December 24th #3
“I’ll never forget that game!” I exclaim. “I couldn’t believe when he threw the ball into the end zone, and it was caught for a touchdown just as time ran off the clock. My dad and I were jumping up and down and cheering like crazy.”
“And we all went down to the field to celebrate,” Dani says. “And when I hugged my dad, I discreetly handed him the ring.”
“And you whispered something in his ear. I’ve always wondered what you said,” Jennifer says.
“Well, on Christmas morning, I told him that I didn’t put the ring under the tree, like we’d planned. That it didn’t feel right. After he won, I told him that this was the most perfect moment ever.”
“You were right,” Jennifer says, holding up her left hand and looking at her engagement ring.
“It was one of the most romantic things I had ever seen in my life,” I confess.
“It also made for the best picture ever,” Jennifer says. “Him down on one knee, confetti raining down on us. The joy on our faces.”
“That picture is downstairs on the wall. His third and final championship win.”
“I have to go see that,” I say.
“Make Damon show you,” Dani says.
I grab Damon from the dining room, where he’s playing a card game, say that I just want to steal him for a second, and lead him downstairs.
He’s got a twinkle in his eye when he says, “Where are you taking me?”
“Jennifer just told me about how your family brought her Christmas. Like you did for me.”
“Oh, that was crazy. It was my idea, but I couldn’t believe we actually pulled it off.”
“And then she told us about the proposal and how there is a picture of it down here.”
“There is,” he says, leading me into a large home gym. “Actually, it’s kind of good we’re down here. That way, you can see all the memorabilia for planning our house.”
“You’re right. There is a lot. Footballs, jerseys, trophies.”
“And this is dad’s first championship win,” he says while I study a mural of Damon’s dad holding Devaney with confetti raining down on them.
He turns and says, “And this is his second. Even better since I’m in the picture.”
We turn to face another wall, and there I see it. Damon’s dad, down on one knee, holding out a ring to Jennifer, confetti flying, Damon and Dani grinning like crazy.
“There is so much emotion on your dad’s face in all of these photos,” I say in awe.
“That’s because he was winning. Come here. Let me show you another one. It’s actually always been my favorite,” Damon says.
He leads me into a room with both a sauna and a bathroom and points to a wall above the toilet.
His dad looks … terrible. He’s on a football field at what looks like the end of a rough game.
His hair and uniform are soaked, and he’s covered in mud.
But that’s not the part that gets to you.
It’s that his head is down, defeat written across his face.
“When was that taken?” I ask. “And why in the world is it your favorite?”
“Because we don’t always win. Dad says it’s moments like this that make moments like the photos in the other room more powerful.
More emotional. This was from a divisional round playoff.
Dad always says it was a grueling game, cold and messy.
That the weather ranged from rain to sleet to snow.
The field was a wreck. He had the chance to throw a Hail Mary to a wide-open player in the end zone to win the game.
Threw the ball a little high—although I have watched tape of that game, and if I had been out there, I would have caught it.
Yes, the ball was high, but had his receiver actually jumped up to try to catch it, he could have. Anyway, they lost. He took the blame.”
“I’m sort of surprised he chose to hang up that picture.”
“He said he wanted to see it as a daily reminder. Because he never wanted to feel like that again.”
“I’ve learned so much about football since we started dating,” I tell Damon. “Like, I sort of always saw the pretty part. The highlight reels version, if you will—the big contracts, endorsements, game-day outfits, the fame and glory.”
“And now you know better?” Damon asks, pulling me into his arms.
“Yeah, I’m learning that it’s not that you might get hurt. It’s when you get hurt and how bad it will be. Not to mention the daily grind on your body. It’s got to be hard on relationships too. I mean, even now it is. You spend so much time on it.”
“I went home early one night, that day that Chase was mad at me, and Dani was so excited not to be eating dinner alone. And that really hit me.”
“When you play professionally, is it the same way?” I wonder.
“On regular practice days, Dad usually was home by six. And although he worked out daily, he was home a lot more during the offseason. My dad was lucky in that he was in KC his whole career, but that’s not the norm.
Players are constantly traded. And if you don’t play well enough, your career can be quite short.
I suppose just like life, there are no sure things. ”
I lean in and give him a kiss and say, “As long as we’re always on the same team, we’ll do just fine.”
“I agree,” he says. “Now, it’s time for me to go beat everyone at Pictionary.”
“And open presents,” I say with a laugh. “I can’t wait to see what we got everyone. You know, since you did all the shopping.”