Janis: I was not looking for anything or anyone when I rushed onto my flight that May morning in 2021. I had decided I was better off on my own and was happily heading to Seattle on my own to visit my sister Jessi with my best puppy girl checked snuggly and safely into cargo. The only thing I hadnt planned well was how long checking a pet into cargo took, so I was definitely late to my flight. But that did not stop me from buying a book, an iced coffee, some breakfast tacos, and using the restroom.
My name got called overhead right as I was walking up to the gate, officially checking that off my bucketlist. I ran on and made the man sitting in the aisle seat get up so I could get into my assigned window seat.
Relieved, excited to be getting out of town, and a bit frazzled, I found myself wanting to engage the stranger sitting next to me. He was reading a book that looked interesting and I thought that could be a good starting point. What are you reading? I asked.
He said Uh. *Insert book title that I literally can never remember.*
Do you like it?
Yeah, its interesting.
And so the conversation continued. And it continued all the way until we landed. He was easy and pleasant to talk to and through some sneaky questions, I gathered he was single, and newly making his way in the world. I thought that maybe he would make a good friend and just maybe it would be something, but with my new resolve to just be single, I didnt ask for his number. He would have to do that. I did ask for his Instagram, which I already figured he didnt have--hopefully providing a way into the number question from him, but he did NOT get that hint and just said that he didnt have one.
I thought, alright then its not meant to be.
But then he waited for me in the terminal to walk with me to the baggage claim. And when he saw his family waiting for him, he gave me a really polite goodbye.
And I took it to mean that someday with the right person, it will be right and be easy and pleasant and until then that stranger gave me hope. I was encouraged and hopeful and I told anyone who would listen over that next day.


Adam: I was ON TIME to my flight (as per usual thank you very much) and took my aisle seat as planned. I was headed out to visit my family – parents Carl and Sheila, brother and sister-in-law Michael and Julia – for a family beach vacation to Seaside, Oregon. Originally we had planned on visiting the Outer Banks here in North Carolina as we had in the past. Julia, pregnant with Abigail, had been instructed not to fly, however, so the vacation was moved out to the West Coast where Michael and Julia lived at the time.
I had picked an aisle seat so I could spread out a little bit and to my delight as the flow of boarders trickled down I found that my row was still empty – no window, no middle.
But one more got on.
And of course she was in my row.
She had a frazzled stack of hair on her head and an iced coffee in her grip. I got up into the aisle to let her in and she stuffed her overpacked purse under the seat in front of her (in accordance with FAA regulations), pausing momentarily to pull out a book of her own. Once she was settled, I sat back down, buckled up, and pulled out my book to continue to read. I don’t recall if I had my earbuds in at the time – I don’t know why I wouldn’t have, but if I did it just made the next occurrence more outlandish.
This frazzled late boarder broke every social protocol there is on a plane.
She spoke to me.
NOT ONLY was my beautiful empty row defiled by this late-boarding individual, but now I was seated near a complete psychopath.
She asked what book I was reading. Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi, recounting the crimes and trial of the Manson Family. I had borrowed the book from Michael and was speeding through it so I could return it to him during our trip. I understand why she would be curious – the cover of the book is as provocative and interesting as you would expect, this particular copy made more so by damage that Michael and Julia’s dog, Oxley, had done to it.
Surprise of all surprises, a conversation grew from her social transgression, and Adam found himself enjoying Janice’s company. The time flew by, and to his surprise when Janice went to the restroom mid flight, he found himself excited for her return. This never happened. Not on ground, not in air.
When the flight landed, Janice asked for my Instagram. At the time I didn’t have an Instagram and, honest man that I am, I told her so. She laughed nervously, “well I’ve never had that happen before.” An uncomfortable beat followed, during which I thought about offering my phone number or Snapchat. The moment ended with an announcement that we were docked and ready to unload.
I made my way down the jetway and found myself alone at the end. I fiddled with my shoe laces and water bottle for a moment, waiting for the girl from the plane to catch up.
Ultimately she did, and we made our way out of the terminal to bag check where I met my family and we wished each other a quick goodbye.
My dad, Carl, asked “who was that?”
“A girl I was talking to on the plane”
“You talked to a girl on the plane? For how long”
“… the whole flight?”
“Well did you get her number?”
“… no”
D’oh.


