Birthday surprise

A few weeks ago - June 9, to be exact - I was given a really nice birthday surprise.  Angie asked me if I'd like to go out for dinner with the girls at the local restaurant that we all like (the "fish place" - where we went for Angie's birthday).  Of course, I said yes, and I was looking forward to seeing everyone.

When we got to the fish place, it was packed out, as usual, and as usual, even though we'd made a reservation, we had to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Finally, after an hour of waiting, we decided to go next door to another restaurant that we've tried before and is good. 

For 8 girls, we ordered a lot of food - about 10 dishes.  Something felt a little strange to me, though, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  There were a few girls who were there who wouldn't normally come out except for a special occasion...others kept mentioning that I'd be in the States for my birthday...I felt like something was going on, but wasn't sure why...

Eventually, the food stopped coming and the restaurant emptied out.  It was time to go, but everyone was still sitting.  Karen got up to go to the restroom...and came back with a cake.  Then everyone started clapping.  I did, too, because Karen loves to bake and it isn't unusual for her to bring a cake.  But why the clapping?  Then, everyone started singing "Happy Birthday", and I knew why I had had the sneaking suspicion that something was up. 

It was the perfect surprise for someone (like me) who doesn't particularly enjoy being the center of attention...the surprise was at the end, and it was just as good!

It turns out that Karen had left the cake in the refrigerator at the fish place and had to go fetch it...it was such a nice surprise.  Thanks Angie and everyone for making it a special birthday!

Tina, me, Stella, Azita, Karen, Angie, Carol and Mary