A Family Hair Affair

Prologue
Sharon looked at herself in the mirror in frustration.  She simply couldn’t get her hair to look right.  Her bangs were too long and the sides of her angled undercut bob just hung there without turning under the way they had done for the first several weeks after it had been styled by Jimmy.  Besides that, the back was getting too long to even hint at the high undercut that had been the most important feature of the cut.  Jimmy,  the young barber at the shop where she had taken her sister and twin brothers for their summer haircuts the day after school was over, had devised a great looking bob with the sides angled high up the pack.  The nape had been under cut to her occipital bone and she had kept it shaved smooth since the cut was done.  The original cutting had been an exciting experience.  Thinking about it brought back pleasant memories.
She remembered her mother’s instructions and how she had gotten around them to order her 13 year old sister Jen to get a real crewcut.
It had all begun more than a year ago - June 1996 - when she took her then 12 year old sister Jen and 9 year old twin brothers David and Gary to the barbershop....
A Surprise at the Barbershop
Sharon’s Mother, Gail, had taken a new job and they had moved to the outskirts of  Evanston in late spring just after school was out.  Gail had been a single mother since shortly after the twins had been born, when her husband and Sharon’s father had disappeared.  Gail had been shocked but somehow she began to take control and begin a new life.  By the time Sharon was 10 she had played a major role in caring for her sister Jen and Jen still treated Sharon more like a second Mother than a big sister.   Gail’s new job was demanding, but she was determined to succeed.  She gave Sharon more and more responsibility after she turned 16 in February and got her driver’s license.  Gail car-pooled to work most of the time so Sharon usually had Gail’s car available to her.  But hard times had taught Sharon about the need to be frugal and she was cautious about using the car, particularly when Gail told her to use the car only if she really needed to.  Gail’s fierce determination to care for her children had made an impression on Sharon.  She admired her mother greatly and hoped that she could do as well if she ever had faced such challenges.
Money had always been short and Sharon had usually been in charge of getting her sister and brothers to the barbershop for their infrequent haircuts, short haircuts or crewcuts for the boys and either simple short bobs or pixie cuts for Jen and herself.  The shorter Sharon had her hair cut the more praise she received from Gail whose own hair was cut in a very short style buzzed up the back and sides.
That spring, shortly after settling into their rented house in Evanston, her Mother had hurriedly penned a note for the barber and had entrusted it to the twins.  Sharon had been out with a boy from down the block she had met just the week before.  Although she was home by 11:00 PM as required, her Mother was already headed for bed because she was the first to be picked up by her car pool driver and had to get up quite early.  The next morning just before she left for work, she knocked on Sharon’s bedroom door, woke her up and gave the sleepy Sharon $50 and told her it was time to take everybody to the local barber shop for haircuts, and that David had the instructions for the barber.
After the usual hassles with David and Gary, she got them into the car and to the barbershop only a few blocks away.  She thought that they should have walked rather than using the car, but she didn’t want to be seen parading through the neighborhood with her sister and brothers.  The shop was nearly empty on that Tuesday morning and David was ushered into the vacant second chair.  He handed the note to Jimmy (whose name Sharon was to learn only later) who read it and consulted with the older barber.  After looking at it he said something to the effect “well that’s clear enough, she wants medium crewcuts on them.”  He then turned to Sharon and asked if the note was from their mother, to which Sharon answered yes while thinking about how she would have Jen’s hair cut.  Gail had simply told her that both she and Jen needed to get short cuts for the summer.  Evanston was already hot so she didn’t object to that admonition.
By now Gary was in the chair of the older barber, and David was already being sheared to ½ inch with a large pair of clippers.  Sides and back were clipped to 1/4 inch and tapered to zero around the ears and at the neckline which was raised about a half inch.  The older barber was quick and both boys were done almost at the same time.  A quick dusting David’s neck and the cape came off with a flourish with an “all done young man”, followed by “next.”
Sharon indicated to Jen that she should be next.  Jen’s hair was a shaggy mess from a growing out pixie, and Sharon had settled on simply returning it to a very short pixie style clippered up the back and sides with the top cut short but tapered to a slightly longer fringe.  For herself, she had decided on an asymmetrical bob, buzzed over one ear and up the back with the other side almost chin length.  She had seen that style in a magazine, but it was seeing it on a local girl home from college for the summer that had really made her decide on getting that style.  The younger barber had a sign saying that he specialized in women’s and girl’s haircuts, so she had decided on something a little different, hoping that he could do it for her.  But it was not to be.
As she stood up to explain how Jen’s hair should be cut, she heard from the older barber say “you’re next Miss.”  Startled, she stammered something about telling the other barber how to cut Jen’s hair, but the older barber said they already had instructions.  He showed her the note from Gail which plainly stated that they should all have the same style crewcut.  Sharon was tongue tied.  Surely there was some mistake, but the note was clear, they were ALL to get the same cut.  The old barber wasn’t about to take no for an answer and his demeanor brooked no argument.
Sharon meekly sat in the chair, felt the cap snap around her neck and sat in a daze while she was transformed.   It didn’t take long.  She felt the vibration of the large clippers to which he had attached a ½ inch comb attachment as they went up the back of her head.  Somehow it seemed to feel exciting.  In less than a minute her thick mop of hair, which hadn’t been cut since September, and hung down with no semblance of a defined style, was reduced to a soft ½ inch long brush.  Clippers with a 1/4 inch comb reduced the sides and back to that length, tapering into the length on top.  Then he tapered up the back using the clippers over comb method.  That sent shivers up Sharon’s spine.  She was surprised at the feeling, but was more interested in David and Gary who were having a fit of the giggles.  The barber seemed to be taking extra time with her haircut, checking it several times and combing up the back and sides and taking off tiny amounts of hair with his scissors.  Sharon was having very mixed feelings.  She liked the way it felt when the clippers went up the back of her head, but she was very anxious about the kind of haircut she was getting.  She was startled again when she felt shaving cream being applied to her neck and around her ears.  Once again she experienced a pleasant tingle when she felt the slight rasp of the razor on her neck and the coolness that followed.
A quick dusting of powder and she was spun to face the mirror to the announcement, “All done miss, a real fine haircut if I do say so myself.  We decided to leave a bit longer that the boys.”  Jen was climbing out of the chair of the other barber and now Sharon could see that her haircut were not quite as short as the boys’s.  She heard, as though from a distance, the other barber compliment Jen telling her how nice she looked and that she was going to turn the heads of a lot of boys.  She had to admit that Jen did look really cute with her neat brushcut and she saw Jen grin when she looked at herself in the mirror. Actually it was not all that much shorter than the cut Sharon had planned for her.  Sharon was having trouble - she wanted to be angry but had enjoyed the feeling of the haircut.  As she got out of the chair the young barber came over to compliment her as well.  “That cut is very flattering for you - it emphasizes your cheekbones and brings out your eyes.”   Sharon didn’t want to accept the compliment, but couldn’t say that she hated it.  She was confused about what had happened and couldn’t understand how her mother could have ordered her to get that kind of haircut.  She had never done anything like that before.  She paid for the haircuts and ordered everyone into the car for the drive back home.  The boys were still acting funny but Sharon was so deep in thought that it didn’t register with her that their behavior was a little odd.
Back home Sharon looked at herself in the mirror ran her hand through her hair and again had the mixed emotions of the pleasant feeling of the haircut, and the unexpectedness of the haircut itself.  She needed to understand why her mother had ordered it.
Gail arrived home at her usual time of 6:00 PM.  The first person she saw was Sharon.  “Wow, Sharon, I didn’t expect you to get it cut like that; that looks really super.  When did you decide..” 
“Mom!  I didn’t want it like this, your note said we all had to have it ...”
“My note?  I didn’t say anything about you and Jen.  Let me see that note.”
 “David has it, but I read it.  It said all of us had to get crewcuts.”
In short order a pair of very sheepish twins were on the carpet admitting that they had made a few judicious changes in the note.  They thought it would never get that far, but when Jen and Sharon got in the chairs they sort of forget to speak up until it was too late.  Gail administered some appropriate punishment, while trying to persuade Sharon that she looked really good.  Sharon was not mollified and her relations with her twin brothers was strained for quite a while.
After the first week, Sharon found that several of the guys in the neighborhood seemed to respond favorably, but most of the girls seemed to think that she was weird to get that kind of haircut and that none of the guys would want to date her.  She wasn’t about to push her luck, and determined to let it grow out.
By September it had grown out nearly 2 inches, and she went back to the barbershop for a careful trim to get it into some kind of style that she thought would be acceptable at her new high school.  On orders from her Mom she took Jen and the twins.  This time there would be no surprises - Jen’s grown out crewcut would be cut into a nice pixie style and the boys would get regular boy’s cuts.  Gail was not about to give her the money necessary for Sharon to go to a regular styling salon.  Money was still tight, and with Sharon only three years away from college, saving money was a necessity.  So after Jen and the boys were done, Sharon had a discussion with Jimmy, whose name she realized  had been on a nameplate under the mirror when she first visited.  The origin of the note and the original  haircut disaster were explained much to Jimmy’s chagrin.  He apologized and admitted that he had experienced some misgivings about the original note, but Sam, the senior barber, was convinced it was authentic.  Sharon thought to herself that maybe he wanted to be convinced.
Sharon wanted to let it grow out, but Jimmy convinced her that it would look better if she let the top grow and trimmed it into a short bob so that it would be all one length after a few months.  Then she could let it grow and it would be kept even with only an occasional trim.   Jimmy said he could keep it trimmed for her for half price.  Besides it was partly his fault that the mistake had been made in the first place.  Sam looked skyward but agreed.
When Gail came home Sharon made her case.  “Mom, Jimmy down at the barbershop said that he could keep my hair trimmed for half price.  That’s only $5.  I really want to do it and he does a good job.”
“I don’t know Sharon, you want an extra $5 for a trim every month?  You know how hard its going to be for us when college time comes around and we really need to save everything that we can.”
 Sharon knew that Gail’s new job was paying her well and that her new employer was very pleased with her performance.   The extra $5 was not so much the problem as was Gail’s strong feeling about money based on past experiences.  So she tried a different tact.
 “Well it wasn’t fair that I had to get that awful haircut.  I think I should get something for me.  Besides I’m sure we can find a way to save $5 on our grocery bills.  You can stop getting so many soda’s because I’ll cut back on mine.  The twins could give up some too.  After all they’re responsible for what happened.”  After a pause to consider, Gail agreed.  “All right Sharon, it’s a deal, you help us find ways to save more and you can have an extra $5 a month.  But you can’t just tell everyone to cut back on whatever you think is unnecessary - we all have a say in it.”
By the end of May Sharon’s thick hair had grow more than 6 inches and fell, heavy and straight, to below her chin.  Although She had achieved her goal of letting her hair grow, she was becoming dissatisfied with it.  She found it hard to manage - it did not want to curl under the way she wanted it to, and was at the stage where it fell into her face when she leaned forward or looked down.  What was worse Frank, her steady boyfriend since January, mentioned several times that he had liked her hair better the was it was when they first met.  So she was ready for a change, but not a drastic change like last summer.
Second Encounter
School was finally out.  Sharon had turned 17 in February and was looking forward to being a Junior in the Fall.  She was a year older than the other girls although a few of the guys were her age or would be 17 before school started in the fall.  She had repeated sixth grade when Gail had lost her job and they had moved at least four times while trying to manage on what little Gail had saved and her unemployment insurance.  It wasn’t enough for a family of 5.  But they had survived it, although Sharon had rarely seen the inside of a school that year.  At 12 years of age she was given the responsibility of taking care of Jen and the twins for several hours every day while Gail tried to find a job.  So Sharon had taken on the role of caretaker for her siblings which she still carried out to a large degree, although Gail was very careful to give Sharon as much time for herself as could be managed.  She understood the needs of a teenage girl to have time for herself, to date and to start being independent.
Sharon was highly protective of Jen, but also had a certain degree of jealousy.  Jen’s unselfconscious, cheerful and outgoing nature, her natural athletic ability and the apparently offhanded ease with which she handled her schoolwork had, on more than one occasion, tempted Sharon to tell her to find something else to do or to go the  nearby park.  This usually happened when a guy came to pick up Sharon.
Jen was beginning to develop into an attractive young lady but seemed blissfully unaware of it and Sharon did not want any competition.   She hoped that Jen continued her tomboyish and unselfconscious ways for a few more years, at least until Sharon started college.  So she considered how to delay the inevitable.
The closest to a boyfriend that Jen had ever had was Billy.  After Jen’s buzzcut, Billy, who lived about 2 blocks away, had shown up several times to hang around with Jen who seemed mostly oblivious to his presence although they did go to the local park and pool together regularly during the summer.  This apparently was Billy’s initiative.  They lived on opposite sides of the line dividing the local school districts and so attended different schools.  Billy showed up once or twice in the fall, but that seemed to be the end of it.  Sharon guessed that Billy had been intrigued by Jen’s haircut.  They seemed to hit it off well although Jen was not interested in “boys.”
That evening Gail told Sharon that it was time for summer haircuts and that she should take everyone to the shop the next day.  This time there was more of a discussion.
“You know what I like Sharon, so I’ll leave it up to you.  But Jen’s should not be as short as the boy’s.  You can decide on what you want for yourself, but I hope you do get it cut reasonably short.  You know I like it much better short than the way it is now.  I don’t think that style is very flattering.”
“I know Mom.  I’m not very happy with it either, and Frank says he liked it better the way it was in February, so I do plan to get it cut shorter, I just haven’t decided exactly how yet.”
“OK, I’ll leave it up to you.  Here’s the money.  Remember about Jen.”
“Alright, we’ll go tomorrow.”
One year hadn’t made that much difference and getting everyone into the car was still a hassle with the exuberant twins and Jen who was excited to be out of school and eager to get into the summer sports activities sponsored by the park.
Arriving at the barbershop, they found that several other customers were already waiting in turn.  One young teenager had gotten into Jimmy’s chair and had requested a “high and tight.”  Sharon watched in fascination as Jimmy proceeded to buzz his head to 1/4 inch all over and then to peel the sides and back to bare skin.  He then carefully flattened the top leaving barely 1/8 inch down the middle.  To finish up he shaved around the ears and up the back about an inch above the hairline.  Sharon knew what she was going to do, not that short but she could certainly make the boys cut shorter than Jen’s.
Before David got into Jimmy’s chair she asked Jimmy to show her various attachments and what length they were.  He showed her the No. 4 or ½ inch attachment he used for a medium crew cut, and the No. 3 3/8 inch attachment for a shorter version.  An ever shorter crewcut used a No. 2 attachment for the top which is what Jimmy had used for the  “high and tight.”   It left only 1/4 inch.  There followed a discussion about how to do the sides.  Jimmy said that a No. 2 attachment was used for a regular crewcut, a No. 1 for a short crewcut and a No. 0 or even a No. 000 for a “high and tight.”  He had used both on the previous cut, the No. 0 going up the sides and back to blend with the top, and the No. 000 used about half way up to give the very clean look that was asked for.  Sharon asked if he could use the No. 0 about one inch up the sides and up the back of the boys.  She also asked that they be given a short crewcut with 3/8 top and No. 1 sides.
Jimmy said “Sure thing.  That works out well.  It gives a clean look to the sides and blends well with the No. 1 that blends in the top.  That’s like a ‘low and tight’” he explained.
One after the other David and Gary got their summer crewcuts, shorter this summer than last.  Jimmy even flattened the top a little, giving them a slightly squared off look.  The sides were tightly clippered a little above the ears with the back clippered up to the same height to form an even line around their heads.  David was not especially happy with how short it was when he saw himself in the mirror, but quickly got over it and watched Gary receive the same treatment.  Gary seem pleased with the result.  He had been the instigator of last years episode.
Although Sharon knew what she wanted for Jen she still wasn’t satisfied with how she thought it would work.  She wanted something more that would still be within her Mom’s requirement.
When Jen got into Jimmy’s chair, he asked, “Sharon, what do you want for Jen.”
“Well, Mom said it couldn’t be as short as the boys, so I thought the regular crewcut would be OK.  That’s longer isn’t it?”
“Sure is.  Is that it?”
“I’m not sure.  If you use a No. 2 on the sides could you make it shorter for a little way above the ears and up the back like you did for David and Gary?”
“That would work.  I could use a No. 1 part way up the sides and the back blending with the No. 2 the rest of the way.  I could even make a nice tapered hairline over the ears and up the back, but not as much as on the boys.  Would that do?”
“That sounds good.  Go ahead with that.”
Jimmy fastened the cape over the paper strip that he had placed around Jens neck and picked up his large clippers.  Putting the ½ inch attachment on the clippers he spoke cheerfully to Jen, “You’re going to look really sharp with this haircut Jen.  Its perfect for you.  Head down now.”
Jen obediently put her head on her chin.  She had not objected to last years cut, in fact she had seemed to enjoy it.  There was no maintenance except shampooing, and she could concentrate on her favorite sports activities.  And she had received some approving remarks from some of the boys.  She had not yet become interested in boys except as team mates or competitors in her various activities - softball, soccer and swimming being the most important.  With Mom, Sharon, and others telling her how nice she looked, she accepted Sharon’s judgment without question.  After all, Sharon had been like a second Mother to her since she was 6 years old and she still accepted her as an authority figure.
So Jimmy ran the big clippers up the back of Jen’s head, removing a lot of hair which he flipped onto the floor.  Several passes up the back and he turned to the left side which received the same treatment.  Moving to the right side he said “The other way Jen” as she tipped her head over so that he could get to that side.  The top was the last to go.  “Head up Jen” was the next instruction as he started the clippers at Jen’s forehead and ran it back to over the crown of her head to flip the load of hair off onto the floor.  A few more passes and Jen’s head took on the look of a soft brown brush.  Jimmy continued to run the clippers over her head to be sure that it was all very even and smooth.
Sharon watch with approval, but still wished she could think of something else to do.  She wasn’t trying to be mean to Jen, but she wanted to come up with a very different look.  While she was thinking Jimmy put away the big clippers and switched to a smaller one onto which he snapped the No. 2 cutter head.  Working slowly and carefully, starting on the left side, he ran the clippers up to the point where the side began to curve into the top.  As he reached that point the clippers continued straight up rather than following the curve of Jen’s skull.  This process continue over her ear, then behind it, but now slightly higher to blend with the top.  Jimmy switched to the right side to continue to process.  He checked carefully to make sure the two sides were identical.  “Hold real still Jen.  I want this to be perfect for you.”  Satisfied with the two sides, he moved to the back where he followed the same procedure going a little higher so that it followed the curve of her head a little further toward the top.   He used his comb to be sure he hadn’t made it uneven.  Satisfied he turned the clippers off so he could switch to the No. 1 blades.
