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KIRSTEN CHRISTOPHE: Romance in an Odd Place

 

Romance can be ignited in the oddest places, even under the intense pressure of a bar review course, which is how Kirsten Christophe met her husband, Charles. Already a recognized expert in the field of risk management (she advised law firms on how to avoid malpractice claims) Ms. Christophe had recently moved to New York from San Francisco when they met. She spent five years working for Aon. She left to join a competing company in Midtown Manhattan, but on Sept. 1, she returned to work at Aon, at the World Trade Center, where she had an office on the 104th floor.

During their six-year marriage, the Christophes were seldom apart, even taking business trips together. When their daughter, Gretchen Dagmar, was born last year, they brought her along, too.

Like most busy professionals, the couple, who lived in Maplewood, N.J., divided their child care responsibilities, and it was Ms. Christophe who would put the baby to bed. Gretchen, who turned 1 on Sept. 13, does not talk yet, but Mr. Christophe knows she misses her mother, especially in the evening. "She cries, `Mommy, Mommy,' " he said. "What can I say?"

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times