Janis: Two days into visiting Jessi I got a follow request on Instagram from someone who had said they did not have an Instagram. I clicked on the profile and given the absence of any photos and the 12 followers, Jess and I realized he had made it to find me. And he had found me. Once I accepted the request, he messaged me immediately, told me he enjoyed chatting with me, and asked me to get coffee with him. I appreciated his directness, and happily accepted--just excited to have another good conversation and a pleasant time. We agreed to meet in Austin at a favorite spot of mine for coffee the Tuesday after we both got back.


Adam: We had a couple days in Seattle before we made our way down to Seaside. Sitting in Michael and Julia’s living room, I filled Julia in on the happenings of the flight. Would it be creepy if I found this girl? I think I know enough to find her.
Julia gave encouragement. Nothing to lose really, you’ll probably never see this girl again. Can’t hurt to try!
A day’s fruitless searching passed. I knew she was a nurse, I knew she lived in Austin, I knew she had a puppy named Lola. And with a name like Janice, how hard could she be to find? Janice. JaniCE? Perhaps the other spelling, the Janis Joplin spelling, JaniS.
Bingo.
With Julia’s help, I crafted a message to send the girl and asked if she’d like to get coffee when we got back June 1st. She accepted and I was thrilled. I thought of her every day during that vacation.


Janis: We met up on that Tuesday and he was easy to be with. I felt comfortable and didnt want the time to end. He agreed to help me get my car from the shop so we could continue our time together. We shared a pitcher at one of the spots near the UT campus, romped around the engineering building, and ended the night with dinner at one of my favorite places. And then I asked if he wanted to hike with me the next morning. He agreed and that started our week long date-a-thon.


Adam: I picked Janis up in my Ford Focus, recently totaled by hail damage. I had gone to a car wash the night before to vacuum and shampoo the inside, really putting on the Ritz for this girl I was so excited to meet.
I could tell we were both nervous that day at Cosmic Coffee and I really couldn’t tell it was going well until she said so.
“Hey I really need to pick my car up from the shop before it closes but I don’t want this to end. Can you take me over there and then we go get a drink somewhere else?”
Naturally I agreed. We went for some beers at a dive bar near campus, walked around campus, then headed downtown for dinner and another drink. It was a late and wild night by my standards but it was so easy and enjoyable.
After I got home at 1AM on Wednesday I got a text from Janis asking if I’d like to go on a hike with her and Lola the next day (well… later that day). I agreed with joy.
We went on that hike, then got some burgers. The next night Janis worked, and I offered to take care of Lola so Janis could sleep. The following day we met up for breakfast and then went to the original Whole Foods, and I played with Lola as Janis meal prepped. We spent well over 24 hours together that week, and every day was so much fun.


Janis: I knew he was much more than a friend by the end of the week as we ate fried chicken and waffles at one of my favorite breakfast places. He made me feel all the ways that someone makes you feel when youre home and warm. I never wanted to not be around him. He made me laugh, was so easy to be with, was smart, and wonderful. By the end of that week we knew we wanted to be together. We started off with a long distance relationship between Austin and Dallas that turned into Dallas and Boise and led to us both living in Dallas for a year. During that year in Dallas it became clear to me that I wanted to marry him. I never wanted a life or home without him and I certainly did not want it with anyone else. He has been one of the most positive impacts on my life, my faith, my capacity to love, and my personal growth. I am so excited to be his wife and build a home and family with him!


Adam: I suspected that I loved her at the end of the week, and I told Lucas and Sean as much when we were in Galveston the following week. She was so full of life and easy to talk to and introspective and interesting. Through our period of medium distance, through long distance, through Dallas, and through long distance again she has been a joy to be around and talk to. She’s been engaged and interested and thoughtful and kind. We helped each other through the assorted challenges we’ve faced over the last two years and come out stronger together. Janis is my joy and my support and I’m beyond thrilled that we get to spend the rest of our lives together.


To end: As of right now, we are settling in Raleigh, NC for the foreseeable future. We are developing our careers and love for each other, and plan on babies in a few years. (For all those who will inevitably ask.) Our goals as a couple are to wear our Costco sweatshirts as much as possible, save enough money to buy Lola a house with a yard, keep snack night and pizza night alive, drink homemade pina coladas in the dead of winter, bother Julia and Michael as much as possible, develop strong relationships with our baby nieces, keep a bed open for our parents whenever they want to visit, eat homemade cinnamon rolls every holiday and special occasion, and never stop appreciating each others presence. We are so thankful to everyone who has supported us individually and together along the way! Come visit us in our regular sized new apartment!