Again working carefully on the left side, he meticulously used the clippers about half way up to the place where he had ended with the No. 2 blades.  Finishing the right side he began on the back, but now he started at the nape and ran the clippers all the way up to the line defined by the left and right sides.  It would have been a bowl cut if the line around her head had been sharply defined instead of carefully tapered.  Jimmy replaced his No.1 clipper with a smaller one which he proceeded to use with his comb to blend the three lengths.  Even though he had tapered the transitions, he was not satisfied with the result and painstakingly blended the top to the sides and back.  Working on the sides he blended it so that no trace of a transition could be detected.  Checking it, he decided it was satisfactory.   Then came the delicate job of tapering the sides and back to the hairline.  Here he used his edging clippers and a small comb, creating a short tapered section that went from zero to the length of the No. 1 cutters.  In the back he went up a bit higher to produce a more gradual taper.
While this was happening Sharon had a sudden inspiration. It was just what she wanted.  She was surprised that she had never thought of it before.
 Jimmy turned to her to ask, “Well, Sharon what do you think.”
“It looks great Jimmy, but I have another idea for you to do.  I want you to clip her eyebrows.  They are too heavy and dark.”  Jen did have rather thick and dark eyebrows and they looked a bit overpowering on her small head especially with her newly clippered head.
“I don’t know Sharon.  I trim the eyebrows of some men, but I’ve never clippered anyone’s.”
“I’m sure you can do it.  It should be easy.  Just give it a try.”
“OK, I’ll try it.”  Jimmy picked up the clipper with the No. 2 blades attached and decided to replace it with the No. 3.  “Close your eyes Jen” he ordered.  The clipper followed along her eyebrow and some hair fell but Sharon could not see much difference.
“It needs to be a lot shorter than that Jimmy.”
Without saying anything he replaced the No. 3 blades with the No.1 and tried again.  This time Sharon could see a change.  Jen’s brow was noticeably lighter, but it still didn’t satisfy Sharon.
He picked up a small clipper with a No. 0 cutter, the one he had use for the “high and tight” earlier and looked at Sharon who nodded her assent.  As Jimmy approached, Jen closed her eyes once again and Jimmy ran the clippers over her brows.  Sharon watched with satisfaction as the small hairs fell from the clippers and Jen’s brows dissapeared to be replaced by a lighter area with only a hint of the dark brows that had been there moments before.
Sharon had stood up and came over to inspect the results.  “That’s looks great Jimmy.  Now if you can do her eyelashes it will be perfect.”
“You want me to trim her eyelashes.  I’m not sure I can do that.  Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.  They need to be trimmed to make it all look right.  Please try for me.”
“I don’t know Sharon, I don’t like getting that close to someone’s eyes.  But I’ll give it a try.”
Jimmy picked up a pair of 6 inch scissors, ones he use to give scissor cuts to a few of his clients.  “Hold your head up Jen, close your eyes and hold very still.”  Keeping the points away from Jen’s eye he deliciately trimmed the upper eyelash on the right eye.  Sharon was holding her breath watching intently at the proceedings.
“Can you get it shorter Jimmy” she asked, not wanting to push him too much but wanting to see her plan carried out.
‘OK, one more time Jen.”  Jimmy carefully trimmed the left eyelash close to the base, leaving less than an eight of an inch.  Moving to the other side, he found it a bit awkward, but finally found a comfortable position and proceeded to trim the left side to match the right.  Returning to the right, Sharon was surprised to see him position Jen’s head again.
“I’m going to do the lower lashes to match the top.”   His initial hesitation now replaced with confidence he maneuvered carefully as he trimmed the lower lash close to the base.  Finally he was done.
Sharon expressed her satisfaction.  “That terrific Jimmy.  Absolutely perfect.”
“Well I’m not quite finished with the her haircut yet.  I need to clean up the hairline.”  This was said as he brushed off Jen’s face with his soft brush.  In short order he had used his small razor to clean up Jen’s hairline.  Applying warm lather around her ears and to her neck he proceeded to shave the area in quick strokes.  Wiping the razor clean, he then used a warm towel to remove the last of the lather from around Jen’s ears and neck area.  A little powder dusted onto her neck and he proclaimed her finished.  “Well Jen that’s the best haircut you’ve ever had.”
“He’s right” Sharon chimed in.  ”You look absolutely super”.


Jen got down from the chair and looked at herself with some misgivings, but Sharon and Jimmy continued to exclaim over how great she looked.  Even the boys admitted that she looked neat.
Sharon had to admit that it was true - Jen did look very good.  The short brush of her crewcut and closely trimmed sides complimented her face.  Jen did not have a high forehead, and the short buzz style made her almost round face more oval and open.   The almost invisible eyebrows emphasized her eyes making them look even larger.  Perhaps the lack of eyelashes also made her blue eyes seem more prominent.
“What do you think Jen, don’t you think you look great?”
Jen hesitated, looked at herself once again in the mirror, ran her hand through her hair and down the back of her head to feel the nape finally said “I guess its ok.”  Sharon knew that Jen wasn’t quite ready to give full approval.  Knowing Jen as she did, she was sure that Jen actually liked it but wasn’t going to admit it.  Sharon was very pleased with herself.  She had gotten what she wanted and still met Gail’s requirement.  She was not so sure how Gail would react to the eyebrows and eyelashes, but she figured she would get nothing more than a reprimand.  After all Gail kept her own eyebrows bleached quite light and shaped into a thin line.  Besides, Sharon thought, rationalizing a little, Jen’s eyebrows had always seemed overpowering on her small face.
It was her turn next.  She still didn’t know what she wanted to do.  She and Jimmy discussed it for a while.  Nothing really struck Sharon’s fancy.  She didn’t want a really short buzz cut, and a pixie was too childish she thought.  But she did want something different.  Finally Jimmy suggested an undercut short bob with bangs.  After describing it a bit more Sharon was convinced.  She had such thick hair that the undercut in the back would allow it to swing more freely.  She liked the idea of a buzzed or shaved nape.  The bangs would keep her hair out of her eyes, and according to Jimmy would compliment her face shape.  He said that with a proper cut it would have a tendency to curve inward just the way she had wanted.  This sounded good to Sharon.  She knew that with her thick heavy hair there would be more than enough weight of hair for it to look full even with a severe undercut.  After a bit more discussion about the length and how high the undercut should be (Sharon persuaded Jimmy to go higher than he had originally proposed) she told Jimmy to do it.
Jimmy pinned up her hair in the back and showed Sharon how high he planned the undercut.  Once again Sharon wanted it higher, to the top of her ears.  Jimmy complied and carefully parted her hair in a line along the back of her head from ear to ear.   He used his large clippers to remove the bulk of the hair then switched to a smaller one to clipper her hair closer up the back to the part line.   Turning to the right side he let down a thin section in order to determine the proper length.  He wanted it come down in an angle from just at her earlobe to just below the corner of her lips.  He make the next section slightly longer.  Carrying out this process would leave the underlayers slightly shorter than the over layers and would make the under curl easy to achieve.  The right side went through the same process.  Then he began the back.  It would not cover the undercut completely.  But it would be easy to make it follow the curve of Sharon’s head and fall naturally.
Finally he began cutting the bangs.  They had decided to begin the bangs well back to make then quite wide and to cut them in to the sides in order to lighter the weight of hair on the sides.  Jimmy worked with scrupulous care in order to get it right.  As the bangs took shape Jimmy saw how well the plan had succeeded and how well it suited Sharon’s features.  Her oval face made it almost the ideal choice.  The reduced weight on the sides would allow it to swing easily when she moved her head.  The high undercut gave it a special look from the back and sides.  He checked it from all sides to make sure there were no stray strands and made a few tiny adjustments in areas that were not quite right.
“Sharon how close do you want the undercut.  It will show a little so you may want it the way it is now.  I can make it closer if you want.”  Sharon was facing away from the mirror and he gave her a large hand mirror in order to see the back.  She inspected it carefully first with her hair down and then holding it up with her hand.  She realized only a little showed and if it were clipped close it would look quite natural.  She came to a quick decision.  “Shave it really close Jimmy.  There shouldn’t be anything showing.”
Jimmy laughed, “I thought that’s what you might decide.  I’ll go with the triple zero cutter.  That should be close enough.”
“I guess so” Sharon responded, “But if I want it closer you can do that can’t you?”
“Only a little.  Even if I did it would grow out in a couple of days.  This way it will last a week before you have to clipper it again if you want to keep it the same.  Are you going to come back every week so that I can keep it clipped close for you?”  Jimmy had his No. 000 clippers out and oiled and proceeded to clipper shave Sharon’s undercut nape.  He went over it several times to be sure it was as close and even as he could get it.   He had already dampened her hair slightly and then used the dryer and a brush to coax the hair on the sides and back to take on the slight under curve that she wanted.  The cut had made it fall into place easily.
Sharon had loved the feel of the clippers when he had done the original clippering.  This was even better as she felt the gentle vibration of the small clippers and the sensation of the teeth pressing close against the taut skin at the back of her head.  When he had finished she could not resist reaching up to feel under her hair and the fine prickly stubble that was all that was left.  Jimmy again used the dryer on air only to blow away any stray hairs on Sharon’s clippered neck.  He was about to announce that he had finished when he had an idea.
“I need to clean up you neckline Sharon.  It’ll only take a minute.”  He pinned up the hair falling down the back and applied shaving cream to the hairline.   Putting his hand on her head he pushed it froward and down so that he could reach her neckline easily. On impulse, he quickly shaved upward into the clippered area about an inch above the hairline.  Wiping off the lather, he shaved the new hairline into a neat rounded line.  Inspecting his handiwork, he was confident Sharon would be pleased with the result.
“How about letting me trim your eyelashes a little also.”
“Like Jen’s?  I don’t think so Jimmy.”
“Not as short as Jen’s, just a little to make them even.”
“Well, OK, but just a little.”  Sharon realized she could hardly praise Jen’s new look and then refuse Jimmy’s offer to neaten her own lashes.  Jen was sitting close by and her attention had been aroused by the mention of eyelashes.
Sharon closed her eyes as the now confident Jimmy delicately trimmed a small amount from upper and lower lashes on each eye.  Jimmy handed her a mirror.  “Take a look and tell me what you think.”
Sharon inspected the result and saw that he had indeed trimmed only a tiny amount, leaving her eyelashes all one length in a even curve.  “That’s looks good Jimmy.  Thanks for suggesting it.”
“I think its done Sharon.  Do you want to see how it all looks?”  Jimmy turned her to face the mirror and handed her the large hand mirror so that she could see all sides as he turned the chair.  Sharon smiled broadly at how she looked.  She shook her head and watched her hair fly out and then fall back into place.  She ran her hand through her bangs and saw that they fell back into a slightly different but equally good arrangement.  Jimmy turned her around so she could see the back.  Sharon inspected the now clean neckline showing under the short curved hair in back.  She felt under the hair for the clippered area, and her smile broadened.
“I love it.  Its really great.  I love the back the most, especially having it shaved like that.  I want to keep it shaved up the back just like you did it.”  Sharon could hardly contain her excitement.
After some additional inspection and head-shaking Sharon realized that Jen and the twins were getting restless.  Sam was on vacation and Jimmy was in charge of the shop alone.  She paid Jimmy and promised him that she would be back to have it trimmed.  Hustling the kids into the car she drove home suddenly eager to have Frank see her new style.  As she drove up the driveway she remembered that she might have to explain Jen’s new look to her Mom.  Sharon hoped she didn’t get mad at her.
As soon as Sharon parked the car she got out and went straight to the phone to call Frank to tell him she had something o show him.  He was working on the yard, not his favorite job, but his Dad had made it clear he needed to make himself useful until he got a summer job.  He arrived at Sharon’s house within minutes.
He was greeted at the door by Jen.  Seeing Jen’s crewcut and shaved eyebrows he knew to expect something interesting.
“Hi, Frank, she’s upstairs doing something.  You want me to get her?”
“Yeah, thanks.  That’s a really cool haircut Jen - really with it.  Don’t you think its great?  Did you come up with it?”  Frank was particularly intrigued by the look created by the near lack of eyebrows, but hesitated to say anything about it.
“Naw, Sharon did.  Its OK I guess.  I’ll get her” 
Jen walked part way up the stairs and shouted “Hey Sharon, Frank’s here.”
“OK, I be there in a minute.”
Sharon had changed to her tightest jeans and a fancy shirt and had put on her minimalist makeup, which is truth was all that she needed.  Just as she had expected Frank was bowled over by the new style.
“Sharon, that is really awesome.  You look unbelievably good.  You got it cut this morning?”
“Just an hour ago.  Isn’t it great.  Look at the back.”  Sharon lifted up the hair at the back of her head to show off the buzzed and shaved undercut.
“Wow, that’s really short isn’t it.”  Frank reach out to feel the back of Sharon’s neck, and the buzzed nape.  “Will you keep it that way?”
“I sure hope so.  It’s even shaved partway.  Did you notice?  I really want to keep it like this, at least for the summer, but I can’t go back to the shop every week.  That’s what Jimmy said would be necessary”
“Why don’t you do it yourself.  Or I can do it for you.  Year, why don’t I do it for you.  That would be great.”
“You don’t have a pair of clippers do you?”
“No, but why not just shave it all the way up? That would be even better.   Its practically shaved now anyway.  I can do that with no problem.”
“Shave it all the way up?  That sounds like fun.  I almost asked Jimmy to do that anyway.”
“You should at least try it.”
“It sounds exciting.   I’d like to see what it would be like.”  Maybe I’ll let you do it this weekend, but you have to promise to be real careful.”
“Careful is my middle name, especially after I messed up in that flower garden out front last week.  Dad was not happy.”
“Well you had better keep me happy.  But right now I have to make sure that everyone gets lunch.  You want to stay for a while?”
“I’d better not.  I need to get back to the yard.  I promised Dad I’d get it all done today and I’m going to have to hustle.  I’ll call you tonight.  By the way I think you did a great job on Jen too.  She looks pretty cool with her eyebrows shaved.  You were really inspired weren’t you?”
Sharon suddenly realized that her careful scheme may have backfired.  She had made Jen even more noticeable than before.  “I guess so, but It wasn’t all that big a deal.”
“Great job.  I’ll call you later.”
“OK, enjoy the yard work.”
“Yeah, right.”
Sharon headed for the kitchen.  She and Gail had discussed the idea of her getting a summer job, but Gail was not comfortable with leaving Jen and the boys alone most of the day.  The compromise was that Sharon would be given a substantial increase in her allowance for the summer.  There was a lot to take care of.
As usual Jen was the first to greet Gail when she arrived. “Hi Mom, I got my hair cut.”
“Hi Jen.  Oh wow, let me take a look at you.  You look great!”
“You really like it?”  Like Sharon, Jen valued Gail’s opinion and wanted her approval.
“Oh, absolutely.  I think it suits you perfectly.  I really like the way it sets off your face and makes you look happy and carefree.  Besides it will be real easy to care for this summer.”  Gail did a quict run of her hand over Jen’s head and gave her a hug.  “Honey, I think its perfect.  Its just right for you.”
Jen, finally convinced, broke into a big smile and copied Gails gesture of running her hand through her brush cut enjoying the velvetly feel of.  “Thanks Mom, I really like it.”
By this time David and Gary had wandered in to say “Hi Mom” and see if she approval of their new cuts.  Gail gave them a quick “looking good guys. What have you been up to today?”
Gary, the more mechanical of this pair of fraternal twins, was eager to share his success with getting their skate boards cleaned and oiled.  David’s wasn’t finished yet, and a few oil smears attested to his work.  David impatient to finish the job, hustled Gary.  “Come on Gary, I want to get mine ready.”
“OK, I’m coming,” as he followed David out the back door.
Seeing that Jen and the boys had gone about their affairs, Sharon ventured into to the kitchen to show off her new haircut, and to face the possibility of a backlash for her impulsive and rather radical treatment of Jen.
“What do you think Mom?”
Gail surveyed Sharon’s new look.  “Turn around so I can see the back.  Its a very good style - suits you well.  I like the undercut.  Hold your hair up for me, so I can see it better.”
Sharon obediently held up her hair in the back so Gail could see the undercut.  “Frank likes it a lot” she informed Gail.
“You made a good choice for yourself.  I’m glad you decided to get it cut as short as you did.  I don’t thing the longer style you had was very flattering.  I like what you decided for Jen too.  Sort of matching buzz cuts for her eyebrows and eyelashes.  In fact I like it so much I may have her get the same cut for school in the fall, maybe not quite so short around the sides and back..  But next time don’t get the boys’ cut any shorter than Jen’s.”
“Thanks Mom, I won’t.”  Sharon was relieved that Gail actually liked what she had ordered.
“Did you notice that I had my eyelashes trimmed also.”
“Let me see.”  She looked closely at Sharon’s trimmed eyelashes.  “Well, so you did.  That looks nice.  You know Sharon, I’ve never liked long eyelashes.  Next time you should get yours trimmed just like Jen’s.  Promise me you’ll do that.”
“OK, Mom.”  Sharon wasn’t about to make an issue of it at this point.  Besides she sort of liked the idea anyway after seeing its effect on Jen.  “Do you want me to help with dinner?”
“Sure thing.  Has Frank seen you yet?  What are we having tonight?  I’ve forgotten what I planned.” 
“Its spaghetti Mom.  I looked at the menu.  I got the spaghetti out.  The pan of water is ready to start heating.  I called him and he came over for a few minutes this morning.  He thought it was great.  I told him he could shave the back for me if he was real careful.”
“Its just clippered now.  You want to shave it completely?”
“Its actually shaved up part way, see.”
Gail examined Sharon’s nape more closely.  “You’re right.  So you’re going to let Jimmy finish the job.  That will be interesting.  I’ve seen it like that sometimes.”
“He was really excited about doing it.  I like the feel of the shaved part, so I think it will be pretty wild to have it all done.”
“You’ve gone this far - you might as well go the rest of the way.  Besides it really doesn’t show much.  It’s more of a tease.  You have to look closely and then you can only suspect that something is different.  I like the way it swings now.  It really was too heavy before.”
After dinner was over Jen received a telephone call from Billy, to Sharon’s annoyance.  She had expected to get a call from Frank.  But she knew that Jen’s calls were invariably brief.
She heard Jen answer Billy that she thought she would go to the pool tomorrow and her answer to a question of when she would be there.  Sharon listened to the remainder of the conversation.
“I got my hair cut today.”  Pause.  “Its real short, like last summer.  Frank -- you know, Sharon’s boyfriend -- said it was really neat.”  Pause.  “OK, I have to go now.  You’ll see it tomorrow.  Bye.”
