I said birthdays didn't matter, then treated my partner's plans as a test
Confessions'I thought you wanted a normal evening,' my partner said. I had just asked why there wasn't even a small surprise.
Two weeks earlier I'd said, very confidently, that birthdays weren't a big deal to me. My partner offered dinner out. I said we should save the fuss and eat at home. What I actually wanted was for them to ignore that answer and invent something lovely anyway.
They bought the dessert I like, made dinner, and gave me a card. I spent the evening waiting for the part that would prove they knew what I really meant. By bedtime I was quiet and prickly, and they asked what they'd done wrong.
I can apologize for the mood. Should I also explain the test I never told them they were taking? It sounds childish written down, but merely saying 'I was tired' would leave them studying the wrong evening for clues.
