Chris and Laura’s story begins in Cincinnati, where fate, friendship, and clinical rotations brought their lives together. As with most love stories, there are facts and circumstances that needed to take place for their two worlds to collide. Chris was born and raised in Cincinnati, in a neighborhood filled with families and kids his age. Two of those families had daughters in his kindergarten class named Caroline and Claire. The three stayed close throughout grade school, through their respective high schools, and into college where they went their separate ways: Claire to USC, Chris to Miami University, and Caroline to St. Louis University. After Miami, Chris returned to Cincinnati to begin his career. Laura was born and raised in Chicago. Although her upbringing was also filled with children and playing and wonderful memories, the most important fact of Laura’s childhood to the couple’s journey might have been her family’s vocation towards helping people. Laura’s mother, a speech language pathologist, and Laura’s grandmother, a social worker, fueled an early passion for helping others in her spirit. That passion led Laura to pursue a degree in Occupational Therapy from St. Louis University. Before receiving her Masters, Laura took off for her final clinical rotation… in Cincinnati. As you might have guessed, Caroline and Laura became best friends in college at St. Louis, and once Laura announced she’d taken a rotational position in Cincinnati, Caroline knew the perfect tour guides to help acclimate her friend to her temporary home… which brings us to what Chris considers to be their “first date”. Chris and Claire set up an introductory lunch with their future friend. As luck (or fate) would have it, Claire had to cancel on their lunch plans. Eager to meet the girl he had heard so much about, and adamant of being a gentleman, Chris proceeded with the plans to take Laura to lunch. The two hit it off right away. As the lunch (date) ended, Chris knew he needed more time with Laura. As a friendly gesture, with no ulterior motive, Chris offered to take Laura on a test drive ahead of her first day of work to learn the route. Once back in their respective apartments, the two sat with a budding feeling that a summer romance might be in the air. After several dates that summer, Chris finally got the courage to ask Laura to be his girlfriend. Although they both knew the summer was fading and they were destined for an autumn as a long-distance couple, the miles between them seemed irrelevant to the feelings that had emerged that summer. As the weather became colder, the two packed up Laura’s Camry and set sail on the beginning of their twenty-month journey of long-distance between Cincinnati and Chicago. As the saying goes, distance did in fact make the heart grow stronger, and the two were eventually reunited back in the same city of Chicago in the spring of 2022. After two years in the same city, the couple knew this summer romance had now developed into something much deeper - something that felt like forever. Chris asked Laura to marry him on October 30, 2024, in South Carolina at the exact spot he had told his family he would do so… four years earlier. As the other saying goes, when you know, you know. Chris and Laura still live in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, where they enjoy quality time with friends, walks through the park, fresh flowers from the farmers market, trips with friends and families, and lots of laughs. The two will be married this coming spring in Chicago, and look forward to celebrating their love with their closest family and friends.