The 12 Insane Days of Christmas

Authors note: This is my submission for the WINTER HOLIDAYS STORY CONTEST 2023

Now I know that the original 12 days of Christmas did not start with 12 and go to 1. I did it this way for a reason.

Everyone in this story is over the age of 18. There is only 1 very brief 2 second description of a sex act that gets nowhere in the story.

This story is focused on Mystery and Mental Disorders.

Thanks to Naughty Paladin for his readthrough and suggestions to help make the story better and fill in some plot holes. I did most of the Grammar and punctuation check myself with various editing tools so if there are mistakes they are my fault entirely. It's quite difficult to get editors to actually answer emails half the time so I don't bother trying.

12th Day of Christmas

Even though Christmas was approaching rapidly, I still didn't know what to give my husband. He was a hard man to shop for. He was not really into sports; he doesn't wear ties, and he is not that big of a drinker. Having trouble figuring out what to get him last year, I ended up just giving him a gift certificate to our local mall and letting him get whatever he wanted. The one thing I remember him talking about over the summer was smoking meat. It was something that he had always wanted to try. So I decided I would buy him a smoker that he could use on our back deck and do all the smoking that he wanted to. With that settled, I made my way back home to hide the smoker in the basement before he got home.

I was just getting started on making supper when the doorbell rang. I quickly washed off my hands and went to see who it was. When I opened the door, a man stood there holding a long white box. "Hi there, I have a delivery for Sara Brower."

"Yes, that's me," I told him.

"Sign here please," as he handed me the clipboard.

I signed where he wanted me to and he handed me the box. "Here ya go, have a very Merry Christmas."

"Thanks, you too."

I carried the box into the kitchen and put it on the table, wondering what it could be. Pulling the top off and inside were a dozen of the most beautiful red roses I had ever seen. I picked up the card and all it said was On the 12th day I want to have you in my arms! I couldn't help but smile. My husband could be so sweet sometimes. I found a vase to put them in and set it in the middle of the table, then I finished getting the supper ready.

Not long after, my daughter Amy came home. She is 18 and just about ready to graduate from high school and getting ready to go to college soon. "Hey, mom! Woah, what's with the flowers?"

"Your Dad had them delivered. Aren't they gorgeous?" I asked her.

"Yeah, they are. I'm kinda jealous," she giggled." I have some homework to get done. Call me when supper is ready."

Half an hour later, Jim walked in the door. He came to the kitchen and kissed me. "Hello, Darling." He looked at the flowers on the table with a funny look, then looked at me. "What's with the flowers?"

"As if you didn't know," I laughed.

He had a confused look on his face. "Umm no I don't. Where did they come from?" He asked.

"You mean you didn't send them?"

"No, I haven't sent you anything," he told me.

I showed him the card. He looked at it with a shocked expression. "What the hell is this? Are you trying to tell me something, Sara?"

"What? What would I be trying to tell you? I thought you were the one that sent them to me. If it wasn't you, then who did?" I asked.

"That's what I Sure as hell would like to know." He said. His face became flush with anger.

"Darling, I'm at a complete loss. Someone didn't sign the card. I just assumed it was from you."

Just then, Amy came back downstairs. "Hey, what's going on down here?"

"Your father was not the one that sent me the flowers." I pulled the flowers out of the vase and tossed them into the garbage. I didn't want to see them, not knowing where they came from. It would seem that someone was trying to cause trouble for my marriage.

"Well, that's just weird," said Amy. "Umm Mom, Dad, is it ok if Maddison comes over for supper and stays the night with me?"

"Of course, Sweetheart. You know she is always welcome here," I told her.

Maddison, or Maddy, as she liked to be called, is Amy's best friend. They like to say they are twins as they are the same age and share the same birthday. She is a beautiful girl. She has long blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a figure that any female would kill for at any age. I confess I felt a little envious of her physique. She only lived a couple of blocks away from us, so she was here within a couple of minutes, ringing the bell.

I opened the door to let her in. "Hi Maddy, it's good to see you."

"Hey, Mrs. Brower. Good to see you too," she said as we made our way to the kitchen.

Amy hugged her friend, "Hey Mads, did you bring your notebook with you?"

