The inspiration is idea 21 on the following page:
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/short-story-ideas.html
Which is: Your character starts receiving flowers and anonymous gifts. She doesn't know who is sending them. Her husband is suspicious, and the gifts begin to get stranger...
A Mystery Giver
Marian opened the door of her small terrace house and saw
flowers, a large bunch of red and pink gerberas with sprigs of baby’s breath;
all pretty and bright. She accepted the
large bouquet from the delivery man and took it into the kitchen, all the time
staring at the flowers like they some weird alien artefact.
“I wonder who they are from?” she thought.
In thirty seven years of marriage, her husband Larry had
never once given her flowers and, to be honest, she had never expected them. Theirs was a comfortable marriage rather than
a grand romance. Marian considered her
husband: his grey comb over that he wrongly thought looked better that
baldness; the slight paunch he had developed from too much of her good cooking
and their enjoyment of a glass or two of red wine most nights; the clothes worn
for comfort rather than for style; the way he shrugged and went to get a cup of
tea when his beloved football team lost a game, which they often did. He just wasn’t the type to have an affair or
anything like that, she thought, and so had no need to give her flowers out of
guilt. Marian knew about that sort of
man, her brother was one. She thought of
the incorrigible stories he always told her during their weekly phone call.
“There must be a card.” Marian though and she dug her hand
into the bunch of flowers, soon finding it.
“A gift for a gift.” it said.
This puzzled Marian.
She looked at the delivery docket.
It was definitely addressed to her.
She shrugged to herself, put the flowers in a vase and got on with her
daily chores. Larry had always earned just
enough so that she could stay home with the children. It never occurred to either of them that she
might get a job once the children had grown up.
They were both content with the status quo.
As soon as he arrived home, Larry noticed the flowers. The bright colours stood out against the
beige and pine colours of the dining room where the flowers sat on a side
board.
“Nice flowers. Where
did you get them?” he asked.
Marian explained and showed him the card. He took the card, raising his eyebrows as he
read it and then shrugged, mirroring her earlier reaction. Nothing more was said the matter.
A week later, the doorbell rang. Marian opened the door to find a courier with
a large but not very thick square parcel.
She was not expecting a package and could not remember Larry mentioning
having mentioned ordering anything online recently. He normally told her things like that, they
weren’t a couple who kept secrets.
As it was definitely addressed to her, Marian took the
package into the kitchen, her domain, and opened it carefully. It was a box of very fancy chocolates. Marian knew the brand, in fact, they were a
favourite of hers and she normally bought a small box as a treat at
Christmas. Her hand shook a little as
she opened the card that was attached.
“Some sweets for a sweet.” Marian dropped the card.
“It must be from whoever sent the flowers.” she
decided.
Something about this thought unnerved her. She decided to have a chocolate, just one, or
may two to calm her nerves. It turned
out that it took three to do the job.
Fortunately, it was a large box, so there were still plenty for later.
Larry came home from work and soon noticed the purple
chocolate box.
“What’s the occasion?” he asked with a hint of irritation.
“He thinks he has forgotten our anniversary.” Marian thought
and smiled to herself at the idea he still cared about things like that. She showed him the card.
“You seem to have acquired a secret admirer.” He sounded
very surprised.
“I guess so.” She spoke softly.
“Any idea who?” Larry asked.
Marian shook her head.
“Maybe it’s someone you helped out when you were
volunteering at the church.” He decided.
Marian helped out two mornings a week at a community centre run by the
local church.
“Oh yes, that’s probably it.” Marian sighed with relief at a
mystery solved.
“Why don’t we go out for dinner tomorrow night? You can have a break from cooking.” Larry
suggested this rare treat with a smile.
Marian consented, even though she actually loved cooking, a
little excited by this unexpected attention.
The following week, a box of fruit turned up.
“Some goodness for goodness.” said the card.
A week after that, it was a hamper from Fortnum and Masons.
“Something royal for a queen.”
That week, while Marian was out shopping at her local
supermarket, in a town a commuter train ride away from London, when she ran
into one of her neighbours.
“Who is showering you with gifts? Is Larry trying to make up for
something? It must have been bad,
although he’s not the type to stray.” The nosy neighbour said.
“Oh no, they are not from him.” Marian spoke in her soft
voice. Then she explained about the mysterious cards.
“How sweet! How odd!” The neighbour responded with a
speculative look. Although the story seemed unlikely, it was equally unlikely
that Marion would be having an affair or anything like that, she looked like a faded
but content middle aged woman, dressed in a house dress and cardigan that
didn’t quite match and not a touch of makeup to be seen.
Marian was saddened that her friend didn’t seem to believe
her story and was instead speculating about her and Larry.
