Thank God for Suckers

This weekend was a brilliant flash. It was gone so quick, now I have a good long time to replay it in my head and miss it.
This past December Devin and I were pitched a proposal by our tiny sister, she had a notion that we should help our parents celebrate their 35th anniversary by having a surprise party for them. We invited all of my parents old friends and relatives, but the icing on the cake was to be Devin and I flying in secretly for the event. Adrienne pushed very hard for Devin and I to take the plunge, she wouldn't even send out a "save the date" email until we had both booked plane tickets.
In the months leading up to the date there was much planning and secret discussion. Beautiful invites were created and mailed out. Devin and Adrienne purchased all the cheesy decorations they could get their hands on. Strategies were developed and re-developed as each new obstacle presented itself on our path to a memorable party.
The biggest blow to our plan came in the form of great fortune. Our parents ended up finding and making an offer on their dream home, but the closing date fell just one day prior to our party plan, which we all knew would mean that mom and dad would be wanting to move in on the next day! We had a powwow about it and decided our best bet was to have Adrienne call Dad and tell him that she had "booked" something "non refundable". I thought Dad might think something was up, because he is pretty with it but it was the only way we could get them to not make a big plan to move on the date of the party.
As last week arrived Devin, Adrienne and I were all increasingly nervous thinking one of us or a relative or friend would spill the beans. I called Mom and Dad several times, each time mentioning some thing that I had planned to do in Los Angeles over the coming weekend. The most exciting lie came when I had to make my normal ecstatic Friday call, which I normally make immediately after leaving work, from my brothers car on the way to work. As we were driving along and I was talking to Mother Devin turned around to get something from his back seat. As I'm chatting he starts to veer into the next lane and oncoming traffic. I had to think fast and keep in mind that I couldn't scream "Devin, watch the fucking road" because that would spoil the surprise. I improvised on the fly and yelled, something about a car coming into my lane, which made Devin realize that he was about to kill us both! Then I had the task of not biting my tongue off from trying not to laugh at the situation while still on the phone with Mom.
The flight out was uneventful. We parked in airport lot B and had a pleasant shuttle ride to the terminal. Our plane was right on time and even landed in Kansas City a little early. Our ride, Adrienne was a bit late to the airport when she had to pass through a sobriety check point on her way to claim us.
Back at Adrienne's house I had the pleasure of meeting one of her house mates, Dan for the first time. A very funny man that Dan. He inspired me to stay up past my bed time drinking and playing Wii bowling. By the time I was about to crawl into bed it was going to be 2am Los Angeles time so I decided to just stay up ant talk to Angela once she got off work. I finally hit the pillow hard at about 5:30 Kansas time.
10:00 Am, Saturday April 19th. The day of the party. Morning rolled around very quick for me but I was so excited it didn't matter. I got up and showered and traveled to get a cup of coffee for myself and my siblings. Adrienne's good friend Chrissy and her mother showed up and began really stepping up the help, without Chrissy's mom Pam nothing would have gone as well as it did, she was top notch.
The guests were told to arrive no later than 12:30, and Mom and Dad were scheduled to arrive at 1:00. Had I been thinking at all I would have realized that this was an error, my Father likes to have at least an Hour of padding before anything... A new disaster struck us by surprise when Devin and I arrived back at Adrienne's place with the booze to find out that Dad was on the phone with Adrienne and that they were 3 blocks away and were going to head over to have Adrienne go out to eat with them for their anniversary. Sheesh! Adrienne did some quick talking end convinced them she needed to go pic up her car and that she's meet them. She then held them at bay while the rest of us ushered guests in and finished preperations.
By 12:30 we thought we had all the guests hidden away and accounted for. I texted Adrienne to let her know they had all arrived and it was safe to bring them.
Little did I know some old friends of their's, and I will spell this name wrong, the Grecians, were walking up to the party just as Adrienne pulled up with mom and dad. Mom pointed and said, oh my god, the grecians. Adrienne attempted to ignore her and drive right past but that approach did not work out. Adrienne was forced to back up so mom and dad could have a confused discussion with their old friends about why they happened to be on her daughter's street carrying a gift. My parents left the conversation a bit confused but still not fully aware of what was going on.
The moments leading up to the surprise were tense and exciting, I was talking to one of my parent's friends from before their marriage and we were both sure our heads would pop off from the tension.
Before we knew they walked in the door and the surprise was out of the bag. My Mother looked at Devin and I and said "What are you doing here?" Tears were streaming down her face. Dad looked around the room from face to face and stared in disbelief. Everyone was so supportive and happy for them.
It was nice to pay tribute to my parents union, because they have been rock solid for each other these past 35 years they have been able to have a positive impact on so many lives. I am so glad that I had the oppourtunity to in some small way show how much I apprecaite them.