Sharon suspected that they might be seeing a lot of Billy this summer.
That weekend Frank shaved Sharon’s undercut nape as promised, but Gail decided to supervise just in case, to Sharon’s chagrin.
Gail had greeted Frank when he arrived that Saturday morning.  “Good morning Frank.  I hear you’re going to be Sharon’s special barber.”
“Hi, Mrs. Davis.  Isn’t that an awesome haircut?  She said that I could keep it shaved in the back for her.  Is that OK?”  Frank was a little cautious.  He didn’t want to get on the wrong side of Gail.  He liked her and they had gotten along well since he and Sharon had been dating.   He had been fascinated by Gail’s haircut when he first met her, but was too reticent to say anything about it.  Once he had mentioned it to Sharon who had responded that ‘she had always kept it short like that.’
“I’m sure it will be OK Frank, but I’d like to watch the first time, just to make sure it doesn’t go too far.  Actually I’m sure you will do a fine job, but you wouldn’t mind if I watch this once would you?”  Gail had an idea that these two might find themselves getting a little overheated and this was here way of putting a damper on things, just in case.
“Sure Mrs. Davis, it OK with me.”  Frank was obviously nervous about this turn of events but tried to make the best of it.  She had said only this first time.
When Sharon came down she heard Frank’s last remark.  “What’s OK Frank?”
“Your Mom wants to watch me shave your undercut and I said it was OK.”
“Mom!  We can do it.  Why do you need to watch us?  We’re not going to do anything crazy.”
“Just this one time Sharon, I promise.  I just don’t want any accidents to happen.”
Sharon was really put off but finally capitulated after additional assurances that it was just this once and Gail would not interfere.
Sharon went to get a towel and a number of hair clips, along with a bowl of warm water.  Retiring to the patio in the back yard where there was a round table and chairs Sharon sat down and put the towel around her shoulders.  Frank rather awkwardly got it clipped in around her neck.  Sharon handed him a comb and told him to pin up all the hair falling over the undercut.  Working nervously, he combed up the hair and tried to pin it on top of her head.  Gail was smining at his hesitant fumbling and his obvious excitement.   She offered a bit of advice.
“If you twist it, Frank, then you can pin it and it will stay.”
Concentrating Frank got one section twisted and clipped it to the top of Sharon’s head.   He began to get the hang of if and after a few more fumbles managed to get it all clipped out of the way.
Frank picked up the can of shaving cream and shook it when Sharon intervened.  “Should wet it first Frank.  That’s how Jimmy does it.”
Grabbing a small towel, he wet it in the bowl of water.  “This water is only a little warm.  Should it be hotter?”   He applied the wet towel to Sharon’s nape trying to get the short hair there wet.  Finally, he succeeded in getting it damp.
“It’s OK Frank.”  Sharon was getting a little impatient at his nervous clumsiness, especially with Gail watching the whole show.
Frank squeezed some shaving cream from his can into his hand and cautiously applied it to Sharon’s nape.  By now Frank’s nervousness had overcome his excitement and he was concentrating hard on what he was supposed to be doing.
Gail decided to offer a little encouragement.  “You’re doing just fine Frank, but you should make sure the shaving cream is worked into the hair.”
Frank carefully massaged the area with his fingers.  Finally deciding it was time to begin the actual shaving, he picked up a new disposable razor from the table.  Knowing what was needed Sharon put her head down to make it easier for him.   Gingerly he began to make the first stroke  of the razor and immediately ran into the resistance provided by the longer hair of the buzzed area.  The razor was quickly choked with hair and he stopped, perplexed.
“What’s wrong,” Sharon asked.
“It stopped shaving already.”
Sharon realized that Frank had probably never used shaving cream and a razor before and didn’t know what to expect.  He probably had an electric razor which he used on his sparse beard.  She decided to help him even though she had determined to remain quite after her last statement.
“You’ll have to wash it off a lot Frank.  It’s just clogged up.  Shake it off in the water and try again.”
Looking a bit sheepish, Frank cleaned the razor in the bowl and tried again.  This time he did a little better.  Another shake of the razor in the water and another short stroke set the pattern.  Frank began to get into a rhythm and soon had most of the area roughly shaved.  As he reached the line between the buzzed region and the longer hair above it, he realized that it would be difficult to get right to the line without leaving a fringe of hair to grow out.  After trying to go horizontally, which didn’t work at all, he carefully put the razor on the line and shaved  downward, removing the little fringe that he had left in order not to shave above the undercut area.
He used yet another towel to wipe off the area.  “I think I’m finished.”
Sharon put her hand up to feel the result.  She felt stubble in several areas.  “I thought it would be really smooth, but its got a lot of stubble.  I always do my legs better that that.  I wanted it really smooth Frank.”
Once again Gail decided to intervene.  “You’ll need to shave it again with a new razor Frank.  Then it will be smooth the way Sharon wants it.”
“I only brought one razor.  I didn’t think I would need more than one.”
“That’s OK, I just bought a pack of a dozen.  I’ll get one for you.  Why don’t you get a fresh bowl of hot water.”  Gail went into the house to get the promised razor.
Frank picked up the bowl of soapy water and tossed it into the grass and headed into the kitchen for some fresh hot water.  Returning with the bowl of water he commented to Sharon, “Your Mom is pretty cool.  She’s actually helping - not giving us a hard time.  I think she thinks its kind of neat.”
Sharon, mollified by Gail’s apparent willingness to contribute to and even encourage the proceedings and not to criticize had lost her pique at having her Mother oversee the process.
Gail returned with the razor.  “This one is not as good as the one you were using, but it should do the job.  I brought you some aloe vera lotion to use after you’ve finished.   It’s a tender area and will probably be irritated by the shaving”
“Thanks Mrs. Davis.  I never thought of that”  Frank proceeded to apply more shaving cream to
Sharon’ nape, briskly rubbing it in this time.  Using the new razor and his newly developed technique, he began removing the shaving cream along with any remaining stubble with careful strokes.  Feeling it himself this time, he checked to be sure that no stubble remained.  Only then did he wipe off any remaining shaving cream with the other end of the towel he had used earlier.  Putting some of the lotion on his fingers he carefully applied it to the shaved area.
Sharon shivered as the cool lotion on her bare skin combined with a breeze to create a sudden chill at the back of her head.  She explored the area with her fingers.  “That feels incredibly soft and smooth.  I like it.  Thanks.   What do you think Mom?”
Gail laughed.  “Of course I like it.  Just be sensible and don’t get carried away with it.”  Gail reached over to feel it herself.  “It does feel nice, smooth and soft, just like you said.  But it doesn’t last long you know.”
I know.  That’s what Jimmy said.  I thought that if I had it shaved every week it would be OK.”
“It’ll be stubbly in a week, but it will feel good for 3 or four days.  You’ll just have to live with stubble for a few days.  That is very tender skin, and shaving it like that too often can get it very irritated I expect.”
Sharon was removing the clips from her pinned up hair during this and shook her head to get it to fall back in place.  “I guess we’ll find out.  Frank’s going to shave it every week, aren’t you Frank.”
“You bet.  I like the way it feels.  And it looks great.  Now that I’m getting the hang of it, it won’t take long.”
Gail laughed, “well have fun.  What are you guys planning to do today?”
“They called Frank from that company - what’s the name - and told him they had a summer job for him.  He starts Monday.  So we’re going to do some shopping.  He’ll be working in the office and they said he had to dress neatly - no jeans.”
“Its Devlin Engineering, on the other side of town” Frank interjected.
“Congratulations Frank.  I’ll see you later.  I need to get to some of the chores around here.  Don’t forget your chores Sharon.”
“I always get them done Mom, don’t worry.”
“I know you do honey, I shouldn’t have said anything.  Go on.  Enjoy yourself.”
For the next several weeks Frank came over every Saturday morning to carry out his duty of shaving Sharon’s nape.  The both knew it was a turn-on, Sharon especially loved the feel of the razor on the sensitive skin of her nape and up to her occipital bone.  For a day after the shave she could hardly keep her hand off her head.  She kept wanting to feel the smooth softness that was under the hair.  But five weeks had resulted in enough growth that changed how her bob looked.
Sharon looked more closely at herself and picked up the mirror again to look at the back more closely.  It had been six days since Frank had administered her last shave, but that was not the problem.  The undercut simply was not noticeable.  It looked like a typical growing out bob on someone with medium thick hair, not Sharon’s thick mane which had been tamed by the high undercut.  Although the angle that had defined the midpoint of her angled bob could still be discerned, it had lost its sharpness.  Even Frank had noted that it was getting a little long.  Sharon realized that a half inch or more made a big difference in the way it looked.
She decided that she had to persuade Gail that she should get her hair cut again.

Transformations
Sharon looked more closely at herself and picked up the mirror again to look at the back more closely.  It had been five days since Frank had administered her last shave, but that was not the problem.  The undercut simply was not noticeable.  It looked like a typical growing out bob on someone with medium thick hair, not Sharon’s thick mane which had been tamed by the high undercut.  Although the shallow angle that had defined the midpoint of her angled bob could still be discerned, it had lost its sharpness.  Even Frank had noted that it was getting a little long.
She decided that she had to persuade Gail that she should get her hair cut again. 
That summer had been a good one for the family.  Gail had gotten a substantial raise after her one year probation, and it had taken effect just last month, providing a welcome boost to the family’s finances.  Despite Gail’s strong penchant for frugality, Sharon thought she could persuade Gail to pay for the haircut if she could find just the right angle.
While these thought were going through her mind, Jen returned from her afternoon activities in the park.
“We won again, Sharon, and I got a home run” she announced with enthusiasm.  “And Billy said that I was going to let my hair grow out long.  I told him I wasn’t.  I don’t want it long.  Can I get a haircut.  It’s been a long time.  Can you tell Mom that I need to get a haircut?”  During this explosion of words Jen was getting out of her baseball uniform in order to take a shower, a ritual that Gail had given strict orders that she must follow after every game if she expected to be allowed to sit at the table with the rest of the family during dinner.  Jen thought it was an unreasonable requirement, but family pressure had finally won the day.
+
Sharon, still deep in thought, almost didn’t register what Jen had said.  Finally it dawned on Sharon.  This was the justification she needed.  “How many home runs have you hit this summer?  It must be a lot.”
“Four.  No, I thinks its five.”
“You must be the best on the team.  That’s great.  I’ll talk to Mom.  I think you do need a haircut.  Mom liked it a lot when you first got it and it is getting a little shaggy.  I think Mom will agree.  Take your shower and we’ll ask to her when she gets home.  Besides I’d like to get mine cut too.”
That evening at dinner, conversation was lively.  The twins had a lot to tell about their successes in the skateboard competition at the park.  Jen’s latest exploits on the baseball diamond received the attention due it.  Even Sharon’s enthusiasm about her discoveries concerning two colleges that she was interested in attending was greeted by an attentive audience.
Neither Jen nor the twins could imagine not having Sharon at home.  The idea of her leaving was a strange idea, and not one that was welcomed.  In fact, these discussions were intended to help the family through the transition.
Finally, the conversation lagged and the boys were excused.  Uncharacteristically, Jen remained.  “Aren’t you going to ask her?”  Jen asked, finally breaking into a discussion between Gail and Sharon concerning what Sharon and Frank had in mind for the evening.
“Ok, Jen, I haven’t forgotten.”
“Ask me about what Jen?”
“Getting her haircut Mom.  She and I both want to get haircuts.  Jen’s is really shaggy and you said that you really liked the way it looked when it was cut, and that you might want to have it cut that way for the fall.  Well Jen wants to keep it that way too.  And my cut is not looking right either.  I need to get it cut again.  So we both want to get haircuts, and I’m sure we can afford it.”
“Is that right Jen, you want to get you hair cut again the same way?
“Yeah, Mom.  I really liked it that way.  Billy said I’m beginning to look like a mophead, and that I was going to let it grow long.  Well, I’m not, and I want to keep it cut just like before.”
Gail cut off her sudden urge to laugh, coughed and cleared her throat.  Jen was taking notice of her young admirer, and his roundabout compliments.  “Well Jen, you are looking a little raggedly.  If Sharon is willing to take everyone in next week that will be OK.  I think the twins could use a haircut as well.”
“Alright.  Thanks Mom.  I think we can all go on Tuesday Morning.  You don’t have a game on Tuesday Morning do you Jen?”
“No, sometimes there is a soccer game thought.”
“Well you could miss that couldn’t you.”
“Sure.  We’re not really playing, just kicking the ball around.”
“That sound fine.  But this weekend, maybe Sunday afternoon, I would like to help you and Sharon do something about those eyebrows.  Sharon, you really need to do something about yours.  They are much too heavy for your face and that hairstyle.  I want to give you a much neater look.”
“OK, Mom, but can we talk about it later?  I have to get ready.   Frank is taking me to that free concert at the amphitheater.  You know, he really liked the way Jen looked and has been bugging me to do something with my eyebrows anyway.”
“He has?  I think I have a good idea.  Anyway we’ll talk about it late.  Go on and  have a good time.  I heard something about a jazz concert.  Is this it?”
“No, that’s next week.  This is a rock band.  I’ve never hear of them, but some of the kids say they’re good.  It going to be jammed.   We want to get there early.”
Later as they drove to the concert Sharon mentioned her success.  “Mom, said that she would pay for my haircut.  I’m taking Jen and the twins on Tuesday.”
“That’s great.  I’d go with you if I didn’t have to work.   How are you going to get it cut?  How about getting that style you showed me.”
“You mean a chilli bowl?  I don’t think so.  I’m not ready for that yet.  I’ve been happy with this style.  Maybe later.  It’s kind of wild.  I would like to try it sometime.  By the way, Mom wants to help me do something with my eyebrows.  She has something in mind for Jen too.  She thinks mine are too thick and dark for my face and this style.”
“She’s right.  You look like Groucho.”
“Hey!  Well you look like Harpo.”
“Who’s Harpo?”
“You know about Groucho but not Harpo?  He’s the one with a mop of curly hair who never speaks.”
“Yeah, I remember now.  I haven’t watched one of those old movies since I was 10.  I don’t think I’m quite that bad.”  He ran his hand through his unruly thatch of curly hair which he had neglected to get cut for the past month.
“Looks pretty bad to me.  Your barber will need those hedge trimmers you used to use for your Dad to get through it,” Sharon teased.
“It can’t be that bad.
“Well, you don’t really look like Harpo, but you could stand a haircut even more than me.”
“If you think I need it that bad, let’s make a deal.  You get a chilli bowl and I’ll get mine cut too.”
“Really?  How about a mohawk?  You could dye it dayglo orange”
“Come on, get real.”
“Alright, a nice short crewcut then.  It has to be a lot shorter than mine whatever it is.”
“Its a deal, you get a chilli and I’ll get a crewcut.”
“I haven’t agreed to any deal.  I think you would look good in a short crewcut.  I’ve told you that before.  Maybe a really close high and tight would do it.  I liked the way that looked on that kid at the barbershop.  If I ever get a chilli, then you get a high and tight like that.”
“I don’t know what ‘like that’ is.  I never saw it.”
“That’s OK, I’ll go with you and explain it to the barber.   That’s the deal.  If I get a chilli then I get to tell the barber exactly how to give you a high and tight.”
“I’ll buy that.  But I get to decide how high your chilli is cut!”
“No way, Jose!”  Sharon saw Frank’s grin telling her he wasn’t serious and was just trying to get her to react.  “You know the deal.  You have to take it or leave.  Anyway me getting a chilli is not on the schedule for Tuesday.”
“Since you’re not considering getting a chilli, I guess we don’t need to agree to a deal; but if you were, we would and  I would.” Frank tried to contain his laughter as Sharon worked to sort out the meaning of this statement.
“What?  Go through that again.  “We would and you would?  What’s going on in your brain?” Sharon giggled.  Frank enjoyed coming up with statements that were as obscure as he could make them.  This one was a mild example, and Sharon had figured it out about the time she had repeated it.  “I get it. You sort of agree to the deal.”
“Its simple.  There’s no reason for a deal yet.  If there were, we would make a deal and  I would accept your terms.”
“Well thanks for cluing me in.  So we do and we don’t have a deal.  Forget it.  Let’s go find a seat.”  They had arrived at the amphitheater and by luck Frank had found a parking spot on a nearby side street.  They headed hand in hand toward the entrance.  Sharon briefly reflected on this half in jest half serious conversation and realized that both she and Frank liked talking about getting their hair cut, and deciding how it should be done.  It seemed to run in the family.  Her final thought was ‘its fun’.
Sunday arrived and Sharon and Gail both slept later than usual.  Jen got up early along with the twins.  She wanted to wash her uniform, clean her shoes and oil her glove the way her coach had taught them.  Gail had purchased a small bottle of mink oil for her with admonitions to go easy with it.  The twins were engrossed in the Sunday morning cartoon features on television.
Gail and Sharon had promised the others to make a special brunch and Sharon began the process of fixing a large fruit bowl for them.  Gail had promised to fix waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries.  Hot chocolate in August was debated and hot chocolate won out despite the heat.  That Sunday began auspiciously.  Even cleanup afterwards was accomplished without any urging.  David exited the kitchen with an unexpected “That was really good Mom.  Can we have it again pretty soon?”  The sentiment was echoed by Gary. Gail agreed to the idea “I don’t see why not.  In a couple of weeks maybe.”
“Well why don’t we go upstairs and take care of those eyebrows girls.”
“What are you going to do Mom?” from Jen who wanted to have the same haircut again, but didn’t have much idea about the finer points of other aspects of her appearance.  She had seen Gail pluck her eyebrows, but Gail’s brows had been shaped for so many years, that there was rarely more than a very small number of stray hairs to attend to.
“I really liked the way you looked after your last haircut, so I thought I would help you keep that look a lot longer.  It will only take a few seconds.”  Gail looked in the vanity drawer where they kept some first aid items and other miscellaneous tubes and sprays.  There was some antibiotic jelly, anti-itch cream, bug repellant, and what Gail was seeking, a strong pain deadening burn ointment.  There was also a tube of cortisone cream used to treat a case of poison ivy Jen had contracted when she and Billy had decided to pull up some vines growing up the fence surrounding the baseball diamond at the park.
“I need to put this on and let it stay for a few minutes.   You too Sharon.  What do you think about a nice neat arch, not quite as thin as mine but a lot less thick than they are now?  You really do need to open up you eyes, especially with that hairstyle.  Your bangs already form a nice frame for your eyes, so your thick brows are overdoing it.”
