Justin Duma stepped out of the car and made his way to the passenger side. He assisted Wintry out and removed her blindfold.
Her excitement vanished. “A football stadium?”
“Not just a football stadium—the place where I left my heart and soul on the field for thirteen years.”
There’s gonna be some other parts of you on that field if you think I’m gonna be spending my New Year’s Eve here!”
“Hey—I’m the one who wanted to leave the kids with my mother and head off to Statia this week for some fun in the sun.”
“So let me get this straight, you had me doll up in this dress because you had some surprise that was so big I had to be blindfolded for it. And it turns out that you’re taking me to a football game?”
“There’s no game tonight. The game is Sunday. During which I’ll be enshrined in the Ring of Honor, if you haven’t forgotten.”
“How could I forget, when you mention it like every ten minutes? Then why are we here now?”
“I thought you might want a sneak peek of your boyfriend’s name up in lights.”
“If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’re not thinking.”
He reached his hand out to her. She blew out an angry breath and grabbed on. He then led her toward the dark stadium. Huge mounds of snow from yesterday’s snowstorm surrounded the parking lot. The lot had been plowed clear, but it was still a little slippery, and Duma’s tux shoes weren’t the best footing for the surface. He knew he’d look like a clumsy polar bear if he fell.
“Hey JD, what’s shaking?” a security guard greeted him.
“Doing well Stevie, how’s the family?”
“It was a good year, can’t complain.”
Duma slipped him a crisp hundred. “Now it’s a better one.”
He still knew most of the security staff from when he played here. Some of his teammates looked down on these guys or just plain ignored them, but Duma made it a point to get to know each and every one of them.
Stevie nodded a thank you, and then turned to Wintry. “I see you bought your wife something nice. That’s a beautiful dress, Mrs. Duma.”
“Thank you, but I’m not his wife,” Wintry snapped. “And I bought my own dress.”
Stevie was smart enough not to touch that one. He quietly took them inside and led them to the elevator.
They rode to the top level of the stadium. Then climbed the steps to the highest point. Wintry was growing even more frustrated. “Where are we going, Justin?”
“It’s best to see it from the top.”
“God forbid if we don’t kill ourselves on account of your ego.”
The lights suddenly came on, as if on cue, and lit up the 70,000-seat stadium.
They were momentarily blinded, but when Duma regained his sight, he pointed. “There it is.”
Wintry focused on the ring around the stadium, known as the Ring of Honor, which displayed the names of the elite players and coaches who contributed most to the franchise over the years. It was an exclusive club, and the highest honor a team could give a player.
But he wasn’t pointing there. He was trying to get her to look down to the field, where a snowplow was busily removing the snow cover for Sunday’s game.
When she looked closer she saw that the plow had carved something into the snow.
Wintry Will U Marry Me?
When she turned back to Duma he was on bended knee. He held up a small box, and said, “This is the only ring of honor that matters.”
Before he could even ask, she had tackled him with the same ferocity that he had attacked opposing quarterbacks in this very stadium.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
When they eventually returned to their feet, Duma gave a thumbs up to the grounds crew and security staff down on the field. They returned a standing ovation and serenaded them with the famed Dooooma! chant.
Wintry wiped the tears away and found her composure. “I already know what I’m going to do with my half of the twenty million,” she said.
“Your half?”
“I’m going to start a performing arts schools in all major cities, for underprivileged kids. So the next Hope Roberts will get a chance. If we didn’t step in, she’d be working at the Christmas tree lot today and not on the world stage.”
“And the next Wintry Mix.”
“There’s millions of kids like us out there. So what do you think, husband?”
“I think it’s a great idea, but you’re too late, wife.”
Her face fell in defeat. “You already spent the money?”
“I did,” he said. “I spent it on starting a performing arts school for underprivileged kids.”
Her face lit up, which made it worth every penny … well, almost. “I told you it’s more about helping people than the money, Justin. It’s about time I’ve started to rub off on you.”
“I hope you remember that when we’re at our divorce hearing.”
She smiled. “Remember what?”