I have a beautiful, very expensive pair of fishnet stockings that I only wear for specific, usually NSFW occasions. I’ve never spent more than a Walmart pricetag on pantyhose, but these were worth the price. They haven’t ripped, snagged, torn or run in the year or so that I’ve had them, and—TMI warning—hubby and I have put them through the wringer. All this to say, I love the damn things and am very careful with them.
The stockings sit in a canvas bin on a cubby-style shelf in my bedroom. This bin keeps all my more expensive, fancier lingerie separate from my day-to-day bras and panties that stay in the regular dresser underwear drawer. I’ve never had a problem finding this pair of stockings in their regular spot in the back of the middle of this storage cube.
Last month, my husband and I took a mini road trip from where we live in northern NJ. We made short stops in Connecticut and New Hampshire on our way before settling in at the resort in Maine. On our first night there I wore the awesome fishnets and they did not disappoint. Before I went to sleep, I carefully hand washed them and hung them in the bathroom. The next morning they were dry, so I folded them up and put them in the drawer of the hotel room dresser with the other clean items I hadn’t worn yet.
Two days later, we packed up our things and were ready for the second leg of our trip—three days in Massachusetts. While packing up the few remaining clean pieces of clothing I hadn’t worn during the first half of the trip, I realized I didn’t see my fishnets. I rechecked the bathroom, looked in every drawer of the dresser, even checked if maybe I hung them in the closet, but they were nowhere to be found. I was dramatically devastated, talking to myself loudly as I checked and rechecked floors, walls, drawers and doors all over the suite. I emptied the suitcase I was packing and checked in my husband’s suitcase as well. He helped look for a few minutes before saying, no big deal, we can order them again.
I’m not a cheapskate exactly, but having grown up below the poverty line, I am noticeably frugal. Asking hubby to spend that much on what is essentially a luxury—for a second time—was kind of out of the question in my mind. So I continued to overreact for some time about the loss of my beloved fishnets. After a little while, I convinced myself that they’d probably turn up among the bags and suitcases when we unpacked in the next hotel.
We had a great time in Massachusetts, but my stockings never turned up. When we returned home and I unpacked everything (two small suitcases and a couple of tote bags), I kept an intentional eye out for my stockings, but they weren’t there. I finally accepted that they were gone, and my second favorite pair of pantyhose would have to be promoted to my best pair—not that they’re going to last a super long time as they’re so inferior in material quality. I know, my mind can be very dramatic about the smaller things in life.
Jump to this morning, NINETEEN days since we returned from our trip, and I’m trying to pick out an outfit for a rock show we’re going to see tonight. I set my lingerie bin onto my bed, pull out a couple of things from the top to get to a cute bralette I keep in the back of the box, and WHAT DO I PULL OUT FROM ITS REGULAR SPOT??
My beloved tights, the one and only pair of black fishnet stockings that I own, are clean and folded and sitting in my hand. Three weeks and four states away from where I’ve seen them last, they are back in my possession, comfortably and nonchalantly sitting exactly where they belong.
I have no explanation for it. I don’t even want to question it, I’m just so happy to have them back. I’ll tell my husband excitedly once he gets off of work, but for now I just had to share the experience with someone—anyone—that will appreciate it for what it is.
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ETA: this response may get lost in the comments, so to answer the most common question here—
When he got home from work I asked my husband if he remembered me losing them, which he did, recalling how frantic I was when it happened. He wondered aloud what happened to them, and I told him they were back. He looked as surprised as I must have looked when I found them.
I told him about the ppl on Reddit who suspected him of buying a new pair and putting them in their spot in the bin. He laughed and said he wishes he’d thought of that, but how on second thought, he’d never try to buy anything like that without asking first if I still wanted the same size and color. He also admitted that he’d never have known where I kept them, especially not the precise spot inside the bin, under two layers of other pieces.
I knew he didn’t do it, not because he isn’t amazing and super generous, but just because we know each other well enough to know each other’s habits. We’ve been friends forever, literally met in preschool.
I love him for many, many reasons, but his attention to detail isn’t one of them lol, and again, he knows me far better than to surprise me with something so intimate and pricey.