Chapter 28: We Enjoy Kay’s Birthday Party and Janice Opens Our Eyes.

Kay looked up, gave out an ear drum splitting screech, and started sputtering, "Mom!?! What are you doing here? What's going on? Where's Daddy? Where'd all these people come from? Who did this? Who set me up?!?" She turned and glared at me. "You did this! Didn't you?"

I just stood there and smiled. I had gotten her, but good. This was a complete blind-side.

Janice stepped up to Kay and gave her a big hug. "Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn! Daddy sent his birthday wishes and so did Junior. They both wanted to be here but we couldn't all be gone without more planning and making some arrangements. Did we surprise you?"

"Oh, you surprised me alright." She glared at me again, "And I know just who to thank for this. What I don't know is how he put this together without me knowing about it or seeing it coming. Rob, you have some explaining to do."

"I think I'll go check on the buffet tables and make sure everything is okay over on that side of the pool."

"Oh, no! You're going to come inside with me and start explaining this while I change clothes. Mom, you're going to have to excuse me for a couple of minutes. I promise I'll be back out as soon as I'm ready. Rob, come with me please."

Janice was smiling ear to ear as Kay took my hand and pulled me back inside. She dragged me all the way through the house into her room, and closed the door.

"Kay, what are you doing? I can't be in here while you're changing. What will your mother think?"

"I don't know and quite truthfully, right now, I don't care. Why'd you do this? When did you put this together? It's obvious you've been working on it for a while. You couldn't get all these people together overnight. If nothing else the caterer and my mother required some deep planning."

I was getting pounded on the chest again. I think she was punctuating each of her statements with a closed fist blow. "Ow! Would you, please, stop beating on me? You're going to leave bruises." I stepped back and was rubbing my chest where she'd been pounding away.

"I don't care if I leave bruises. You deserve them! Why'd you do this?"

"I did this because I care for you, and I needed to do something special for your twenty-first birthday. It was either hold a birthday party or take you to Europe, and right now, I don't think I can take that much time off. I know you can't; it would interfere with your new internship. By the way, when do you start with that?"

"Don't you even try to change the subject. I'm waiting for a whole lot more explanation and it better be coming, right soon. Start talking or I'm going to start beating on you again."

"There's no call for violence, Kay. I just got a few of your friends and classmates to come together and celebrate with you."

"I can see that. You haven't told me when you put this together; this wasn't done overnight."

"Okay, I started on this when I set up my party for work. It got me thinking and I called your mom to see if she could come out to see you. When she agreed I started calling the people on your contact list."

"But how did you know who was on the list?"

"That was simple, you gave it to me."

"I gave it to you?" she asked as she started getting undressed.

"Yeah, you gave it to me when my in-house system backed up your linked phone and computer. All I had to do was bring the backup copy to my monitor and I had your entire contact list. I was having a tough time early on because it was too far out for people to commit to the date. I got a lot of help from Darren Williams, your T.A. He's the one who got everyone from your class."

"You talked with Darren about this?"

"A few weeks ago."

"What about my boss at the Outback? Did you talk with him, too?"

"Yeah, so don't be too hard on him. I asked him to change your shift for today, so I could have the party for you. It wouldn't have been much of a party if you had to work this evening."

"Is that why he practically threw me out of the restaurant at five?"

"I asked him to make sure you could catch the bus so you would be here at five twenty. He and I worked that out."

"I'm going to have to make sure I thank both of them properly for this conspiracy."

"Be nice, Kay. They only did it because they like you and wanted to do something nice for your birthday."

"I can't blame my mother and you tell me to be nice to my T.A. and my manager. I guess I'm going to have to take it all out on you then."

"Be reasonable, Kay." I was holding my hands up in surrender as I said this.

"Rob, remember when I got you at your party? When I knocked you into the pool?" She was down to her bra and panties.

"Yeah, so?"

"This time I'm going to drown you! Now get out of here and go entertain the guests while I finish changing clothes."

I left the room as quickly as I could. If I hung around she might start beating on me again.

I went out to the party and looked for Janice. She was at the buffet and had a plate in her hands. I headed over towards her but stopped to talk with Darren.

