietly.
“Yeah,” Angela murmured. “I think so too.”
The two women stood there in silence, each contemplating what was next. Finally, Amanda gave Angela a gentle, tender smile. “Would you like to get coffee after this?”
Angela beamed. “Like, a date?”
“Yeah, like a date,” Amanda beamed back.
She laughed as Angela gripped her hand and dragged her to the checkout counter to pay for their hauls. As she was pulled away from the shelf, she grabbed one more jar of that final candle for herself, knowing she had a new favorite scent.
One that smelled like her friend. Her girlfriend.