Ms McKelly Gets A New Baby(FWE-olfactory)

 Letha had been sent to investigate a home before another foster child was placed in that family's care. Upon arriving at the address, she was greeted with the fragrance of roses growing beside the door. A little girl let her in to a seemingly chaotic room of goings-on.

  Letha picked the girl up in her arms and pressed her face against the back of the child's head. Her hair was still damp from a bath.

  "Where's your mommy?" Letha asked.

  Before the girl could answer, a dog came running into the room with two other children chasing it. An opened cologne bottle was in its mouth. "Mom!" the oldest yelled, as English Leather splashed across the carpet. An older woman came in from the other room, which was obviously the kitchen. Besides the flour smudge on her face, she wore the smells of yeast bread, meatloaf, and chocolate chip cookies.

  Letha put the little girl down and turned to the woman. "Hello! You must be Ms McKelly."

  The woman grabbed a peppermint from a candy dish before she answered. "Yes!" she said.

  Letha smiled. "I just came by to tell you I'll be bringing the baby tomorrow."

 ~~~

FWE prompt for 12/21/2012 is olfactory: Write about the sense of smell, good, bad or indifferent.  Try to create a setting where the reader supplies the senses of sight and hearing based on the aromas in your story or poem. Consider tools such as exaggeration, simile and, if you’re clever enough, even metaphor.