The Fruitcake Special- Frank Brennan ( Synopsis )

The story revolves around the chain of events starting from the point when Anna decided to throw in a piece fruitcake that her mother had packed for her lunch into her perfume mixture at work. The said perfume made from the unusual ingredients proved to be overpowering. Her boss, Mr Amos suddenly took notice of her and invited her out for dinner. At the restaurant, Anna poured the special fruitcake perfume on herself after sensing that her boss was disinterested in her. Unexpectedly, the smell of the special fruitcake perfume made men infatuated with her and this lead to a bawl between the waiter and Mr Amos at restaurant.

Upon realising that her special fruitcake perfume was the cause of the entire incident, she decided to figure out "what actually went into" ( page 53 ) making the fruitcake so that she would be able to replicate the effects of the fruitcake in the perfumes which she intended to produce in the future. Her plan to make her "fortune from the old woman's secret" ( page 53 ) did not materialise because she felt that "perhaps it was only right that the secret should lie buried with her" ( page 53 ) and also in her fury she poured the remaining amount of the special fruitcake perfume on Sabina, Mr. Amos's girlfriend. It is hinted that Sabina "would now enjoy all the extra attention she would get from strange men" ( page 57 ) and that Mr. Amos would not "enjoy the competition." ( page 57 ) The story comes full circle when Anna's path crossed with Armstrong again who declared that "he'd fallen in love with me (Anna) when first delivered pizza to us." ( page 58 ) It ends with Anna taking notice of Armstrong who now has his own pizza company.