Over ten years ago, John went on walkabout to India before graduating med school. After making his way through the typical touristy sites, he found himself in a hilltop club in Goa, where he met Christina. Although decidedly not yet a doctor, he introduced himself as a doctor. Disclaimer: the details of this meet cute are disputed due to alcohol units consumed and, of course, the effects of Father Time. When asked for her number, Christina generously offered up her email address. John immediately sent himself an email from her phone as his iPhone 6’s battery had died (a harbinger of Apple’s battery health woes that would plague him throughout his life).

The next day, nursing a nasty hangover, Christina and her sister, Lisa, popped down to a beach shack for a little hair of the dog. Kingfisher in tow, Christina took in the sights. Glancing down, she noticed a loud redhead, the tallest man she had ever seen, and, an incredibly ripped young fellow, running down the beach. As he got closer, her heart beat a little faster—she knew this strapping lad. It was Doctor John. After a brief summer fling, John went back to America and Christina went back to college—tangent lines fated to only cross once, or so they thought.

Years passed, John finished intern year, then residency and his fellowship. He became an attending, just like Dr. McDreamy. Christina graduated university, started writing and became a person who binge-watched shows about attendings, like Dr. McDreamy.

As Covid wound down, and the phrase, “now, more than ever” slowly faded from our vernacular, John texted Christina, seemingly out of the blue (a film with a 95% rotten tomato score). He maintains it was not “out of the blue”. After a couple days of bantering, Christina drunk-dialed John on her birthday. She maintains it was not “a drunk-dial”. Three months later, John found himself flying across continents (yes, plural), to meet Christina in India. After two weeks, they decided their tangential lines should remain tangential no longer.