Laura & Francesco

We moved to Turin for university and ended up living in the same college.

We were just friends, sharing corridors, loud singing, and improbable meals cooked at even more improbable hours. 

Then photography became our excuse to spend more time together. Not dates, obviously. Just two friends taking photos. Very casual. Definitely not suspicious.

Then came climbing, which anyone who knows me will know is not exactly my natural habitat. But I made an exception for Francesco, and after every climbing session we would end up at the foosball table. The rule was simple: whoever lost had to cook dinner for both of us.

Francesco lost. Every. Single. Time.

You might think it was a strategy. A romantic masterplan. But no, he still loses to this day.

Francesco’s usual first move was in the kitchen: braciole di pesce spada alla messinese. It would have been impressive, except I don’t eat fish. So he had to rethink his strategy. One movie night, he took my hand, and soon after came our first kiss.

We adopted Brie, our cat, who lived with us illegally in college thanks to the full cooperation of our friends. Eventually, I moved to the UK. After finishing his master’s degree, Francesco took Brie and, in the middle of a pandemic, crossed Europe by taxi, train, and ferry to reach me.

Ten years have passed, and we have kept building our life together… new countries, new homes, new friends and many more foosball defeats. Because after all of it, we had already figured out the most important thing:

Home is wherever we’re together.