Beau Rotramel drives musicians across the country; his job keeps him on the road for months at a time. The man needs companionship. And sandwiches and haircuts.

I work at the sandwich chain of Owner Jimmy John, explains beautician Chrissie Meanwell, describing one of her duties when she visits Beau. She also cuts hair, makes a mean peanut butter and jelly, and she is skilled in the art of grammar-based games.

Beau and Chrissie, by Justin Greiman

“We’ll do Mad Libs and listen to the radio until she falls asleep in the captain’s chair,” Beau says.

Their romance began with an existential dilemma. Two years ago, Beau’s usual hairstylist moved out of state, leaving him with only a referral for a much-needed haircut. With a name like Beau Daniel Rotramel, you cannot take any risks with your hair.

“I was really attracted to Chrissie right away,” says Beau, who found his soulmate working at Marilyn Ihloff in Utica Square. “She was glowing and had rosy cheeks and big green eyes.”

“He was too cute, smelled nice and was dressed well. I thought he was either gay or a total jerk,” says Chrissie. “Luckily, neither one of those things applied.”

Several stylings and shampoos later, Beau finally worked up the nerve to ask her out, but the proposition carried a serious consequence.

“She got really nervous and basically screwed up my hair cut after that,” says Beau.

“I wanted to play it cool, but I was sweating profusely and turning bright red,” Chrissie laughs. Despite leaving Beau with an uneven neckline, she agreed to the date for that following weekend.

Beau and Chrissie, by Justin Greiman

After a four hour long dinner at Abuelo’s and drinks at the south Tulsa pub, Sutures, Beau dropped Chrissie off at her house, but not before kissing her.

“I texted him later to thank him for a lovely evening.” Chrissie said. “He said he didn’t mind my shish kebab breath. I thought I had really turned him off.”

But, shish kebab breath didn’t bother Beau in the least.

“After that night, I couldn’t wait to see her again.” Beau said.

Beau and Chrissie married on Sept 12, 2010, and had their reception at Cain’s Ballroom. Beau’s hair looked great.

Beau and Chrissie, by Justin Greiman

Rebekah Greiman is a Tulsa-based writer. She blogs at Potholes and Pantyhose.

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Note: This article was originally published September 27, 2010.