"Thanks, Darren, this is great and I appreciate the help in getting people here for the party."

"You told me you were going to have beer and food so it was easy. If there's one thing college students love and will go out of their way for, it's free beer and free food. This is a great spread, I hope you have enough."

"There should be. I gave the caterer the head count and told him they were mostly college kids. He understood and said he'd make sure we had enough beer and food."

"So Kay lives here with you?"

"Yes, she lives here, but she's not living with me like we're a couple. She does the housekeeping and takes care of some other things for me. I give her a room on the other side of the house from me, all proper and above board. There're no shenanigans going on between us. Heck, I've even brought her mother out from Kansas for this party. Let me introduce you."

"You're serious? You brought her mother out, all the way from Kansas, for this party. And you still say there are no shenanigans going on. Okay, if you say so."

"No lie, Darren, really. Now come with me to meet her mother."

I went over to where Janice was standing, a little away from the buffet. Darren followed me.

"Janice, this is Darren Williams, he's the teaching assistant in one of Kay's classes. He was a big help to me in putting this all together. Darren, this is Janice Sandersen, Kay's mother."

"Darren, it's very nice to meet you. Can you tell me how Kaitlyn is doing?"

"She's doing very well, Mrs. Sandersen. As a matter of fact she just got an internship with one of the companies here. They were only going to give out three internships but when they interviewed Kay they added a fourth, for her. They wouldn't have done that if she hadn't impressed them at the interview. It was kind of a surprise for us because we didn't have her name on the list of students seeking internships and we didn't send her to be interviewed."

"She told us about getting the internship; we assumed the school set it up. If the school didn't set it up then how did the interview come about?"

"We don't know, but it shows she's resourceful and willing to go after things on her own. That's a big plus for her. As I said, we were surprised when she came in and reported she had the internship on Thursday. Yesterday, the company called the program administration office to confirm her as one of four interns that will start after classes finish for the semester."

"Oh my, that soon?"

"That's when the intern program starts. It'll run for thirteen weeks and each of the four interns will get a two week break somewhere in that thirteen weeks. They all have to be there for the first three weeks and if they don't get dropped for any reason they have to be there for the last two weeks. They'll work out a schedule where only one intern is gone at a time during the middle eight weeks."

"Do the interns get to pick which weeks they're off?"

"The company specifies the weeks that are open and they leave it to the interns to schedule themselves. All the scheduling takes place in the first week. If for some reason there's a scheduling conflict the interns can't settle themselves, the company will just assign weeks, but that's not good. It shows the company the interns can't schedule and compromise to reach satisfactory arrangements. That counts as a black mark.

"At the end of the thirteen weeks the company will review the records for each intern and give the school an evaluation. They will also determine who they want to keep into the next semester; they keep one or two. The company has their own system and formula to figure that out. If none of the interns makes the grade with the company they won't keep any of them."

"They keep them even during the school year?"

"Oh yes, and it's a big boost for any they keep. The company works with our program administrators for any interns they want to keep. The interns get guidance and evaluations from the company. They also get class credits for the work they do with the company. If an intern does well they'll be kept through graduation, when their degree is awarded. They almost always get a firm job offer from the company then."

"That sounds good, but how are they supposed to live if they're interns? They have to cover their living expenses somehow. They don't get paid during the intern program do they?"

While we had been talking Kay had come back out and had been working her way around the pool greeting people and thanking them for coming to her surprise party. She had finally made her way to us and had heard her mother's last question.

"Hi, Mom. Who doesn't get paid, during what program?"

"Your mother, Darren and I were discussing the intern program. Actually, Darren was educating us about the intern program, how it worked and how long it ran. Your mother doesn't think you'll get paid while you work as an intern."

"We get paid, Mom. It's not great but it's better than minimum wage and better than you can get working at a fast food joint or a mall store. As a matter of fact I'm going to give up my job at the restaurant, I won't need it anymore. Besides that, I'll be working at the company during the week. I suppose I could work at the restaurant on the weekends, but that would be seven day work weeks and no down time. I don't know how long I could do that."