“You don’t have to convince me Mom, I agree.  I just never go around to doing it.  I was afraid I would mess up.  You know that British fashion magazine that Laura is always talking about?  There was a special section in it that used one model for all the clothes.  I can’t remember her name, but she had no eyebrows and her eyes looked huge.  Laura thought she was really cool.  I think that is what gave me the idea for Jen.  It was in the back of my mind.  Frank liked Jen’s a lot and has been trying to get me to do something to mine.  Last Thursday he claimed I looked like Groucho.
“He was just putting you on to see if you would react.  He’s a pretty neat guy, Sharon.”
 “ Besides he likes you a lot.”  Jen chimed in.
“I didn’t get mad.  I said he looked like Harpo.  We were just having fun.  He wants me to get a chilli bowl cut and I said he should get a high and tight.”
“A chilli bowl?  I think I’ve seen that once.  It’s cut evenly all the way around and shaved up to the line.  Where did I see that?  Don’t some of the basketball players we’ve watched have their hair cut like that?  Have you seen it on girls?”
“Once.  You remember that first concert that we went to in June.  Some girl there had one.  Frank was really excited about it.  He found some more on a web site and showed them to me.  Some of them were pretty extreme, but I liked the way some of them looked.   He showed me one on a woman about your age Mom.  She had the biggest smile, and that haircut looked so cool on her.  I think she really liked it.”
“If you’re hinting that I should get one, thanks but no thanks.  I don’t think my boss could handle it.  She has sort of hinted that she thinks that my hair is too short as it is.  But we get along fine and that’s not an issue.  I’ve gotten lots of positive comments anyway.  I’m certainly not going to let it grow.  But it sounds interesting.  Are you considering getting one this time?”
“You would look really funny with long hair Mom.  I like it short like it is,” Jen said.
“Well, so do I and I’m not changing it.  Here, let me wipe of that greasy stuff.  Its been on long enough.”
 
“I don’t think so.  I want to keep this style for a while.  I’m not ready for another big change.  Maybe I’ll change my mind and try it next summer.”
Gail had retrieved her little hair remover machine.  She used it on her legs and underarms and was very satisfied with the result.  It sure beat regular shavings.  After the first few uses she had found that the initial pain (discomfort had been the term used in the advertising brochure) had diminished and now its use caused her what could actually be called minor discomfort.  The little rotating discs seemed to work very efficiently.  Her need to use it had diminished in frequency to no more often than every six weeks.
“I think everything is ready Jen.  Close your eyes and hold still.  This might hurt a little.  But it’ll be over very quickly.”  Jen closed her eyes, and Gail carefully made her eyebrow area taut with one hand.  Maneuvering carefully, she applied the little machine to the eyebrow area, clearing a path from the outer edge to the bridge of Jen’s nose.  Jen pulled back with a yelp.
“Ow, that hurts Mom.  What are you doing.”
“I cleaning up you eyebrows for you.  They’ll look good for a couple of months at least.  It about half done already.  Can you stand it just a little more?  I know you’ve pretty tough the way you keep playing when you’ve been hit.  By the way aren’t some special games starting soon?
“Go ahead.  Yeah, we’re starting the championship games this week, but they’re all in the daytime.”
“Hold still.”  Gail proceeded to treat the other eyebrow like the first.  “Almost done.  Just a little bit more.”  She checked her work and made a second pass over both brows to remove the last few missed hairs.  “There, all done except for a little cream.  Are you playing on Friday.  I have a day off coming for that weekend that I worked extra last month.  Everything is under control and I could easily take the day off.”  Gail smoothed some of the cortisone cream over Jen’s brow area, now perfectly smooth and hair free.  Removing the excess white cream, she surveyed the result. 
“That looks really good don’t you think Sharon?”
“Its great Mom.  You look teriffic Jen.  You need to be sure that Mom does that for you every month.”
“She won’t need it that often Sharon.  We just wait and see.”
“If it hurts this much every time, I don’t want to do it.”
“It won’t honey.  Next time you won’t feel much at all” Gail promised.
“Let’s get started with you Sharon.  Are you satisfied with the plan?”
“Its fine Mom, you can make them as thin as you like.”
Gail examined Sharon’s eyebrows and decided that she could make a very nice thin arch by removing hairs on the underside from the inner edge of her eyebrow to about two thirds of the way out and then removing some of  the top hairs to help emphasize the arch.  She decided to define the overall length of the brow and the top of the arch before reducing the thickness of the brow.  That was the easy part.
“I’m going to define the overall shape first for both eyebrows so they will be symmetrical, then I’ll work on giving them the right weight.  This is going to take a while, so be patient.”
Gail began to remove some stray hairs near the bridge of Sharon’s nose and to create a well defined start for the brows and to start the line a little further out to give a more open look.  Satisfied she began the delicate job of tweezing to define the line of the arch.  As Gail proceeded, the outline took shape and she began to work more rapidly to Sharon’s distress.
“Mom, could we take a break.  Its starting to hurt.”
“Sorry, honey I forgot how much it can hurt the first time.  And there’s some much to do.  Anyway its beginning to take shape.  Want to take a look?  Here, use this mirror,” handing Sharon a small hand mirror.
“Humm, I don’t see much change yet.  Well, maybe I do.  They’re cleaner here” pointing to the start of each brow.  And the curve is more defined at least on the top.”
“That’s right.  But there is a lot more to do to make a clean thin arch line and some of it will probably be more difficult that what I’ve done so far.  We’ll take a break any time you need it.  Maybe we should use some more of that skin pain stuff.”
“I think I can stand it if we take a lot of breaks.  Does it hurt this much everytime you do yours?”
“I hardly feel anything now.  After the first few times the sensation begins to reduce.  In a few years there is almost no feeling at all.  There’s not nearly as much to do the next time either, so it will be easier.”
Gail began again, quickly removing hairs from underneath.  This time she concentrated on the left brow, pleased to observe that an elegant arch was beginning to emerge.  It was not as thin as she thought it should be but she decided to let Sharon decide.  Sharon’s discomfort told her is was time to call a temporary hald anyway.
“Time to rest give it a rest Sharon.  But we’re making progress.  Want to see?”
Sharon examined the newly emergent eyebrow trying not to see the other one.
“Oh, I like the way that looks.  Is that as thin as you’re going to go?  You can go thinner I think.”
The new look appealed to Sharon who had become intrigued by it after observing the positive improvement of the brow-less look on Jen, seeing it on various models in Laura’s magazine and seeing how Gail had used a very thin brow to call attention to her own large blue-green eyes.  Besides, she knew Frank would love it.


“Of course, I was hoping you might say that.  Do you think you would want them like mine?” 
Gail’s varied from barely an eighth of an inch to less than a sixteenth with a well-defined but not extreme arch.  She de-emphasized them further by applying a little gel and dusting them with powder.  She could then draw attention to her eyes with her judiciously applied eyeshadow.   Sharon looked more closely at Gail’s eyes.
“Will it look as good as you do.”
“You can’t help but look better than me.  I wouldn’t even try to compete with you.  You’re going to look super.”
“Oh, Mom you’re just saying that.  You’ve always looked the best.”
“No I’m not.  You and Jen are much better looking than most of the girls.  They have to do all sorts of things to try to make people think they are attractive.  You can do it without all that stuff.  I suppose an unusual haircut and different eyebrows does have an effect though.  Even if people do look at you because of those things, it’s what you actually do that really counts.  Look at Whoopie Goldberg.  Her appearance, that no brow look, got her some attention, but it was what she did that made her famous.  You can have fun with how you look and enjoy the way people like Frank respond to it, but what you’ve accomplished is what really counts.”
Gail was referring to the news from a local organization that they had awarded Sharon a small scholarship that would help when she entered college the following year.  Gail was extremely proud of Sharon’s accomplishments in high school.  Despite her early problems, Sharon had emerged as a determined and capable student.
“Anyway, let’s get this finished before Frank comes to pick you up.  I’ll make then nice and thin for you.  They will look even better after you get your hair cut”
Gail started on the other brow, intending to match them before reducing their thickness any further.  Sharon tried to remain stoic, but finally the discomfort got to her again and took another break, allowing Gail to apply the burn medicine again in the hope that it would reduce Sharon’s discomfort.  She looked at Sharon’s brows which appeared to be darker than her hair.  She wished she could make them lighter, but decided to leave the idea of bleaching them to another time.
“It’s almost done.  I need to thin them just a little more.”    She began the final process carefully tweezing out hairs to reduce the line to a thickness similar to her own.  Finishing the left brow she examined it and was satisfied with the result.  Sharon’s brows were naturally fairly high above he eyes, and had a natural arch.  Gail was emphasizing both characteristics.  She had increased the space between Sharon’s brows by a significant amount, which raised the beginning point.  She had then removed hairs underneath to create a high and wide arch that tapered to a very fine line fading to nothing as it curved downward.  The center of the arch was near the outer edge of Sharon’s eye.  The brow ended at a higher point than it began.  The effect was to give an very open and faintly surprised look that had a pleasing effect.  She thought the look was a good one and that Sharon would be pleased.  She began the right brow, careful to match it to the left.  Finally finished, the cleaned the brow and applied a bit of the cortisone cream to help reduce the redness that was now apparent.  She looked at Sharon from several angles.
“It done, and its looks great.  It really emphasizes your eyes.  You’re going to like it.”  She handed Sharon the mirror.
Sharon examined the face that she saw in the mirror with its high and thin arched brows, and attention getting hazel eyes.  Her surprise at her transformation was obvious, but it quickly turned into approval.
“Oh, wow.  Is that really me?   I want to see it in the big mirror in the bathroom.”  She jumped up and headed to the hall bathroom that she shared with Jen and the twins.  It had a large window which provided good lighting during the day.  She looked at herself from as far back as she could get and then progressively closer.  Unable to turn hr head far enough to see how she looked in partial profile she grabbed a large hand mirror from a drawer.  Gail had followed her and smiled broadly at Sharon’s enthusiasm.
“I really love it Mom.  You should have got me to do it a long time ago.”  Gail had volunteered to help her two years earlier, but Sharon was still in her ‘I want it natural’ phase and Gail didn’t push it.
“I’ll put a little makeup on the area to hide the redness for tonight.  It may be a little swollen too.  It will look even better tomorrow.”
“I’ll bet Frank will love it.  Can you help me decide on my eyeshadow?”  Sharon used even less makeup than Gail, but now she realized she could greatly enhance her new look with a little help.
“Absolutely.  You’ll only need a little, just enough to draw attention to your eyes.  Your bangs are going to cover your brows, which is OK, but maybe for tonight we can give them a little lift and curl so Frank will be sure to notice your new look.  You know you might want to consider short bangs.  That way you new look will be noticeable.   Your eyes will get more attention.  Of course bangs to the top of your brows can do the same thing.”
They began this project, Gail giving a few well chosen bits of advice about colors, how much, extent,  and other aspects.  Sharon offered her own thoughts and preferences and Gail would agree but offer subtle variations that usually met with Sharon’s approval.  Gair used the same technique to lighten Sharon’s now greatly diminished brows that she used on her own.  The resulting much lighter brows and subtle makeup drew attention to her eyes, which now looked larger, far more noticeable, and much brighter.
Finally finished, Sharon examined what had been done in amazed approval.  She could hardly believe the wide-eyed elfin look that had emerged.  With her too long bangs now curled so that they were above her new brows, she stared at the big eyed girl with the fascinating look that was somehow both innocent and a little exotic.  She would never have believed that her eyes could appear so expressive in her small angular face with its high cheek bones.
“Mom, how did you know how to do this so well?  I can’t believe how good it looks.  It’s really awesome.  Did you know it would turn out like this?”
Indeed the transformation was striking, even to Gail.  She had know there was a lot of potential, but could only guess about the final results.
“I had an idea it would be good, but it turned out even better than I had expected.  You look elegantly simple and simply elegant.  Its not just your brows, although that plays a big part, but some of the little touches are important too.  But even without any makeup except some lipstick you’re going to make an impression.   Your eyes appear large and bright, and they will seem even larger, more open and more noticible when you get your lashes trimmed.”
“I can’t wait until Frank sees it.  He’ll be blown away.”
She and Frank had agreed that since a new haircut was going to happen soon that they would skip Saturday Morning’s regular feature of Frank shaving Sharon’s undercut nape.  Feeling it, she was excited about the prospect of having it clippered and shaved and showing off her new look.  She had lost any trepidation about the trimming of her lashes requested by Gail.  She had no futher doubts about Gail’s judgement.  She knew the haircut would make the look even better, but had not decided how short to have Jimmy cut her bangs.  She would think about it later.  Now she just wanted to revel in her new look.  She headed downstairs and outside, where Jen and Billy were deeply engrossed in a game of Clue, their most recent passtime of choice when there was no major athletic event in progess.
“Hey Jen, we’re done.”
Jen, who had exhibited little interest in these proceedings, looked up to see what Sharon was talking about.
“You look different.”
“I know that!  How do you like it?”  Sharon’s exasperation at Jen’s indifference to anything having to do with makeup and fashion was exceeded only by her worry that Jen would begin to take an active interest in them.  Sharon was convinced that the tomboyish and athletic Jen was going to blossom into another Flojo, someone Jen had been fascinated by even when she was only 9 years old and was riveted to the TV when Jlojo was running in the Olympics.
Jen looked at her again.  “It’s like...” and she named a Star Trek character.  “It kind of neat.  I like it.”
Sharon couldn’t decide whether to be insulted or flattered.  “Well thanks, I guess.”
Billy, who had been concentrating on his next move looked up and inspected Sharon at some length.  “You look really cool.”
Sharon was mollified by this obviously sincere compliment.  “Thanks Billy.  I’m glade you like it.”
“Hey Sharon, Jen said you guys are going to the barbershop Tuesday.  Can I go with you?  I was going to get a haircut tomorrow, but I can wait and go with you guys.  Mother said I could get it shaved like Michael Jorden.  And anyway I want to see Jen get her haircut.”  Billy no longer referred to his Mother as ‘Mom”, having graduated to the more grown up sound of ‘Mother.’
“Sure Billy.  You’re really going to get it cut like that?”  Sharon thought that this was going to be quite an experience with 5 different haircuts being given.
Billy shared the warm brown skin and curley hair of his Mother and the blond hair of his Father.  He was the product of a “blended” family.  Brenda, his calm and self-assured Mother was liked by everyone, and his friendly and warmhearted father seemed always to be helping someone in the neighborhood fix something.  Billy mirrored them in many ways. He was unassuming, easy-going and very capable.  He had lobbied long and hard to be able to emulate his basketball idol, and finally Brenda had given in, when, in a phone conversation with Gail in which she had mentioned Billy’s desire to get a ‘Michael Jordan’, Gail had said “Why not Brenda?  Lots of kids his age do.  I think it’s kind of cute.  Besides it’s summer and it’ll grow out in no time.”  So Brenda had given in.
“We’ll be going about 9:30.  Can you get her            e by then?”
“No sweat.  I always get up early anyway.”
“Ok, see you guys later.”
Frank would be there in half an hour to pick her up.  There was a summer festival underway and they had wanted to see what was going on.  There were supposed to be some interesting bands from all over performing and some interesting exhibits.  There were going to a small Greek restarant afterwards.  Frank’s grandmother was Greek and she had served some interesting foods which Frank wanted to share with Sharon.  Sharon was looking forward to the afternoon and evening.  But first and foremost she wanted to savor Frank’s reaction to her new look.
She checked herself in the mirror for the fifteenth time in the past hour.
She had changed to black jeans and then to a miniskirt with black tights, and finally settled on something a little less flamboyant.  She didn’t want her clothes to be the focal point.  She had finally decided on her dark gray slacks with her shimmery grey green silky blouse (actually polyester, but it was very soft and silky.)  She choose large silver hoops for her ears and for the second set, the white gold cubic zirconia set that she had received on her 15th birthday.  They had been an expensive item for Gail at the time.  They remained Sharon’s favorite.   She had gotten a cartilage piercing at the top of her ear earlier in the summer and she thought about changing it to the pale green stud that she had purchased for that purpose, but hesitated.  She had changed that earing only once and experienced a lot of trouble getting the new earring in.  Deciding not to chance another episode like that, she concluded that the small gold hoop that she had installed then would have to do.
She heard Frank’s car drive up and checked herself one more time.  She decided that she wanted to answer the door herself and ran down the stairs in order to be able to do so.  Sharon’s moment of truth arrived as the door bell chimed its double note.
Opening the door with “hi, Frank” she deposited a quick kiss, stepped back with a big smile and simply stood there in expectation.
Looking at her Frank’s expression went from mildly surprised, Sharon had never greeted him that way before, to bafflement, to tongue-tied astonishment.
“Oh my gawd, Sharon.  What did... Who..?  Oh shit, you look fantastic!”
“I knew you would love it.  I couldn’t believe it myself at first.  Mom, did it.  I’m going to get my bangs cut shorter to show it off better. And I’ll get my lashes trimmed because Mom said that would make my eyes would look even better.  And she showed me how to do my eyebrows and eyeshadow to make my eyes look even bigger.  Don’t you love the way she did my eyebrows?  Now tell me I look like Groucho.  You still look like Harpo though.”
Sharon’s enthusiasm and excitement at Frank’s positive reaction had her going non-stop.  Frank simply stood there with a grin on his face looking at her.  Having run out of breath, she paused.
“I don’t know what your Mom did, maybe you can explain it to me later.  Whatever it was it’s great.  I always liked the way you looked.  But this is something else.  I think you look like a fairy princess.  Where is you Mom anyway?  Can we go see her before we leave.”
“Jen said I looked like that Star Trek character, sort of like an elf.  She’s out back probably.  She was going to work on the flower pots.   Why do you want to see her?”
“Wait, you’ll see.  Actually Jen was right.  That character is really attractive even though she is different looking.  Maybe that’s why she seems so interesting.”
They rounded the corner where Gail was on her hands and knees reviving several of her hanging flower pots that were beginning to suffer from too much heat and too much sun.
“Hi Ms Brown.  I have a question for you.”
“Hello Frank.  What’s your question.”
“Well, I wanted to know if it would be OK if I took out your daughter here?”
Slightly perplexed, Gail looked at him and responded “Of course Frank, why did you think you have to ask.  You’re not going to stay out past midnight are you?”
“Oh, no, that’s not the problem.  I just wanted to be sure it was OK to take out this one.  I’ve been taking out Sharon, and I like her a lot, but this one looks really special.  If she’s as gook and nice as Sharon I think I’ll want to stick with her.”
By the end of this speech, Sharon was punching him on the arm, and Gail was laughing.
