A Great Big Surprise

I hinted in my previous post that my brother, Andrew, gave us a great big surprise last week. Let me fill you in.

I traveled home on Friday evening one week ago to celebrate Laura’s 18th birthday and Dad’s 55th birthday. We ate burgers on the back porch and retreated indoors when the dark clouds rolled in.

The storm had nearly passed by 10:30, but we continued to chat in the comfort of the family room. Mom and I were each on a recliner, and Laura and her boyfriend sat side-by-side on the couch. Dad had just stepped into the kitchen, leaving our two Goldens waiting for his return. (Nick stayed in D-ville since my Saturday and Sunday mornings were reserved for the girls.)

Faint rumbles of thunder and occasional flashes of lightning continued outside. And then another sound — louder and clearer — occurred at the French doors. My first thought was “Holy crap, there’s a man standing at our door!” And then, as my eyes focused on the figure, I saw Andrew. But my head said it couldn’t be Andrew. Andrew lives almost 4,000 miles away in London.

Everyone else in the room was experiencing the same conflicting sight, and then the figure flung open the door, and sure enough, it was Andrew! There were screams and squeals of disbelief as Andrew entered the house and Dad rushed back into the room. I repeated at least five times: “What are you doing here?” There were hugs all around and tears from Mom. And Andrew captured video of the entire dramatic scene.

I have honestly never felt more shock than I did in that moment. It was unlike a birthday party or bridal shower surprise because it was completely unexpected. The thought never even crossed my mind that Andrew would catch a flight from London to Dulles and then drive a rental car to Dover without any of us privy to his plan.

Andrew said he just couldn’t stay away during such a celebratory week. (In addition to the birthdays, we celebrated Laura’s high school graduation.)

Of course we had to share the excitement with Nick, so Andrew called him from my phone to really throw him off. Andrew set the phone to speaker, so we all heard Nick’s groggy voice answer “hello.” He was especially disoriented from sleep, and it took at least three minutes for Nick to realize he was talking to Andrew who really was on this side of the Atlantic.

Andrew spent the remainder of the week surprising other family members, visiting friends, playing golf, watching Sports Center, and consuming his favorite American foods and beverages.

Thanks for the awesome surprise, bro! It’ll be a tough one to top.