By The Hammer of Thor(sen)

J.R.'s version: J.R. and Rachel both attended high school in Orlando, but they never met. After graduating, Rachel wanted the traditional college experience and left for school in Virginia. J.R. wanted the big city experience and left for D.C. to attend Georgetown. Both knew they were never moving back to Orlando. After college, Rachel headed to Washington, D.C. for work. Again, for three years, they lived in the same city but never met. J.R. headed back to Orlando to work in his family business and got a house five minutes off Exit 85 on I-4. Rachel enrolled in Georgetown and after graduate school moved to New York City. COVID hit and Rachel moved in with Mimi and Eli, to escape the city and spend time with her nephew Grant and niece Avery. Trying to date, in a new city, during a pandemic, Rachel hired a matchmaker. Luckily for JR, they did not look in the right place. A few months later, Rachel moved back to Orlando to be closer to her parents and got an apartment just four minutes off Exit 85 on I-4. After leaving Orlando fourteen years ago, they now lived eight minutes apart. The unfiltered pandemic dating scene seemed risky for J.R. and he hired a matchmaker. When the matchmaker presented Rachel's info, she warned him, “Rachel is amazing and she’s in Orlando for a bit, but lives in NY so if it goes well you may need to be open to dating long-distance.” Frustrated with trying to find love in Orlando and after reading her profile, he knew they had to meet. Later that day, she got his profile, sitting in her apartment, just eight minutes away from his home. That is how, after fourteen years of near misses, Rachel and J.R. found each other living just eight minutes apart. Rachel's slightly more succinct version: We met at a bar.