The Case of the Mysterious Air Fryer

The names in this story have been changed.

The holiday season had arrived and all the hustle and bustle that came with it. The smell of orange peels and cinnamon sticks simmering in water on the stove filled the cozy home on North Pinehurst Avenue. Ember and Jenna were busy wrapping princess dolls and race car tracks while "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" played in the background on the flat screen T.V.

It was indeed, the most wonderful time of the year for both of them who shared the love of decorating and festive carols. Jenna had just finished wrapping the last gift and had topped it with a shiny silver bow when the two heard a loud knock at the door. The family dog, Skippy, sounded the alarm for stranger danger at the same time. Startled, Ember ran and hid behind the corner.

"Jenna! Shh! Don't peek out the window," she whispered to her daughter.

"Relax, it's just some lady with a short pony-tail and red hair. She's driving a white car."

Ember had always been a bit high strung, but was now curious.

"What kind of car?"

"I don't know. It kinda has "D" shapes on it."

Ember didn't know of any cars with a "D" for a logo, but she had a hunch as to what her daughter was talking about.

"Is this it?" Ember googled Buick's logo.

"Yeah!"

"Is she still out there?"

"No, she drove away."

Ember opened the door a crack. Then she saw a large, square box outside the screen door. Ooh, a present! It's addressed to me, but who is the sender? I didn't order anything. We have finished ordering all the gifts that we are giving out.

A delivery truck didn't bring it, and Ember didn't know anyone who drove a white Buick.

She looked down at the box. It was a brand new air fryer! Ember loved it and the thought behind it, but her husband had just bought her a new Instant Pot Duo which also served as an air fryer. She wasn't sure if she should keep it, or pass it along to someone else in the family. If she did the latter, would that be rude, or would she hurt the person who had gifted it to her? Still, Ember needed to thank whoever generously sent her this coveted kitchen appliance. Air fryers were all the rage.

Ember searched for clues and found the name, "E. Wils" on the box. She recognized the label immediately. This was the same label that Wal-Mart put on the family's order when they had gone to pick up groceries before. "Wils," standing for the last name, "Wilson."

So there were three "E. Wils'" that Ember could think of: Emmett, her uncle, Evelyn, her grandmother, and Emily, her sister who lived halfway across the country, whom she seldom spoke to. Ember immediately ruled out Emily because she had changed her name years ago when she married, and they had hardly kept in contact.

Her grandmother would have never known how to order something online, so that left Uncle Emmett. Perhaps, maybe Grandma Wilson had picked out the air fryer for Ember and had him order it online for her. What about the white Buick though?

Maybe, Ember thought, they had a friend deliver it to me to keep the sender anonymous - like Secret Santa.

Ember decided to call Grandma W. to tell her the situation first. She wasn't going to tell anyone that she already had an air fryer though. Word would get around.

"So...I found a mysterious package at my door a few minutes ago," Ember told her. "Someone left an air fryer on my porch and I don't know who it was. Jenna said it was some lady in a white Buick. The name on the sticker says 'E. Wils' and it came from Wal-Mart."

"Well it wasn't me, but that is a nice surprise," Grandma replied, delighted when Ember wrapped up her story.

"I'm going to call Uncle Emmett now."

"Okay, you do that!"

"Hello?"

"Hey, an air fryer showed up at my house delivered by a lady in a white Buick, and the name on the tag says it's from 'E. Wils.' Grandma said it wasn't her who sent it so..."

"Maybe it's from Santa Claus." Ember could hear him grinning through the phone. She was immediately suspicious. Uncle Emmett could be ornery.

"Well thank you if it was from you," she acknowledged, but he wouldn't admit it.

Ember then decided to call Emily although she was convinced that her uncle was the one who sent the air fryer just by saying that it was from Santa Claus. It would be nice to talk to her sister again anyway.

Ember was nervous and started chewing on what was left of her fingernails. It had been two and a half years since she and her sister had spoken to each other. They hadn't had any disagreements. They had just drifted apart.

"Something really cool just happened!" Ember blurted out when Emily picked up, but before she could go on with her spiel, Emily interrupted her and told her she was supposed to be getting a package soon.

"An air fryer?"

"Yeah, it got there already?"

"Yes! I was wondering who that was from!"

"Wow, I'm surprised it got there that quick. I just ordered it yesterday."

"Did you order it from Wal-Mart?"

"No, I think I ordered it from Amazon."

Ember was confused by this because she was sure that the label was a Wal-Mart label, but she told herself that maybe Amazon labeled theirs the same way too now.

"Do you like it? I hope you didn't already have one."

The truth was Ember really did love it, but because she already had one that she had used, she wasn't sure what she should do with the new one.

"No, I don't have one," she lied, feeling ashamed of herself. She was afraid she might hurt Emily's feelings. "I've been really wanting to try one."

"You'll have to let me know what you make in it and how it turns out."

"Okay," Ember agreed happily.

Less than a week later, Ember air fried some toasted ravioli in her Duo, and called Emily to inform her that she had used an air fryer. She just didn't mention which one. She felt horrible about lying, but she wanted to make her sister happy too.

Christmas Day soon arrived, and some of the family got together. They were playing on Jenna's new Nintendo Switch when September walked in. She spotted the air fryer still in the box.

"Hey, I picked that for you," she said. September was an online grocery picker at Wal-Mart. "Your uncle got that for you."

"Are you sure?" Ember questioned. "Emily said she bought it and it came from Amazon, but I did notice the label looked like it came from Wal-Mart."

"It said Emmett Wilson on the order."

"Who delivered it then? There wasn't a delivery truck. Just some lady in a white Buick."

"We've been so busy that people are just using their own cars for deliveries."

Well now, Ember was just flabbergasted! If this air fryer was from her uncle, then the one Emily sent must have gotten stolen from the porch! She called her sister for further investigation and explained the situation.

"Yes, that is the air fryer that I bought you, and yes, it came from Wal-Mart."

"I thought you said it came from Amazon."

"No, that was a mistake. It was from Wal-Mart, so you were correct."

"Okay, sorry. September just said she saw Uncle Emmett's name on the order."

"Is it possible her eyes could've been playing tricks on her? 'Emmett' and 'Emily' both look similar if you're glancing at the first few letters really quick."

"Yes, I guess," and finally Ember accepted the answer. There was no more mystery. The only thing left to do was to find this new air fryer a home - and fess up that she had one this whole time. She decided it would be a good present to give to someone who didn't have one. She texted her cousin, Chloe, and inquired about whether or not she had one of these new fangled appliances and she did not, but was excited to receive one.

Over the next three months, Ember sent pictures of everything from mozzarella cheese sticks to bacon wrapped asparagus to Emily before she finally confessed that she had an air fryer and had given the other one away. Emily tossed her head back and cackled over the phone.

"It's OKAY! If someone sent me something I already had I would do the same thing. It's actually nice that you didn't return it."

Relieved, Ember let out a breath and chuckled to herself. If anything else besides an air fryer came out of this whole situation, it was the relationship between Ember and her sister that had been reconnected.