Without a Word_ How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything - Jill Kelly [11]
While T-Good dished out the best seats in the stadium, the rest of the Kelly clan focused on cold Crown Royal shots, Coors Light, spicy tailgate chili, and redneck fun. Our tailgates were the envy of Bills fans. Everyone knew where to find the Kelly motor home, but Big Ed made sure most folks kept their distance.
One Bills Drive was, and in a way still is, our second home.
Chapter 3
Mr. and Mrs. Quarterback
As my relationship with Jim grew, my life gradually became all about football. Or should I say, all about Jim Kelly. Though I was still in my early twenties, my identity was being swallowed up in what appeared to be every woman’s dream. I was no longer Jill Waggoner but the girlfriend of Jim Kelly, All-Pro quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.
Then on November 2, 1994, my situation shifted drastically yet again.
“Will you marry me?”
It was a magical moment filled with emotion. After months of wondering and waiting, Jim finally proposed. There was nothing unusual about that evening at Ilio DiPaolo’s restaurant, not initially anyway. The owner, Dennis, a dear friend of the Kelly family, sat us in the back of his Italian bistro in our favorite private room—the Buffalo Room. Decorated with all sorts of Bills memorabilia and very isolated, it was the perfect spot for Jim to pop the long-awaited question.
We ordered the usual that evening—the Abruzzi Platter for Jim and Chicken Abruzzi for me. When it came time for dessert, which I happen to love, Jim told me that Dennis had prepared something extra-special for us. Still oblivious to what Jim had planned, I agreed to try the dessert surprise. Little did I know that dessert that evening would come with a three-carat-diamond engagement ring!
As Jim asked me to close my eyes, I never dreamed that when I opened them again my world would change forever. While I sat there waiting in the corner of the Buffalo Room, Dennis and our photographer, Danny—whom Jim had brought in to make sure we would have tangible memories of this special evening—scurried quietly behind the scenes to ensure the moment would be perfect.
“Open your eyes,” Jim said.
I did, and in front of me on the table was a beautiful heart-shaped cake with a sparkling diamond ring placed in the center. Inscribed on the cake were the words, “Will you marry me?”
Completely overwhelmed, I blinked back tears amid the flash of cameras.
I was speechless.
“Well, will you?” Jim asked nervously.
I just looked at him as he dropped to his knees, grabbed my hands, and asked again, “Will you marry me, Jill?”
As Jim reached for the engagement ring, I whispered, “Yes, yes, yes, I will.” Jim wiped the frosting off the most beautiful ring I had ever laid eyes on and gently slipped the shimmering symbol of our love on my finger, then hugged me like never before.
I was surprised and relieved, but also scared. In the midst of the most amazing proposal a woman could hope for, fear and doubt cast a shadow across my heart. A shadow that had probably first arisen on that September night years before at Jim’s party when I’d seen the many photos of women on Jim’s wall. As happy as I was, part of me wondered—Does Jim really love me? Do I love him? Is this for real? Will this love go the distance and endure until death do us part? Is he marrying me because I’m carrying his firstborn child? I wanted so badly to be certain and longed for assurance. Unfortunately, these questions would linger uneasily in my heart and mind for years to come.
Jim and I had discussed getting married before Erin Marie was born, but we also envisioned