THE SMELL OF LAVENDER

BY SHANE COLE
(Danny is facing sideways and looking into a car window straigtening is tie! He see"s #$ite ner%o$s!
He &egins to talk as e contin$es to ceck is cloting and ten gi%es is f$ll attention to te a$dience!'
DANNY
Its hard to believe that the day is finally here. You ait your hole life for this day! and you honestly
dont thin" it ill a#tually ha$$en! but here e are. %hen &y best friend $ro$osed to his 'irl! I had to sto$
hi& fro& drin"in'. Hed only started in order to #al& his nerves! but I "ne that if he dran" until that
ha$$ened! hed be so drun" he ouldnt be able to stand after 'ettin' don on one "nee. But! sur$risin'ly!
I& #al&. Ive $layed this out in &y head ti&e and ti&e a'ain. (e! al"in' out into the $ar"! &eetin' her
at our favorite s$ot! so&ethin' I ould have $re)$lanned. Id have the #ho#olates and the roses*+$i#"s u$
roses fro& the ba#"seat of the #ar,*I ould tell her hat she &eans to &e. I ould tell her ho she
#han'ed &y life. -ell her that! before her! I as ready to 'ive u$ on life and love. Its funny a#tually. Ho
is it that e run into $eo$le that ill #han'e our lives .ust by bein' in the ri'ht $la#e at the ri'ht ti&e/
Lyndsay as a 'ift fro& heaven sent to &e at &y loest $oint! and be#ause of her &y entire life is better
All be#ause of a #han#e &eetin'. Its a&a0in' ho one &o&ent in ti&e #an #han'e your life.
+He $uts the roses don on the ben#h.,
DANNY
It as ri'ht here. Nine &onths a'o. I as sittin' ri'ht there on that ben#h hen this stran'er #a&e u$ to
&e and started the &ost rando& #onversation Ive ever had in &y entire life. I had .ust ended a to year
relationshi$ earlier that sa&e day. I asnt in the &ood for s&all tal". But there she as anyay as"in'
&e if I "ne the ti&e. I as $retty rude! and said I didnt #arry a at#h! and she al"ed off. I thou'ht that
as it! but she turned around and said! 1Lifes too short to aste ti&e feelin' sad for yourself. Besides!
youre not very attra#tive hen you #ry.2
%ell I had a very vis#eral &anly res$onse. It .ust sounded li"e a third 'rader hen it #a&e out.
1I a& not #ryin'332
She raised an eyebro and .ust s&iled. I dont "no hy but for so&e reason I s&iled ba#". -he hu&or
in &y in#redibly i&&ature res$onse as not lost on &e. -hats hen I 'ot her na&e. Lyndsay %alla#e.
Her 'a0e into &y eyes as intense. And she never loo"ed aay. She invited &e to have a #u$ of #offee
ith her and needless to say! I sto$$ed &ournin' the death of &y fallen relationshi$.
I found out that she as a so#ial or"er and or"ed at a lo#al after s#hool $ro'ra& donton. She did
&ost of the tal"in'. I en.oyed listenin' and at#hin' her. I as &es&eri0ed by the fa#t that she never
sto$$ed s&ilin'. After three hours of tal"in'! I finally 'ot the 'uts to as" for her $hone nu&ber and fro&
that $oint on! it as a $retty ty$i#al relationshi$.
+$ulls a rose out of the #ontainer and s&ells it4 he s&iles,
No! thats not true. -here as nothin' ty$i#al about this relationshi$ at all. It as one of a "ind. 5ni6ue.
Li"e nothin' Id ever e7$erien#ed before. I "no I .ust said three thin's that all &ean the sa&e thin' but
the e&$hasis is needed. She ble &e aay. I didnt "no you #ould feel li"e this. Even the usual
land&ar" evenin's that are alays stress indu#in'! li"e &eetin' the $arents of the other! ere fun. It ill
&a"e &e sound li"e a #o&$lete (o&&as boy! but after &eetin' Lyndsay &y &o& .ust s&iled at &e. Id
never seen that loo" fro& her after &eetin' any of &y other 'irlfriends. She li"ed her! and I li"ed that she
did. -hat ni'ht I told her I loved her for the first ti&e. +Lon' sole&n $ause,.
