It was a surprise party and was he ever surprised! Stunned! Our former neighbors, Jay and Nancy have two children. Their daughter Janet married Mike about three years ago and it was his surprise 60th birthday party last evening. They had been celebrating all week and he thought the big family party on Friday night was the finale. Wrong!
He and his sons went to see the new Batman movie together and arrived back at his house expecting a nice, quiet family dinner. When the door opened and we all said, "Surprise," he greeted each person still with his new Coach man-bag in its shopping bag in one hand. He didn't have the presence of mind to put it down. Truly surprised.
Janet had prepared a beautiful display of food from appetizers to dinner and cake. We were happy to see so many friends and family and kids whom we had seen at Jay's 80th birthday party earlier in the year. We love being around these people. The evening flew by.
As we were heading to the party, it was a beautiful 68 degrees so the coast was packed with people. We were a bit worried about getting out of town and over the pass to their house in the Santa Cruz mountains. While looking at a map, I realized we could run the ridge and approach it from the north rather than going over the hill, taking the freeway then another freeway back towards Santa Cruz. As it turned out, the traffic was so horrible that, had we gone that way, we would have been late like so many other people. We saw few cars on the small roads through the mountains, the weather got warmer then just plain hot by the time we got to the party. Thankfully, Janet and Mike have air conditioning as it was close to 100 degrees but it was still very warm in the house. We took turns standing near the vents releasing lovely cool air. Though we were dressed for the heat in shorts and polo shirts, I was sweating from standing too long. Also, if I can't feel air moving in a hot room, I almost panic. Through the years, I have been able to control this feeling but still, it was unsettling. Even in the car driving to the party, I finally asked Michael to close the windows and turn on the air. He kept turning down the fan and I had to remind him that I needed it on my face or I feel like I was suffocating. Even after all these years, he still didn't understand. I could feel the panic rising as the sweat was dripping down my back. Leaving the party hours later, I could hear my breathing. It was very laboured, I believe, due to the heat as it was so much better after we got home to the cooler air.
But the best, the very best, was the ride home. We left the party about 8:15, put the top down on the car, watched the sunset during the entire drive home and wove our way home through the gorgeous redwoods, windy roads, views of the mountains and ocean with fog far below us, views of the entire Bay Area lit in the distance, CD playing and a feeling of total relaxation.
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