Contest Entry: Chapter 4: The Last Laugh

Chapter 4

The Last Laugh

As I watched the back of Rick’s head as he stood perfectly still, like a statue, I wished that I could read his mind. What was he thinking? Did he realize that the camper was intended to be a gift for us? Watching Rick standing motionless was driving me crazy. Finally my curiosity got the best of me, and I felt myself starting to walk towards where Rick was standing starring at the camper.

Rick reached for the camper door, I watched as his hand closed around the doorknob and twisted it, and the door opened and he disappeared inside. For a moment the thought crossed my mind that maybe I didn’t have to tell him I bought the camper. I could just park it at Betty’s house, and forget about it. Of course that wouldn’t explain what the camper was doing here at this Empty Nesters Bash, neither would it explain why the camper was inside the auditorium all decked out in a huge red bow.

I took several long deep breaths, while I scanned the auditorium filled with so many wonderful and kind people. I gathered all the courage that I ever possessed, grabbed the same camper doorknob, and ducked quickly inside to face my fate.

I couldn’t read the expression on Rick’s face. He was sitting at the dinning table and I swear it almost looked like he had tears in his eyes.

“Surprise!” The word came out more like a question than a remark.

“You shouldn’t have, Hon. All these people, all our friends, and all the food, not to mention the banners, signs and balloons. I’ve never had a party like this.” Rick seemed calm, not at all angry, yet he seemed to want to laugh.

“Do you like the camper? I thought it would be a really big surprise.”

Rick seemed to be absorbing the shock well as he was taking a full inventory of the camper’s lay out. A twisted little evil smile started to spread across his face.

“What? Don’t you like your surprise? I said defensively.

“Oh, this camper is really nice, but I have some really serious news. You are not the only one that has been keeping secrets.” Between the look on Rick’s face and the words coming out of his mouth, I didn’t have a clue what he could possibly be talking about. Rick has never been able to keep a secret from me our entire marriage.

“This party is the only secret that I know of that has been a secret. Considering how many people were in on this Empty Nesters Bash, from the caterers, the D.J and the invitations. I was worried that old lady Edith at the post office would have given away your party surprise, so she was the very first person to get an invitation. I know I have been busy, but I still keep tabs on what is going on in this town. What do you mean by, “I am not the only one that has been keeping secrets?”

“You really didn’t have to get me this camper, after all I really knew how much you wanted one. I was waiting till just the right time to tell you. I just hadn’t ever imagined that you would go out and buy a camper, too.”

“What? Say that again. TOO, what do you mean TOO?”

“Dear, I don’t know quite how to tell you this, but you have gone from wanting a camper, not having a camper to now being the proud owner of TWO… yes TWO, count ‘em 1…2… campers.” Rick was laughing so hard that he was crying.

I almost fell down. “Oh my, what am I going to do with two campers? I just never thought that you would even consider it, you said, “NO”. I remember you clearly saying, “NO”.

“Honey, the question is not what are you going to do with two campers. The question is how much money do we have left after this party, and after paying for the campers. These things aren’t cheap. Seems like the only trips we’re going to be able to afford are not much farther than our driveway.”

“Oh stop. Surely that is a wonderful problem. Oh my, two campers. And I was worried that you would be mad, really mad.”

We sat in the camper parked in the auditorium the rest of the evening, listening to the music, and our friends’ laughter. It was a beautiful Empty Nesters party. And we were sure that we would figure out which camper to keep, and what to do with the extra one. We promised each other from this night on that we would never again keep secrets from each other. It was just too expensive.

~~~

And the prompt is:
Taking all prior entries into consideration, this is your conclusion.

Using the existing entries, you need to come up with an unexpected resolution that is unlikely but plausible.

Whether the birthday person discovers their surprise is up to you.... but you need to make it clear whether they did or not.