How we met

Tony was in New York City for the summer of 2022, buried in research but actually spending far too much time studying chess openings with friends. Sophie was across town, working in the fast-paced world of finance—where the coffee line moved much slower than the markets.

A mutual couple — friends to each of us for more than a decade — merged two dinners into one. That was the first time our eyes met.

At dinner, we became unexpectedly absorbed in the mystery of why eels cannot be farmed. The topic was absurd, yet in that absurdity, the room grew lighter, closer.

Neither of us wanted the night to conclude, so we carried it into karaoke and a dim speakeasy.

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Sophie sang City of Stars and If I Ain’t Got You.

Tony, who loves music, was undone.

Tony, as nerdy as ever, talked about machine learning and neuroscience—sure it was boring to anyone else. Sophie, for reasons still mysterious, wanted to hear more.

A couple of days later, Tony wrote a Bossa Nova for her, titled Who Are We Expecting?

Listen up.

Tony’s first love message to Sophie.

Language translated into melody,
every note holding what words could not.

In the weeks that followed, dinners multiplied—each one its own quiet declaration. Tony kept composing songs, perhaps the highest-yield period of his life.

One night, after dinner at Kajitsu, we realized we had quietly become a “we.”

We are foodies, puzzle-lovers, merciless rivals in board games.

We built a bronze lamp-dog named Sony—Sophie plus Tony.

Sophie loves chasing horizons. Tony loves the calm. And we are lucky to walk the rest of our lives together.