My husband has never liked parties, but I still wanted to plan a small surprise for his 40th birthday.
Two days before his birthday, I told him I was going to my sister’s house because she needed my help. He didn’t mind and said it was fine since he wasn’t planning to celebrate anyway.
But instead of going to my sister’s, I stayed at my friend Karen’s place to plan the surprise party.
Karen asked, “Maria, are you sure? You know Tom doesn’t really like birthday parties.”
But I wanted to do something nice for him. So I called his parents, his brother Jim, his best friend Tom and his wife Lisa, and some of his coworkers to invite them to the surprise party.
I spent a lot of money on decorations, balloons, drinks, and food because I wanted everything to be perfect.
Since Tom usually gets home around 6 p.m., I told everyone to come to the house before then to help me set everything up.
People started arriving one by one.
“Wow, you really worked hard on this, Maria,” Lisa said.
“Thanks, Lisa! Can you help with the balloons?” I asked.
Everyone helped, and by 5:30 p.m., the room looked amazing. A big banner hung on the wall that said, “Happy 40th, Tom!”
By 5:45 p.m., everyone was already in the kitchen.
“Okay, everyone — Tom will be here soon,” I said excitedly. “Turn off the lights and hide!”
We all laughed as we tried to find hiding spots. I crouched behind the counter, my heart pounding in the dark. Then I heard the front door unlock and a woman’s voice saying, “Do you think he’ll like it?”
My stomach dropped. A woman? I thought Tom had brought someone else home.
The lights suddenly came on, and everyone gasped. A young couple stood at the door, confused, surrounded by our decorations. The man had keys, and the woman was holding a suitcase.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Who are you?” the woman shot back.
Jim stood up from behind the counter and said, “We’re here for a surprise party!”
The man looked confused. “We rented this place on Airbnb.”
I couldn’t believe it. “Airbnb? This is our house!”
Then it became clear — Tom had listed our home on Airbnb because he thought I was out of town.
I called him right away. “Tom, did you put our house on Airbnb?”
He paused. “Yeah, I thought we could earn some extra money while you were gone.”
“I didn’t leave, Tom. I stayed to plan a surprise party for you.”
He came home about fifteen minutes later, looking embarrassed. “I only wanted to save money for a trip for us,” he said.
The awkward moment eventually turned into laughter, and we all ended up celebrating together — even the couple who had rented the Airbnb.
It became one of the most memorable parties ever.
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