Surprise Mr. Monk (8.09)
(As Monk and Natalie were walking along a city street)
Monk peered left and right before he took each step forward. Besides remembering to touch the poles, he was obsessing over Natalie's surprise birthday threat. Ever since she had promised that she would surprise him, he could not drop his guard from morning to night, even – especially – when Natalie was not around. He foiled her latest attempt, where she pretended to have lost her cell phone and begged him to detour to her house. He still did not believe that she would succeed in surprising him, but he told himself that he never could know. The tenth birthday fiasco with Cowboy Hank was a surprising disappointment; getting surprised by Natalie would come close, albeit without the blow to his psyche.
Natalie saw Monk at thought and eyes wary of his surroundings. She smirked inside at the unease he was showing, and tried to plot a way to surprise him. Her attempt with the cell phone was too elementary, while other well-tried ideas were discarded because Monk definitely knew about them. Planning a surprise party was a challenge indeed…
Natalie saw Monk slowing down at the intersection. She held onto his arm and looked up asking, "Are we going to the appliance store as usual?"
Monk murmured a bit and thought about it. Was this another surprise party? Finding himself reluctant to change his routine, Monk nodded his head but manifested his ongoing reluctance.
Natalie tried to ask him, "Don't we always go to the appliance every third Thursday? You just told me earlier you have two light bulbs malfunctioning. I even brought them with me, right here in my bag."
Monk looked her with a smile of recognition. She was too easy and gave it away again. He knew it was another surprise. "It's another surprise isn't it Natalie?"
Natalie realized what he was insinuating and shook her head vehemently. "No way Adrian. It's not a surprise. Plus, how can I set up a party at an appliance store?"
Monk explained as if the logic was obvious, "Of course it is. You know all my routines, which gives you a head start. You know I always go to the Vinton appliance store, and when. That's why you want me to go there today more than ever. And you know it's difficult and uncommon to plan a party near an appliance store. Precisely because of that you planned a party there. Case rested."
"No, I wouldn't do that. Do you honestly think I would plan a party near an appliance store?"
"No, which is why I think you in fact did."
"What?" Natalie was confused at Monk's logic. She thought he was perhaps thinking over the matter too much. Resigned yet determined to avoid another Monk headache, she exclaimed, "Ok, we'll go elsewhere. Let's head over to the wharf."
"Oh, no, not the wharf. It's near ocean. Ocean is scary, and could be filled with surprises."
"Gee, somebody is full of paranoia these days." Natalie laughed a bit at herself for making Monk act his way. She promised that she would relieve him soon, after surprising him of course. "Ok, you lead the way Adrian. We don't have a case going on besides what happened Mr. Meckler and the janitor."
"Yes, that's on my mind. But the new vacuum and your surprise are keeping my mind and time busy. I even lost track of how many times I cleaned the vacuum this morning."
"Honestly Adrian you don't need to worry that I would surprise you. See, the thing about surprises that make them so fun is for them to just come to you. Let someone surprise you."
"But I hate surprises. It's on my list, somewhere."
"Well you'll just have to get used it Adrian."
"Can't I take a guess? Or how about it if you give me a hint?"
"You don't take guesses. And I'm not giving you hints. You're a detective; it's your time to figure me out." Natalie ended that with a playful slap around Monk's waist, as if challenging him to do his sleuthing one more time.
Monk shook his head as he followed Natalie. He followed up, "You're lucky I'm paying you enough to plan this surprise of yours."
"You're still not paying me enough. And don't you think about withholding my paycheck."
"Darn, you stole my surprise gift idea for your birthday Natalie." Seeing her scowl, Monk chose the safe way out, "Just kidding."
(Conclusion of Monk's birthday party)
Monk picked up the fork and eyed the silver. Some crumbs of cake adhered to the prongs but he found himself reluctant to spend the time cleaning the fork. On his mind were more important things, namely Natalie sitting by his side. He promised himself that he would reward her for surprising him. As he stared at the fork in his hands, his mind came up with a thought. Trudy used to teach him about feeding cake as a way for couples to express their love, although he still found the thought unsanitary. Knowing Natalie and how much he trusted her, he decided to risk feeding her cake with his fork.
Slicing a piece of cake from his plate, Monk offered it to Natalie. He smiled as she took a bite and turned around to chew. He could tell that she was smiling too.
Offering another slice afterwards, Monk saw Natalie with a smile that showed appreciation and love. He found himself comfortable in this role and was tempted to kiss the cream off Natalie's lips.
"Adrian, you're going to make me fat."
"Natalie, you're not fat. Have more cake – it's good for you."
"This is coming from someone who refuses to eat anything he hasn't prepared himself."
Natalie smiled at Monk's attempt to feed her cake. She remembered Mitch doing that during their anniversaries long time ago. It was quite sweet of Monk to do the same, especially overcoming his fears about mixing forks. She had to give him props for taking the surprise party in stride. He even shared two dances with her on the floor, when he surprised her with a very skillful foxtrot.
Monk interrupted her thoughts, "Thank you again for this birthday party. It's the best one I ever had, or will have."
"Adrian, I promise you that you'll enjoy many more birthday parties. Just not all will be surprises, to make you feel easy."
"And only every tenth year," Monk added as if it were paramount.
Natalie smiled and picked up her fork with a slice of orange. She knew it was Monk's favorite fruit, as it had even numbers of slices (well, most of the time) and was round. She reached over to feed him the slice and reciprocate for the cake he had offered.
Monk was a bit hesitant at first about eating from her fork. But all being even, he found the courage to take the slice of orange. Finding himself happy and a bit brave, he thought up an idea, "Natalie, I think I have something on my lips."
Natalie told him she would get a wipe and turned around to reach her bag. With a new wipe in her hand, she turned back toward Monk only to get a quick kiss on the lips.
"Problem solved."
Laughing at his audacity and her gullibility, she began to laugh.
