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My Grandfather's Cologne
My Grandfather’s Cologne
“How much cologne did you spray on yourself? I got the scent of cologne from the room across the hall.” A question to which I simply replied: “A lot!” My uncle then went on to tell me how much of a “Santos” I really was. “Santos” is my grandfather’s, my mother’s father, last name. My grandfather is a man who is always neatly combed and is always dressed up for every occasion, no matter how casual the circumstance be. Although my grandfather knows how to tidy up on a daily basis, his “secret weapon,” as he calls it, is ultimately his cologne. My grandfather to this very day keeps telling me that the key to a woman’s heart is always and will always be cologne. My grandfather taught me how to use cologne and all the certain characteristics about cologne, never too much, but not a small amount, either. For as long as I can remember, my grandfather always, but I mean always, has cologne on. Everyday of the week he has a different type of cologne and they all have their unique smell that allure people just like how the sirens allure sailors in myth. I remember that as a child the most exciting part of my vacation would always be walking into my grandfather’s closet. As soon as I go into his closet I get the same smell you get at one of the retail stores’ section where you sample cologne. It is a smell that I love and it keeps getting better. I finally come to the part of the closet, which is solely my grandfather’s, and there, sitting at the top of his shelf are about 150 different types of colognes. The first time I saw this as a young child, I was in a trans because of all the different colored bottles, the shapes, and especially by the different fragrance of every single cologne. My grandfather would occasionally catch me praising his masterful collection of colognes that he would even let me choose one for me especially. He has also taught me everything there is to know about cologne because one day I actually put on about ten different types of cologne, which led to smell awful. Nowadays I actually live with my grandparents and every day my grandmother says “You smell better than you did yesterday.” I also sometimes hear my grandmother tell my grandfather in a sarcastic way that he has wasted more money on cologne that what he has on her, which I think is honestly true.
