The week before my birthday the Marriot invited some of the locals to come and spend the night at their Hotel for a discounted price and the money would go toward the Marriot’s orphanage in India. It sounded like fun to me… We could ask Vijaya to spend the night at our home with John… and Scott and I would spend the night across town swimming in the Marriot pool, eating yummy Marriot food, and sleeping in a really nice Hotel. And this wouldn’t be self indulgent… it would be helping an orphanage. The problem was Scott couldn’t get off work…
On my 40th birthday the plan was for my husband to take me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant and then we would spend a nice evening at the Novotel. We could see their new club, and swim and spend the night in a really nice Hotel (sorry orphans). He planned everything out… it was very romantic, and I guessed he came up with the idea because the Marriot fell through.
We went to dinner at the F Cafe and then went to the Novotel as planned. We checked into our room and decided to go to the club. On the way up to the club we passed through some of the Novotel’s conference/party rooms. One of the rooms was marked with a Deloitte sign and Scott told me that we needed to stop in and say a brief “hello” at a Deloitte function that was going on…
I am so lucky that my husband could get the day off to spend with me. The biggest US tax deadline is April 15th, meaning first week in April to a tax guy is equivalent to December 23rd for a retail guy. I’ve never had the opportunity to spend a birthday with him since he has been with Deloitte… including my 30th which landed on Easter Sunday. So you could probably figure out that I really wasn’t “into” the idea of spending my 40th birthday at a Deloitte function. Scott promised me it would be for just a few minutes and my friend Louise would be there (she is a Deloitte spouse also). I reluctantly agreed and walked into the room with slumped shoulders and a scowl…
The first thing I noticed was Byl… he’s not with Deloitte, he is with Bank of America… I thought we walked into the wrong room. Then a photographer I recognized from a local magazine taking my picture… Then I saw Greta and her family, then Meera, then Tara, then Jim and Sue, then Louise and Charles, then Shah, then Padmaja, then Stephanie and Cory, then Vijaya, then John, then Ram and Prita, then Marilyn, then Dr. Pat… then they all yelled surprise. I was floored… I had just texted Greta and she was out of the city on a Hash run… but, no she was standing in front of me. My mind took a while to wrap around it. These people, my friends… were here for my birthday. I tear up now as I remember and write about it.
You might be saying about now… “Robyn, how could you have not known? It was your 40th birthday!” There is something I appreciate and find comfort about my husband… his complete inability to keep a secret. And he’s really not that good of a liar… These are traits you want in a husband. At least that is what I thought. I really and truly had no idea that there was a surprise party being planned.
I walked around the room talking to people and in the state of shock and kind of embarrassed. I can’t believe all of these people knew about this and no one spilled the beans… Not even John! (Traitor)
The party was nice… the buffet had a lot of my favorites and so did the bar. There was a cake and presents! I know it would be nice to say please no presents or donate to a charity… but selfish Robyn loves presents!
Oh but wait there’s more! The gigantic cherry on top of this amazing birthday surprise!
Scott stood up on a chair and asked everyone to follow him… we walked out of the party room down a hall all following Scott… this must have been an interesting sight, as this was quite a lot of people walking in a group down the hall. We went outside and there were some of the party goers already outside standing in a group. This scene probably looked like something out of a Michael Jackson video… one large group of people facing another. I think someone seeing the sight might think we were going to rumble. Scott told the people in the group facing us to part and motioned with his hands like Moses parting the Red Sea. The people parted and behind them was a brand new auto rickshaw… a tuk-tuk… a 3 wheeler.
We had joked before about me driving a rickshaw here because I get so many stares for driving a car… but I never really thought I would get one. It was the absolute perfect present for Scott to give to his unconventional wife.
Now I know I have a husband who can keep a secret… lie… and hide something as big as a tuk-tuk… I also know he is the world’s greatest Husband… and he’s mine!
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