starts in San Francisco on the last night of June in 2018...

 

Jennifer was living in Sacramento and had a friend from university, Ali (now one of her bridesmaids), who was visiting her family in Pacifica. Jen drove all the way from Sacramento to see her, and the two decided to go out in San Francisco that night. They didn’t really have a plan. They Ubered to one bar, didn’t like the vibe, saw there was a cover, and promptly left. They tried another place that Ali had been to once before, and eventually made it inside sometime after midnight.

Meanwhile, Federico was finishing up an internship at NASA Ames in Mountain View. It was his very last night before heading back to Italy, so he and his friend Sander (now one of his groomsmen) decided to celebrate with a night out in San Francisco. They, too, had absolutely no plan.

 

Somehow, those two very unplanned outings ended up at the same bar.

Jennifer was on the dance floor when she and Federico locked eyes from across the room. (Yes, like in the movies.)  And then Federico did something that, according to everyone who knows him, was completely out of character: he walked up to her. “Hi, what’s your name?” Jennifer introduced herself as “Jenny” — a nickname she often uses when she’s trying to sound a little more fun. Little did she know that Federico’s favorite movie is Forrest Gump.

So, needless to say, he was immediately intrigued by meeting an American girl named Jenny. He wasted no time playing his best cards. “I’m Federico. I work at NASA. I’m Italian. And I fly back to Italy tomorrow.”

Jennifer’s reply was along the lines of “You know this sounds like bullshit, right?" It wasn’t.

​

They talked for the rest of the night, Federico bought her a drink, and eventually the two groups wandered down the street for some late-night Bob’s Donuts. Since Federico was the designated driver, he and Sander even dropped the girls at Ali’s house before heading all the way back down to Mountain View. By the time Federico and Sander returned home, it was around 4 a.m.

 

The next morning, Jen and Ali were talking about the two guys they had met the night before. They agreed they were cute, and Ali pointed out that Jennifer and Federico had really hit it off. Jennifer (having absolutely no concept of how large the Bay Area actually is) casually suggested: “Should we invite them to meet us for brunch?”

Federico and Sander, who'd gotten home only hours earlier, turned right back around and drove all the way back to SF. They still beat the girls to the restaurant.

 

Over brunch, reality started to set in. Federico was leaving for Italy the very next morning. He didn’t even know whether his visa would be renewed or whether he would be able to return to the U.S. for a full-time position at NASA.

So, naturally, they said goodbye.                            But then they started texting.

                                                                    And FaceTiming.

                                                                       And talking.

                                                                   All summer long.

 

Sure enough, Federico was offered a full-time position at NASA, renewed his Visa, and moved back to California

in August. The two started dating long distance, taking turns driving between Sacramento and Mountain View every weekend. Before long, Jenifer found a job in the Bay Area and the two decided to move in together (after only

two months of dating in-person).

​

It sounds a little crazy in retrospect.

                                                        But eight years and countless adventures later,

                                  it’s safe to say that the two people with no plans that night had somehow

                                  made exactly the right plans after all.