"Kay's right, Mrs. Sandersen, she'll get paid during the summer, at a decent level for someone without their degree yet. Plus, if she's one of the interns they keep into the school year, they'll pick up thirty percent of her tuition. I know Kay is on an internal scholarship from the Aerospace program, but the company doesn't know that and doesn't care. They'll put the money into her account on campus and it will just be another source of income for her to draw on, to pay expenses related to her degree, including her books, lab fees, meal plan and anything else."

"Really, Darren? I didn't know about that. Did you, Rob?"

"It's not my field, so no, I didn't know about that. I didn't have any type of intern program I could go into when I was in school. There weren't any available that I knew of."

Darren took his leave of us at that point and Kay and I got plates of food and drinks, then the three of us drifted around to where we could sit down at a table to eat.

"That would be big, Mom. It means I could get my car."

"Don't count your chickens before they've hatched, Kaitlyn. You still have to get through the summer part of this intern program."

"I know, Mom. Rob told me basically the same thing before I had the interview. See, he looks out for me the way you do."

"I know he looks out for you, and he's awfully good to you to set this up and bring me out for it."

"I knew he was in touch with you when he planned this but I didn't know he brought you out." Kay looked over at me. "There's more you're going to have to explain, isn't there, Rob?"

"Yeah, maybe. It'll have to be later though, we don't have the time right now." Or the privacy; I thought to myself.

We finished off the plates we had and split up to be good hosts. This also allowed Kay to enjoy her party and the congratulations from her friends and classmates. Most of the people at the party knew Kay from school. They either were in her classes before now or were in her classes now. There were also people who had never been with her in a class but were in the Aerospace program. Darren had done a good job of getting people out for the party and I was grateful.

The word about Kay's internship was spreading through the crowd and she was getting a lot of questions about it. The other three who'd been offered internships were at the party and the four of them got together to talk about their experiences at their interviews. They pulled Darren in to their group when he was walking by.

When that little group broke up Kay came over to talk with me. "Well, that was interesting."

"In what way?"

"None of them were given their internship at the interview. They didn't find out they had gotten them until yesterday, after the company called and spoke with our program administrators. They were a little put off that I knew right away."

"Is everything okay?"

"Their noses are a little out of joint but they'll survive. I didn't know it but there were ten who interviewed before me. That means there are only four in my class who weren't interviewed. Five of us, including me, hadn't signed up on the interview list. They all wanted to know how I managed to get one anyway. I didn't tell them, better to keep them guessing."

"Did Darren tell you anything new?"

"I think he went over the same things he talked with you and Mom about, maybe with a little more detail. He explained about interns being held over into the school year. I wasn't the only one who didn't know about all of that. I didn't say anything in the group about what you and Mom said, about counting chickens I mean."

"You don't think they know that? Why not tell them?"

"I didn't see any reason to quash their enthusiasm. It's going to be a competition, isn't it? I don't need to share everything and I doubt they will. I want that internship during the school year. If I don't get it I'll have to find another job when the summer is over. I don't know if John at the restaurant will take me back."

"Have you already given him your notice?"

"No, I figured to do that tomorrow. It's not quite two weeks' notice but I've been good for the restaurant and I don't think he'll mind, too much."

"You could let him know the internship is for the summer and you might want to come back in September. When you combine that with your notice he might keep it in mind."

"He might, but I doubt it. He'll have to staff up for the summer and then let people go when school starts. I'd feel bad if he let someone go to open a spot for me. I don't think it would be fair."

"It won't hurt to put the bug in his ear now, though. Something else you can do is offer to be on call to fill in for a shift if someone calls out sick on a weekend during the summer. I know it might be a lot with your intern work but it would go a long way in helping him out if he gets into a bind. It would keep him thinking well of you, even if he never has reason to call you."

"That's an idea. I'll have to think about it before I give my notice tomorrow."

We split up again; I wanted to check the buffet and beer lines. The caterer was good but I followed the old adage 'You get what you inspect not what you expect'. It was something I learned back in school from some engineering friends.

