Birthday Surprise

Here's a short story I wrote a few years ago. Nothing supernatural, just an idea bonking around in my head.

The couple sat down at the table next to mine. The waiter gave them their menus, told them the specials, and then left. I tried to ignore them but it was hard. I was alone, as I always was since the divorce fifteen years ago, and the book I was reading was at a dull spot. I just couldn’t concentrate on it, so the conversation intruded into my space.

“I can’t believe it's been a month already,” the young man said.

My eyes flicked over and saw he was in his mid-twenties, slender and nice looking, like someone you wouldn’t mind taking home to your parents. Not handsome, but not ugly.

“I know,” the young woman responded. “It seems like the time has just flown by. With work and everything we haven’t even had the chance to do any exciting things yet. I mean this restaurant is the nicest place we have gotten to go to so far!”

Glancing over again I was a little surprised he was here at all. This place isn’t cheap, and the wait for reservations is several weeks. At my salary I can afford to have a casual, quiet meal here and read a book, but by the look of his clothes he was probably only a few years out of college and not making good money yet. His leather shoes were worn looking, but at least had been shined recently. His suit jacket didn’t match his pants and looked to be two sizes too big. He'd probably borrowed it from his father.

By contrast, the girl reeked of money. Her clothes were expensive and stylish. Her hair was cut perfectly and styled to compliment the shape of her face. I was pretty sure the diamonds in her earrings were real. She was a few years younger than him so my guess was that her money came from her parents. Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe she was making 100k right out of college.

“Uh, right,” he said. Then he smiled and raised his water glass. “To… the future and the exciting things we will do. Happy Birthday!”

She laughed and clinked her water glass to his. “Happy Birthday to me!”

I tried to go back to my book, but now I was intrigued. I know it's not nice to eavesdrop, but sometimes you can’t help it. Sometimes the conversations intrude into your space and you can’t help but hear. At least, you can’t help but hear the first part, and then you get invested. You have to hear what comes next. And sometimes you are rewarded with witnessing a special moment.

They ordered and got wine and an appetizer. They were halfway through the appetizer when the special moment came.

She put her wine glass down and looked at him squarely. “I know dinner isn't the whole birthday present. So tell me, what else is it?”

He fumbled the blue cheese pear tartlet he was picking up and looked up at her. “Umm… isn’t dinner enough?”

She laughed. “Dinner isn’t a present. So what's the surprise that you got for me?” Her tone sounded a bit condescending, like they had this type of conversation frequently.

He sat up straighter and looked her in the eye. “The surprise is dinner here. It’s not easy to get in here. I had to make the reservation three weeks ago, after our second date.”

“Oh come on! Just tell me!”

He cocked his head. “Tell you what?”

“What my birthday surprise is!” Her voice sounded a little hard at this point.

He was silent for a long time. He just sat there with his eyes narrowed, like he was deep in thought. Finally he smiled and broke the silence. “You're right. There is a surprise. Wait here.”

The girl clapped her hands and bounced in her seat. “Yaaay!”

Out of the corner of my eye I watched him get up and go over the waiter’s station. James, the waiter that was serving my table and theirs, was in the process of ringing in a ticket from a different table. He talked to James for a moment and then James turned to the computer and did something. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

A few moments later there was a little more conversation. The young man handed James a small stack of bills, and then made his way through the restaurant and out the front door.

The girl and I waited. I tried to go back to my book, but I read the same paragraph four times without comprehending it. I glanced over at the girl several times. Her eyes were glued to the front door, waiting for her boyfriend to come back with her birthday surprise.

It took about ten minutes but finally she raised her hand to usher James over.

“What did Brian say to you?” she asked.

“He said there was somewhere he had to be,” James said. “But don’t worry, he paid for the meal in full. Your entrees should be coming soon. I can box his up so you…”

“Somewhere he had to be? What does that mean? Did he say when he was coming back?”

“Uh, no ma’am. I don’t think he intended to come back. That’s why he paid before he left.”

“What? But… but…”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I kept my eyes on my book, but I doubt anyone was fooled. But that was ok. My slight embarrassment from being caught eavesdropping was negligible compared to the special moment I had been privileged to witness.

I'd just seen a young man grow a spine.

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