"Hey Amy, yes I did. Hey Mr. Brower, you're looking as handsome as ever," said Maddy.

"Ewww stop flirting with my Dad ya perv."

Jim just laughed. "Hush child. It's a good boost to a man's ego when a young, beautiful girl compliments him." He winked at Maddy. The poor girl blushed profusely. She was always flirting with him and always got red as a tomato when he gave it back. It was cute to watch. I never got jealous. There was no need to. I knew he would never cheat on me. Especially with someone the same age as his daughter.

Maddy saw the flowers in the garbage can. She had a frown on her face. "Aww, what beautiful flowers. How come they are in the garbage? Did Mr. Brower forget an anniversary again?" She asked with a giggle.

"That's a bit of a sore subject. Come on, let's go study until supper is ready," said Amy as she grabbed Maddy by the hand, pulling her up the stairs toward her room.

Jim just turned and walked toward the den, grumbling something. I went back to finishing the supper and cleaning up the kitchen. Those flowers were bugging me. If not for my husband, I wouldn't know where they originated. The worst part was that he seemed to think I was lying to him about it. I had never given him a reason to think that I would ever cheat. If I had known at the time that it wasn't my husband, I would have paid attention to the delivery service and tried to find out where they came from and who had sent them. Not like I could do much about it now.

We all sat down to eat supper and had a light conversation, just talking about our day and what their plans were for the rest of the week. After cleaning up, the girls went back up to Amy's room, and I sat in the den with Jim. I slid over next to him on the couch and said, "Sweetheart, you know I love you, right?"

He looked at me for a moment and gave a half smile. "Yeah, I know you do, and I love you too."

"And you know I would never cheat on you. I have never given you any reason to doubt me or think that I would ever step out on you," I told him.

"I know Darling, those flowers and that card just put me on edge a bit and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

"It's ok Honey. It's probably someone's idea of a sick joke. Just trying to have a laugh," I told him.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Come on darling, let's go to bed. I had a long day and I'm exhausted."

"You go ahead dear, I'll make sure I locked everything up down here," I told him.

He kissed me and then went upstairs. I made sure to check all the doors, lock them, and set the alarm before heading up to bed. I stopped by Amy's room and poked my head inside. "Goodnight girls. Don't be up too late. You still have school in the morning."

"I know Mom, we won't. Goodnight," said Amy.

"Goodnight Mrs. Brower," said Maddy.

I went to my room and saw that Jim had already fallen asleep. He must have been incredibly worn out. I went into our master bath and did my nightly routine, and then climbed into bed and cuddled up to my husband.

The 11th Day of Christmas

I woke up at 7 a.m. with enough time to shower and have some coffee before I had to go to work. Jim had already been up and gone to work before I had even gotten out of bed. I took a quick shower and decided that I would wear my high waist split skirt today. It was black and went just below my thighs. The skirt buttoned down the side about halfway and split the rest of the way, showing off just enough leg to be sexy yet classy. I paired it with my blue sleeveless V-neck blouse and 5" heels to match the outfit.

I was walking past Amy's door when I heard a whistle and Maddy yelling out, "Looking hot today, Mrs. Brower."

I laughed and said, "Why thank you, Maddy."

I heard Amy as I was walking away, "It's bad enough you flirt with my dad, but now my mom too? You are such a perv."

I couldn't help but laugh as I made my way downstairs. Jim had made coffee before he left, so I could grab some before I headed out the door to work.

When I got to work, as usual, John was there just waiting for me to step off the elevator. "Good morning Sara. You look amazing this morning."

"Good morning, John. Thank you," I said as I continued walking towards my office.

"Say Sara, why don't we get some lunch today? My treat," he asked me.

"Sorry John, I can't. I have a lot of work to do."

"Oh, OK then. Perhaps another time," he said.

"We'll see," I told him as I went into my office to start working. He was a nice enough guy but he couldn't get the hint that I was not interested in him, or the fact that I have told him numerous times that I am married.

I was sitting at my desk doing some work when Carol, my secretary, knocked on my door. "Sara, you have a package that was just delivered."

"OK, you can bring it in here. Thanks, Carol."

