Super Bowl Sunday
Maura had been watching sports with Jane since they first met. She had never paid attention to any type of sports before except for fencing and ballet. Jane didn't consider those sports. They agreed to disagree on their very different definitions of sports. Jane often laughed when she remembered that particular conversation.
They had just gotten engaged New Year's Eve and Jane had moved in the next week. Maura had been searching for the perfect gift for Jane. She wanted to get her something that would be special and meaningful to Jane and she finally found it. She knew she should have given her a gift like this months ago, but this gift took time to acquire and a little bit of patience on her behalf. She had to watch and make sure the event she wanted was going to take place.
Jane opened her card and then the envelope containing her gift. "Maur, this is too much." Jane looked at Maura and closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she was still in shock. Maura had just handed her a pair of tickets to the Super Bowl at the relatively new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia where the New England Patriots would be playing the Los Angeles Rams on February 3, 2019.
Maura smiled at Jane. Jane was speechless. Maura said, "Consider this an early Valentine's Day present and a late engagement present. Because of the timeframe I had to give this too you now, if I waited until Valentine's Day the game would have been played already. The trip to Atlanta is included as part of the gift. I have made all the reservations and secured your time off from work. I must say Lieutenant Cavanaugh is very jealous. He is the only one that knows about this gift. Your mother is watching Bass and Jo Friday. I didn't want to tell her where I was taking you, just that we were going away for the weekend."
"Maur, these tickets must have set you back some." Jane didn't want Maura spending her money on her like that. She was not in a position to buy extravagant gifts for Maura and felt a little strange accepting gifts like this from her.
"Jane, I wanted to do this. I know how much you love your sports teams and Atlanta is so close. My father wanted to go and it was actually his idea and he was able to get the tickets and a box. They will be at the game as will both of your brothers and Barry." Maura was excited that her father would do something like this for Jane, and well for her. Her parents were making such an effort to be active in her life. She knew Jane had talked to them several times.
Jane had spoken with Constance at one of her art installations and then spoke with Arthur and Constance when she asked for their permission to ask Maura to marry her. Maura was thankful for Jane's interaction. Jane told them that she knew Maura was above her class but she told them how much she loved and cherished Maura. They knew how much Maura loved Jane and that was enough for them. Jane offered to sign a prenup if they wanted and they said no, it was not necessary. They could tell that the two were in love.
Right then Jane's phone rang. It was Frankie. She answered it, "Hey bro, what's up?"
Frankie replied, "Jane, really, I can't believe Maura's gift."
Jane tried to prank her brother by saying, "What gift, what are you talking about?"
Frankie was concerned, maybe Jane didn't know about the gift yet, maybe he blew it and said something he shouldn't have said. "Didn't Maura give you your gift yet?"
"Wait, Maura's giving me a gift? What for, Valentine's Day is still a few days away." Jane was still not letting on that she knew all about the gift.
"You know what, call me after Maura gives you your gift. I can't say anymore." Frankie quickly said and hurried up and got off of the phone.
Jane was laughing when she got off of the phone and Maura asked, "Jane, why didn't you tell him?"
Jane explained, "It's more fun this way, let him sweat a little thinking maybe he spoke out of turn. I mean if you hadn't have given me the gift already, I might have been upset."
"Oh, I see what you are saying. He might have ruined my surprise." Maura understood now why Jane was acting this way towards her brother.
"Yes, and he needs to think about things like that before he makes a call like that. I still can't believe you got me Super Bowl tickets. I have never been to a Super Bowl game before."
"My father is happy that you love sports so much. None of the people I have dated in the past have ever had anything in common with him. He loves you and is so happy that you are marrying me. I am sure he will be gifting you tickets to events in the future."
"Well, I am glad your parents love me. I wouldn't want to come between you and your parents. So, when are we leaving for Atlanta?"
"Mother and father are flying in Friday and as soon as we are off of work we will leave. They are using the foundation jet, so our time is flexible to a certain extent. Tommy is so excited, he is packed and ready to go already. I gave him his card last night and he promised not to say a word to you."
"I am surprised he was able to keep it a secret. Does Frost know already?"
"No, but he will be here in about fifteen minutes. We can tell him then."
"Awesome, Frost is coming over. I will let you tell him. He is going to be in shock."
Ten minutes later there was a knock at the door. Maura answered. It was Frost. "Barry, I am so happy you could come over, please come in."