It s&ells so 'ood out here. I never noti#ed it &yself! but thats .ust another one of Lyndsays 6uir"s.
Alays havin' the ability to e7$erien#e the beauty in thin's that everyone .ust ta"es for 'ranted. One of
her favorite thin's to do is to #o&e out to this ben#h in this $ar" after its rained. It really is a re&ar"able
s&ell4 a &i7ture of rain and 'rass and floers. -hat as $artially Lyndsay too. She never ore $erfu&e
but alays ore this lotion that s&elled li"e lavender. She li"ed natural thin's! and su$$osedly lavender
rela7es you. It 'ives you a sense of $ea#e.
+He sees that they are loo"in' $ast hi& to a youn' o&an al"in' in his dire#tion.,
Oh! her/ No! thats not her. Its a#tually &y sister. She didnt ant &e to 'o throu'h this alone. Not the
$ro$osal! I &ean I #ould do that on &y on! but thats not hat I& here for. If you #au'ht that I used $ast
tense a #ou$le of ti&es. It asnt an a##ident. I still have trouble referrin' to her that ay. If your lost I&
sorry. I $ro$osed ri'ht here one &onth a'o today. 8ust li"e I i&a'ined it. I 'ot don on one "nee and told
her ho i&$ortant she as to &e and said 1%ill you &arry &e/2 She .ust s&iled at &e ith tears in her
eyes and said! 1Yes.2
Do you even "no hat its li"e to be truly ha$$y. You only ill if youve e7$erien#ed it! but its unli"e
anythin' you #ould ever i&a'ine. Every oun#e of your bein' feels it. I felt it for the first ti&e hen she
said yes. And it as then that I reali0ed ho s$e#ial she really as. She felt this ay all the ti&e be#ause
she lived in ha$$iness all the ti&e. In that &o&ent I as &ore a&a0ed by her than ever before. I envied
her be#ause I anted to feel that ay. Constant ha$$iness. And I "ne I #ould as lon' as I as ith her.
About a ee" a'o! I as at or" and I as in this &eetin' and I sa &y sister al" into the lobby. She
didnt loo" ell! and I thou'ht so&ethin' as ron' ith one of our $arents. I ran u$ to her and she said
she had to 'et &e to the hos$ital. Only! it asnt one of our $arents. Lyndsay as or"in' in their offi#es
donton and their as a shootin'. Evidently one of the older "ids that hun' out and $layed bas"etball
&ade the ron' $eo$le an'ry. Lyndsay as the only one hit.
I arrived at the hos$ital barely in enou'h ti&e. Her &other al"ed &e ba#" to her roo& and I sa her ith
all those tubes and ires and I lost it. I 'rabbed her hand and "issed her forehead. She as #ons#ious but
barely. She as tryin' to say so&ethin' to &e but she #ouldnt. I leaned don to hear her. She said!
1Lifes too short to feel sad for yourself.2
+$ause,
Her 'ri$ on &y hand ent li&$! and all these do#tors and nurses rushed into the roo&.
+$ause,
%ere on our ay to the funeral no! but I had to sto$ and #o&e here. I #ant thin" of her in a bo7 in the
'round. She ould be here. -hats stu$id! ri'ht/ I 'uess its true hat they say. Ha$$iness is fleetin'. It
doesnt last forever. I 'uess #o&in' out here as .ust ishful thin"in' on &y $art.
+He turns to leave. -he ne7t voi#e ha$$ens as he al"s off.,
LYNDSAYs 9OICE
Youre not very attra#tive hen you #ry.
+Danny sto$s. He turns havin' heard the voi#e. He s&ells lavender in the air.,
DANNY
+s&ilin', Do you s&ell that/ Lavender. +He lays floers ba#" on ben#h., O"ay! Lyndsay! I 'et the
$i#ture. +to audien#e, I 'uess 1they2 were ron'. Ha$$iness #an be everlastin'. I #an re&e&ber*I ill
re&e&ber the &o&ent she said yes. (y one &o&ent in ti&e of true ha$$iness. I #an relive it. Even after
everythin' thats ha$$ened. +s&ells the lavender, I #an still have $ea#e.
-HE END