Daily Prompt – Perplexed

Walking up the stairs to my apartment, I saw the package sitting on my doorstep. I was perplexed. Nobody knew I lived here except Kim. I looked down at the box at my feet. No markings from the post office or package delivery service. Odd. I cocked my head to the side and bent at the knees, investigating further. In black marker only one word – Neighbor. I gingerly lifted the box to my ear. No ticking or other noise from within. Satisfied I stood and tucked the box under my arm, unlocking my door and dropping my briefcase, dry cleaning and the box on the kitchen table.

I poured myself a glass of wine, took a long sip and let out a deep breath, walking back to the table. I faced the box squarely and pulled off the wrapper, still half expecting the thing to blow up and kill me instantly. Maybe I watched too much television. Slowly pulling off the lid, I peeked inside and found a box of Rice-a-Roni, a loaf of sourdough bread, a very good amount of Ghirardelli chocolate, and two tickets to the 49ers game on Sunday along with a note. “Welcome neighbor. 5B here, Ryan Bates. I noticed your plates are from Illinois. I thought I’d start you off with a taste of San Francisco. And maybe take you to the game Sunday? Show you how football is really played.” I smiled and pulled off a hunk of bread to go with my wine. What the hell. Locking my apartment, I headed for 5B to meet my neighbor and explain how the Bears play the game right.