Her son, Brian Gardner, has spent the last nine months serving in Afghanistan. He found out he was coming back home to in March, but he kept it a secret from his mom, hoping to surprise her.
His plan: pose as a waiter at Olive Garden.
His brother and other family members helped set it up, convincing Tammy Coats to go to Olive Garden for dinner. Another waiter took her drink order, and then Brian delivered his big surprise.
"I believe him, my other son, and my mom, everybody else knew but me," said Coats. "I had absolutely no idea he was going to be here today."
It wasn't just Brian's family that was excited to see him. Strangers came over to give their well wishes and thank him too.
Brian's family is now waiting for one more member to join them. Tammy's husband, who is Brian's step-dad, is also currently serving in Afghanistan. The family says he should be back in January of 2015. Both he and Brian are engineers for the army.