Chelsey & Kris

They Met at Chipotle...And Lived Happily Ever After

From the bride:

It was 2 pm on Sunday afternoon. I walk into Chipotle hoping to run in and run out with my lunch to go. I dressed casually as it was a lazy day for me. He’ll say I was wearing a hat. I wasn’t. In any case, I stand in line for a few minutes not focused on anything; but rather, patiently waiting for this unusually long line to go down.

He is in front of me in line and periodically turns around to look out the windows behind us. I figured he was waiting for a friend. About five or six minutes go by and he says, “man, you wouldn’t think there’d be a line this long on a Sunday afternoon!” I responded, “I know, right?!” We chalked the long line up to it being a holiday weekend. He asks me about my weekend plans. I ask about his. He asks me what I do for a living so I tell him, “I’m a bookkeeper at a local high school.” He asks which one. Then he asks me, “so...what’s the difference between a bookkeeper and a librarian?” I thought to myself, (you have to be kidding me) but I politely explain the difference. I then ask what he does for a living. He tells me he is a financial advisor… (Really guy? You are a financial advisor but you don’t know the difference between a bookkeeper and a librarian? Ok, this is going to be interesting.)

We continue our casual conversation intermittently as we move through the line making our menu requests to the Chipotle employees. He approaches the cashier first as he was in front of me in line and tells them he is paying for my meal too. (Really?! How nice!) “No no no, you really don’t know need to do that,” I said. He responds, “oh yeah, it’s my good deed for the day.” I gratefully thank him a dozen times. We both grab our separate bags and head toward the door. We say our goodbyes, I thank him again and we drive away in separate directions.

I couldn’t help but scratch my head in wonder, (did I just make a mistake? Should I have asked for his number? I haven’t dated in a while but surely the rules haven’t changed that much… Oh well, that was super flattering and I just got a free lunch!)

Nine days later…

It’s a normal Tuesday at work. My office phone rings, “Hi this is Chelsey in the Activities Office, how can I help you?” He replies, “Hi this is Kris Matheson.” I ask him how I can help him (because I didn’t remember his name). He replies, “can you tell me the difference between a bookkeeper and a librarian?” My jaw drops. (Can this be real? Did that guy from Chipotle really remember where I work and find a way to contact me?) “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you found me. I can’t believe you remembered when I told you where I work.” He tells me he couldn’t stop thinking about me so his friends encouraged him to call...it only took a week and a half. I tell him he definitely earned my phone number and offer to give it to him. He says, “well, yes that would be great, but to be honest if you give me your phone number I’m just going to use it to ask you out. So...would you like to go out sometime?” I reply, “sure! What do you have in mind?” We both have busy schedules so the first evening we have available is the following Monday. We set the date, time and place. He gives me his number and I text him with mine.

The next six days are filled with numerous text messages back and forth. Lots of questions about likes and dislikes, hobbies, family, and friends. Monday rolls around and we meet at the restaurant. He offers to pick me up but I wasn’t about to give the guy my address since we had only just met. Dinner at Paul Martin’s was phenomenal. I pick white wine even though he would have normally chosen red. He carries the conversation while I gratefully keep my nervous comments in my head. We share smiles, laughs, stories of adventures, family dynamics, work history, education paths, etc. Before we know it the place is closed. He kindly pays the bill and we head out to our cars.

I despise awkward moments, mostly because I don’t know how to handle them, so I decide to break the silence before it breaks me, “so...what now???” He replies, “well, I really like you and I would love to see you again!” We plan our next four dates right there at 10 pm in the parking lot of Paul Martin’s.

The next day at work I can’t seem to wipe this stupid grin off my face. I can’t stop thinking about him. When I get back to my office after lunch I notice flowers have been delivered by a local florist. The note on the card says, “Nobody likes the librarian anyways.”

We’ve been inseparable ever since. Chipotle will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Kris proposed to me while Segway wine tasting in Healdsburg, California. We were married on April 14, 2017, in my hometown of Rocklin, California in a picturesque historic church next to the railroad tracks. Our day was perfect in every way!