Fate first introduced Aaron and Clara to one another during their senior year of college in April 2014. Both were being recruited to join the E&J Gallo Management Development Program after graduation, with the final step of the interview process being a trip to Healdsburg, California. Aaron first remembers seeing Clara on the bus to the hotel, taking special notice of her beautiful smile and cheery personality. It’s unclear if Clara noticed Aaron until he held an intimate soiree in his hotel suite, in which he, ironically, was the only interviewee not from the University of San Diego. In this small group setting, Aaron quickly got a sense for Clara’s engaging demeanor and, he’ll admit, he got a few butterflies. But as the only Duck, he was outnumbered by the Toreros, and never had the opportunity to talk to Clara one on one. Regretfully, Aaron never mustered the gall to ask for Clara’s number, let alone her last name. A missed opportunity of devastating magnitude. But as the readers of this love story already know, powerful forces would reunite them a few months later. After both had received and accepted offers to join the coveted Gallo MDP Class of 2014, they selected Northern California as their preferred location. As luck would have it, both were assigned roles within the Sacramento region.

Future lovebirds, now living in the same city. Aaron already had a crush on Clara from when they’d briefly met months prior, and those feelings resurfaced immediately. Seizing an opportunity under the guise of convenience, Aaron asked Clara if she wanted to carpool to their sales training classes. This meant three hours round trip with a captive audience, which was an ideal setting for Aaron to make Clara laugh with his dry sense of humor. It was also the perfect opportunity for Aaron to confirm his suspicion: Clara actually was just as kind and beautiful as he had remembered. A few weeks and carpools later, it felt as if they had known each other for years. They each had a new best friend, but secretly felt it was more than just friendship. One night, Aaron texted Clara to tell her he had a bottle of wine he thought would be fun to open up together. Clara, it just so happened, had made too much dinner for just herself and invited Aaron over to share. He quickly drove across midtown Sacramento to Clara’s apartment, excited to see her again. What ensued was another evening of laughter and flirting between the two of them. Clara impressed Aaron with her talent as a chef. She also demonstrated her natural ability to juggle tangerines. They were young and in love, but just didn’t know it yet. After a brief encounter with the police, who had been called after her neighbor reported hearing loud thuds coming from the apartment (incidentally, Clara was not actually that good at juggling), Clara and Aaron sat close to each other on the couch, smiling with their wine-purpled teeth. It was getting late, but Aaron recognized this as the moment he would make his feelings known to Clara. After taking a deep breath, he turned to her and asked a question that would change both of their lives. “Would it be weird if I kissed you?” said Aaron. “No.” Clara replied. And so it was, on November 10th, 2014, that the couple exchanged their very first kiss.

It is not an overstatement to say that from there, they never looked back. They began spending nearly all of their free time together and quickly realized they were in love. In the months that ensued, it became clear that this was the real deal. Not only did they build on their own relationship, but also began introducing each other to the important people in their lives. They valued family and friends in the same way. Everything seemed to click in a way that neither Aaron nor Clara had ever felt before. Life took them both to San Francisco over the summer of 2015, where they began an incredible and memorable chapter of their lives, shared with some of the best friends they will ever have. They were with each other every day, and finally made it official by moving in together in 2016. As their careers evolved and they began progressing further into adulthood, their love never wavered and they continued creating countless memories, whether it was a trip across the globe or another night juggling tangerines and drinking wine on the couch. It was never a question of if, but when. On April 13th, 2019, in front of the Golden Gate bridge on a day so beautiful it may have been scripted, Aaron asked Clara to marry him. Through tears of joy, Clara said of course, and they celebrated with many of the people they love most in this world, both in person and virtually. They both look back on this as the happiest day of their lives, and anticipate it will stay this way until September 19th, 2020. Scratch that, May 15th, 2021. ;)