“Oh I’m sure Sharon won’t mind.   I think if you close your eyes you won’t be able to tell them apart.  Maybe by the time you get home the two of them will sort of merge in your mind and you’ll think of them as the same person.  Thank you Frank for telling us you like how Sharon looks.  But especially that you like Sharon for who she is and not how she looks.”
“Is that what you meant?”  Sharon, who was still thinking about her new look, had just caught  on to what Frank was saying.
“That’s right.  I think you look unbelievably good, but I’ve always liked who you are more than anything else.  I just wanted to be sure that you knew that.”
Sharon hugged him.  She was laughing and about to cry at the same time.  Finally getting control of herself, she hugged Gail.  “Thanks Mom, you’re really special.  Let’s go before this gets too ridiculous Frank.”
“OK, we’re out of here.  See you Mr B.”
“Bye kids, have a good time.”  Gail blinked back a tear herself as she turned to her flower pot.  She had no idea if their relationship would survive highschool, college and beyond, few highschool relationships did, but she knew that Frank was a special young man and that he and Sharon were a fortunate pair - truly kindred spirits.
Monday evening during dinner Gail observed, “Gary you and David are getting rather shaggy.  How about going with Sharon and getting haircuts.  Do you have anything special happening in the morning?”
Gary looked at David the usual spokesman for the two.  “Gary wants to get a mohawk, but I don’t.  We were going skateboarding in the park.”
“A mohawk, Gary?   I don’t think so.  That’s what you really want?”
“Its cool Mom.  Why not.”
“Its too wild.  How about something not so drastic.  Besides it would have to grow out before school starts and that’s only 4 or five weeks from now.”
Sharon remembered a conversation with Jimmy in which she had asked him about various styles for guys.  He had mentioned that the flattop was still popular especially when combined with ‘high and tight’ sides and back.  He said that some people assumed that a ‘high and tight’ meant a flattop.  She though the twins would like that if they were talking about mohawks.
“I have an idea.  How about flattops you guys.  I think that’s a cool look.  Maybe even a ‘high and tight’.”
“Is it really flat on top?”  Gary sounded interested in the idea.
“Well, I’m not getting a mohawk even if Gary does.”
“You don’t have to get a mohawk David. I think I could go with Sharon’s idea.  It sounds better than a mohawk.”
“I saw Jimmy give one to a boy about 10 or 11 when we went in last time.  He looked neat.  I’ve been trying to get Frank to get on.  I think he would look really good.  You guys would look just like one of those soldiers in that movie.  You know, the one about those tiny soldiers”
“I like that idea Sharon.  What do you think guys?  Maybe next summer if you still want a mohawk you can get one.”  Gail had realized that if she was standing up for Billy’s desire to get a ‘Michael Jordon’ she could hardly object too much if her boys wanted mohawks for the summer.
“You promise Mom?  Next summer for sure.”
Gail laughed at this sudden burst of enthusiasm.  “OK, I promise, next summer for sure.  That is if you haven’t changed your mind.    What about you Jen.  You still want the same cut again?  I think it looked great.?
“Year.  Everybody said it was neat, really cool.  Billy said it was the best.  Anyway I like it.  Can I get it cut again before school starts?  I don’t want to let it to get as long as it is now.  Billy called me a mop head.  I was going to punch him but he said he didn’t mean it.  It does look funny doesn’t it?”
“You’re right Jen.  It is too long to look good the way it did.  And you can get it cut again before school starts if you want.”
Gail had told Sharon that she liked Jen’s cut so well that she was considering getting her to keep it that way, even during the school year.  Now it appeared that Jen had made that decision for herself.  Like Sharon, Gail suspected that in a few years Jen was going to transform into a stunning young woman whose impressive good looks, athletic figure, and self assured individual style would turn heads.
Tomorrow would be a big day at the barbershop.

Big Day at the Barbershop
Sharon and the others were still eating breakfast when Billy showed up to join them.  He was happy to share the pancakes that Jen had taken it upon herself to prepare.  Substantial quantities of pancakes, maple syrup and orange juice were consumed along with the coffee that Gail had made earlier for herself and Sharon.
“Let’s get this mess cleaned up guys.  We need to go if we are going to get there ahead of a crowd.”  Sharon knew that by 11:00 AM there could be a number of people waiting and it was already 9:20.  She hoped to have the shop pretty much devoted to her considerable bunch.
Amid the usual silliness, laughter, arguments, and discussions, the table was cleared, dishes put in the dishwasher - one large bowl ending up in the sink for later washing.
Sharon had already applied an almost unnoticeable amount of very pale eyeshadow around her eyes, reproducing, to the best of her ability, the effect created by Gail.  She was careful to understate the effect rather than overstate it, at least in this case.  But she did want Jimmy to notice it.
“Come on you guys, pile in the car.  We need to go.”  One Chinese fire drill later they had settled in and were on their way.   They park about a half block away in a large space.  Sharon was not yet very skilled at parallel parking and picked the first three car space she encountered.
As they entered, to her relief Sharon saw that the shop was empty.
“Hi Sharon.  The crew is ready for haircuts again I see.  Whose the new member?”  Jimmy pointed out Billy.
“That’s my friend Billy.  He’s going to get a Michael Jordan cut.”  Jen had encouraged Billy in his idea for his haircut and didn’t want anyone to talk him out of it.
“Yeah, Mother said I could if I wanted.”
Sam the head barber remembering the episode of the previous year was a little skeptical at this statement and looked to Sharon for confirmation.
“Its OK Sam, his Mom really did OK it.  I’ll be responsible for it.  Billy, Sam can give you your special haircut and Jimmy can do one of the twins.  How about you first Gary”
“OK.  I’m getting a flattop this time, but next year I’m going to get a mohawk.”
“Is that right?  A mohawk?  Well I can give you a real good mohawk right now if you want.”
Jimmy was teasing him to see what his reaction would be.
“Ah, I can’t have one this year.  Mom said it wouldn’t grow out enough for school if I got one now.”
“They can get a flattop with a ‘high and tight’ Jimmy.   What do you think?”
“Sure, that would be fine if it’s a short flattop.  It will show a bit of skin on the top.  If he had gotten a mohawk I would have clipped the sides as close as possible with my edger.  Its almost as close as shaving.  That’s called white side walls when its done as part of a flattop.  That’s what Sam is going to do with Billy.”
Sharon wanted to watch Billy’s cut as well as the twins.  She didn’t want to miss any of the action.  But she like Jimmy’s suggestion.
“How about that Gary, Jimmy can cut the sides just like he would for a mohawk.  I think you would like that even better.”
“Sure, it OK with me.”
Jimmy fastened the cape around Gary and picked up his clippers.  Sharon sat down to watch the show.  She turned to Billy whose head was already partially clipped to about one sixteenth of an inch.  She watch a few passes of the clippers, and then turned to Gary where Jimmy was running his large clippers up the side of Gary’s head leaving nearly bare skin behind.  He knew exactly when to lift the clippers in order to leave longer hair for the flattop.  He continued around Gary’s head.  Beginning right at the top of the cape in the back he buzzed a path up to the crown before lifting off the clippers. 
Sharon turned to Sam’s chair where Sam had reduced Billy’s head to a rather uneven field of stubble.  Jen was watching in riveted fascination as Billy’s mop of sandy curls disappeared to reveal a very well shaped head.
Sam had observed Jen’s intense interest in this process.  “What do you think Jen?”
“Cool.”  Jen was at a loss for words, but her intense concentration on Billy’s haircut was obvious.
Sam picked up a different, smaller clipper and began the process anew.  This time he was more deliberate, making sure he covered Billy’s head completely.  Billy showed little evidence of any hair now.  His sandy colored hair was essentially invisible against his light brown skin.  Sharon thought he look much better without all that hair.  She told herself to tell Mrs. James how much better she thought Billy looked.
She turned her attention to Jimmy’s chair to see Jimmy pick up a wide comb that he had shown her earlier which he call a ‘flattopper’.
“Hold real still now Gary, so that I can get it square.  I don’t want you to end up lopsided.”
Gary visibly stiffened and stared straight ahead as Jimmy carefully straightened his head.
“That’s it, hold it right there” Jimmy admonished.  He placed the big comb on the top of Gary’s head and ran the clippers over it to get the basic shape created.  Looking at Gary from the front he was satisfied with the result although it was obviously too long.  He would reduce the length and determine the width of the flattop as he proceeded.  If it was too wide the hair on the outer part would be too long and would not stand up.  Jimmy used his barber comb and clippers to shorten the cut.  The final step would have to be done freehand.   He applied a small amount of crewcut wax to Gary’s hair and brushed it vigorously to make it stand up straight.  Satisfied, he replaced the clipper cutter head  with a different one and checked to make sure that Gary was holding his hear perfectly square.  Sharon couldn’t tell what he had put on the clippers, but guessed that it was a head that would not cut quite as close as the previous one.
“One more time Gary, then you can relax.”
Gary assumed his best military posture.  Jimmy checked the length that he wanted to leave in front.  Making sure he had the clippers level he began at the front and created a strip down the middle of Gary’s head.   Not satisfied with the result he made a second pass.  This time the front section was less than half an inch long.  Proceeding back it got progressively shorter until at the top of Gary’s head the clippers were right on his scalp.  At that point Jimmy kept them on the scalp and clippered a bare strip to Gary’s crown to meet the area at the back of his head that had already been denuded.
Sharon was as fascinated by this process as Jen was about Billy’s cut.  She got excited thinking about watching Frank undergo the same transformation.  Taking a quick look at Billy, she saw that Sam was in the process of using some very small and quiet clippers, going repeatedly over Billy’s head to remove the last traces of hair.  She wondered if he would lather and shave it next.  That was an exciting prospect and she wanted to watch it happen.
Jimmy was now beginning to match the rest of the top of Gary’s head to the strip that he had already created.  The flattop was becoming well defined.  Using his comb and clippers he squared the sides.  Sharon could see that now the flattop extended back to the top of Gary’s head but then began to curve to follow the shape of his skull and met the back at the crown.  It looked sharp she thought, but Jimmy was not yet finished.  He picked up the same type of small clippers that she had observed Sam using.  Starting on the right side Jimmy clipped high up the side of Gary’s head almost up to the point where the flattop began.  Sharon now saw where the term ‘white side walls’ originated.  Jimmy went to the left side and repeated the process checking to make sure that the two sides were identical.  Then he went to the back where he slowly went up to the crown of Gary’s head to meet the top.  Gary’s hair had now been reduced to a small horseshoe.  From the front it was squared off, but if Gary looked down the middle that section was so short that only skin seemed to show.  From the sides there was a flat top half way back that curved to follow the curve of his skull.  The sides were completely bare, or as bare as Jimmy’s clippers could make them.  Looking at the back of Gary’s head from different angles, Jimmy went over it one more time with his small clippers to remove any possible stray hair.
Checking the top once again he combed through the little hair that remained and made some undetectable final adjustments.  Having completed his work, he brushed hair off Gary’s face and neck.  He dusted his neck, removed the paper collar and clipped the region that he had not been able to reach.
“You’re done Gary.  Want to see how it looks.”  He spun the chair around to face the mirror.
“OK.”  Gary looked at the image in the mirror and ran his hand over his head.  “It’s pretty flat. Neat.”  He felt the back of his head and encountered only bare skin.  The tiny stubble left by the clippers was almost undetectable.
“Take a look at the rest.  Its just like that mohawk you wanted.  Jimmy gave Gary a big mirror and turned him away from the mirror so he could see the back of his head, now as bare as Billy’s.
Gary felt it again while examining himself in the mirror.  “It feels kind of funny.  I like the way it feels.”
Sharon heard Sam talking to Billy.  “There you go Billy, a really good ‘Michael Jordan’.  What do you think.?”
Before Billy could respond, Jen announced, “Billy you look really great.  Can I feel it?”
Billy examined himself in the mirror and grinned.  He ran his hand over his head and responded, “Sure Jen, its feels neat.”  Billy climbed out of the chair to walk over to Billy and rub her hand over his head.
“That feels really good Billy, but you said it would be smooth, and I can feel some bristles when I rub backwards.”
“Yeah, I don’t know.”  He looked at Sam for an explanation.
Sharon was thinking the same think.
“Jimmy I though you said that ‘white side walls were shaved.”
“They are, but we had to give up using a razor last month.  The health department said it was too dangerous and our insurance company said they might not be able to continue insuring us if we kept on.  It has to do with little nicks that happen sometimes no matter how careful we are.  They can bleed quite a bit, and if I have a little cut on my finger I might give somebody a disease of get one from them.  So we don’t do it anymore.  That’s why we have these little clippers.”  He picked up the small clippers.  “These cut very close, but won’t get it smooth like a razor.  If you want it really smooth, you can shave at home with an electric razor.  Some of them are almost as close as a regular safety razor.”
“My boyfriend Frank has been shaving me with a safety razor.”  I really like how smooth it feels.  Maybe we can do Billy and Gary the same way.  What do you think guys?”
Once again Jen jumped in.  “You really ought to do it Billy.  It should be real smooth - and shiny too.”  The last came as an afterthought based on her observation of sweaty basketball players.
“Can you do it for me Sharon?  I told Jen it would be smooth.”
“Sure, Billy.  I’m an expert at shaving now.  I have to do my legs all the time.   Do you want yours done Gary?”
“I don’t know.  Maybe.  After Billy.”  Gary was not enthusiastic about having his big sister perform this service for him.  Sharon decided she should not push it.
“I guess its not very important anyway.  That flattop is awesome.  What do you guys think.”
“Its keen Gary.”  Jen added her own thought.  “It’s better than a mohawk.”
“Is anybody going to be next?”  Sam was getting a little impatient at all the chatter.
“Sorry Sam.  David I guess its your turn with Sam.  Are you having yours the same as Gary.”
“I guess that would be OK.”  David sounded distinctly unenthusiastic.
Sharon hesitated then decided to let David have a say in the proceedings.  “Do you want it different?”
“Can I have it the same as last time?”
“Why not.  That looked good and I’m sure Mom would like it.  Sam, he had a three eights inch crewcut with, what did you call it Jimmy?  Not a high and tight ...”
“A low and tight Sharon.  Sam knows.  Jen are you going to get a haircut this time or are you just going to let that mop keep on growing?”
“It is not a mop and I am getting it cut.”  Jen headed determinedly toward Jimmy’s chair.
“I want it cut exactly the way you did it before.  Billy said I wouldn’t, but I am and I’m going to keep it that too because that’s the way I like it.  Everybody likes it this way.”
“I can certainly do that Jen and I think you looked terrific with that haircut.  I see that I won’t have to trim your eyebrows this time.  You look real nifty.  You’ll look even better after we take care of all that extra hair on you head.  I sure hope my clippers don’t overheat.”
Billy, who had moved down to a chair where he could watch Jen’s haircut, laughed at this.  “Yeah Jen I bet it’ll get stuck.”
“I don’t see how Sam ever got through that big mess you had.  Mine isn’t half that bad.”
“Time to get this show on the road.  Head down Jen.”  Jimmy had checked with Sharon, indicating with his hand if Jen’s request was to be honored.  Sharon had nodded assent.
Jen lowered her head and Jimmy used his clippers with the No. 2 cutters to go up the back of her head.  He finished in a few measured passes and tilted her head to the left so he could perform the same magic on the right side.  Again a few passes reduced that side to a soft burr.  Walking to the other side he repeated the process.  All of this had taken little more than a minute.  The transition from sides and back to the top was a perfectly even line around Jen’s head.  The top of course was far to long from two months of growth and didn’t blend with the back and sides at all.  Jimmy  picked up another clipper, attached a one half inch guard to it and proceeded to reduce the top to the required length.  Jen’s fine hair formed a soft velvety mat on her head that did not stand up stiffly, but tended to conformed to her very nicely shaped head.
Jimmy retrieved the original clippers and replaced the No.2 cutter with a No. 1.  This time he clippered the sides only about one inch above Jen’s ears before he began to taper into the longer hair above.  The back received the same treatment.  Now came the critical details.  He carefully went over the sides to make sure that there was no tell-tale transitions between the three regions.  He took special care to blend the transition from above her ears to the longer hair above it.  In a ‘low and tight’ the transition would be made very definite, but in this case it was to be unnoticeable.  Similarly, the transition from the sides and back to the top had to be just right if the shape of Jen’s head was to be perfectly displayed.
Billy watched with unwavering attention as Jen’s more than one inch long hair, which lay flat, was reduced to a half inch long brush that stood up just enough a create a soft halo effect around her head.  Billy had an urge to be able to touch it and run his hand through it.  He didn’t know it but he had been bitten by the bug that infects people with a life long fascination with seeing girls and (later) women get their hair cut short and to have his own cut.
Having completed the major aspects of Jen’s cut Jimmy created a neat hairline in the back and around her ears with his new edging trimmer.  Combing through Jen’s hair he checked once more time for any unsatisfactory areas.
“Jimmy, can you do her eyelashes again?  I know they’re still pretty short, but I think you can redo the upper ones anyway.”
“Let me look.  Hum, they are still short but I think I can trim them a little.”
This exchange had caught Sam’s attention.  “You’re going to cut her eyelashes?  That sounds dangerous to me.”  Sam, not present when this idea was first suggested by Sharon and perfected by Jimmy was about to quash this idea when Sharon put in a plea.
“Its OK Sam.  Jimmy did it for Jen and me when you were gone.  He did a great job.  Please let him do it again.”
“That’s right Sam.  It was not so bad.  Jen and Sharon are very patient and don’t move and I have steady hands.  It’ll be alright.”
Sam was not convinced but gave in.  “I’ll let you do it this once, but no more.  They’ll have to find someone else to do it from now on.  Its just too risky Jimmy.”
Jimmy acknowledged this new directive from his employer.  He had not been eager to perform this service, but didn’t want to disappoint Sharon.
“Hold still and close your eyes Jen.”
Jen complied and Jimmy proceeded to trim her eyelashes.  They had grown out only a little in the past two months and Jimmy trimmed them even closer than he had managed the first time.  He checked his work, brushed off Jen’s face and announced, “its all done Jen.  I think it looks even better than last time.  Do you want to see.”
“Yes.”
Jimmy obligingly turned her to face the mirror.  Jen looked at herself with approval, and ran her hand over her head.  “Thanks, it feels nice.”
Jen stepped down from the chair beaming at Billy.  “I told you I would get it cut again.  You want to feel it?”  She walked over to where he was sitting.  Billy had been watching with heightened anticipation of this possibility.  He reached up to touch her head, but couldn’t reach it while seated.  Jen obligingly leaned over to put her head within reach and Billy ran his hand over the soft brush of her head.
“That feels neat Jen.  You look really cool.”