She set the box on my desk, and I ignored it for now. As I was at work, I was used to getting packages in one form or another, so I figured it could wait a few minutes. I wrapped up what I was doing and then grabbed the box to open it. It was not what I thought it might be. Inside were 11 scented bath bombs of varying colors. 'That's weird' I thought. I wondered who would send me something like this. There was another note taped to the top of the box. I pulled it off and looked at it. It said:On the 11th Day I need to see your body.

"What the fuck!" I swore out loud. I couldn't understand what was happening. Another mysterious package.

I went out to my secretary and asked her, "Carol, did you see who delivered that package? What company was it?"

"No, sorry Sara. It was sitting at my desk when I came back from my break."

"Shit, OK thanks," I told her.

I went back into my office, picked up my phone, and called my husband. I started getting a little worried.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hello, Darling. What do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"Jim, I got another one," I said. I know I sounded panicked.

"Slow down, love. Another what?"

"Another mysterious package. There were 11 bath bombs in it, with a note that said I long to see your body. Jim, please tell me you are just messing with me. Tell me this is all some kind of practical joke."

"I'm sorry, my love, but this isn't me. Someone is obviously out to mess with you. I doubt it is anything too harmful. Just throw it out, I am going to see about getting some cameras for surveillance around the house. Maybe we can find out who is doing this," he told me.

"Of course, dear. You're probably right. That's a good idea, I'll feel safer knowing we have some extra security. I'll see you when you get home."

I tossed the box into the trash, forgot about it, and went about doing my work for the rest of the day. 4 O'clock came, and it was time to go home. As I pulled into the garage, I saw Amy and Maddy just entering the front door from school.

"Hey, girls! Are you going to stay for supper, Maddy?" I asked.

"Hi, Mrs. Brower. If it's ok I would like to," she said.

"Maddy, you know you are always welcome here. No need to ask, just come over anytime."

"Thanks, Mrs. B," she said.

"We'll be upstairs finishing our homework, Mom," said Amy as they ascended the stairs.

Maddy was a good kid. Her mom passed away 5 years ago from cancer. We made sure to involve Maddy in everything and treated her like part of the family because her dad worked hard to cover the bills. She was almost like another daughter to us.

I wasn't feeling much like cooking tonight, so I called Jim and asked him to pick up a couple of pizzas on his way home from work. We all sat around the table and played a couple of games of Uno and ate pizza. The game was fun, especially since we made our own rules and forgot about the dumb ones they put on the box. It was a fun night. As I cleaned up the mess from the game and pizza Jim worked on installing the cameras with the help of Amy and Maddy and made sure we locked everything up and then we went upstairs to bed.

I had been asleep for maybe 2 hours when I woke up and had to use the bathroom. I was also quite thirsty, so I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink. As I walked past the table, I noticed two boxes sitting on the table that were not there before we went to bed. That was strange, I thought to myself. I went to look and there was a note lying on top of them. The note read It's very rude to throw out a gift! I opened the boxes and there were the roses and bath bombs that I had thrown out the other day. I let out a scream before I even realized what I was doing. I had pressed myself against the far wall of the kitchen; the note clutched in my hand. He had done it again, I know I couldn't prove it was him, but it had to be him. Who else would be sick enough to do this? The girls and Jim came running down the stairs in a panic and saw me standing there, staring at the table.

Jim ran to me and held me in his arms. "Darling, what happened?"

I just pointed at the table and showed him the note. Amy went to the table and looked into the boxes. "It's flowers and some bath bombs. Certainly not anything to be terrified about Mom."

Jim read the note and was looking worried. "How did they get here? You threw them away, didn't you?"

"Yes! You saw the flowers in the garbage right here. The other was in the trash in my office."

"Mom, Dad? What's going on?" Asked Amy.

"It's nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Why don't you and Maddy go back to bed? I'm sorry I scared you over nothing."

"OK. Mom," she said.

Jim waited until the girls were upstairs. "Perhaps in the morning we should call the police and have someone come out and talk to them about this. Meanwhile, I'll check the security footage and see what happened."

"Yes, I'll call into work tomorrow and call them. I just want this to end," I said.