Frost entered the house and Jane walked over and gave him a hug. Jane was all smiles and Frost was wondering what was going on. Jane wasn't in that great of a mood when she left work earlier. They sat and had dinner and then went out to the living room. Jane turned on ESPN and they watched the highlights. Frost commented on the Patriots making it to the Super Bowl. Jane looked at Maura and she reached over and gave Barry an envelope. "What's this doc?"
"A gift for you from the two of us." Maura answered as he accepted the envelope from her. He smiled as he opened the envelope.
"Oh wow, really. No way. Really. I can't believe this. Is this for real?" Frost questioned. He was so surprised he couldn't believe it was real.
Maura couldn't believe how excited Frost was. "Yes, Barry, this is for real. I have already spoken with Lieutenant Cavanaugh to secure your leave for this weekend. We are leaving tomorrow night as soon as we get off of work. My parents are flying in tomorrow and will be attending the game with us. Frankie and Tommy are going also."
"What about Korsak?" Frost asked. Concerned that Korsak was left out.
"He said that he would stay behind so that you and Frankie could go. I asked him and he declined. I tried several times but he thought it best if he stayed behind. He said next time I toss up some Red Sox tickets he will go."
"Okay, I guess that makes since with two officers from the same department already going and our assigned patrol officer, or gopher as we like to call him." Frost laughed as he said the last part.
Jane and Frost were so excited at work Friday, they couldn't wait for quitting time so they could head to Atlanta. Five o'clock seemed to be so far away. Time was dragging. They worked on paperwork all day. That didn't help them at all. They were bored stiff. They both hated paperwork with a passion. At four o'clock Cavanaugh told them to leave. "Get the hell out of here and enjoy your adventure in Atlanta. I can't believe Dr. Isles invited all of you to the game with him. Rizzoli, you must have made quite the impression on your future father-in-law."
"He loves me, he said I am the best person Maura has ever dated." Jane said as she grabbed her gun and jacket so she could leave. He didn't have to tell her twice. Maura had gone home at 3 PM when her parents arrived. Jane had picked Frost up that morning so that his car wouldn't be left at the precinct all weekend. Frost was right behind Jane as they made their way out to the parking lot.
Jane sent a quick text to Maura to let her know that they were on their way to the house. They weren't even in the house for five minutes when Arthur was ushering them out the front door to the car that was waiting for them. Arthur was excited. He had always wanted to go to a game like this. Sure, he could have gotten tickets anytime he wanted. He figured it would be great to go with someone who appreciated the game and Jane appreciated the game.
The flight to Atlanta took them just under three hours and they checked into the hotel and then went out to dinner. They had all day Saturday to explore Atlanta and join in some of the hoopla that the city had to offer.
Lieutenant Cavanaugh had checked in with Atlanta PD to let them know that three of his officers were in town to enjoy the Super Bowl festivities. The Atlanta Chief of Police had sent them a 'Welcome to Atlanta' fruit basket with the note to let them know that if they needed anything while they were in town to let her office know and they would take care of them. She left phone numbers for her on call staff. Jane was impressed. She had heard that the South was hospitable but she didn't expect anything like this.
They spent Saturday on a tour around Atlanta. They visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Constance wasn't much for drinking Coca-Cola but she had heard about the number of flavors and that you were allowed to sample them and she thought it would be interesting so they ended their day at the World of Coca-Cola and then went out to dinner.
Sunday morning, they had an early breakfast at the hotel and then made their way to the stadium. Jane and all of the men were excited about the game and all of the pre-game activities. Constance and Maura were just excited that the others were having a great time. They liked to see them happy. Everyone was wearing some sort of New England Patriots gear. Jane was wearing her favorite jersey. It had just the right amount of wear on it. She had been wearing it for over ten years. It had the number one and 'Rizzoli' printed on the back.
When they arrived at the stadium they were shown to their private box. Jane couldn't believe how much food and drinks were spread out on the tables. Every wall had large screens TVs. There was a keg of beer just waiting to be drank. She was in heaven. She had never seen such a spread. She thought this was awesome that Arthur would set this up for them.
Jane and Maura put their belongings down and Jane wanted to go for a walk around the stadium. There were so many people in attendance already. They walked hand in hand around the entire stadium. Jane glanced at one of the concession stands and couldn't believe they were charging eight dollars for a beer. Eight dollars seemed to be the price for everything. A pretzel, eight bucks; a hot dog, eight bucks; popcorn, eight bucks; She thought that was crazy but people were lined up and willing to pay that amount. She was happy they had their own food and drinks waiting for them.
