Birthday Surprises

Happy Birthday cake

Birthday Surprises
| Published February 20, 2014 |

By Jeanne Sigler
Thursday Review contributor

Everybody likes a birthday surprise. Am I right? It’s especially fun when the surprise is successfully pulled off for somebody who is otherwise “un-surprisable.”

My sister Fran falls into that category. She is so sharp that if anything appears out of the ordinary, her antennae immediately go up. Pulling the wool over her eyes was always a major challenge. So, when my niece Jackie suggested we surprise her mom for her 50th birthday, I knew this would involve painstaking planning.

For the next two months we worked out the details. Fran and I talk fairly frequently, so I had to be sure not to say anything that could arouse her curiosity. Do I mention the fact that she has a birthday coming? Do I avoid the subject? Would that make her even more suspicious? Each conversation grew more nerve-wracking, walking, (or should I say, talking) on eggshells. She never twigged. It appeared we were going to actually accomplish this.

The more people who knew about this, the more could open their mouths, so we were careful to tell no one. We opted for a small family lunch gathering. My husband and I would fly up from Alabama and stay with my mom in New York for a couple of days then Jackie would follow flying up from North Carolina. On Saturday, we’d pile into the car and drive to Fran’s in Pennsylvania for the big surprise.

With each secret e-mail to my brother-in-law Scott at his workplace, and every clandestine cell phone call, the intricate scheme began to unfold. We threw around several scenarios and finally decided to simply knock on her door and start singing Happy Birthday. The problem we faced is that just about anywhere we parked on their street and headed for the house, we’d be seen out of the many windows in their home.

We put our sneaky noggins together and came up with a game plan. Jackie would telephone her mother when we got about three blocks away from their street. Fran would see the cell number on her caller ID, never imagining that her daughter was spitting distance from her. They’d chat for a few minutes as we parked around the corner in the Goldenrod subdivision. This would give Scott the heads up to get Fran away from any window, as well as to unlock the screen at the rarely-used front door. Fortunately for this sneaky foursome, Fran was in the den at the computer with no visual to the outside. Scott stood behind her as he watched us tiptoe up to #285.

Just to add to the frivolity, we put on rubber noses with bushy eyebrow glasses just before banging on the door. “Who is it?” Fran bellowed. As we knocked louder, we could hear the alarm in Fran’s voice. “Scott, there’s someone at the front door. Who could it be?” “Answer it and let’s find out,” he replied.

As the doorknob turned, we braced ourselves for the moment of truth. Fran’s response would tell it all. Did she know all along? Was she just playing dumb? These questions were answered as we belted out the birthday melody. The stare of astonishment on her face was worth every bit of effort and plotting. We all drew a sigh of relief and started the celebration.

Fran had a 50th birthday she’ll always remember and we experienced a feeling of accomplishment. We managed to fool someone who is not easily fooled. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trick Fran again. A surprise like this one can only come, maybe, once every half-century. Gotcha, Sis.