Jim went to the computer in the den to pull up the computer that had the video feed. For some reason the feed wasn't working, none of the cameras were showing what they were supposed to be showing. "I don't understand, they were working when I installed them," he said. "I'll have to see if I can fix them in the morning.

We both went back upstairs and went to bed. I had a hard time falling asleep. I kept tossing and turning. Eventually, I managed to get some sleep.

The 10th Day of Christmas

I woke up just as Jim was getting ready for work. I was having horrible dreams and found it hard to sleep very well. Jim saw me sitting up, "Good morning Honey, You're up early this morning."

"Yeah, I had a bad dream. Couldn't get back to sleep," I told him.

"I'm sorry Dear. Why don't you take a shower and I'll go make some coffee?"

"That sounds good to me," I told him.

I jumped into the shower. The hot water felt good pouring over my body. It helped to wash away some of the stress. I stood under the water for about 10 minutes before getting out and throwing on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. I went downstairs to grab a cup of coffee. Jim had a cup waiting for me on the counter.

"Thank you, darling," I said as I took my first sip.

He smiled at me, "Try to get some rest today, love. And be sure to call the police."

"I will right after you leave."

I kissed Jim and watched him walk to his car. Leaving the boxes on the table alone. I didn't want to contaminate anything. I made the call to the station, and they told me they would send someone out as soon as they could.

It was an hour later, as I was sitting in the living room sipping another cup of coffee and reading a book when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and two detectives were standing there. "Mrs. Sara Brower?" The older detective asked.

"Yes, that's me. Please come in."

They came inside and I brought them into the kitchen. "I'm Detective Johnson. This is my partner, Detective Harris. Why don't you tell us what's going on?"

I pointed out the boxes on the table. "I received those two gifts over the last two days. With these notes," I showed him the notes that had come with them. "At first, I thought the flowers were from my husband, but he said he didn't know where they came from. So I threw them out in our trash. I got the bath bombs at work. My secretary said they were at her desk when she came back from her break. I called my husband and told him about it. He told me it was probably someone trying to mess with me. So I tossed it in the trash at work. I came down in the middle of the night last night to get a drink and they were both sitting there at the table with this note on it." I handed him the other note.

"Who else was in the house last night?" Asked Detective Harris.

"It was me, my husband, my daughter Amy, and her best friend Maddy."

"Did you make sure the doors were all locked?" Asked Detective Johnson.

"Yes, my husband or I always check the doors before bed and we set the alarm. He also installed a camera system but for some reason, it stopped working."

"Ok. We'll take these down to the lab and have them checked out for fingerprints and anything else they can find out. As for the cameras, there's not much we can do if there is no footage. Sometimes these systems just malfunction. I'll be in touch," said Detective Johnson.

"Thank you, Detectives."

"Be sure you keep the doors locked at all times and always check who is outside before opening your doors. You can never be too safe."

The detectives took the packages and left. I was just happy they were gone and perhaps I could finally get some answers.

Not long after the police had left the doorbell rang again. I couldn't figure out who that could be. I hoped it was not another package. When I opened the door John was standing there. "John? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I heard you were sick. I wanted to make sure you were ok. Here I brought you something to cheer you up." He handed me a Dozen red roses. I froze, I was shocked for a moment. Was it him? Could he be the one sending me all these things?

"John, I'm fine really. You really shouldn't have. I'm married. My husband wouldn't appreciate another man bringing me roses like this."

He looked kind of sad and rejected, "Oh yeah, you're probably right. I guess I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. Well, I should get back to work. I hope you feel better. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, John."

After he left I called the Detective and told him about John and my suspicions about him. I told him how he was always coming on to me and about what he had just done. The Detective told me he would check up on him and have someone keep an eye on him.

I was washing up the dishes from my lunch when the doorbell rang again. I went to look out the side window to see who it was, but there was no one there. That was odd, so I opened the door to get a look around. Sitting on the step was a package.

"No, No, No. Not another one." I grabbed the box and took it to the trash can at the side of the garage and tossed it in the can without even looking inside. I hurried back inside and locked the door. This was just too much of a coincidence having arrived shortly after John had left.