“I think so too Jen.  Jimmy really did do a better job this time.  You’ll have the best haircut in you school when school starts.”  Sharon could not help but admire her little sister’s big eyed innocent look.  Her blue eyes seemed even larger and more blue than before and had now become real attention getters.  No one could miss them.
Watching Jen had taken her thoughts away from the dilemma that she was having regarding how she was going to get her own hair cut.  Jimmy was standing behind his chair and another customer had shown up.  She walked up to the chair and seated herself still undecided but not wanting the next customer to be unreasonably delayed.  The new customer went to Sam’s chair which relieved her anxiety somewhat.
Before she could say anything Jimmy spoke up to compliment her new look.  “I like the way you’ve done your eyebrows.  They were always too much for your face.  This way you eyes show up much better.  How do you want your hair cut this time?  You should do something to show off your eyes. I think.  They are quite striking now.”
“I know that, but I can’t decide what.  I been thinking of a chilli bowl with the bangs just down to my eyebrows.  My boyfriend would like that but I’m not sure I’m ready to go that far yet.  Mom said I should have shorter bangs to emphasize my eyes and brows.  Do you have any ideas?”
“A chilli would be very dramatic, but people would notice that and not notice your new look.  But you know a buzz cut would actually be the perfect cut for you.  Just look at what it does for Jen.  Remember how good it looked last summer?  And its actually less radical than a high shaved undercut chilli bowl.”
Sharon remembered and knew he was probably right.  “I did like it that way Jimmy, but a lot of the kids in school gave me a hard time about it.  I’m just not ready to go that far yet.  A couple of girls had chilli’s, which everybody thought was really cool looking.   That’s what everybody who wants to be different is getting.  So that’s what’s really ‘in’ now.” 
“Maybe you Mom has the right idea.  If you went with shorter sides with less of an angle, and shorter bangs, your new look would be what would stand out rather than your haircut.  You could keep the undercut the way it is.  It would look more like a high square bob than an angled bob.  It gets a little closer to a chilli.  Later you could change it to a modified chilli.”
“I guess you’re right.  How much shorter do the thing the sides and bangs should be?”
Jimmy looked at Sharon’s hair from the side and then from the front trying to image how it would look.  He put his comb along the side to get an idea at what height to cut it.  Finally he decided.  “Well, you have a nearly perfectly shaped face, so you can have any style you like, but to emphasize you eyes I would cut the sides to the middle of your ear with a slight angle like this.”  He demonstrated where the line would be with his comb.  It went from the middle of her ear at a slight angle to just under her cheek bone.  “The sides would act like a frame for your eyes.  Then I think that bangs should be quite a bit shorter, half way up your forehead at least and just as wide as they are now.  That way your eyes have two frames, skin that shows plus the darker frame of hair outside of that.  That is the way I’ve seen it done to draw attention to the eyes.  I think it will work that way for you.”  Jimmy was clearly convinced that he had the right idea and wanted to try it out.
“Your bangs should be about here.”  Again he put he comb at the suggested location, this time near the middle of Sharon’s forehead.  He new bangs would be much shorter than before, but in keeping with the much shorter sides.  “The back would be a little shorter too, but not much.  The undercut would still give it the right look, and a little more of your nape would show, but not enough to make it look very extreme.”  Jimmy stopped to let Sharon have a chance to comment.
“That sounds like it would be very interesting, but I sure wish I could see it first.  You need one of those computers that can make changes to a person’s picture.”
“Wait a minute.  I may have a picture that is similar to that look in the back.  It was in a magazine that I get so I can keep up on modern styles and cuts for omen and girls. I’l be right back.”  Jimmy headed quickly to the back of the shop.
“I found it” Jimmy exclaimed as he headed back to his chair.  He had a magazine open to a page that showed a model with dramatic red hair, but the cut was almost exactly the one describe by Jimmy except that the back was a short wedge rather than undercut and squared off.  From the front there was no difference.  The side view would be different behind the ears and the back of Sharon’s head would display much more of her neck and nape than was true of the model.  But it was the front that interested her the most.  “You have to ignore the color, but otherwise the front is just about right.” Jimmy continued to make his case, more convinced that ever.
Sharon tried to image the pictures with her own face and hair with little success.  Giving it up she took out a picture of herself and put it beside the picture in the magazine.  Now she was able to get a better idea of what it might look like.  Finally satisfied she turned back to Jimmy.
“I thought you would try to convince me to get a chilli bowl.  So you surprised me by suggesting this cut.  I had almost convinced myself to get a chilli bowl, but now I see why you wanted it this way.”
“I’m sure it would look great and bring out your eyes even more than a chilli.  You can always get a chilli later if you want.  Just let your bangs grow for two months or so.”
“You’re right.  I’ll go with that idea.  Maybe later I’ll get a real chilli.  Frank would really flip out if I did and the other kids would think I was going punk, even though I’m not.  I just like to get my hair cut.  I guess I’m weird or something.”  For the first time Sharon mentioned her growing interest in getting her hair cut.
“You’re definitely not weird.  I have quite a few customers, men and women, who just like to get their hair cut.  One of my customers has been getting her hair cut by Sam or me since before I started working here five years ago.  She comes in every two weeks to get her buzz cut shaped up.  She keeps it cut almost as short as Jen’s.   She told me she would love to get her head shaved but hasn’t had the guts to do it yet.  Last summer before she went on vacation for two weeks, she got it cut down to a real short buzz - just like David’s crewcut.”
“Wow, that wild.  Do you have very many like that?”  The idea of a woman wanting to get her head shaved was a whole new idea to Sharon.  That thought had never entered her mind before, but it sent shivers down her spine.
“Sure, as I said we have quite a few guys who come in every two weeks.  They’re usually getting crewcuts of one sort or another.  Several ‘high and tights’ and even a couple of ‘white side walls, every once in a while someone wants a full headshave.  Several women come in for short clipper cuts regularly, every 3 or 4 weeks.”


“No, I meant women who talk about getting their heads shaved.”
“Only the one I mentioned, but some of the others would love to get buzz cuts or crewcuts.  They talk about it, especially in the spring, threatening to get one but usually not doing it.  One did early this summer.  She came in with her boyfriend who was encouraging her.  When she hesitated he told her ‘Go ahead Em, you’ve been wanting to for a year, and you’ll look great’.”  I just waited and finally she blurted out ‘I want a crewcut’.  I told her she would good in a nice crewcut and helped her decide how short it should be.  She was very excited about it.  When I had finished and she got to see it she was elated.  She had wanted it for a long time but couldn’t get up the courage to do it for fear the people in her office would think she was crazy.  When she came back last month, she said everyone loved it and thought she was really brave to do it.  Some of the women admired her for the courage to do it and said they would like to get one themselves but their husbands or boyfriends would be really mad.”
“I know Frank would love it, if I got a crewcut again.  Maybe next summer I’ll do it.”
Jimmy had pinned up Sharon’s hair and was finishing ‘shaving’ her undercut.  He had used his new edger to get the area up to her ‘hairline’ as close as possible.  He let down a one half inch section from the right side so that he could create the length and angle that he had described to Sharon.  He had to keep the angle shallow, but then had an idea which he decided to suggest to Sharon.
“Sharon, I have another idea that you might like.  See here, if I make this section that falls in front of you ear angle down so that the front is longer, you can get it to curl forward onto you cheek if you give it a little help.  Your hair has a bit of natural wave in it.  That will frame you eyes even better.”  Jimmy demonstrated the effect by holding the strand so that it was higher and curved forward.
“That’s interesting.  I’ve seen something like that before.  Will it work?”
“I’m sure it will.  But if you find it to be too much trouble, then I’ll recut it to the original plan.”
“I like that.  I think having it curl forward would be interesting.  Where have you seen that?”
“Actually it was in an old book that I looked at when I was in barber school.  It was printed
sometime around 1935, and showed how to cut a lot of different bobs for women and girls.  My Grandmother had her hair cut just that way when she was about sixteen.  She told me it was 1926 and that she had been begging her Mother to let her get her hair ‘shingled’.  She went to the local barbershop and got it done.   She kept it cut that way for about six or seven years.  ”
“Shingled?  What is that.  I’ve never heard that before.”
“It is just a short bob with the back tapered up from the nape.  It pretty much the same as a wedge cut, like the picture I showed you.  Do you remember seeing pictures of Dorothy Hamill the ice skater?  They called her haircut a wedge, but it was nearly identical to a shingled bob.  Louise Brooks, you’ve  probably never heard of her, a 20's movie actress  was famous for her shingled bob with short bangs, just like Dorothy Hamill, except a little shorter.”
“Never hear of her, but I did see some stuff about some of the past gold medal winners during the last olympics and one of them had a short bob a lot like mine.  It flew out like a halo when she did a spin.  Was that her?  She was cute.”
“It must have been.  I’ve never seen another skater with a style like it.  When my Grandfather saw her during that Olympics he mentioned it to my Grandmother and said he had always liked the way her hair was when they first met.  He had an old picture taken when she was about 21 and showed it to her.  She took the picture to the shop, showed it to the woman who had been cutting her hair and said ‘that’s the way I want it cut’. And so she got her ‘shingled bob’ again and has kept it ever since.  Grandfather loved it.  It still looks great.”
“Your Grandmother is still alive!  You’re kidding me”
She’s alive alright.  She’s something.  She’s eighty-six now and lives in one of those assisted living places,  but she still gets around with her cane and can use her computer to send e-mails to us.  She is still a good typist too.  My Grandfather died about 10 years ago, and she said that he had always liked her bob and so she was going to keep it.  She would really like your haircut.  She always liked short hair on girls.  She kept my Mother’s hair cut short until she got to be sixteen and insisted she had to have long hair like all the other girls.”
Jimmy had been steadily working on Sharon’s cut during this entire conversation.  He had finished the sides and back to his satisfaction.  The slight reverse taper on the back made it turn under somewhat.  He had done the same on the sides which had the same effect there.  He was confident that a little gel and a small round brush would achieve the effect that he had promised.
“Ok, Sharon, Its time to do your bangs.  How much shorter do you want them?”
“Let me see how it looks now.”  Jimmy spun her around and she examined the unfinished haircut.  “They should be short, that’s for sure.  But I’m afraid to tell you how short.  I can’t judge.  I trust you to get it right.  I’ve been happy with your decisions and so I’ll let you decide.”
“OK.”  Jimmy thought that very short bangs would be ideal, but because Sharon’s previous cut had given her wide bangs he hesitated to go as short as he would have liked.  He decided to make them a little longer that he had originally suggested.  If that turned out to be too long he could make them shorter.  He pinned up most of the hair than made up Sharon’s thick bangs and combed down the remainder.
“I’m going to do your bangs now.  I have to establish the line first so hold real still.”   Working carefully he trimmed them to about an inch above her brows.  He wanted them to be precise, making a perfect arc across her forehead.  He released another section and cut it to match the line he had established, but this time the fringe was a little wider.  He decided that they should be a little shorter and trimmed off an additional quarter inch.  He was still unsatisfied with the way they looked - too heavy he thought.  Razor cutting would make them look better.
“Sharon, I think that your bangs should be razor thinned to make them less heavy.  It will work nicely with your thick hair.”
“Well, I’ve already said you can do whatever you think will look good.  So why not?”
“Jimmy reached into a drawer for his special razor cutter with the guard that he used only rarely for an occasional customer who knew about his skilled razor cuts.
He quickly razor tapered the under layer of Sharon’s bangs to give them an airy look.  Taking small section he worked on the remainder of the hair that would be Sharon’s bangs.  The effect was to add a little lift to her bangs, making them less thick and more in balance with the sides and back.  Now he evened the line of her bangs which extended more than an inch beyond her temples.  The look that was achieved was that of a wide frame around her eyes.  The yet to be curled forward sections on each cheek promised to add even further to the frame and additional emphasis to her eyes.  Jimmy dampened the cheek curls with a spray bottle, then rubbed a small amount of gel into his hands which he proceeded to apply to the damp hair.  He combed it through several times and coaxed the curl to form which it did readily.  Finally he used a round brush to hold it out while turning it under and forward and using his hairdryer to finish it.  Jimmy demonstrated that he had considerable skill at using these tools despite advertising himself as a barber.  He was tempted to use the razor tapering technique on the remainder of Sharon’s hair, but decided it might not work with the undercut.  Finally he was satisfied.
When viewed from the front, Sharon now sported a short bob with little cheek curls and wide but short bangs that had a slight lift.  From the side the high hairline in back, almost to the top of her ears, angled down to her cheeks where it curved forward. Her small ears were partly exposed, showing off her large hoop earrings and sapphire studs.   From the back the high shaved nape created a very arresting look.
“It’s done Sharon.”  Jimmy once again turned Sharon to fact the mirror and handed her the big hand mirror.  He said nothing more, waiting for her comments and hoping for her approval.  He though it was a terrific look for her - unique but not wildy extreme.
Sharon examined herself in the large mirror.  The big eyed girl in the mirror had short hair that drew attention to eyes that had been made more prominent by high arched brows lighter than her hair and artfully applied makeup.  The light makeup around her eyes contrasted with the dark frame of hair, now far enough away not to make the contrast too intense.  She was captivated with the way she looked.
“Can I see the sides now?”
Jimmy silently turned her first to the right and, at her gesture, to the left.  Finally she turned her head to the left to see the back.  Jimmy turned the chair away from the wall mirror so she could view it better.  She put her had up to feel the nape and how high far up the under cut went.
“I love it Jimmy.  I’m sure that I’ll keep it this way at least until next summer.”
“It’s a very good style for you Sharon.  Its more flattering than a chilli would be.  If you wanted something more exciting, you should get a buzzcut.  But if you decide to get a chilli, I’ll give you a really good one.”
“You’re right.  Maybe I’ll get it buzzed next summer.  Frank would love that.  I might even get him to get a nice ‘high and tight.’”
“I guess we’re all done then.”  Jimmy brushed the last few stray hairs from Sharon’s face, applied a little powder to her nape and brushed that clear of stray hairs also.
“Not yet Jimmy.  I promised Mom that I would get my eyelashes trimmed just like Jen’s.  Will you do that for me please?”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.  Mom said my eyes would stand out even more that way.  What do you think.?
“I expect she’s right.  I’ll do it for you.”
Jimmy put the headrest back on the chair and tilted it back just as he had done for Jen.
“I’m ready, so hold very still.”
With great care he trimmed from the middle of one eye to the inner corner.  The cut lashes were only an eight of an inch long, but still longer that what he had accomplished with Jen. Using his little scissors and even more care he trimmed very close to the eyelid, leaving a nearly invisible line of tiny stubs.  He turned Sharon’s head slightly so he could see the other eye and proceeded to trim the lashes from the middle to the outer corner of her upper lid.  Again he had to try a second time to get the lashes as short as he wanted.  He went around the chair to the other side and proceeded to repeat the process.  He examined both eyes and decided he had gotten the upper lashes as short as he reasonably could.  Although he could see the lower lashes it was not easy to reach them.
“Open your eyes Sharon.  I’ve done your upper lashes, but I think I can do the lower ones easier with your eyes open.  You’ll have to hold them still while I cut.  I think I can do it quickly, but I’ll have to be very careful in case you blink.  Just tell me when you’re ready.”
Sharon opened her eyes and blinked a few times.
“I’m ready”
Once again Jimmy worked his magic.  He did not try to get too close because he had observed that lower lashes were invariably light colored compared to upper lashes.  A few quick snips and he was done.  He had stopped only once for Sharon to blink.  He raised the chair back to its upright position.
“I guess we’re really done now.”
“Can I use the hand mirror.  I want to see how I look.”
Jimmy handed her the large hand mirror.  She stared at herself, closed one eye then the other.  Turning her head she tried to see how she looked from an angle.  She thought her eyes seemed even bigger but didn’t know if that was her imagination or not.  She was sure that the hazel color was more noticeable.  She decided that she might need to change her makeup, but didn’t know what would be appropriate.  She was certain it was going to be a while before she got used to this look.
“It looks different doesn’t it?”
“Well it does.  It’s an interesting look.  I think it makes your eyes seem more open and that makes you have sort of a surprised look.”
Sharon examined herself again and realized that it was true.  She looked as though she was surprised.  The high arched eyebrows had that effect to some extent, and now her more prominent eyes had added to the effect.
“I suppose people are going to start telling me that I look surprised whenever they tell me something they think I haven’t heard before.”
“Maybe, but you have a head turning look now.  You’ll have to learn to handle a lot more attention that you used to get I think.”
“Maybe I’ll have to tone it down some except for special occasions.  I don’t want to get a lot of looks every time I go out.  I have to talk to Mom about it.  Anyway you did a great job on my hair.  I love it.  Mom wanted me to get my lashes cut and she’ll know how to take care of it.  We’d better get out of here.  Unless I miss my guess we’ll be back in a month.”
Sharon herded he gang back to the car for the short drive home.  It was a noisy ride with everyone talking at once kidding each other about their new haircuts.  Sharon remained quiet, still not sure about how she felt about her latest transformation.  She had loved her new eyebrows, and her new haircut, but the combination of that with the lack of eyelashes had been a bit more than she could be comfortable with, at least not yet.
They arrived back at the house and the gang got out and headed through the house.
“Billy, come on out to the back.  Sharon you promised you would shave his head smooth.”  Jen was determined that Billy get his ‘Michael Jordan’ haircut perfect.
Sharon was still worrying about how she looked and had lost her previous enthusiasm about helping Billy achieved the desired effect.
“Can we do it some other time Jen?  I’m not very interested right now.”
“You said you would, Sharon.  And Billy told everybody that it would be smooth.  I think you look really cool too.  I bet Frank is going to freak out when he sees you.  Your eyes look so big.”  Jen knew that a little flattery would soften up Sharon.
“Thanks for telling Sam that I could get my hair cut this way Sharon.  And I think you look the best too.  I like it.”
Somewhat reassured Sharon gave in.  “OK, I’ll do it.  Jen will you get out that bowl that we use when Frank shaves me.  I’ll get some disposable razors and shaving cream.  It’s going to feel funny Billy.”
Sharon held up a can of shaving cream and announced “Its going to feel cold Billy” as she pressed the top and gathered a generous quantity in her hand.  She put it on Billy’s head and began to smooth it around until she had a thick layer covering his whole head.
Jen burst out laughing. “That looks really funny, Billy.”  Gary and David who had been watching in rapt fascination at the proceedings joined in the hilarity.  And indeed Billy did look a sight, with his head covered in stiff white foam.  Sharon tried to remain serious but couldn’t refrain from a quick burst of laughter herself.
Billy remained solemn and stern faced, suddenly not entirely sure he wanted to get his head shaved if it meant having to be made fun of.
