It's a wonder what path a life will follow when you least expect it to twist and turn. Ours did that recently, and I feel the need to let others know about it.
First came the death of my aunt Rudeth. She was from my fathers side of the family, and didn't live all that far from us. But I hardly knew her at all. I saw her a couple of times as I was growing up, but she seemed to mostly stay off by herself. A couple of family reunions I remember her being there. And one Christmas she stopped in to say hi to us. Other than that, she was part of our lives only as a few pictures mom and dad would haul out now and then and stare at. Playing the 'do you remember them' game, as they passed the photos back and forth. Nothing to do with us kids.
I do remember some of the comments I'd heard about her. 'Loose' was a common one. 'A bit oversexed' was another. Other than that, she pretty much drew a blank in my mind.
So when Dad called and said she had died, I wondered why he was even telling me. Then he asked if I could go help clear out her house. It was a rental, and he didn't want to spend money on an empty place. Of course my wife Nancy and I agreed to help. It's what families did for each other.
We showed up at her house on a Saturday morning with my pickup truck. Mom and Dad were already there, boxing things up. Rudeth had lived here for years and years, so there was a lot of stuff to get packed up. They'd been here working on it for a few days already, and the main rooms were already empty, except for the boxes now ready to get hauled out.
To make it even more fun, they planned to have a yard sale at their house to get rid of a lot of it. But Dad told me to not even bother to box up anything that was junk. He'd just haul it to the dump from here. So we'd have to use our judgment somewhat on what was what.
Dad asked us to start on the bedroom closet, and Nancy and I picked up some boxes and headed in there. Nancy got the clothes out and started to fold them up and pack them away. They'd sell for what, maybe a quarter each, at a yard sale? But it was better than nothing.
I got a step stool and started on the upper shelves. I pulled down boxes with shoes, too many of them in my opinion, and a few with what I'd just call junk. I wouldn't have bothered putting it up there to begin with.
One box I pulled down was a little more interesting. Sex toys! Hell, yeah, and she'd had a good amount of them, too. Vibrators and dildos, in various sizes. Handcuffs. A leather whip. All kinds of toys. My wife and I had a good laugh at the collection when I showed it to her.
Dad came in to check on us, and I showed him the box of toys. He just frowned and told me to toss all of it. Who wanted used sex toys? I think Dad would have tossed them even if they were new. He just didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd get into any of that. Neither did Mom, I should add.
I was getting ready to set it down when I saw another box in the bottom of the bigger box. It looked older, and a bit faded. I scooped it out and took a look at it. I really didn't know what to make of it. The label was pretty well faded, and I could barely make it out. But I looked closer and brushed the dust off as best I could, and eventually I made out the printing.
'The Empathy Box' it said across it's top.
What the hell was an empathy box? I knew what empathy meant, of course. To have empathy was to be able to feel what others were feeling, or something like that. But a empathy box? No clue.
I showed it to Nancy, and she smiled.
"Can't tell you," she told me, "but given the box you found it in, it may be another toy."
She had a point there. Maybe it was. I thought I'd take a look, so I opened the faded box. Inside was a small metal object, painted black and roughly about the size of a small alarm clock. There was one switch on it's top, and a domed clear lens that looked like it may be a light or something like that.
There was an instruction manual in the bottom of the box. At last! Maybe I'd get some answers! I read it all the way through, and then again. It was real short, so it didn't take long.
'
Place within ten feet of the bed and turn on before commencing sexual activity. Turn off afterwards to prevent battery drain. Not recommended for groups, as may cause confusion.
'
That was it.
Dad said toss the entire box, and I intended to. But not this. I wasn't going to let it go until my curiosity was satisfied. Since it was going to the land fill if I didn't save it, I did. Save it, that is. I took the rest of the junk out and tossed it in the dumpster. That faded box I put on the front seat of my truck. I could always toss it later if it turned out to be junk, right? Sure I could.
The four of us worked all day, and by sundown we were done. Dad and I had made three trips each to take the stuff they were keeping to his house. Everything else was in the dumpster. Task completed.
We met outside when we were done, and Dad thanked us for the help. Then Nancy and I headed home. The faded box rode there with us, sitting on the truck seat between us. Nancy just smiled every time she looked at it. I had no idea what she was thinking, and she didn't share.
I guess this is a good time to tell you about us, Nancy and me. I'm forty one years old, and Nancy is forty. I'm pretty much your standard American guy, five foot seven, nothing special about the way I'm built or anything. Just a normal hard working guy you wouldn't look twice at. Nancy was an inch shorter than me, and sexy as hell. Good size boobs, but not too big, if you know what I mean. Wide hips, curves in all the right places, and little fat on her. She'd kept her figure real well. I know she could still turn me on without really even trying!
Nancy was the sexual beast in our family. No doubt. I couldn't keep up with her, not even close. I'd had a rather sex free life before I met her. I mean, I got laid, but it was all just the normal stuff. A few times in the backseat of a car when I was in school. A few girls I'd picked up at the bar, that kind of thing. No wild stuff then or later. Just sex. What I'm trying to say is I didn't have much experience with women before we'd gotten married eighteen years ago.
Nancy liked the wilder stuff. I knew that, and wondered why she'd even married me. Like oral sex. I'd go down on her, sure. But it never seemed like I really knew what I was doing or something. She never got off just by me doing that. Trust me, I'd know. And she said she really liked oral sex. So it had to be me.
But anyway, back to that day. Or night, I should say by now. We had supper, took showers and did all the normal things people did in the evening. And then we went to bed.
I couldn't help myself, I took the faded box into the bedroom with us. It said place within ten feet of the bed, and my night stand was like a foot away. So thats where I put it. It said turn on, so I flipped the stitch on. Nothing. Nada.
Crap.
