M AT C H E S
NATANYA
&
SHANNON
42
NATANYA: “A few years ago, I was living alone, working from home as a freelance jewelry designer, when I decided
that I needed to get out more. I found a
game-based Meet-Up group online, and
met a nice girl there. A few days later,
we went to a trivia night together at The
Office. Apparently, my future husband
saw me there, but I didn’t remember
him until I saw him a few days later at
Tierney’s. He was wearing a Sonic Youth
T-shirt, and sitting with our small, allfemale group. I started chatting him up
about music; he seemed very nervous at
first, but then we all went downstairs
where it was quieter. I told him it was
nice to meet him, and that was it.
“I was about to move to Virginia to
attend grad school in occupational
therapy, so I thought I’d never see him
again. When he emailed me through
Meet-Up, asking me out for coffee, I had
to tell him that I would most likely be
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2016
leaving town, and he replied that he
could always use a new friend. It was
about 100 degrees the day we met at
Trend Coffee & Tea House, so we
walked up to Van Vleck Gardens and
took shelter under the trees. We spent
almost every day after that together,
until the day I left.
“But somehow, weekend visits and
very long phone conversations kept our
strange relationship alive. After a year
living away from my hometown and the
person I now realized I loved, I applied
to schools that were closer, and was
accepted to Kean University; I just
graduated with a master’s of science
degree in occupational therapy. Shannon
and I were married at the Montclair
courthouse in September, and are
planning a large family wedding for next
June, in a New Jersey garden similar to
the one where we first talked for hours
under a tree.”