Surprise!

A milestone birthday for G, and he's been a bit grumbly about it. We don't make a big deal out of birthdays, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to go out to dinner. I told him that I'd make reservations at Auntie Pesto's in case he changed his mind. He'd asked me quite a while ago if Renata had mentioned anything about coming over for his birthday. I said that she hadn't.
Meanwhile, Renata had told me that she'd been thinking of coming over so...we started plotting the surprise. Should we keep it a surprise or let him know? Definitely keep it a surprise. The two of us figured out ways to communicate "secretly" so he wouldn't suspect anything. Her trip over was weather dependent and then Cooper her dog got quite sick, so it was touch and go right up until this morning. We checked the weather frequently, hoped that Cooper would get well enough, and kept our fingers crossed. I knew that G would wonder why Renata didn't call early in the morning like she usually does on birthdays. She sent an early Happy Birthday text. I'd asked her to send a message when she was on the ferry so I'd know it was all a go and for the message to include an excuse why she couldn't call until later in the afternoon. She texted to let G know that she had to go into work. 
G and I went for a walk a bit later that I'd hoped because I wanted to be sure to be home when R arrived. We ran into a friend and stopped to chat...for too long!  I couldn't show my impatience to get going, of course. When we got home, it was getting close to the time of R's arrival. G went out to fill the bird feeder and decided to check something in the well house. I sat down at the computer to double check the ferry schedule. The next thing I knew, I heard the two of them on the porch! I had so wanted to see the look on his face when he saw her!  Missed it, but R's description of it was priceless. He was coming out of the well house and saw a car coming down the driveway. She said that he was frowning and squinting and it was obvious that he was thinking, "Who the h**l is that?"  She honked the horn and waved but he couldn't tell who it was!  Of course he was absolutely thrilled to see her!  "What are you doing here?  Are you staying overnight?"  What kind of question was that last one? Likely he wondered because we always clean up the "guest space" before company comes, and I couldn't do a proper clean because he keeps stuff in there and is in and out of it several times a day. Fortunately he'd had an appointment yesterday and I had a chance to clean enough that he wouldn't notice and only the bed had to be made. Renata got settled in then said that she was looking forward to taking us out for his birthday dinner. He turned to me and asked if I'd made reservations for three.  Of course I had! So we had to tell him the details of our plotting. I took this photo before we left for dinner and Renata took the extras with her phone.
Dinner was something else, so many laughs, so much fun. We know the server T at Auntie Pesto's well and always have banter and laughs with him. It was busy and he was the only server working, but when we told him it was G's Big Birthday, he made sure that he added to the fun. G ordered his favourite Pasta Puttanesca and R and I ordered our favourite pastas. T arrived at our table with two regular plates for R and me and a tiny serving of Puttanesca in a custard cup for G. (1st extra)  Of course we cracked up and the people at the next table joined in. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meal, as usual, and G said it was the best Puttanesca he's had there.  After the table was cleared, T appeared with "dessert" for G - a tiny glob of chocolate ganache with raspberry coulis (2nd extra) with a tea light.  Cracked us up again. We were feeling too full for dessert  but decided that we'd order one to share. T gave us a couple of suggestions: Key Lime Pie or Tiramisu?  Hummed and hawed, then G said, "Tiramisu - let's go Italian!"  And T waved his arms in the air and said, "Tiramisu it is!"  Dessert arrived surrounded by tea lights on a big plate, cracked us up again, started singing "Happy Birthday", and were joined by others in the restaurant who raised their glasses and clapped at the end too! G blew out the tea lights and we slowly sampled bits of the dessert and said how delicious it was. R and I ate most of it and just as we were finishing it off, G said, "Did anyone notice that it isn't Tiramisu?"  Renata and I looked at each other - she said my face was a picture and so was hers - and we burst out laughing again!  He'd noticed right away that it was Key Lime pie, not Tiramisu, but neither of us had! When T came back to the table, G sarcastically said, "That was best Tiramisu I've ever had." T said, "Oh - not Tiramisu. Too bad. I don't care what you ordered, you got what I decided to bring." Now, you have to know people well to get away with that. And he did. A delicious meal and great fun.
When we got home, we watched a comedian of Italian heritage who is so funny and his stories remind us of G's family, so more laughs, tears running down our faces. 
A fantastic birthday surprise and we pulled it off, Renata!  Well done us! Just the three of us, and it was perfect.  :-))