My Husband’s Big Surprise Party
Photo by Adi Goldstein
My husband Sam’s birthday was coming up in a week and a half, so I asked him, “How do you want to celebrate your birthday this year?”
Although it wasn’t a milestone birthday, I felt that having been retired for a spell any year and feeling healthy and happy was a milestone for us, and I wanted Sam’s birthday to be special and memorable. Hence, the question.
His answer was not surprising. “Just a quiet dinner together,” he told me, adding, “You know me, I don’t like a big fuss or a big crowd.”
A huh! I thought, hearing that from a man who reveled in any fun attention he might get. I had other things in mind, and so, I plotted.
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During our normal early morning routine on our computers, I secretly made up a potential list of people I wanted to invite to a party and composed a possible invitation.
The more I thought about the list of invitees and the invitation, the more I became certain that a surprise party was in order. I knew my husband would never go for a big party if asked, because he wouldn’t want to be seen as begging for attention, so I wouldn’t ask him. After all, begging for attention was one thing, but getting it unwittingly was another. I finished typing in the needed information on the invitation, emphasizing the secrecy of the night, and sent it off to my entire list of friends and neighbors without him having a clue what I had done.
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My plan was easy. I plotted with our friends Rosanna and Miguel, who lived across the street to help. I told Sam that I’d made reservations for the two of us at a fine restaurant we had enjoyed years before but hadn’t been to in a while, and he was happy with my decision. Rosanna invited us to their house for early cocktails before we were to go to dinner, and the guests for the party were to meet at our house, quietly and without passing by Rosanna’s and Miguel’s house. I didn’t want Sam to get suspicious because he saw friends walking past, coincidentally walking toward our house.
When we arrived at Rosanna’s and Miguel’s, they both looked especially good, dressed for a party instead of just having cocktails. Sam noticed and made a comment. “You both look pretty dressed up just for a quick cocktail,” he told them.
To cover up, Miguel quickly said, “We’re going with you to the restaurant.”
I gulped.
Sam looked at me with ‘Really?’ in his eyes but said, “Great!” Then asked me if I had made reservations for all of us.
I replied, “I told the restaurant there was a possibility that there might be four of us and they said no problem.” To continue covering up my oops, I told him, “I wasn’t sure if they were able to come, so I forgot to mention that possibility.”
The plan was for me to text one of the guests waiting at our house to let her know we were on our way back home to get the car. That way the group would be ready for the big surprise.
Simple plan, right!? Not so much, as it turned out.
Photo by Nikhita Singhal
In my haste to be on time, I forgot to take my phone to Roseanna and Miguel’s. When I realized my error, I mentioned needing to get my purse for some medication. It was a lame reason, but Sam didn’t notice. However, with my mistake, the timing of things began to fall apart.
When I arrived at our house to retrieve my purse and phone, most of the guests had already arrived. I told them we’d be back in five minutes, to keep the lights off, and stay out of sight. They were excited and ready. All seemed good.
Not so! When I returned to Rosanna and Miguel’s, the men were gone.
Rosanna said, “Miguel remembered he needed to go get our special food order that is delivered on Wednesdays. Sam mentioned that you had also placed an order, to be eaten later in the week, and would go with to pick it up. They both left and I couldn’t stop then.”
The food delivery guy was already apprised of the party. He was going to put our order in the refrigerator at our house later, but this was a new wrinkle I wasn’t prepared for. What if Sam saw friends going to our house? All I could do was wait.
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Miguel soon walked back to their house with his food boxes in hand but without Sam. He told me that Sam had gone straight to our house to put our boxes away.
Shit! I thought as Rosanna stated the obvious, “I think Sam is going to get a big surprise.”
I dashed out the door and ran home just as I heard, “Surprise!” being yelled by many different voices.
Everyone told me that Sam was genuinely stunned, at least by the look on his face when he walked in and heard, “Surprise! Happy Birthday!” But I missed the moment.
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As it turned out, the restaurant I had so carefully chosen and Sam was excited to revisit, was permanently closed. I obviously didn’t know that since it was still advertised online on Facebook with a map to show its location. When Sam looked the place up to get the address and saw that it said, ‘Permanently Closed’ he questioned this dilemma. Instead of panicking, I showed him another place — the one with a map that didn’t mention being closed and winged an answer by saying, “I think they moved.”
He bought it. Whew!
I found out later that the food delivery guy had mentioned something to Sam when he picked up our food order with Miguel about not wanting to mess up the surprise. Sam didn’t know what that meant, so, dismissed the comment. Another Whew!
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To think about all that didn’t go according to plan and could have gone terribly wrong, it was remarkable how well everything turned out. Except for me missing out on the expression of genuine surprise on my husband’s face and getting the appropriate ‘thanks’ for making it happen, it turned out to be a great night. I became known as a person who could tell a very tall tale and have people believe every word.
“Not lies,” I’d tell them, “Just altered stories. After all, I am a writer of stories for you to believe or not.”
Anyone planning a surprise? I can help!