Read our first post together, three years ago, here.
Lilian was married on Saturday evening at the University of Toronto’s Hart House. I was lucky to be one of the ~ 60 guests invited.
Three years ago, in September 2022, she and I first met at a corporate speed networking event. We had a few minutes to speak, but later came up to one another to continue the conversation. “You’re my favourite person,” we both said.
Months later, when my project was picked up by the Toronto Star, Lilian told the journalist, “Miriam is really easy to connect with instantly,” recalling how Amdur was vulnerable and talked about her personal life. “That’s so rare. I just felt like I knew her a lot more after five minutes than anyone else there.”
How flattering!
In the years since then, Lilian has proven to be a kind and supportive friend. Our relationship began with casual Slack messages that turned into dinner dates and walks in the park.
In the spring, I met Lilian (who has since relocated to New York) and her husband, Evgeny, for dinner on the Upper West Side at a restaurant called Miriam.
My mom, who joined us for dinner, was impressed by the young couple. Asking about their love story—the two shared a table at a bar in 2018, and the rest was history.
Evgeny is also from Toronto, but moved to New York a few years ago for a fancy engineering job. I learned during their wedding speeches that he completed his PhD at the University of Toronto. Still, he shared candidly that if it weren’t for Lilian’s planning skills, the wedding would probably be in the school’s basement.
Also, a key member of the wedding day was Lilian’s other half, her identical twin, Stephanie. Stephanie lives and works in Ottawa (I introduced her to friend #45, Violette, at my 26th birthday two years ago, and they’ve been chatting since).
Lilian’s friends, seated near me at the wedding, agree that she is the kind of friend who always makes an effort to reach out. “The twins are really great at maintaining the relationship,” one said.
“Every time Lilian is in Toronto, she messages me to hang out,” says Michelle, Lilian’s former co-worker, when I drove her home.
I’m lucky that I found Lilian, as it’s rare to find people who reciprocate friendship so effortlessly. I also have her to thank for encouraging 52 Friends in its early days—I then only had a few posts up and a picture of the Little Prince as my logo.
Lilian assured me that I would be successful and that loneliness was something worth writing about.
I’m glad I listened.
“How beautiful it is to find someone who asks for nothing but your company.”
—Brigitte Nicole