Word Perv

“Want to go to dinner for your birthday?” my boyfriend asked, weeks ago.

“Yeah, that’d be great,” I replied, happy he suggested we do this. Last year I planned my own birthday blowout and this year I didn’t want to plan anything. Besides, I was turning 31 and didn’t need to embark on a four day celebration like I did the previous year.

“Great, let me know where you want to go and I’ll make reservations.”

A couple of days later, after him prompting me several times, I picked a restaurant in DC I like. He emailed me back a few hours later to tell me the restaurant only had a 9pm reservation available so he’d booked it and suggested we go for drinks at PX Blue Light before dinner. PX is a speakeasy that I love, so I was excited by this suggestion.

Soon it was my birthday and I was greeted by many text messages, emails, and phone calls from friends, all wishing me a happy day. I went to work and other than taking an hour to get my ass beat in racquetball by my coworker, I was insanely busy, my desire to leave the office early trumped with a late afternoon meeting.

Sometime after the time I had told my boyfriend I’d be leaving the office I sent him an email. His response: “GO HOME!” Shortly thereafter I closed my email and followed his advice, leaving the office and heading into the cold night.

Walking up to my house I saw a beautiful bouquet waiting for me. Needless to say, this made me very happy – especially since this year Tamera modified our usual habit of sending flowers. I got the flowers inside and immediately texted my boyfriend to let him know the flowers were beautiful and how much I appreciated them. Then, with a smile on my face, Daisy and I went for a walk.

Once back from our walk I hopped in the shower to get ready. My boyfriend showed up and as I was finishing my makeup, my phone rang – it was David, my good friend, running partner, and future exotic travel buddy.

“Hey, Jess and I are at Light Horse,” he said, referring to a bar in old town, just a few doors down from PX, “You guys should stop by for a quick drink before you head to PX.”

“Yeah, sounds great!” I replied, then yelled to my boyfriend that we were meeting friends before starting our planned night.

A few minutes later we were driving in old town, searching for parking. “We’re going to be late,” I said, “I don’t know if we’ll have time to meet David and Jess.”

“I’ll call the bar and let them know we’re running late,” he replied as he flipped open his phone and made a quick phone call. A minute later we were parked in the only spot we could find and walked to the bar.

“It’s gotta be a quick drink,” I said as I walked up the stairs to the second floor bar. My boyfriend agreed as I scanned the bar, looking for our friends. David waved at me and it took me a second to realize there was another friend, Britt, standing beside him. And then I recognized more faces – Judy, Caeli, Kristina, Virginia, Jess, Justin, and Liz. I laughed, smiled, and quickly realized I had just walked into my surprise birthday party. I kissed my boyfriend and laughed, telling him I was quite impressed with his ability to pull off this surprise, and then I smiled as  I took a drink of my gin and tonic. A few more friends would join the party (Tamera, Phil, May, and Mosi) and after a drink we went to a sushi restaurant just down the block – the place where we actually had reservations. After dinner a few of us congregated at David’s for yet a few more drinks before calling it a night.

The night was fantastic and I was so happy and surprised by it all. I was most impressed by the evening – especially since no one accidentally told me! All in all, it was a great surprise and a great birthday.