There are two versions to our story—both are equally exciting and kismet. Choose your adventure.

OUR STORY involves, sharing Chris' first ever Moxie's white chocolate brownie bite—a Scarborough rite of passage, feeding kale to the majestic deer at Morningside Park, & star gazing on a crisp spring evening on the very bench Chris would later go on to ask me to be his wife on and give me a pretty stone, 4.3 years later.

The longwinded written in the stars version of our story is the one where I used to ride the 95 York Mills into work daily #TTC4lyfe #publictransitFTW #MithulatakestheTTChris. I was a frequent flyer on Chris' bus. He always showed up rain nor shine (winter or construction). Chris was the charming operator, with the gently knotted tie and luscious locks tied back effortlessly into a pristine bun sitting at a 50-degree angle. The kind of locks that could humble any woman, man or Theo.

I would nervously chuckle every time I fumbled while tapping my presto because I was too distracted. But beyond his good looks and charm, Chris had something about him —you immediately felt a sense of happiness & security in his presence. He had a calming demeanor and smiled with his eyes. There was an infectious twinkle, enough to make your heart smile. It was comfort—it was home.

CHRIS has a warm, fuzzy, teddy bear like aura to him & anyone who has met him can attest to this. He is zen like zucchini and also happens to give the best bear hugs. In any case, I've definitely gotten sidetracked into making this a Chris stan sesh, and there will be plenty of time for that—but now back to the story. On one unsuspecting day in April, a courageous Mithu wrote her number accompanied by a smiley face on the back of her transfer ticket (this ages us, I know) and handed it back to Chris. He smiled and placed it in his pocket & the rest was history!

The short version is the story where we both found our honey on bumble. Chris' selfie game was weak (non-existent) and all his pictures were dated and were group shots poorly cropped. I always joke to Chris that he had low self-awareness before we started dating.

But in all honestly I thank my lucky stars, that I was drawn to his simple bio and poorly cropped pictures. We should note in an era where we carefully curate the online versions of ourselves, he was confident in the authentic, raw (like honey) version of himself—and that was an incredible quality.

During our text exchanges, Chris continued to be a mysterious man, he didn’t spill as much as I did but he listened a lot. He was an absolute sweetheart and warm and receptive to the banter. Chris too had a wicked sense of humour. He was composed, witty and respectful. It was clear that his momma raised him right.

Chris was indiscriminately kind, thoughtful and genuine in all his interactions with people whether it be family, friends or strangers. My favourite thing about our interactions were our "how was your day?" check-ins. It may be a simple question, but it carried a lot of weight. It was nice to have someone who genuinely cares about all the excitement, the mundane moments and the in betweens. Chris listened attentively time and time again no matter how repetitive or insufferable my stories were. He would also follow up on things I said in passing, even I did not recall.

There were subtle gestures of love, where Chris would gently clear off the crumbs on my shirt after a meal, he'd greet me after work with a medium earl grey two milk, and I'd catch him starring at me in awe while I picked out food bits off my teeth. He would change my flat tire, top up my windshield liquid and clear snow off my car on the coldest of winters— all with the widest smile on his face. I’m definitely an acts of service girlie, and Chris delivers. We had so much fun laughing at everything and nothing. It was clear we have found our person.

OUR FIRST DATE—staying true to a classic Scarborough love story we had our first date at Moxie's because I learnt early on Chris had never had a white chocolate brownie. As a long time Scarborough enthusiast and former resident, I could not fathom this. So I proposed we go and Chris happily obliged. We first met inside STC and came in for a familiar embrace. When we were seated a then shy Chris did not hold back to let me know "wow you look beautiful, even better than the pictures". We had a pleasant evening where our conversation flowed naturally, we were seated next to an obnoxious (rightfully so) 10 year old birthday party, and I successfully paid for our first date without testing Chris' masculinity (he is a confident man & I love that for me). We were so at ease throughout dinner, I don't think our waitress picked up we were on our first date when she was chatting us up.

We walked back to Chris' car where he gave me a cute little seashell from the shores of the Caribbean Sea (Cuba) and a Cadbury Fruit & Nut chocolate bar he had brought back for me from his recent trip. And I gave him an assortment of European chocolate, and more notably a Norwegian Kit Kat bar I held onto for him. It was our first official date and it was sweet to see we were already thinking about each other. We ended the night with a trip to Morningside Park. I had left over kale I packed to feed the deer and Chris reminded me after our night walk and bench stargazing. We placed the kale on their dining table (rock) and Chris took out the lemon piece that slid out—with the consideration it may be toxic for wildlife and that was it, it was that moment right there I told myself I am going to marry this man one day. I went home and texted my best friend the play by play the next day—and here we are almost 5 years later. :')

PS- Chris will share his version at the reception with a gentle push from aunty Demerara. xD