“Don’t pay any attention to them Billy.  They’re just jealous.  They’d all love to get shaved the same way.  What about you Jen, wouldn’t you like me to shave you head just like Billy’s?”
Sharon picked up a disposable razor and remembering how Frank shaved her own undercut, started at the base of Billy’s skull and made a stroke upward.  Washing off the razor in the bowl of warm water, she made a second stroke.  Soon she was working steadily removing the cap of foam.  She felt the shaved area and knew that she would have to repeat the process.
“It looks funny, but  I bet it feel neat doesn’t it Billy.  Maybe I will get it shaved.   I don’t think Mom would let me though.”
“Mom’s pretty cool.  She might, maybe next year.  She said that Gary could get a mohawk.  Getting it shaved isn’t any worse.  Besides she lobbied for Billy.”
“Lobbied?  What does that mean”  Billy wanted to know.
“Oh, she talked to your Mom and told her she thought you ought to be able to get it shaved.  That’s lobbying.  Trying to get somebody who’s in charge of things, to do what you think is right”
By now Sharon had nearly completed Billy shave.  She took a second small towel and dampened it so that she could clean off the shaving cream on Billy’s head, but then realized that it was unnecessary if she was going to go over it again.
“Billy, I have to do it again if you want it really smooth.”  She began to apply shaving cream again without waiting for Billy’s reply.  She was beginning to enjoy the process and had the thought that it would be lots of fun to be able to shave Frank’s head the same way.
Sharon opened the second razor, wet it in the bowl and began to repeat the process.  This time she checked carefully to make sure there were no unshaven areas.  As she did it occurred to her that Billy’s scalp might be irritated by all the scraping.
“Jen, you know that cortisone cream that Mom used on us?  Its a red tube in the first aid box in the medicine closet.  Can you get it for me?  Billy will need some.  Maybe you should get that aloe vera lotion also.”
Jen ran to get the requested items.  The bowl of warm water was now filled with foam, and Sharon tossed the contents into the grass.   “Be right back Billy.”  She headed to the kitchen to rinse out the bowl and fill it with very warm water.  Returning she got her small towel wet and wrung it out.  She carefully wiped Billy’s head free of shaving cream.  Jen had returned with the red tube of cortisone cream and a small bottle with a green label that proclaimed the healing virtues of aloe vera.
“Soon as I put this on I’ll be finished.”  She squeezed out a generous amount of the cortisone cream and proceeded to smooth it on Billy’s now smooth scalp.  “This will help it feel good in case there is any irritation.  And the lotion will make it feel smooth.”
“Yeah, Billy.  When I put it on my arms and legs they feel real soft and smooth.”  Jen had discovered its value after too much sun and water had resulted in some dry flacky skin that did not please her.  “Can I feel it now.”
Billy had already explored the latest results and declared it satisfactory.  “OK, its feels neat.”
Jen put her hand on his head and rubbed it.  “That’s feels nice.  Will it stay that way.”
“Not very long.  It only takes 2 or 3 days for it to grow out again.  I’ll bet Michael Jordan shaves his every day.   Billy, if you want to keep it like this you’ll have to get someone to shave it twice a week.  That’s a lot of bother.  If you had an electric razor you could do it yourself if you wanted to.”
“Maybe your Mother will do it Billy.”  Jen was an enthusiastic convert to Billy’s new look and feel.  “Can I ask her for you?”
“She’ll want it to grow out for school.  That’s what she said anyway.”
“She might like it.  If everybody says it looks neat she’ll give in.”
“It can’t hurt to ask anyway.  I think you look real good - much better than before.  I tell her too.”  Sharon thought Billy really did look better.  And was willing to try to help Billy.
By now Sharon had regained some of her enthusiasm and was ready to give Gary some help if he wanted it.
“Well Gary, what do you think.  I can do you if you want.”
“Not me.  It’s too much bother.”
“That’s fine, It a lot of trouble anyway.”
“Sharon, I’m going to Billy’s house.  I’ll be back for dinner.  OK?”
“Sure Jen.  See you later.”
“You guys should get some lunch.  There’s stuff for sandwiches in the refrigerator.”
“Can’t you get some good stuff for sandwiches sometimes?  We’re going to the park after.”
“It is good stuff.  What’s wrong with it?”
“Ah it’s the same old stuff.  Can’t we get something different.”
“Sure, next time you go help Mom with the Groceries and pick out something you would like better.”
“I hate going to the grocery store.  Why can’t you do it?”
“If I go then you’ll have to eat what Mom and I choose.  You know we can’t get that expensive stuff at the deli counter Gary.”
“All right, I’ll eat what you choose, but I’m not going to like it.  Maybe I’ll have peanut butter instead.”
Sharon laughed “We have plenty of peanut butter and that’s fine with me.  I’ll just fix myself a good ham and cheese sandwich.”  They all headed to the kitchen.
Having eaten her sandwich Sharon headed to her room to re-evaluate her latest look.  She decided that maybe a change in her makeup would be helpful, but wasn’t sure what it should be.  She thought that she really needed Gail’s advice.  But one thing did seem possible.  If her brows were lighter they might not give the surprised look effect that she was worried about.  She knew how to make them appear lighter from Gail’s demonstration.  She decided to try it herself.  She applied a bit of Vaseline to her brows and then used a soft brush to dust them with her beige face powder.  She overdid it and her brows became almost unnoticeable.  The effect was a surprise.  Her eyes now dominated her face.  She seemed to be looking back at herself with wide-eyed intensity.  She liked the effect.   Sharon realized that it was just that effect that she had been drawn to in the model that she had seen in Laura’s fashion magazine, and that she  had found so arresting in the way Jen looked.  She definitely needed Gail’s help to make the most of her new look.
Cleaning off her brows so she could compare the before and after, she decided that maybe the original was quite interesting in its own way.  Maybe, like Jimmy said, it would get attention.  It was still wide-eyed and slightly surprised, but when she smiled the result was very pleasant - at least she thought so.  She seemed to have a large eyed elfin look.  She decided that she liked it after all.  Several different looks seemed possible she thought.  Gail could probably help her with other ideas.
Having made these discoveries, Sharon’s mood became excited.  She couldn’t wait to have Gail see her new haircut and look.  After a few minutes she decided to try to imaging how she would look with the buzz cut that Jimmy had suggested.  She pushed all of her hair off her face, but that was not a good indication.   She remembered that there had been a few pictures taken the past summer when she had her unexpected crewcut.  Maybe there was a way to alter one in the computer to simulate how she now looked.  She could ask Frank if he knew how to do that.  She went to where Gail kept a box of photos that had yet to get into the family album, hoping to find a useful picture.
Several minutes of rummaging turned up one photo, but it included Jen, Gary and David as well.  After quite a bit of searching she finally found what she was hoping was there.  Gail had taken a number of pictures during that Saturday afternoon barbecue. Among them were close-ups of both Jen and herself.  She thought that her Mom had wanted some pictures to show how good she and Jen had looked in their crewcuts.  The one of herself was just what she needed.  Frank could scan it into his computer.  She thought it ought to be possible to touch up the picture to make her brows the same as they looked now.
As she looked at the picture she realized that she had actually looked far too intense, almost a scowl.  Her heavy brows had dominated her face.  Frank was right, she had looked like a female version of Groucho.  But the crewcut had looked good and complimented her face shape. She also realized that the change that Gail had achieved was striking.  Sharon began to appreciate it even more.  She waited eagerly for Gail to come home so she could be show some more tricks.

PROLOGUE
Sharon has celebrated her eighteenth birthday and will be entering college in the fall.  She lives with her Mother Gail, younger sister Jen (fourteen) and fraternal twins Gary and David (eleven years old.)  Sharon only vaguely remembers her Father.  He left the family twelve years earlier, leaving the pregnant Gail to care for two and not long after four children.  By the time she was twelve Sharon had become a second Mother to the other three.
Gail had slowly improved the family's finances through sheer determination and hard work along with  evening classes at a nearby community college.  Even so, Sharon needed to do well enough in High School to earn a significant scholarship  if she hoped to go to the college of her choice.
The family hair affair had started  when Gary and David had made some small alteration in the note that they had been given by Gail for their haircuts two years earlier, the result of which had been that both Sharon and Jen  had found themselves getting short (half inch) buzz cuts.  The athletic and tomboyish Jen had been kidded by her friend Billy who admired her crew cut, while Sharon had gained a boyfriend, Frank, who also approved of her buzz cut.  It was not until the following June that Sharon's hair had grown out to the point at which she could have her hair cut into a more conventional style.  Jen's hair had also grown and had been maintained as a medium pixie during the school year which had earned her some teasing from Billy as it grew even longer in the Spring.  As a consequence, at the beginning of the Summer a year earlier Jen was determined to get a crew cut again.  Gail had agreed that she could.  Gail, as we will learn, has a short hair fetish of her own and keeps her hair as short as she dares.  She readily approves of  Jen's buzz cut and later encourages Sharon to get one.  She is rapidly losing her inhibitions.
At the barbershop Sharon ordered Jen's crewcut, but realized she wanted something a little more radical for Jen, whom she had begun to think of as a competitor.  She had ordered the twins to get very short crewcuts so that she could have Jen get an even shorter crewcut and still meet Gail's admonition that Jen's cut should be longer than the boys.  It became a three-eighths inch crewcut.  It was during that haircut that Sharon was inspired to have Jimmy buzz off Jen's eyebrows and trim her lashes.  Sharon had gotten a short undercut bob with high bangs.  Jimmy had persuaded Sharon that she should also have her lashes trimmed by pointing out that she should be willing to do what she had ordered for Jen.  Gail had approved of Jen's cut including the brow buzz and lash trim, but told Sharon that next time the boys' cuts should be as long as Jen's. She also said that she expected Sharon to keep her lashes trimmed short along with Jen.  A few weeks later Gail reshaped Sharon's brows into high thin arches, a result that had greatly pleased Sharon.  So for the past year Sharon had kept her short bob with it high shaved undercut.  Frank, Sharon's boyfriend, had been quite devoted to keeping the undercut shaved smooth, a process which always excited Sharon.
Sam, the owner of the barbershop had vetoed the idea of Jimmy trimming eyelashes, so Gail had taken up the job of keeping Sharon's and Jen's eyelashes trimmed very close to their eyelids.
Jen's brows, which had been quite thick, were being kept completely clean by Gail.  Gail had been pleased to hear that Jen wanted to keep her crewcut after school started and she was quick to approve of that request, a decision that had made Jen quite happy.    By that point the family finances had improved to the point that Gail was ready to allow them all to get haircuts monthly.  Jen had not wavered in her desire to have a crew cut during the school year despite a little razzing by some boys and a few girls, so there was little doubt that she would keep her crew cut for the summer and perhaps have it cut even shorter.
It is now early June and two years have passed since that original visit to the barbershop. Gail has been promoted to a much better paying position, and Sharon is about to take Jen, Gary, David, and Jen's close friend Billy to the barbershop for their first haircuts of the Summer, except for Billy of course.  Billy had gotten his head shaved last Summer and his Mom had been persuaded by all of them, including her good friend Gail that she should keep Billy's head shaved.  The numerous comments saying how much better Billy looked with his shaved head had also been persuasive.   With so many positive comments and her husband's statement that Billy looked quite good with his head shaved, she relented in her opposition and allowed Billy to  keep his head  shaved.  She even did it for him once and occasionally twice a week.

---

Return to the Barbershop
School had been out for two weeks, Sharon had been offered a Summer job helping out in the and records and accounting department of the area's largest employer, a medical instruments manufacturer.  She was basically the gofer for the permanent staff, but she found herself being used for data entry and other jobs because of her computer skills.  She was grateful for the Summer job and expected to save much of her earnings to help pay for her expenses at the small University where she had been accepted.
Sharon has been having second and third thoughts about what she wants to do with her hair.  Frank has suggested a bowl cut, or even a buzz cut, but she had demurred.  When she had visited her college earlier in the year She had seen a number of girls with quite extreme short cuts that she liked, but somehow a more conservative cut seemed appropriate for her first year at college.  She was torn.  But first Jen and the twins needed to be taken care of.
“OK.  Let's get going.  Where's Billy?"
“In the bathroom," Jen answered as she dawdled near the front door.
“All right.  Tell him we're getting in the car.  Oh, never mind.  Here he comes.  In the car everyone," Sharon called out trying to herd them into the car.
Finally with everyone in and buckled up, every seat taken, they were on their way.  A year's practice had made Sharon proficient at parallel parking and they parked only a few shops away from the barbershop.
It was not yet ten O'clock and the shop was empty except for Jimmy, the young barber who advertised that he cut women's and girls' hair.
“Hey Jimmy.  We're back," Sharon announced over the chatter going on among the other four.
“Hello yourself, Sharon.  Looks like everyone needs a haircut except Billy.  Nice looking head Billy," Jimmy laughed.
“He looks super good with his head shaved.  Everybody thinks so," Jen interjected immediately.
“Sam's out back.  He should be here  in a moment or two.  I can take someone now."
“Who wants to go first?" Sharon asked.
“You should go first Jen," Billy encouraged her.
“OK.  I'll go first.  I want a really short crewcut this Summer, Jimmy," Jen declared.
“Is that right?  What do you think Sharon?  I've been giving her a number four since school started"
“She can have it short Jimmy.  You did a number three last Summer and she can get a two this Summer.  That's a quarter inch isn't it?"
“Sure is.  She'll look good with it buzzed short like that.  How about I do a number one on the sides and back with a little fade at the hairline."
“That sounds nice Jimmy.  She'll look great!  What do you think Jen?"
“Just so it's super short," Jen answered.
“It will be the shortest you've ever had it.  If that's not enough maybe later in the Summer you can get it cut even shorter."
“Could I get it shaved like Billy?"
“Yeah, she'd look really cool with her head shaved," Billy interjected.
“I don't think Mom would go for that, but you can try to persuade her," Sharon laughed.
“It would be neat to have a bald sister," Gary kidded her.
“Well, let's get on with this crewcut as long she's in my chair," Jimmy laughed as he spread  the white cape over her and fastened it snugly around her neck.  He carefully folded the neck paper over the cape.
“One short crewcut coming up," he announced.
Sam had entered from the back room as Jimmy made that announcement and started to putter about his chair and straighten out the arrangement of items on the counter beneath the mirror.  Finally satisfied he stood behind his chair.
“Who's next?" he asked.
“Go ahead Gary.  You know what you want and Mom said you could get it this Summer," Sharon said as Gary looked at her quizzically .
“OK!  I'm getting a Mohawk!" Gary said enthusiastically as he got into the big barber chair and Sam wrapped a paper around his neck and fastened the cape over it.
“A nice one Sam.  Not too long so you can get it to stand up.  Not very wide either.  About like this in the front and getting narrower all the way to the bottom of the back," Sharon said indicating with her thumb and forefinger how wide it should be at the front.
“That's a very classic Mohawk.  I'll make it about an inch tall at the front and it will get shorter all the way to the bottom of the back.  It hard to get the back to stand up.  I can usually get it to stand up only a little way down the back.  It will look good when I'm finished.  You going to keep the sides cleaned up for him?" Sam asked as he proceeded to roughly cut Gary's hair to about an inch long on the top.
“Yeah!  I want to keep the sides shaved Sharon. Can you do that for me?"
“You've got to be kidding!  How often would I need to do that Sam?"
“Oh, once a week would be fine unless he wants it slick, then you'll need to shave it with a razor every day or else use a depilitory cream," Sam explained as he continued his careful work to create the precise line from front to back on the right side of Gary's head.
“I'll think about it Gary.  I'd rather use a depilitory cream, but I don't think Mom would go for that."
Jimmy had already run his clipper over Jen's head, reducing her brown hair  to a length of a quarter inch all over.
“That looks good already Jen," Sharon observed.
“It looks pretty easy, but getting it right takes a lot of detail work to achieve a great finished look," Jimmy responded.
“I know.  I watched you do it every time we came since last June.  It always took longer to finish it than it did to do the buzz.  I'm beginning to be able to notice the difference," Sharon responded.
Jimmy continued his careful traversal around Jen's head, leaving an eighth of an inch well above the top of her ears and continuing around her head.  The next step made use of the clipper over comb method to produce a precise taper from the eighth of an inch to the quarter of an inch long hair above it.  Sharon paid particular attention to the way he carried out the process.  After the first relatively rough traversal the comb and clipper seemed to be making smaller and smaller cuts as the transition became invisible to Sharon's eye.  Even so the process continued for several more minutes.
“That's a cool Mohawk Gary," Billy observed as Sam created the matching line on the left side of Gary's head, then proceeded to buzz off all the hair outside the line.
“David, when Sam is finished with Gary, you can have him cut your hair the way you want it.  I'll wait for Jen to be done so that Jimmy can do my haircut.  OK?"
“Sure.  I'm just getting a regular crewcut for the summer – not as short as Jen's."
“That fine.  It's your choice."
“Almost done Jen.  I think you're going to look quite good.  It's a real convenient haircut for the Summer - cool too," Jimmy told Jen.
“I get really sweaty when we play soccer.  It's a lot easier to take a shower when I can just put on a little shampoo and have it done in a minute.  Besides I like the way it feels," Jen responded.
The past year had been an important one for Jen.  She was still very athletic and a tomboy in many ways, but her girlishness had awakened as her small breasts had developed, rather belatedly according to Sharon who had developed at eleven.  The consequence was that she had started to ask for and wear clothes that were more flattering to her developing figure and her developing awareness of how boys were paying attention to her.  Billy had not been among them, at least in that way, and most of her efforts were focused in his direction.  Billy thought she was “cool" to have a crewcut and he was very appreciative of her athletic ability, but Billy was well behind Jen in his development and it was beginning to frustrate Jen that Billy did not notice her as a girl.
“There you go Jen," Jimmy announced as he turned her to face the mirror while he thoroughly brushed off her head, face and neck.
Despite the fact that it was quite definitely a crewcut, Jimmy had made it distinctly more girlish in the details.  In the front there was a hint of a fringe along her forehead.  The sideburns had been trimmed into distinct points, and the neckline at the nape had been shaped into a V.  It complemented her features quite nicely and made it very obvious that she was a girl aside from the fact that it would be nearly impossible to make that mistake even with her in her softball uniform.
“You look great Jen!" Billy said with unalloyed enthusiasm.  It was the first time that he seemed to notice her as a cute girl rather than just cracking a joke about how much better she could play softball without all that hair on her head.
“That's a great look for you Jen," Sharon agreed.
