{"id":16463,"date":"2020-03-01T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T14:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sasee.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=16463"},"modified":"2024-03-26T15:08:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T19:08:43","slug":"being-party-to-a-surprise","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/essay\/being-party-to-a-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Party to a Surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now I’m starting to wonder if there really is a party. Maybe there is, and he’s forgotten.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

As I approached my 40th birthday, my wife asked if I wanted a party to celebrate such a milestone. I explained that this birthday was no different than any other, so there was no reason to make a big deal of it. She shrugged her shoulders and said, \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three weeks before my birthday, I\u2019m reading the paper and my wife says, \u201cIf someone is having, say, 18 people over, how much wine do you think you\u2019d need?\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the question was coming from left field, it was more than obvious to me where she was going with it. Instead of questioning her motives, without even looking up from my paper, I simply said, \u201cSix bottles of red, six bottles of white,\u201d and that\u2019s where we left it.<\/p>\n

Two weeks before my birthday we go grocery shopping, and my wife fills a shopping cart with bags of chips, pretzels and crackers. \u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d I say, trying to hide a knowing smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can never have too many snacks around,\u201d she says casually… and I let it go.<\/p>\n

A couple of days before my birthday, my wife says the next door neighbor, who is half my age, and who I\u2019ve never said more than hello to when we\u2019ve crossed paths, wants to take me out for a drink for my birthday on Saturday night \u2013 not exactly hard to put two and two together. The neighbor will take me out for a drink, my wife ushers in the 18 wine-drinking snack-eaters, and I come home and…Surprise! So I agree to go out for the drink.<\/p>\n

Saturday evening and there\u2019s a knock at the door. I figure it\u2019s the neighbor coming to get me a little bit early, but it turns out to be my father, dressed to the nines. \u201cHey Dad, what are you doing here?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I just thought I\u2019d drop over and see how you\u2019re doing.\u201d My father never drops over. He expects me to drop over to see him regularly, but not the other way around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just about to go out for a drink with a neighbor,\u201d I explain.<\/p>\n

He sits down on the couch. \u201cNo problem,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ll just…hang around.\u201d<\/p>\n

My wife nervously jumps in. \u201cMaybe your dad can drive me over to the mall. I have some shopping to do.\u201d I don\u2019t ask any questions.<\/p>\n

So the neighbor shows up, takes me to a local bar and orders us a couple of beers. We sit there talking sports, politics, life. He orders more beers, and the conversation continues. I glance at my watch now and then, wondering when he\u2019s going to deliver me to the party, but he seems in no hurry. Now I\u2019m starting to wonder if there really is a party. Maybe there is, and he\u2019s forgotten? We\u2019ve been sitting at the bar for over two hours, and he orders more beers. So I look at my watch and say, \u201cGeez, it\u2019s after nine already.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes bug out, his jaw drops, and he says, \u201cNine? It\u2019s after nine? We gotta go!\u201d\u201cBut what about the beers you just ordered?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrink up! Drink up! We gotta go. Now!\u201d he says, as he guzzles down his beer. I don\u2019t ask any questions. The ride back was like sitting next to a driver at the Indy 500. He drove fast enough to break the sound barrier.<\/p>\n

At home, the lights are all out. I picture people waiting in the dark for who knows how long, just ready to spring. I go over my best surprised reaction in my head: Wow! What a surprise. I would never have guessed. You guys really got me this time! I reach for the door handle. The storm door is locked. Now I\u2019m confused and unsure of just what to do. I\u2019m imagining a house full of people hiding inside, somebody mistakenly locked the door, and now no one can unlock it without giving away the surprise. I knock anyway. Nothing. I\u2019m a bit shaken. I nervously pound on the door. Nothing. So I do the only thing I can think of doing. I put my hand through the screen, reach in, unlock the screen door, and then open the front door. I slowly step in. I\u2019m standing in the dark waiting for the crowd to jump out and…nothing. I switch on the light and look around the empty living room. No people, no streamers, no balloons. No \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d banner. No wine. No snacks. No party \u2013 just me and my disappointment. I shake my head and wonder where I went wrong as I shuffle into the kitchen, going over in my mind all of what I thought were clues. The wine, the snacks, my Dad in his Sunday best, the neighbor, the locked door: I must be crazy to think there would be a party just waiting for me, I think to myself. Then I turn on the kitchen light and …SURPRISE! I\u2019m surrounded by familiar faces that pour out from behind furniture, around corners, out of closets, out from the pantry.<\/p>\n

My wife greets me with a big grin. \u201cSo, were you surprised?\u201d<\/p>\n

I shake my head. Barely able to speak, I utter, \u201cWow! What a surprise. I would never have guessed. You guys really got me this time!\u201d and I meant every word.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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