If you're ever looking for a great present idea for your husband, just secretly ask all of his friends to meet you for dinner with a drawn picture of him. You'll be so pleased with the results.
Tonight I surprised Kelly by taking him to Famous Dave's with a secret stash of his friends waiting to yell "SURPRISE" at him. When we arrived, the hostess was no help.
I will write the following story as though I were writing a popular young adult novel:
Ahem...
As I drove down the freeway, my heart was thumping faster than a rabbit's foot on a Sunday. Knowing how bad I am at keeping secrets, the fact that I had made it this far without spoiling the surprise was a surprise to me. We were minutes away from the big birthday surprise I had been planning for a week, and I was terrified I would spill the beans. Sweaty palms, thumping heart, dry mouth: all signs that told me I was about to blow. One sideways glance from Kelly and I would have been a jar of giggles. Lucky for me, Kelly got a phone call from his sister, so I didn't have to worry about the possibility of blurting out the details. I just focused on the drive.
Pulling into the parking lot, I realized I hadn't planned how to find our friends once we made it into the restaurant. I tried to play it cool while aimlessly walking around the restaurant without any help from staff by telling Kelly they had set up a party room. "I just have to find it," I said seriously, avoiding eye contact. Finally I gave in and decided to speak to the hostess.
"Just wait on the bench," I told Kelly. "Let me get this straightened out." Kelly walked over to the wooden bench and squeezed himself in between 2, I'm guessing, frequent customers. I approached the frazzled hostess, and in my quietest secret-keeper voice asked, "Was there a party of 7 that arrived, waiting for people to join?"
The hostess furrowed her brow and practically yelled back, "You want a table for 7?"
"Shh!" I ordered awkwardly. Kelly still didn't know, though I was beginning to worry he had figured it out. He shifted his weight on the bench. "No," I whispered, "we're here to join people. They said they were here... Is there a big group that was just seated?"
The hostess pointed listlessly at her whiteboard of tables and numbers that meant nothing to me. I just stared at her and she just stared right back. I was getting nowhere and Kelly was getting wise. Finally, she pointed over her shoulder and chomped out, "There are some people over there..."
"Thanks," I said. Yeah, thanks for nothing.
When we rounded the corner, there sat 3 of Kelly's friends all hunched over with their heads in their menus. The climax was here and no one was yelling surprise! I looked over to Kelly, whose face was being washed over with realization, and knew I had to act fast.
"Surprise!" I yelled, throwing my arms in the air.
"Surprise!" They yelled back, suddenly upright in their wooden chairs.
Kelly smiled and I knew I had done good. I wiped the metaphorical sweat from my brow and we took our seats. Hugs were exchanged, drinks were ordered, and we told the server yes, we are waiting on 2 more. We laughed at the "party room" story and drank our Pepsi. When the others arrived, we all exchanged eyebrow-raised looks that said, It's time.
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From Liz, Kelly received this nostalgic picture of Kelly in outer space:
We were all surprised by the likeness Emily was able to capture with her picture:
Brad drew Kelly surrounded by all of his favorite things:
AE and Cassidy created this beautiful rendition of my husband on a boardwalk:
My favorite part is the strong arms. And the Boris-like facial hair:
I drew Kelly in his natural habitat:
Thanks Liz, Emily, Brad, AE and Cassidy for being awesome friends and even better artists! (is that a compliment?)
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