The Mysterious Package

The Author would like to thank 'Larry in Seattle' for proofreading this story.

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The package was sitting on the porch, in front of the door of the little house on Fifth Street. It was the type of package that any major delivery service might have left. It was sealed and addressed to Jacob Carlotti, who just happened to live there. The odd thing was that beside the address label, there were no other markings or tags on the package. No return address, no stamps from the shipping company, and no 'fragile' stickers. Not even a 'Do Not Open Until Christmas' tag, which would have been even odder because it was the middle of June. The package was bulky but not particularly heavy. Jacob Carlotti discovered the package when he returned home from work.

Jacob Carlotti was fifty-two years old. He was average in every possible way. He was reasonably healthy. He ate sensibly and avoided excess. Jacob Carlotti lived alone, except for two Persian cats that were never allowed outside. He kept the little house tidy and neat. He often sat on the porch in the evenings, occasionally chatting with neighbors as they passed by. Jacob Carlotti was organized and precise. Traits he acquired early in life at school and at work. Jacob Carlotti was an efficiency specialist and an accountant, which made the package he found on his front porch even more puzzling. He hadn't ordered anything in several months.

Jacob Carlotti took off his glasses and bent over the package, checking the address. The address was correct right down to the last digit in the zip code. Putting his glasses back on, Jacob Carlotti opened his front door and brought the package inside. He placed it near the sofa in the tidy little living room of the little house on Fifth Street. But Jacob Carlotti was a man of timetables and schedules. The package would have to wait. There were two Persian cats to feed, mail to be sorted, and dinner to prepare. Yes, the package would have to wait.

At precisely six o'clock Jacob Carlotti returned to his living room, turned on the television and sat down to watch the evening news. He had the foresight to bring a pair of scissors with him and he methodically started to open the package while the news of the day rolled on. The package was securely wrapped and it took many minutes to get the top open. The first thing Jacob Carlotti saw inside the package was a type written packing list. He took off his glasses to read the small print. To say he was astonished and surprised would have been an understatement. The packing list itemized several items. It read:

Two pair of knee length, white nylon stocking with bows

One pair of black, low heel leather slippers

One pair of nylon and silk panties with ruffles and lace trim

One silk and satin bra with ruffles

One silk and satin bra with lace trim and sheer cups

One, multi layered petticoat with ruffles and lace trim

One maid's dress with sheer puffy sleeves and rear zipper

And one pair of silicone breast forms in a hard plastic case.

All of the items in the box were colored in various shades of pink, with the exception of the stockings, which had dark pink bows. And all the items were packaged separately in clear cellophane bags. Jacob Carlotti carefully compared each item to the packing list and assured himself that the order was correct; except of course that he never ordered the items. Jacob Carlotti repacked the box. He didn't know quite what to do next, which was unusual in his very orderly life. There was no way to return the package. He took a few moments to call the company that issued his only credit card and was relieved to hear that no transactions were listed and his balance was zero, as it should have been. He decided to leave the question of the mysterious package for another time. He pushed the box into a corner and continued his with his evening routine.

The next day at work Jacob Carlotti found he was thinking about the package, instead of the rows and rows of numbers on the computer screen in front of him, which was an odd departure from his normal business activities. Who had sent that package? And why? Jacob Carlotti was confused, which displeased him. But still, he kept thinking about the package. That evening after dinner, he watched the evening news, played with his two Persian cats, and glanced, more that a few times at the package in the corner. All that week, Jacob Carlotti found his thoughts returning to the package. He received no phone calls, no inquires of any kind about the package or its contents. Friday evening, after diner, while he watched the news on television, Jacob Carlotti emptied the box once more. He carefully examined each item and the inside of the box looking for anything he might have missed the first time. He found nothing.

And Jacob Carlotti thought. Why did someone send these things? Why the mystery? He had never been interested in the kind of things the box contained and he didn't know anyone who was. He did not sleep well that night. In the morning, he gathered the newspaper from the front porch, made a pot of coffee and sat down in the kitchen spreading the paper on the table. And he made a decision. Logic, he reasoned, said that if someone went through the trouble and expense of sending these things to him, the same logic held that he should try the items on. No one would ever know. No one could see him. And if the items did not fit, he would simply dispose of them. The problem with that notion, unknown to Jacob Carlotti on that Saturday morning, was that the items would fit, almost as if someone had taken his measurements.

Jacob Carlotti folded his newspaper and placed his coffee cup in the sink. He bent down and scratched the two Persian cats rubbing around his ankles, picked up the box from the living room and went into his bedroom. He unpacked the items and laid them all out on his bed. He took off his robe and pajamas and sat for a moment, deciding how to begin.

