It was Thanksgiving of 2021 with the Dallas Stars season now in full-swing when a Jennings father-son outing unexpectedly crossed paths with the Folk Family (Claire’s cousins, aunt, and uncle) on a trip to the American Airlines Center for a hockey game. Chase had just flown in from Chicago for the holiday, and Claire had scored an invite to hangout with her aunt, uncle, and cousins.

Looking for a quick dinner before the game, both families coincidentally stumbled into the same local Italian restaurant, Mio Nonno, next to the arena. Harrison Folk (Claire’s cousin) and Chase, high school classmates and baseball teammates, made eye contact across the restaurant, briefly caught up, and made plans to meet up during the second period intermission.

A Dallas Stars superfan in her own right, Laura Folk, Claire’s Aunt, knew exactly the right way to sneak Chase and Craig up to their section, where Chase and Claire first met. In between the reminiscing and story-telling, it was clear that both Claire and Chase quickly took an eye for each other, so much so that after exchanging numbers and a few days passing, Chase asked Claire to join him for his company holiday party back in Chicago in early December. Certainly excited but also initially reluctant (understandably so), Claire needed a gentle nudge from Kate Perry to ultimately follow those butterflies and book the flight to Chicago.

Communication continued each day following the hockey game and excitement was building for the jam-packed weekend of events. However, that exciting itinerary quickly evaporated 30 minutes after Claire touched down in Chicago when a call from HR informed Chase that he had been contact-traced for COVID-19, and they would be unable to attend the keynote events planned for the weekend.

As they say, the show must go on… and it was certainly a hit!

The change of planned events turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise. The open schedule provided space for candid and genuine time and conversation to get to know each other. Chase learned the excitement of daily coffee shop outings, and Claire learned the importance of warm clothes and gloves in sub-zero Chicago temperatures.

Ultimately, after nine months of their relationship growing deeper and plenty of trips between the two cities, Chase moved back to his hometown, Dallas, TX, where their love story ultimately culminated with Chase asking Claire to marry him on July 8, 2023.

"Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago." Isiah 25:1

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