"I never thought a trip to the farmers' market would lead to meeting the love of my life, but thanks to Anna's Whisper, that's exactly what happened. When Anna first mentioned Anastasia to me, we had already talked a bit about what I was actually hoping to find. I wasn't really trying to rush into some big relationship. Mostly I just wanted to meet someone interesting to spend time with.

 

Anna said Anastasia wasn't in a hurry either. She wanted to meet someone stable, someone she could explore the city with while she was still getting settled. That sounded simple enough.

 

Anna suggested we meet at the Riverview Farmers' Market in Jersey City. I remember thinking that was kind of random. First meeting at a market? But honestly it ended up being a pretty good idea.

 

When I got there it was busy and loud and I wasn't sure who I was looking for at first. Then I saw Anastasia near one of the produce stands wearing this bright yellow dress. She looked like she was already enjoying herself, just looking around at everything.

 

We started walking through the stalls together. She was way more excited about the vegetables than I expected anyone to be. At one point she started explaining how her family used to grow their own food back in Russia and how she missed that. We grabbed some things from different stands and ended up carrying a bag of random ingredients around the market.

 

Eventually we took everything over to Riverview-Fisk Park and just sat there looking at the Manhattan skyline and talking. It wasn't one of those interview-style first dates. It was more like two people just hanging out and figuring each other out.

 

At some point Anastasia decided we should cook something with what we bought. That turned into us trying to make borscht in my very small kitchen later that afternoon. It was messy and definitely not organized, but somehow it worked.

 

After that we kept seeing each other. Sometimes dinner, sometimes just walking around the waterfront. Once we rode bikes along the Hudson and she brought tea in a thermos and pastries she had made herself.

 

What I liked was that neither of us seemed to be forcing anything. She was focused on building her life here. I had my own schedule and just wanted someone good to spend time with. A year later she's the person I come home to. Didn't see that coming when I was picking out tomatoes at a farmers' market."

 

 

— Michael, 49, Jersey City