Jenny and Tommy were regulars in the office of the assistant dean of engineering while at NC State. Dr. Porter had befriended them both, and had helped each of them to succeed in their respective disciplines. During the summer of 1999 he passed away unexpectedly. Although both Tommy and Jenny spent many hours in Dr. Porter's office, they had never met.

The following fall, NC State held a memorial at Stewart Theater for those students who could not attend his funeral services over the summer. During this memorial, students shared memories and feelings about Dr. Porter. Both Tommy and Jenny spoke about their respective encounters and the many ways that Dr. Porter encouraged and listened.

Jenny spent most of the following morning at Caribou Coffee, a place Dr. Porter had frequented, and she had nestled into her routine spot in the corner seat near the window. She soon noticed Tommy in line to get a cup of tea. Jenny looked around and upon noticing that the place was more packed than usual for that time of day, suggested he join her. Tommy took her up on the offer, and they shared more personal stories about Dr. Porter. Far too soon, Tommy had to take his leave and go to class.

Later that same day Jenny received an e-mail from Tommy, which she thought was amazing considering that she didn't remember giving him much of a clue who she was. In the e-mail Tommy asked Jenny if she would like to accompany him for lunch the following day at a popular student hangout called Two Guys.

The lunch lasted for hours, and Jenny was late to her next class because they couldn't stop talking to each other. Their next time together was on a wonderful date at Tir Na Nog, a local Irish pub. They've been hanging out together at Irish pubs ever since.

One Saturday afternoon in the spring, Tommy asked Jenny to take a walk with him to Castle Island and Pleasure Bay. They strolled around Pleasure Bay and the fort before getting some hot dogs at Sully's, a local Southie concession stand. They ate under a beautiful tree then went back for dessert. After getting ice cream, they sat on a bench overlooking the Boston Harbor and watched the sailboats. Suddenly Jenny realized that Tommy was no longer on the bench beside her, but directly in front of her on one knee. He had pulled a beautiful ring out of his pocket, grabbed her hand and was staring at her. He asked her to marry him, and to his relief, she accepted. To her dismay, her ice cream had melted. Perhaps that was due to the time lost removing the ring and placing it on the correct hand.