As game time approached Jane and Maura made their way back to their box. Constance had arranged for a cake to be delivered to their box so they could continue the celebration of Jane and Maura's recent engagement. Constance loved any reason to celebrate, and her only child's engagement was a great reason in her mind. Jane and Maura cut the cake and engaged in conversation with everyone until it was time for the game to start.
Jane couldn't decide if she was going to sit or stand during the game. This was so much for her to take in. Her heart had been beating faster since they left the hotel that morning. She finally decided to sit so Maura could lean into her like they did at home. Maura loved to rest her head on Jane's shoulder when they watched TV.
Atlanta native Gladys Knight sung the Star-Spangled Banner and Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, Bernice King, had the honor of flipping the coin for the coin toss. It was an exciting game. The game was scoreless after the first quarter. Jane was so nervous. She wanted her team to score. She was yelling at the players and officials just like she did at home. Maura was just sitting beside her smiling. Most of the time Maura wasn't even watching the game. She was watching Jane watch the game.
Jane about flew out of her seat when the Patriots kicked a field goal and scored three points in the second quarter. Maura had to cover her ears. Even in the enclosed box they could hear the fans in the stadium shout for joy when the Patriots scored. The Patriots had already missed a field goal attempt so Jane was on the edge of her seat. She wanted her team to win. They needed to score points in order for that to happen.
They were entertained during halftime by Maroon 5. Jane wasn't watching the half-time entertainment, she wanted to see the commercials, that was her favorite part of the half-time show, well except for when they recapped the first half of the game, then she was glued to the TV.
Jane was holding Maura's hand all through the first half of the game. She squeezed her hand tightly several times and had to apologize to Maura. She only let go of her hand when she had jumped up when the Patriots scored. Arthur, Frost, Frankie and Tommy also jumped up and Tommy had a bag of popcorn in his lap and it went flying everywhere. Maura glanced over at her mother who was smiling back at her.
Constance knew that Maura wasn't watching the game. She knew her daughter well enough to know that she only came to the games because it made Jane happy. Just like Jane only went to the Opera and museums because it made Maura happy. They enjoyed pleasing each other and neither one saw it as a chore to go to these events. They did take a certain amount of pleasure in attending the events knowing that it pleased their partner.
Maura was learning all about baseball, basketball and football. Jane was learning about fencing and the Opera. Maura went so far as to purchase a special guard for her fencing sword so Jane would be able to easily spot her in her fencing attire, which Jane had said made them all look like big condoms.
The Rams scored a field goal in the third quarter to tie the game at 3-3. The Patriots scored ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter, a touchdown and then a field goal to win the game, 13-3. Each time they scored Jane jumped for joy. She was having so much fun. Maura was use to this behavior from Jane, but her parents weren't and they just loved Jane's excited behavior. They were so happy that they had went ahead and purchased the Superbowl tickets for them. This was the Patriot's sixth Super Bowl victory. Super Bowl LIII was the lowest scoring game in NFL history.
Jane enjoyed the game and was so excited that the Patriots won. At the end of the game, she picked Maura up and swung her around almost knocking Constance over in the process. Jane just grabbed Constance and brought her into their hug. Constance tried resisting at first but thought better of it and just gave into the hug. She really loved Jane's enthusiasm for life and could see why Maura was so attracted to her.
They had to be back to work Monday morning so they couldn't spend too much time in Atlanta but Maura promised to come back with Jane at some point. Jane slept on the plane ride back with her head resting on Maura's shoulder. Constance thought that was so cute she had to take a picture. She was so thankful that Maura was so happy with Jane and that Jane truly cared for Maura. She worried about her daughter but with Jane around she didn't have to worry so much.
Jane woke up when the plane landed in Boston. She was a little groggy at first, but quickly gathered her wits about her. She thanked Constance and Arthur as they entered the cars to go back to their Beacon Hill house. This was the gift of a lifetime and Jane loved that they thought enough of her to make this trip available to her and her brothers and Frost.
Frankie took Tommy and Frost home and Arthur and Constance went to their home nearby, Jane and Maura were left all by themselves. They were exhausted. Maura set her alarm and they went to bed it was midnight and they had work in the morning.
Jane said, "I hope we don't get called out in the early morning hours and that the only sound I hear in the morning is that damn alarm on your phone." Jane's phone rang just before 5 AM followed immediately by Maura's. The next sounds heard were "Rizzoli" and "Isles."