Guest post written by Kasey

When I was seven or eight years old, I was caught in a lie. When my mom asked if I had brushed my teeth before bed, I replied with a bold “yes.” Using her super-sleuthing maternal skills, my mom felt the bone dry bristles of my toothbrush. Busted. Her reaction of disappointment shaped my integrity thereafter. Since then, and with anyone in my life, I have avoided evoking that same sense of betrayal that cracked my mother’s trust in me that night. Lying is not easy for me. With one exception.

Mike, Elle, B-Rizz, and I (affectionately having called ourselves The Wolfpack) had been communicating for months to coordinate the surprise for my sister’s fortieth birthday. She had no idea. During my conversations with her in the weeks leading up to my visit and her birthday, I would casually yet intentionally ask her about her birthday plans. My heart would swell with joy hearing her description of a fairly typical evening that did not include the surge of adrenaline that was sure to accompany our first reunion since her move abroad. My lie of omission was both entertaining and effortless.

The lies on the day of my flight became more tricky and more fun. My parents had been visiting me that week, which was a convenient diversion to any suspicion that The Wolfpack may be planning a surprise. We had been trying to coordinate a family video chat, and my strategic excuse for the day of my flight was that we were spending the afternoon at a park viewing alligators. As I was sitting at the airport, I received a text. Sis: “how’s it going?” Quickly, I reply “Great! Seeing tons of gators.” I recalled in that moment that I had a photo of a baby gator on my phone’s camera roll. For my added amusement and for some deceptive proof of my whereabouts, I sent her the picture taken from a different time and place as the cherry on top of my lie sundae.

My overnight flight was smooth, and I landed in Madrid on her birthday at about noon Spain-time. This was 6am Eastern Standard Time, and I knew she would begin getting suspicious if I didn’t at least send a “Happy Birthday! lovey emoji, lovey emoji” text by 8 or 9am Eastern Standard Time. B-Rizz picked me up at the airport and chauffeured me the three-hour drive to Logroño, so the timing was perfect. The typical birthday text would be trumped by me walking into her and Mike’s apartment for the shock of her life.

Once parked on their apartment’s street, Elle joined us as we coordinated with Mike via text how and when we should execute the surprise. One small unexpected hiccup was that my sister was napping on the couch at the time of our arrival. Instead of perfectly executing a pristinely coordinated plan, the four of us exchanged silent glances as we shrugged and watched my sister soundly sleeping. It didn’t take long for her to wake up, stare at us staring at her, slowly blink several times, and then finally say to me in bewilderment, “you’re here?” Once her sleepy brain caught up to her eyes, we hugged and all shared in a champagne toast. One of the most exciting parts to me was to reveal to her my cunning ways with a detailed description of each of my lies. After all, these lies were the avenue to one of the greatest joys both she and I have ever felt.

Here is Karrie’s perspective (and lots of pics) of our visit together!