So he asked me about two months ago if I had anything in mind that I wanted to do for my birthday. (We’ve gone to Hermann with some friends for the last few years, and I always plan it – so he was checking to make sure I hadn’t already made any plans.) I told him I didn’t and he asked if I wanted him to take care of it this year. My immediate answer was YES before he even got the whole sentence out – that’s exactly what I wanted. And then nothing. He never said another word about it. So a week or so before my bday I asked him what we were doing for my birthday. “What do you want to do?” he asked. “You didn’t make any plans?” I answered. “Well, what do you want to do?” So I figured he forgot, and there were no plans for my birthday. I was disappointed, but it wasn’t worth starting a big fight over – and I figured it was my own fault for getting my hopes up anyway. Should have known better.
So he wished me a happy birthday Thursday morning before he left for work. No gift. He got home and hopped in the shower and we rushed off to meet my parents for dinner. No gift. We finished dinner, and I opened my gift from my parents. Still no gift. I am not a patient woman. Finally I said, “Isn’t there something you want to give me?” He knew he was totally torturing me. “Nope, you’ll have to wait.” Butthead.
So we get home from dinner, I let the dog out, take off my shoes and plop down on the couch.
Still. No. Gift.
Someone pulls up in front of the house. It’s my parents. Must have left something in their car, or they forgot to give me something. I let them in the house, a little mystified, and Jeremy hands them the dog’s leash. Lightbulb moment! They’re taking the dog! They’re going to dogsit! That means we’re going somewhere! Immediately I’m all over the three of them. “Why are you taking the dog? Are we going somewhere? Where are we going? How should I pack? Are we flying or driving? What are we doing?”
Laughter – but no answers. Jeremy just tells me that I’ll have to wait and see, but I need to be packed and ready to go when he gets home from work the next day. “Do I need a swimming suit? Do I need anything dressy? Should I take sunscreen or a jacket? Are we going alone? Are we meeting anybody there? How long will we be gone?” No answers.
I was in suspense all day Friday, but I loved it. Surprises rock!
So he finally gets home on Friday and tells me that Mike and Mary Beth will be picking us up shortly. Of course, I’m completely packed, my bag is sitting on the porch and I’m ready to leave immediately. When they pull up in front of the house I meet them at the door with my purse. “You don’t need to come in, let’s go, I’m ready, let’s go. Do you know where we’re going? Where are we going?”
We’re on the road – heading west on 70. So I’m thinking Hermann, this is what we usually do, so he knows I love Hermann so he probably got us a really nice B&B this time and it’s going to be better than ever.
We get off on Wentzville Parkway. WTF? “Um, guys – I really don’t want to go to Wentzville for my birthday.” Okay, we’re not staying in Wentzville, we’re picking up Jeremy and Michelle. Awesome – good times, this rocks! (Ed note – from here on out Jeremy Broad will be referred to as JeremyJelly and Jeremy Moring will be JeremyJam.)
So back on 70 West. We pass Hermann and I think okay, we’re passing Hermann – bet we’re going to the lake. That’ll be fun! Then we pass the exit that would take us to the lake. Okay… no lake. We better not be going to Columbia. I don’t want to go to Columbia for my birthday. Once we passed Columbia I was out of ideas. I decided we better be going to Kansas City, because there was nothing west of KC that I wanted to go to in a car! We get to KC, and JeremyJam gets out directions and starts directing JeremyJelly (who’s driving) and JeremyJelly gets on the phone with someone to tell them we’ll be there soon. So at least then I finally knew we were going.
He’d made reservations at the Intercontinental Kansas City at the Plaza! We had an amazing view of Brush Creek and the Plaza from our cute little balcony! He’d arranged for us to meet my little sister (Nicole) and her fiancé (Jeremy – from here on out referred to as JeremyAlso) Friday night for drinks. It was so wonderful to see Nicole and to finally meet JeremyAlso. We talked about their wedding plans and gossiped about family stuff. Turns out JeremyAlso is a very nice guy in spite of being a Cubs and Bears fan. I may one day forgive him for that, but it’s still under consideration. I drank too many gin and tonics and couldn’t stop giggling about how happy I was. I also probably did and said a bunch of stupid stuff, but I was drunk and happy – what do you expect?
This is my younger sister, Nicole, and I - a really bad, moon-faced picture of me, I've obviously had a couple of drinks here already, but I never noticed until I saw this picture that we have the same smile.
Saturday I spent some time walking around the Plaza and doing a little shopping while everybody else napped the day away – but it was hot and I was sweating, so that only lasted a couple of hours. That night we went to dinner and there were two extra seats at the table. But I knew he wouldn’t bring me to KC without seeing Kim and Jeff. (Kim’s my best friend from college and we try to see one another more than once a year – but once a year is usually all we can manage.) Kim and Jeff started dating our junior year in college, so I’ve known Jeff almost as long as I’ve known Kimmie. So we had a great meal, and Kim and I spent some time catching up and telling the same old stories we tell on each other every time we get together. Although I think there was a new one that came to light this time…
This is me in between Jeff and Kim.
We got home late yesterday afternoon and I was glad to finally be home after the long drive, but I’m still pretty bouncy about my weekend. It means so much to me that he put that much effort into my gift. He really thought about what would make me happy, and what would really surprise me; he had to break into my email to get to my address book to get Kim and Nicole’s email addresses and phone numbers; he contacted them both to arrange the meetings; he invited MB, Mike, JeremyJam and Michelle; he made the reservations; he arranged for my parents to dogsit; and he had to keep his mouth shut while I moped around thinking we weren’t doing anything for the weekend. I can’t believe so many people knew about this and not one person slipped – not a single hint. I was caught totally off guard – and I LOVED it.
I am a very lucky woman. And I love my JeremyJelly very much.
No comments:
Post a Comment