In the eve of a global pandemic, their mutual friend Jess was plotting their introduction. Every couple of weeks, Jess would slyly send pictures of James to Michelle while she was out with Sean and his friends. Jess thought they would be a good match because they both had similar energies. James was always welcoming, easy to chat with, and seemed to make the best out of any gathering — all traits that reminded Jess of Michelle. She always felt comfortable knowing he would be there. Not to mention, James was always over-prepared for trips. He showed up with multiples of everything on their camping trip that summer, and that’s when Jess knew the bag lady had met her match. After a few months of failed attempts to get them together, Michelle and James finally met on November 16th at Jess’ birthday party at the Golden Lion in Milltown, NJ. They discovered they were both Geminis, played some table shuffleboard, drank a lot...and somehow, James still wanted to talk to Michelle the next day. James was adamant about going on a date after Thanksgiving, so Michelle gave in. She knew he was the one when he drove all the way from Atlantic Highlands to pick her up in East Brunswick and then drove back to Freehold for their first date at Tommy’s Tavern. They ordered one of everything on the menu and bonded over good food and drinks. Since Michelle was living in Hoboken without a car, they took every chance to see each other. James would pick her up at the Secaucus train station after work on Fridays so she could stay the weekend, then bring her back at 5 am on Mondays before work. This went on for four months until the pandemic hit, and they moved into Michelle’s mom Cathy’s house with their dog, Duke. After 5 amazing years, they are starting their next chapter as future husband and wife in their new house in Matawan, NJ.