Another week passed, bringing another gift. This time it was a cornflower blue silk
shirt. Marian held it up and
smiled. It was her favourite colour.
“Something blue when you have the blues.” The card said.
“I don’t have the blues.” she thought, but then she
remembered the incident with her friend.
The top fitted perfectly and Marian was still wearing it
when Larry got home.
“Is that from your secret admirer?” there was a touch of
anger in his voice.
“Yes! Isn’t it beautiful.” She smiled at him and showed him
the card.
“This is getting ridiculous.
It’s got to stop. You can’t keep
getting gifts like this.” Larry surprised them both with his raised voice.
“Well, I don’t know how I can stop it. I don’t know who they’re from. She spoke sharply before trailing off; she
hadn’t spoken like that since the children had left home. The pair glared at each other for a moment.
“I am going to check with the couriers, see if I can find
out who is sending this stuff.”
He gave her a quick hug and then went off and switched on
his computer. Larry could be persistent
when he set his mind to something, but in spite of numerous Internet searches
and phone calls, he got nowhere. For the
next few days, he wondered about the house muttering angrily about data
protection.
The next gift was gold cross pendant with what looked like a
sapphire set into its centre, her birthstone.
“A cross when you are cross.”
Marian dropped the card and squealed for perhaps the first
time in her life. How could the giver
know what her week had been like? For
the first time, she hid one of the gifts.
“What did you get today?” Larry looked around expectantly as
soon as he got home from work. “Did you
keep any paper work?”
“Um, I don’t know if I should show you.” Marian dithered.
“Just show me, dear.” Larry gently urged.
Somewhat reluctantly, Marian fetched the small box and cord
to show him. He looked at the card intently
and then looked at her. Larry put the
card down and left the room without a work.
Marian hadn’t seen so much emotion from him in years.
Later, over dinner, once he had calmed down, Larry surprised
Marian with an interrogation.
“Are you sure you don’t know who they’re from?”
“No, I have no idea.
It can’t be anyone at the church, though, they don’t have the
money.” She wondered why this hadn’t
occurred to her before.
“Dearest, no one spends this kind of money for fun. You don’t have a toy boy do you?” He gave a
brittle laugh.
“No, of course not, don’t be silly.” She giggled at the sound
of the words toy boy on her husband’s lips.
Was he jealous?
“Look, it is someone who knows you… us… it must be someone
who you talk to or something. They know
what is happening here. Have we had any
workman in lately? Maybe they have installed a web cam.”
Larry spent the rest of the evening up and down the kitchen
steps checking every nook and cranny in the house.
“Nothing! But this place could do with a lick of paint. What do you think? Maybe we could go for a bit more colour.” was
the result of Larry’s search.
During the week, Marian decided that it was too long since
she had had her hair done, so she visited the hairdressers. There she met her nosy neighbour.
“Still got your secret admirer, then?”
“Yes, it is most puzzling and has Larry in a tiz.”
Their extensive speculation failed to arrive at a
satisfactory answer, even though it extended beyond the appointment to an unexpected
cup of coffee.
This week’s gift came in a long tube. Marian gasped when she opened it. It was a beautiful wood and brass telescope.
“To see into hidden corners.” said the card.
Marian looked around the room, as if expecting to see the
camera her husband had searched for. She
left the parcel and card on the table.
Larry came in, took one look at the table and stormed
out. Marian noticed that he was wearing
a new shirt. He didn’t normally wear
pin-stripes. A little while later, when
he had calmed down, Larry came in and picked up the telescope.
“This looks like an antique, one of a kind. I’ll have him this time, he has made a
mistake.”
“How do you know it’s a “him”?” Marian asked.
“It must be. Why
would a woman give you these things?
“Why would a man?”
Larry paused and gave her a penetrating gaze, opened his
mouth as if to speak but then thought better of it and walked out of the room.
The following week, Marian’s incorrigible brother came
around for dinner. He turned up before
Larry got home from work, so the siblings had time for a chat.
“How are you doing Marian?
Last time I was here, you and Larry were both looking a bit tired and
flat.” He was all compassion.
“Oh, I must show you some of the gifts I’ve told you about.”
Marian and her brother discussed the mystery. She had just brought the telescope out when
Larry arrived home from work. He was
wearing his new shirt again and looked almost handsome. With a smile, she glanced down at the blue
silk she was wearing.
“Marian has just been showing me the gifts from her secret
admirer. It sounds like you’ve had a bit
of excitement here recently.”
“A bit too much excitement, really.” said Larry with a wry grin.
“Oh, I don’t know. As
I said to Marian, last time I was here I thought the pair of you needed a bit
of something to spice up your lives.”
Marian looked up at Larry and they exchanged enlightened
glances. The mystery was solved.
