It’s the classic question when you’re first introducing your new significant other. Some people dread the question but, for us, it is one of our favorite stories to tell.

Tony and I both moved to North Carolina in January of 2023. He was in Jacksonville at his new duty station as a USMC Pilot on MCAS New River. I was in Raleigh as a first-year teacher teaching 8th-grade English.

On May 12th Tony and I had flights out of RDU Airport home to our respective families. Anyone who knows either of us knows we are very type-A individuals, so we both showed up at the airport almost three hours before our flights. I parked my car in the Economy Lot 3 parking lot and got on the shuttle bus. Little did I know that Tony noticed me then and there from his seat in the back of the bus. When we arrived at Terminal 1 we both stood to get off the bus before realizing we needed Terminal 2, so Tony sat down next to me.

He asked where I was going (Pennsylvania) and I asked where he was going (Minnesota). He walked me to the bag check so I could check my bag as we talked about our travels. (He was going to his brother’s graduation and I was going to The Eras Tour). As I neared the counter he interjected,

“Well, it was nice to meet you,” and he left. I turned away, a little disheartened, I thought he liked me! However, he came back up to me again,

“I’m sorry, I meant to introduce myself, my name is Tony.”

I laughed, “Nice to meet you, Tony, I’m Katarina!”

“Katarina,” he repeated, “It was nice meeting you,” and he left. AGAIN! I went to walk one more time,

“I’m so sorry,” he interrupted, “I meant to ask for your phone number.” I laughed and gave it to him before finally checking my bag. As I left the counter my phone buzzed with a text,

“I know you have 2 hours before your flight, could I buy you a coffee?”

And that was the beginning of it all. We sat and talked for two hours nonstop. I shared my favorite songs and he shared his poetry. We talked about books, TV shows, podcasts, and everything in between until my flight began to board and he asked to meet for dinner when I got back into town. Unexpectedly, I felt the urge to hug him goodbye and so I did. I settled into my seat with a warm fuzzy feeling in my chest and when I landed in Philadelphia my phone screen lit up with a message that read,

“It was such a pleasure meeting you, Katarina. I can’t wait to continue our conversation at dinner 😊”

And our conversation has never ever stopped.