I talked with the caterer's head man about how long I wanted the party to continue. I thought it would be good if the guests cleared out by midnight; I didn't want it to make this party just another reason to get drunk. I told him to start shutting things down around ten and not to open any more packages of food after that. He said he'd announce a last call around a quarter to eleven and close the beer tap on the hour.

I went looking for Janice and found her sitting in the kitchen. "Are you okay, Janice?"

"I'm tired, that's all. It's been a long day for me and I don't want to be yawning out where the partiers are. It wouldn't be polite."

"You have been up for a while, haven't you? It's that two hour time difference catching up to you."

"I know, but I want to keep going until the party breaks up and I can congratulate Kay again, on her birthday and for the internship."

"You'll be happy to hear then that I've arranged things for the party to start shutting down at eleven. I'm hoping everyone will be cleared out by midnight."

"I think I can hang in there until then, but as soon as everyone's gone and I've congratulated Kay again I'm going to say goodnight and go to bed."

"Sleep as long as you want to in the morning. Kay has to work but she doesn't need to be at the restaurant until five tomorrow. We'll keep it quiet around here. The caterer won't be in for clean up until Monday."

"Thank you again, Rob, for bringing me out, for setting this all up and for being so good to our Kaitlyn."

Things actually went smoother than I thought they would and the caterer had the essential cleanup done before the crew left at eleven-thirty.

At twelve-oh-five Janice, Kay and I took a last walk around the backyard and through the cabana. We were making sure there weren't any partiers left lost or hiding in the bushes. The party had gone well and we didn't have too many problems with people drinking too much. The caterer had kept an eye on the beer tap and didn't hesitate to cut someone off before they were too far gone.

By the time we were inside and the house locked up Janice was done in and went to bed. Kay and I stayed up drinking herbal tea and talking in the great room.

"Rob, that was a wonderful party, everyone had a good time. The food was good too, no one went away hungry."

"I'm a little concerned; I didn't want anyone to go away too far under the influence to drive but most came out by bus, thanks to Darren. It shouldn't be a problem."

"I didn't see this party coming. You really did a good job keeping me from finding out about it before everyone shouted out the surprise. You rat. How am I going to get even with you? I don't have your devious and deceitful mind."

"Why should you need to get even? What part of throwing a celebratory party for a friend requires getting even for? Can't I do something nice for you without a reason other than to be nice?"

"Is that all it was, being nice to a friend? I know a lot of people who are nice to their friends and they don't throw big parties like this one. They may arrange a small get together, even a surprise party, but nothing on this scale. You're my friend like I'm yours and as much as I'd like to do something nice for you, there's no way I can do this, or anything even remotely close to it."

"You would if you could, though, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

"And you do what you can, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't have the resources you do."

"At your age I wouldn't expect you to, but I'm not your age, am I? I'm considerably older than you, and because of that I've had more time to accumulate the resources to do what I want to do. When I throw a party for a friend I use those resources. When you throw a party you use your resources. Doesn't that make sense to you?"

"Yes, but it doesn't explain the magnitude of this whole thing. It wasn't just a party, it was a surprise party, a huge surprise party. It was a surprise party with all my friends, not just a few of them. On top of that you brought my mother out for this huge, all inclusive, party and I think if they could've come, you would've brought out my father and both of my brothers."

"Maybe."

"Maybe my rosy red butt! You know you would've."

"All I can say is maybe; we'll never know for sure, will we?"

I got up and stretched my arms all the way up over my head. Kay got up, too.

"Grrr! I'm going to let this go for now but this isn't over. I'm ready for bed, and you know which bed I'd be in if I had my druthers and my mother wasn't here. I'm feeling very warm and in need of cuddling tonight."

Kay stepped close to me and before I was done with my stretch or could do anything else pressed herself firmly against me. She wrapped her arms around all the way to my back and gave me a big hug, while laying her head on my chest. I lowered my arms and wrapped them around her, holding her tight.

"I could get used to this very comfortable position, Rob. You've done so much for me; I don't know where I'd be without you. It was the smartest thing I've ever done when I jumped into the harbor and swam over to your boat last summer."

"And it was the smartest thing I've ever done when I pulled you aboard."