Perfect Day

worth the extortionate price.” ’
    He puts on a high and haughty voice for his mother, like some old actress playing an English lady in a black and white film. Did she really sound so overbearing? He realizes with slight shock that he can no longer exactly remember.
    Kate’s wondering whether he’s joking.
    ‘What a shame,’ she says, neutrally.
    She picks a lipstick from a rack display on a counter that’s all white and pale green glass like a dispensary, and tests it on the skin between the thumb and forefinger of her left hand where women always test lipstick.
    A little piece of her jigsaw falls into place.
    ‘Is this where you do your nails?’ Alexander asks.
    Kate nods.
    ‘Marie’s bolder than me,’ she whispers, ‘she just stands there and does all of hers. She’s got this look, you know, like she’s daring someone to tell her to piss off. I just do one at every counter.’
    She turns her nails towards her and looks at the rainbow of shades. There’s something so forlorn about her little unsophisticated hands that he finds himself saying, ‘I like them like that.’
    ‘Do you?’ She brightens immediately. ‘Let’s have a squirt of some scent, shall we? There’s one that’s the same for men as for women...?’
    She looks for his reaction.
    ‘Bloody stupid idea, that,’ she says, registering his frown.
    She sprays one of her wrists with Lancôme’s Miracle, which is on special promotion, then sniffs.
    ‘A bit too sweet for me,’ she decides.
    He picks up a flask of Chanel No. 5, catches her other wrist in his hands, and sprays cologne on the place where the skin is so tender the veins show through. Her hand trembles on his palm.
    ‘ Mmm ,’ she pronounces, ‘classic.’

    * * *

    As they walk further into the store, sharper citrus and sandalwood notes begin to overwhelm the floral scents that greeted them as they entered.
    A heavily made-up woman wearing a uniform halfway between that of a nurse and an air hostess is standing beside a concession decorated in dark green and tan leather. Alexander allows her to spray the back of his hand.
    ‘That’s nice, that,’ says Kate.
    ‘I can smell saddle soap, freshly mown hay and just a hint of gooseberry,’ Alexander says, deadpan.
    It takes Kate at least three seconds to realize that he’s joking.
    ‘Come on,’ she says, taking his hand and pulling him towards an escalator. ‘Time for your surprise.’

    The store has had a major makeover since he was last inside it. Unsupported escalators rise elegantly from floor to floor.
    Looking over the moving rail, he can see all the way down to the basement.
    ‘I can’t look over,’ Kate informs him, staring straight ahead. ‘It makes me think I’m going to fall down there. On the fourth floor, there’s a lift that takes you up to heaven. That’s what Marie calls it. The Beauty Place ,’ she adds, when he doesn’t laugh.
    ‘Right,’ he says, uncertainly.
    ‘But we’re not going there... obviously,’ she says.
    As they jump off the escalator on the fourth floor, she grabs his hand. ‘Now, close your eyes!’ she orders.
    There’s no-one about. He goes along with the game, allowing her to pull him along.
    ‘There’s some amazing things here,’ she tells him. ‘They’ve got these huge blocks of soap. They cut you a bit off like a tray of fudge. In fact, it looks more like you should eat it than wash with it. Brown. Hey, you’ll never guess. One of them’s called marmalade. Marmalade soap! I know who’d like that! Paddington Bear!’
    He smells lavender and oranges in the air.
    ‘Didn’t Paddington Bear come to Selfridges?’ he asks.
    ‘ Barkridge’s ,’ Kate corrects. ‘They tried to take away his hat.’
    ‘That’s right.’ Alexander smiles. He loved the stories about Paddington and so did his mother, even though she disapproved of talking animals.
    ‘Here we are,’ says Kate. ‘Now, take one big step.’
    There’s a smell that’s like an echo from the past, part incense, part untreated wool. The texture of the floor beneath his feet is different.
    ‘Sit down!’
    Alexander gropes around for a chair. Then Kate drops to the floor, yanking him down beside her.
    ‘Now you can open your eyes!’
    They are in a room full of Persian carpets. There are carpets spread out on the floor, carpets on the walls, piles of rolled carpets, and carpets hung up like giant newspapers on rods. Rich reds, blues, pinks and golds dance around them. They are sitting on a