The stockings were first. He carefully pulled on first one and then the other, making sure that the bows were facing front. Then the panties. At first they seemed too big with all the ruffles and lace. But they fit perfectly when he pulled them into place. He selected the bra that more closely matched the panties and slipped it on. It fit without much adjustment. Next the petticoat. He stepped into it and as he settled it on his hips, the material, having been packed tightly, flared out. Then the dress. He pulled it on over his head and managed to get the back zipper pulled up. He put his feet into the slippers and stood up. Jacob Carlotti looked at himself in the dresser mirror and felt silly. He looked ridiculous. Yes, Jacob Carlotti looked ridiculous, but somehow he didn't feel ridiculous. As he turned in front of the mirror, he remembered the breast forms. He carefully removed them from their case. He unzipped the dress enough to give himself room, and with hands that for some reason were starting to tremble, he slipped them into the bra against his skin. After re-zipping the dress, he once more looked into the dresser mirror. Jacob Carlotti though that he still looked ridiculous, but he watched himself lift his hands and hold the bra, now filled out with the breast forms. For a second - a long second - he thought he felt real breasts. Jacob Carlotti sat down on his bed, his knees suddenly shaking. In a few minutes, he was himself again. He took off everything and carefully re-bagged the items and put them all back in the box. He placed the box in his closet and covered it with a spare blanket. Jacob Carlotti got dressed and left the little house on Fifth Street to run his weekend errands.

On Monday evening, when Jacob Carlotti returned home from work, there was a large manila envelope in his mailbox. Like the package a week earlier, the envelope had no return address. Once in the house, he opened it. The envelope contained a single sheet of unfolded paper. It read:

Dear Mr Carlotti. Thank you for participating in our program. We hope the items that we sent were satisfactory. You may keep them, free of charge or return them to the address below. If you do not return the items, we will place you on our list to receive other inducements, always at no cost to you. From time to time we may send a simple survey, which we hope you will complete and return to us.

The paper ended with the name and address of a company in another state.

What program Jacob Carlotti wondered? What other inducements? And more to the point, Why me?

It was several weeks before Jacob Carlotti discovered another package on the front porch of the little house on Fifth Street where he lived. It was a smaller package, just a large padded envelope. Like the first package, it was addressed properly, and had no other markings. Jacob Carlotti brought it in the house with his other mail. He washed his hands, fed his two Persian cats, and started a pot of coffee. While he waited for the coffee, Jacob Carlotti opened and sorted his mail. He left the large padded envelope for last. When he opened it, he found a sealed cellophane package, a short letter, and a survey form. The letter read:

Dear Mr Carlotti. Thank you for participating. We hope you will be kind enough to complete the enclosed questionnaire. The items are yours at no cost should you decide to keep them. If you return them to the address below, we will remove your name from our client list. On behalf of our company, we earnestly hope you will continue to be satisfied with our program and accept future inducements.

The questionnaire read:

Was the enclosed item comfortable to wear while you were at work? Yes___No___

Did the enclosed item provide sufficient support? Yes___No___

Did the enclosed item loose its shape? Yes___No___

Did the enclosed item unravel or snag while wearing it? Yes___No___

Did the enclosed item cause you to become aroused at any time? Yes___No___

The bottom few lines were marked for comments. When Jacob Carlotti opened the cellophane package, he found three pair of pantyhose. One pair labeled 'nude', one pair labeled 'taupe' and one pair labeled 'black'. It was obvious to Jacob Carlotti that he was expected to wear the items under his regular business suit. He certainly would not embarrass himself by doing that. He put the letter, the survey and the package of pantyhose back in the envelope to be sent to the return address first thing in the morning. Jacob Carlotti prepared his dinner, and at six o'clock, he turned on the television to watch the evening news, his two Persian cats playing at his feet.

In the morning, Jacob Carlotti shaved and showered like any other morning. His two Persian cats were playing with something in the hallway just beyond the bathroom door. When Jacob Carlotti opened the door, still carrying his towel, he saw that his cats had been playing with the large padded envelope that they had dragged from the kitchen table where he had left it. The envelope was shredded, but the cellophane packages and the two sheets of paper were unmarked. Jacob Carlotti did not believe in coincidences but it seemed that even his two Persian cats wanted him to do something. He brought the tattered envelope into his bedroom and selected the 'nude' pair of pantyhose. He carefully but awkwardly managed to get the pantyhose on, all the time wondering if they would be too big or too small. They fit perfectly. And as he looked down at his legs, he thought that in the future he might have to shave his legs. Jacob Carlotti sat down on the bed, his mouth open. Why did he have that notion? For the second time since these packages had arrived, Jacob Carlotti was confused. He finished getting dressed, and remembering his two Persian cats, he placed the remains of the envelope in one of his dresser drawers.

When Jacob Carlotti returned home that evening, after starting his dinner and feeding his two Persian cats, he retrieved the questionnaire from his dresser and read it again. He tried to put his feelings aside and answered the questions accurately, which proved to be a challenge for Jacob Carlotti. He was mildly frightened all day about wearing the pantyhose. But the pantyhose did feel nice on his legs. The material, he thought, caused his legs to be less tired than usual. The pantyhose did not loose their shape or unravel. The hardest question was the last. He did not want to admit to some anonymous stranger that several times during the day, he was forced to sit down to avoid being embarrassed by an unsightly bulge in his trousers. However, he dutifully completed the form, put it in an envelope and addressed and stamped it properly. After dinner, Jacob Carlotti stepped out of character. Before the evening news came on, he picked up the questionnaire envelope and walked the two blocks to the mailbox. With a sigh that only he could hear, he dropped the envelope into the mail slot.

To Be Continued