Chrissy (Dalessandro) `03 and Robert Fratena `03

 Chrissy (Dalessandro) `03 and Robert Fratena `03

I remember the day vividly. Junior year, Malone College (now named Malone University!). It was 5pm and I was hungry. None of my friends were going to the cafeteria to eat. In those days, you didn't dare go alone to the cafeteria. That would be horrifying. I logged onto the old standby, AOL instant messenger, and saw one of the guys in my nursing class online. He said he was going now to eat, so I rushed out to meet him. At the cafeteria, I sat with his group of friends. It was there that I spotted this cute guy who I had never seen around campus before! This was unusual because Malone is small, close-knit community and we pretty much all knew each other. Then, I noticed he was looking at me, too! I looked him square in the eye and asked, what's your name? He said, Bob. I responded with a laugh, saying that can't be your name! because, to me, Bob was an old man's name. He smiled and assured me it truly was his name. You would have thought that kind of direct/blunt (insulting?) communication would turn a guy off, but after the rest of our conversation that evening, Bob went back to his dorm and swears it was then that he knew this was the girl he was going to marry. I later found out that he wasn't planning on eating that night either as luck (or God) would have it, he was able to squeeze in a few minutes in between work to grab a bite to eat. God definitely orchestrated that night! Over that next year, he became my best friend and eventually we started dating. He asked me to marry him 6 months later. Nearly 18 years, 2 kids, 4 cats, and 1 dog later, we are still happily married! The secret to our success? Always being able to speak directly to each other and laugh together!