As with all great love stories, this one begins no differently—with a hungover young woman who almost backed out of plans at the last minute.

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Once upon a time on a cold, rainy February evening (February 18, 2020, to be precise) in Boston, Massachusetts, when COVID-19 was but a whisper on the wind and Uber Pools were still very much a thing, Brooklyn Rose Pluger (a 28-year-old spinster according to Jane Austen) climbed out of her rideshare and entered the noisy, eclectic establishment of Dorchester Brewing Company. Her friend, Lisa, invited her out that night for trivia and post-birthday drinks. She had no reason to believe anything spectacular was about to occur.

Upon finding Lisa at their table, she was introduced to her trivia team—Anna, Josh, and Andrew.

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Andrew Garcia, a charming and gregarious twenty-nine year old bachelor with absolutely no right to own the beautiful eyelashes framing his dark brown eyes, had no expectations coming into that night except the understanding he would most likely not do very well at trivia.

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The conversation flowed easily between the fivesome, transitioning from traveling (Brooklyn was going to ITALY in MAY! In the year of our Lord 2020), music (Andrew, a renowned employee at Pandora Music, just recently discovered that the solo artist Gwen Stefani was also the former lead singer of the popular band No Doubt and had no idea this was the case until then), and preferred Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavors (Andrew was already dreaming of diving into the pint of Cherry Garcia in his freezer). The topic of Shweddy Balls was also brought up, referencing the 1998 SNL Skit and limited edition Ben and Jerry’s flavor.

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There wasn’t a particular spark. Lightning didn’t strike, pigs didn’t fly, and there were no stolen glances passed between the two people seated adjacent from each other (later, Andrew would admit he checked out Brooklyn’s butt while waiting in line for a beer, but who wouldn’t). There was only one moment when Andrew and Brooklyn exchanged words alone, and it was for Andrew to inquire where she lived, and when she told him Brighton, he asked if she’d ever visited Brighton Bodega (she had not—yet).

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Brooklyn, being the nerd and random fact connoisseur she was (and still is), was the star of their trivia team, and while their team did not win, she definitely carried much of the weight.

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The group departed with well-wishes and Brooklyn told Andrew to enjoy his ice cream. She climbed back into her rideshare and thought vaguely how it was fun, and she was very glad she did not change her plans.

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Over the course of the next few days, nothing remarkable happened. Except there was a niggling thought in the back of Brooklyn’s mind that Andrew was funny and she wouldn’t mind talking to him again.

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Plucking up her courage and telling herself she had absolutely nothing to lose, she texted her friend Lisa asking A) if Andrew was single and B) if he was, could she have his number?

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Lisa informed her that was only her second time meeting Andrew because he was, in fact, Anna’s friend from college, but she would happily reach out to Anna and ask for his number. A few texts later, and Brooklyn was the owner of Andrew Garcia’s digits.

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She remembers exactly where she was—Partners Urgent Care (now Mass General Brigham) in Watertown, MA—a particularly slow day (but not for much longer…) at the end of February 2020. She heard once on a podcast that when asking someone out, frame it as a definite and not a question. Her text read something as follows: Hi Andrew, this is Brooklyn from trivia! I’d love to grab drinks with you sometime.

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Andrew later recalled being very skeptical (and flattered, obviously) when Anna informed Andrew that Brooklyn was asking for his number (first thought: “Why.” Second thought, “Give it to her, obviously.”), and when her text flashed across his Apple Watch, he was suspended twenty feet in the air at the Central Rock climbing gym in Randolph, MA and immediately requested to be lowered to the ground so he could respond because he did not quite believe that she was texting him to ask him on a date.

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Their first date took place on February 24, 2020, a mere 6 days after they met, at Brighton Bodega in Brighton, MA. Brooklyn was nervous (she’s always nervous for a first date but never a second), Andrew was not (he’s never nervous for a first date, but he was for their second date when he realized how much he actually liked her). Brooklyn drank only rosé, and Andrew drank some kind of beer. He texted beforehand saying “I’m the handsome bald guy in the sweater” (an understatement). They chatted about traveling, food, work, music (she again poked fun at him for not knowing that Gwen Stefani is one and the same of the lead singer of No Doubt, something she still pokes fun about to this day), and he charmed her by passing along fun music trivia he’s learned as a Data Analyst for Pandora (why is Nickelback the most popular music station? She still has no idea).

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They departed with an assurance for a second date (the New England Aquarium), and a third (Brunch at Backyard Betty’s in Southie - RIP), and a fourth (Banners Bar at TD Garden) before a global pandemic ripped across the world, and everything shut down.

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By then, Brooklyn wanted to keep seeing him, and while she had no idea what it meant to social distance, considering she was a frontline worker at an urgent care and being repurposed to the Brigham and Women’s Emergency Department COVID tent, she told Andrew she wanted to keep seeing him if he was willing to deal with the uncertainty of the pandemic.

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Andrew (although he would not share this until much later) was freaking out, believing he would never see her again considering the nature of her job. But they kept talking, Facetiming, texting, and when the world seemed less precarious, they spent time getting to know each other in outdoor spaces despite this once-in-a-lifetime event that could have easily ended their relationship before it began.

Since then, Andrew and Brooklyn have attended over a dozen weddings in locations such as Dallas, Houston, Nashville, West Virginia, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York City, Colorado, and San Francisco. Traveled to the Dominican Republic, Alaska, New Orleans, Aruba, Mexico, and the Outer Banks. Brooklyn can’t get enough of Andrew’s cooking, his jokes, his charm, his kindness. Andrew can’t get enough of Brooklyn’s butt (just kidding, Mom). I MEAN, her giant brain and heart and personality and big, brown eyes (duh). They’ve created a beautiful life together in their house in New Hampshire and are both extremely fulfilled with their numerous hobbies and loving friends and family.

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It wasn’t until February 13, 2025 in Cabo, Mexico on a family vacation that Andrew thoroughly surprised Brooklyn by asking a question of his own. Of course, Brooklyn said yes.

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Now they can’t wait to profess and share their love surrounded by their friends and family who have borne witness to the endurance and growth and strength of their relationship since that first interaction on a cold, rainy, unassuming February evening.