A birthday surprise

Since we were teens my sister Cheryl and I have always enjoyed the music of Rick Springfield.  But for Cheryl, it goes beyond just enjoying Rick's music.  She adores the guy.  Going back to the General Hospital days, she's always considered herself a big fan of Rick Springfield.

In the spring of 2004 I had heard "Beautiful You", Rick's current song at the time, on the radio.  Following the song the DJ mentioned that Rick had a date scheduled to play Foxwoods.  I later learned he was playing Foxwoods on Cheryl's 35th birthday.

I bought the tickets and told Cheryl not to make any plans for that Saturday night.  Of course she wanted to know what was up but I wouldn't tell her.

I picked Cheryl up at her apartment for four o'clock and we made the hour-and-a-half trek south to Foxwoods.

"Oh, wow!  What a great surprise!  I love it here!"  She exclaimed once she saw where we were.  I smiled to myself knowing that just being at Foxwoods was just the tip of the iceberg.

We went inside and discussed grabbing something for dinner before doing any gambling.  I knew the show started at eight and it was now quarter to six so that didn't leave too much time.  As we headed for the buffet, Cheryl spotted a poster advertising the Rick Springfield concert that evening.

"Oh my God!  Rick's playing here--tonight!"

"Aw, too bad we didn't know.  We could've got tickets."

"Yeah," she said disappointedly.  "It's probably sold out."

I tried hard not to laugh.

Following dinner we headed into the casino area to work the slots for a bit.  I kept an eye on my watch.  As it neared seven-thirty, I turned to Cheryl and said, "Hey, why don't we go look at some of the shops for a while?  I need a break."

"Okay," she agreed.

I led her in the direction of the Fox Theatre where Rick was performing.  Since there were shops along the way, she didn't really pay much attention to where we were headed.  As we neared the theatre, I  pulled the tickets from my purse. 

"What's this?"  Cheryl asked.  Then she screamed and hugged me at the same time.

"Happy birthday," I said.

Our seats weren't the greatest but it didn't matter.  Cheryl's birthday surprise only got better when Rick headed out into the audience during "Love Somebody".  He made his way up to where we were seated.  I pushed my sister towards the aisle so she could get a closer look at him.  She headed down the stairs towards Rick, who by now was mobbed by the crowd.  I laughed as I saw the look on my sister's face as she reached out towards Rick.  Ecstatic, she returned to her seat after Rick went back down to the stage.

"I touched his butt!"  Cheryl yelled.

Four years later Cheryl still talks about that concert and says it was the best birthday she's ever had.