The perfect lie

I knew that once I kicked into high gear with the final prep for tonight's surprise 40th birthday cocktail party, I would have zero time for pictures. These plastic wine glasses caught my eye as I was setting up.

The party couldn't possibly have been more successful. All the guests were asked to arrive via the alley since the neighbor the party was for, lives across the street.

Shortly before five, we hustled all twenty-five bodies into the house and I called the birthday boy, pretending to need some last minute help with something heavy in order to get ready for a back yard barbecue. This guy will drop everything to lend a hand to anyone who asks, so his wife and I just knew this would work. The two of them walked over to my back yard, I dragged him into the garage where the "thing" was I needed help with. Meanwhile, Mr. F hustled everyone outside.

The look on my neighbor's face when he walked out and everyone yelled "surprise" was priceless.

His kindness, a bit of obliviousness and the fact that he is so humble that it never occured to him that all the party stuff in the back yard was for him, made the whole set-up flawless.

We'll see if he ever trusts me again.