We met as activists at a human rights gala in London as last-minute stand-ins for our university Amnesty groups. I spotted her at the snack table, glowing and stuffing her rosy, chubby cheeks. Instant connection. I had to dash for the last train and thought I'd never see her again. But that night, she found me on every platform (even LinkedIn!). Years later, we've moved countries for each other, got married, and now have a daughter and another on the way. I guess it was love at first bite?

Our first date was a 6-hour road trip from Rhode Island to Montreal after what began as a long-distance relationship. A two-week visit turned into three months. Before we knew it, we were roadtripping, building a joint playlist, and sharing our dreams. When we arrived in Montreal, we spent our time exploring, dancing in the rain, singing with buskers, and eating our way through the city. We could've stayed in this moment forever. We fell hard.

We’d finally take our kid to explore our family roots, Guinea-Bissau, and Kerala (India). The cost has always been just out of reach, and every time we’ve saved up financially, life has interrupted: my mum’s cancer, her mom's cancer, the pandemic, my dad’s passing, the birth of our daughter. We’d planned to go this year, but baby number two is on the way! If there’s anything left after that long-overdue journey, we’d take the kids to Montreal, with a new playlist and more dancing in the rain.