The house was silent when he arrived home. He had expected to hear the sounds of children. Especially the noise created by his two boys. It seemed the only time they were quiet were when they were asleep. A grin tugged at one corner of his lips when he thought perhaps his wife had gotten fed up and restrained them to chairs using duct tape and silenced their arguing with ball gags. Not that she really would but it was fun to think about doing it.
He hollered he was home as soon as he stepped in the door. Normally his wife would rush to him, throw her arms around him and give him a long, loving kiss, then inquire about his day. But that didn't happen. The silence was almost deafening. Frowning slightly in concern, he called out once more as he made his way to the living room. He wasn't overly worried yet but it simply was not like his wife to not greet him.
She always did everything she could to make him feel like a god. She enjoyed pampering and spoiling him. He had to admit, at least to himself, he loved the attention. To him, she was the most perfect woman in the world. She was an incredible wife to him and a wonderful mother to their children. She was patient, kind and understanding, even if she did get a bit emotional at times. But that was just her nature and she did her best to attempt thinking logically at those times. Sometimes she succeeded, sometimes she didn't but he always loved her.
That's when he saw it. A large brightly colored helium balloon, emblazoned with the words Happy Birthday across the front, floated in the center of the room, weighted down by a card. He smiled brightly. It was his twenty third birthday. He opened the envelope and pulled the card free. It had a single heart on the front. The inside was blank save for a message written in his wife's handwriting.
Follow the trail of Jolly Ranchers to find your birthday gift.
His wife knew how much he loved the hard candies. He was obsessed with them.
He grinned widely in anticipation of what his creative wife had planned. She never failed to surprise him. Glancing down at the candies, he decided they could wait. Reaching his wife was foremost in his mind. Striding quickly, he followed the trail through the house.
It led him up the front set of stairs, down the hall and into his bedroom. His gaze swept the room but there was no sign of his wife. Another balloon floated above the bed with a note attached.
Remove your shoes and socks.
He kicked off his shoes and removed his socks, leaving the articles where they fell. Normally he would put his shoes away and toss the socks in the hamper but he was eager to discover his surprise.
Following the trail once more, he walked down the hall in the direction of the back staircase. Going down two steps at a time, he entered the kitchen. Another balloon and note.
Remove your shirts.
He always wore two shirts. A wife beater and another shirt on top. Both were quickly stripped away and tossed onto the table.
To the trail again. He was led down another hallway to the dance studio. Inside, attached to the dancing pole was another balloon and note.