Sam had finished using his finishing clipper on the sides of Gary's head, making them as clean as possible short of doing a wet shave.  The remainder of the Mohawk still had to be trimmed to shape and urged to stand up.  For that Sam used his crewcut wax generously throughout Gary's remaining hair.  Using a hairdryer and brush he persuaded Gary's hair to stand up stiffly all the way back to the crown and half way down the back.  Satisfied with the result, he sprayed it generously with an extra strong hairspray.
“You're going to need a little help to keep it looking good son," Sam explained.
With Gary's hair standing up erectly, Sam used his heavy duty clipper freehand to go from front to back, reducing the height to an inch in the front and making it progressively shorter toward the crown where it was a little more than half an inch.  At the neckline it was only a quarter of an inch long and, as expected, lay flat against his head.
“There you go – a good looking Mohawk," Sam said as he swept the cape off Gary.
Gary inspected his new cut, reached up to touch it, then felt the bare side of his head.
“Cool!"  Gary exclaimed as he exited the chair.
“You're next Sharon," Jimmy reminded her.
Sharon was still not sure what she wanted to do.  She hesitated, then stood up and walked slowly to Jimmy's chair.
“I don't know what I want to do Jimmy," Sharon said as she stood by the chair.
“Well, why don't you have a seat and we'll talk about it some.  If you can't decide, then you can skip it today and come back when you're ready," Jimmy encouraged her.
“OK.  I'm starting college in September, and I had been thinking that maybe I should let it grow into a longer style, but I saw a lot of girls on campus with styles that were even shorter than mine. I'm sort of confused about it."
“What about that chili bowl style that you were thinking of getting done?" Jimmy asked.
“I don't think so.  Frank would love it, but it just doesn't appeal to me much any more.  It seems too severe and no one has one now."
“OK.  So what about a longer bob?  I'm not sure that would be very flattering to you.  I'm pretty sure that you'll look better with a short style, maybe even a boy cut style."
“That's what I saw on campus.  There were several girls with really short boy cuts.  They were cute. I don't know what I want.  I just can't make up my mind."
“Maybe you'd better give it a little more thought.  My idea would be for you to go back to a buzz cut like you had two years ago.  I'm quite sure you would look great, better than with any of the other cuts we've talked about."
“You think I should have a buzz cut like Jen's?"
“Yes, but a little longer.  You've definitely got the face for it.  Why don't you give it some thought and come back later?"
“I guess you're right.  I should talk to my Mom.  She always has good ideas.  Maybe I'll come back next Saturday."
Sharon quickly got out of the chair and turned her attention to David whose simple crew cut was nearly finished.  Sam was cleaning up around the edges and down David's neck.  It was actually a little longer than Jen's crewcut, which made Sharon smile.
“Sharon, aren't you getting your hair cut?" Jen asked.
“Not this week.  I couldn't decide what to do."
“That's funny.  You've always known exactly what you wanted before."
“I know.  I don't want to talk about it.  Let's go."
The three boys and Jen continued their chatter, particularly regarding Gary's new Mohawk, while Sharon paid their bill and headed out the door.
When they arrived home, Gail greeted them from the small flower bed that she had created in the front yard.
“Let's see how you all turned out," she said as she stood up.
“I got a Mohawk!" Gary said enthusiastically.
“That looks quite good, Gary – very sharp looking," Gail praised him.
“Your crewcut looks good too David.  It suits you quite well.  And I've very impressed by your crewcut Jen.  It's a little shorter than you've had it before isn't it?  Come here so I can see how it feels."
“Jimmy said that it's a number two on the top.  I like the way it feels.  Can I get it shorter next time?"
“It does feel nice.  You want it even shorter?  Well it's Summer so why not," Gail laughed.
“Wow! Thanks Mom.  Can we go to the park now?" Jen asked excitedly.
“Sure.  You too guys," she told the twins.
They quickly collected bats, balls and gloves and headed toward the park a few blocks away.
When they had gone Gail turned back to Sharon.
“So, what happened with you Sharon?"
“I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do.  I certainly don't want a chili bowl cut, and I'd like something a little different than this bob, even though I like it a lot.  I thought about letting it get a little longer and letting the bangs grow, but that would be a big hassle and besides Frank wouldn't like it much.  Jimmy thinks I should get it buzzed like I had it two years ago.  Frank would like that I'm sure, but isn't that a little extreme for college?  I did see some kids with really wild cuts though.  I pointed out a couple when we were visiting the campus."
“You are having a time of it aren't you?' Gail laughed.
“Yeah.  So what do you think?"
“Well, now that you've asked me I actually do have a thought or two.  First off, I do remember seeing the girls you pointed out.  I don't think their hair was too extreme for college.  College is the time when you get to try out a lot of things, getting funky haircuts is one of them."
“Really!  You didn't think they were extreme?"
“Not in the least.  They were cute and showed a lot of individuality.  The second point is that when you're in college you're always busy doing things so you don't have a lot of time to fool around with your hair.  And you actually did look great with that buzz cut.  So I'd vote with Jimmy.  Get a nice buzz cut and make it your signature style.  If you and Frank change your minds about each other you can always let it grow out some, but you'll never find a more flattering style than a good buzz cut."
“Mom!  You really want me to get it buzzed?"
“I certainly do.  You would be stunning with a short buzz.  It could be as short as Jen's or even shorter and it would suit you perfectly."
“Really?  I always thought you liked my bob/"
“Well, of course I like your bob.  I just liked your buzz cut better. I knew that I shouldn't say too much or try to influence you.  I was afraid that might backfire."
“So you liked that buzz cut, but didn't dare say so for fear I'd do the opposite.   That happens to a lot of kids in school.  They complain that their parents are always telling them how they should dress and other stuff and brag about how they do what they want anyway," Sharon laughed.
“I know, but you grew up a little differently.  You had taken on a lot of responsibility and I trust you.  I didn't want to get into a tug of war.  I told you that I liked your hair short and pretty much let it go at that."
“I remember when we all got those buzz cuts.  The twins got into a lot of trouble over that.  I thought than Jen looked great with her buzz.  She's grown up a lot since then and she looks even better now.  I remember that you said that I looked super, but when I brought up the subject of your instructions you didn't say much more about it, just got after Gary and David."
“Well I did try to convince you that you you looked good, but you weren't buying it, so I didn't persist.  It was obviously a shock to you and your friends all had long hair, so you were out of step.  Keeping my mouth shut was the best course of action," Gail laughed.
“I guess so.  You really think I'd look good with a buzz?"
Absolutely!  You have the perfect features for it and I know that the shape of your head is exactly right for a very short buzz.  So that's my opinion.  Check it out with Frank."
“I will.  I though that Jen having a buzz cut would make her look more like a tomboy, but it has the opposite effect.  Maybe I would look good with a buzz."
“You definitely would, but you know that it's your decision."
“OK.  Thanks Mom."
That evening Sharon and Frank headed out to a the first Summer rock concert in the local amphitheater.  The were in the car on their way before Frank mentioned Sharon's hair.
“I thought you were going to get your hair cut today."
“I was, but I just couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted.  I was thinking about letting it grow a little for college."
“Yeah?  I don't know about that.  I think it looks better short."
“I knew you'd say that!"
“Well, what did you expect?  I've always liked your hair short, especially with the shaved undercut.  It was your buzz cut that got my attention in the first place."
“So I suppose you'd like me to get a buzz cut again."
“Come on! That's not what I was saying."
“But you liked that buzz cut didn't you?  And you're always complimenting Jen on her buzz cut."
“OK!  I liked your buzz cut and Jen looks great with hers.  I like the look of short hair on girls.  I've never liked long hair.  Short hair is a lot sexier."
“So you'll stop liking me if I let it grow!"
“What's with you!  I'd be disappointed if you let it grow, but you'd still be you unless you change your personality too.  Of course I'd still like you!"
“But you'd like me a lot more if I got a buzz cut wouldn't you?"
“What's with you Sharon?  Why are you trying to pick an argument with me?  You asked me my opinion and I gave you an honest answer.  You can have your hair down to your butt and I'd still like you.  I just like short hair better than long hair."
“Everybody wants me to get a buzz cut.  Mom thinks I'd look better with it buzzed.  She's as bad as you.  She thinks I should get it cut as short as Jen's.  Even Jimmy thinks I should get it buzzed." Sharon complained.
“Your Mom obviously likes short hair on women and girls.  No surprise there.  You've always known that I like short hair on girls.  I don't get it.  Do you expect me to suddenly decide that I like long hair after all?  Just figure out what you want and do it.  Come on.  Let's enjoy the concert."
They had parked earlier and had been engaged in the discussion for some time when Frank had finally lost patience and ended the conversation.  Sharon was somewhat miffed, but couldn't quite explain why, even to herself.
The evening passed with considerable pleasure  even with Sharon's misgivings.  Frank was his usual attentive self, and the concert was enjoyable enough that Sharon forgot her haircut conflicts for the rest of the evening.  They went to a café that  served snacks until one AM.  It featured a small dance floor and had a DJ who played music.  They danced a bit and enjoyed the atmosphere before finally returning to Sharon's house.
Sunday morning Sharon slept late.  By the time she reached the kitchen at a quarter to ten Gail had already left on some unspecified errands.
“Did Mom say where she was going," Sharon asked Jen.
“Nope.  She did say it would be sometime after noon before she would be back.  I think she may be going to the Hair Cuttery.  She said something about her hair getting too long yesterday.  I think the woman who always cuts her hair works there on Sunday."
“That's probably right.  I remember that she said something about getting it cut last Sunday, but said she was too busy."
“I'm meeting Billy over at the park.  They're organizing some Summer softball teams.  I'll be back by five."
“Don't forget to collect Gary and David before you start back."
“OK.," Jen said as she ran her hand over her head reflectively.
Sharon couldn't help being impressed by how good Jen looked with her short buzz cut.  Despite the fact that she was wearing her sports shorts and a simple tee shirt, there was no mistaking her as a young  teen girl who was quickly transforming into a very impressive mid teen girl.  And somehow the buzz cut enhanced the effect.
After Jen left Sharon went to her room to look at some hairstyle pictures on her computer.  She had a good part of the day available before Frank would arrive and they would have an early dinner and take in a movie,
Her inner conflict about what to do with her hair continued and she couldn't put her finger on the cause.  Something had triggered some misgivings about keeping her hair very short.
What's wrong with me?  Why am I thinking that I should let my hair grow into a longer bob?  Am I worrying about what other girls will think of this bob?  I saw other girls with pretty wild styles.  I like Jen's buzz.  Everybody thinks I'd look great with a buzz like that, so what's holding me back?
Her thoughts swirled dizzyingly as she tried to settle on what she actually wanted to do, but found that she couldn't hold onto one thought before a contrary thought intruded.  Finally she determined to stop thinking about it and get on with the rest of her day.
It was past one O'clock in the afternoon when she finally exited her room after spending  more than two hours emailing her high school friends, responding to text messages, updating her facebook page and writing on the walls of half a dozen of her friends.  She went to the kitchen more or less automatically and rummaged about in the fridge for something to eat, finally settling for an apple and a few crackers and cheese slices.
She was sitting in a lounge chair on their tiny patio when she heard the garage door open, signaling that Gail had returned.  A few minutes later the door to the patio opened and Gail emerged.


“Oh, there you are!  I thought you might be out with Frank," Gail greeted her.
“No, I've just been catching up on my e-mail and stuff.  Mom!  You got your hair cut!.  Wow!  That's really short!" Sharon said as she turned to face Gail.
“Yes it is.  I decided I wanted it very short for the Summer.  I almost got it buzzed, but Elaine convinced me that I should get it done like this for now.  I've always wanted to get a buzz cut and I'm going to get it buzzed before the Summer is over.  I think it will look good buzzed."
“But what about the people at your office?  Aren't they going to be shocked at it this short?  Won't they be even more shocked if you get it buzzed?"
“Some of them will be a bit shocked, but it doesn't matter.  I'm better at my job than anyone else and I'm very secure there.  My boss doesn't care how I cut my hair.  He'll just think I got it cut so it wouldn't be a bother.  I've heard him complaining about some of the other women spending too much time fussing with their hair," Gail laughed.
“Well it does look good. Turn around so I can see the back.  That's very neat.  Elaine must have used her clippers to get it like that."
“She did.  I wanted her to go a little shorter, but she said if I still wanted it shorter next time she'd do it.  I'm definitely getting it  either buzzed or even shorter when I go back next month.  I'm sure I'll get a  negative comment from one of the women, but everyone else will be either complimentary or neutral."
“What do you call it?  I don't think I've seen anything like that on any of the hair style sites that I've looked at."
Elaine said it's a little boy's cut, but a very short version of it.  She did it mostly with her clipper."
“I like the way she did your bangs.  I haven't seen them done like that either."
“I'm going to have to learn how to do it that way.  She said the English call it a quiff, but again it's a very short version.  Anyway I like it.  I like the whole haircut.  I've always wanted to get it cut really short like this and have it done with a clipper."
“I like it too.  And you don't mind if you get negative comments?"
“Goodness no!  I just ignore that.  Like the one woman at work who has very long hair.  She commented that she thought that women should have long hair and that short hair on women was not feminine.  I just laughed at her."
“Yes!  That's almost exactly what happened to me at work," Sharon said as the memory of the incident flooded back.
“Well, tell me about it," Gail encouraged her.
“I was just straightening up my desk before leaving one day and this woman who works in a different area, who happened to be in our area about something, stopped and asked me why I had this bob haircut.  She complained about girls having wild hairstyles, then she said that a proper women would never have a haircut like mine.  She said women shouldn't have short hair at all.  She claimed that short hair made you look less than a woman.  I was really taken aback by it.  I had no idea how to respond.  I didn't want to offend her.  I'd only been working there for three days.  I tried to put it out of my mind, but you just reminded me of what happened."
“You never told me about that.  She sounds like quite an extremist herself.  No wonder you didn't want to remember it.  I suspect it affected you more than you think."
“Maybe it did."
“I'm sure it did.  When you don't talk about something like that it can get under you skin and you don't even realize it.  So what happened after she stopped berating you?  What did you say?  You must have responded."
“I can't remember.  I must have said something because she was angry when she walked off.  I was shocked."
“I'm sure you must have responded.  You're pretty self-confident.  You would certainly defend yourself.  She must have been quite aggressive for you not to respond."
“I remember now.  I said I liked my hair cut this way and that other women had complimented me.  That's when she said something like we were all a bunch of unnatural lesbians.  That's when she stomped off."
“No wonder you were shocked.  That sort of thing is so unexpected that it can knock you for a loop.  So is this the first time you've thought about it since it happened?"
“I guess so.  It was so crazy that I didn't want to think about it. I just kind of blocked it out of my mind."
''But it got too you anyway.  That's why you were talking about letting your hair grow I think."
“You think so?  Now that I'm talking about it, it does seem really weird."
“So how do you feel about your hair now?  Do you still think letting it get longer is something you want?  Maybe it's still too soon for you to think about it."
“No, I can think about it.  I don't think I'd like to have it longer than it is now.  I still don't want a chili bowl cut, but I think I'd like it shorter.  I like yours a lot.  Maybe I should get a little boy's cut."
“You would look good with a boy's cut, but I think it works better for women my age.  It makes us look younger.  You don't want to look younger, do you?"
“You're right!  I don't want to look younger.  And letting it get longer is definitely not what I want either."
“You'll figure it out.  Just give it a few days and go back to the barbershop next Saturday."
“OK.  That makes sense.  I had no idea that someone at work, who's practically a stranger, could say something that could get me so confused.  It was very strange."
“You were uptight about making a good impression.  Having someone criticize you like that when you're already very tense can be quite traumatic.  To put things into perspective she was the one who was the extremist, not you.  You're quite normal and mainstream and while your haircut is shorter than most girls, it is not unusual or extreme."
“I get that.  Thanks Mom.  By the way, we'll probably be late getting home tonight.  Don't worry about us."
“OK.  Just don't take any chances."
“Don't worry.  We''ll be quite safe."
But, of course, Gail would worry.  She knew that Sharon and Frank had been having sex for the past year.  After all Sharon had asked her to help pay for her birth control pills while she was in high school.  More than that, she recognized the subtle indications in Sharon's way of talking about Frank and in her personality.  She had considered inviting Frank to stay over, but didn't want to appear to be encouraging them.  So she confined herself to cautioning them and hoping they would be safe.
It was with a much lightened perspective that Sharon greeted Frank several hours later.
“Hi Frank!" she said as she gave him an exuberant kiss which he returned – somewhat surprised.
“What's with you?  Won the lottery or something?" he laughed.
“No lottery, but I did get my head straightened out.  Mom helped.  Let's go tell her we're leaving a little early.  I'll tell you about it later."
The story told, dinner eaten and a movie enjoyed they sat for a while in Frank's car and talked.
“Do you still think I would look good with a buzz cut?"
“Sure.  You looked great with your buzz cut two years ago.  You'd look even better now.  You'd look good with a lot of different short cuts, but I think a buzz cut is seriously the best possible cut for you."
“I'll keep that in mind.  I'm not letting it grow, that's for sure.  I'll probably get it cut shorter, but not in a chili bowl.  That actually does look too extreme."
The drove casually through town then turned onto a two lane road  which led them to The Park.  It actually had a formal name, but it was known by everyone in the city as The Park.
Their prior trysts had been less than ideal.  They discovered that the back seat of a compact car was cramped in the extreme.  Their other options had been worse.
It had taken a little planning on the part of Frank. They went to the park that was along Heartwood River, a stream barely large enough to be called a river.  The Park had a camping ground at the far end and then  meandered along side the river for more than five miles – a true linear park.  There were hiking trails that eventually led to a side trail over the river, and that led up into the hills and further on through mountains to the  north.
Frank had a backpack that consisted mostly of a double sleeping bag along with some sodas, bottles of water and a few assorted snacks.  He also had a flashlight that converted into a lantern. Sharon carried an inflatable mattress and a change of clothes in a duffle bag.
It had been Frank who had explored the campgrounds and some of the surroundings where he had discovered a secluded area that met their needs.  Sharon laughed as they slipped through the  tall laurel bushes into the open area within.  It was one of the high spots along the river – about fifteen feet above the water.  They quickly removed the few broken branches and a couple of rocks before unfolding the mattress which Frank proceeded to inflate with a small hand pump.
Sharon giggled as Frank pumped steadily to little apparent effect.
“That's going to take forever!"
“It looks that way, but it goes a lot faster after I've gotten a little air in it."
Ten minutes and several short breaks later Sharon could see that his words were true.  The mattress stretched out to its full size and and began to resemble its namesake.
Eventually their little love nest was complete and they nestled together in the light sleeping bag eagerly exploring each other's bodies.  Exploration quickly evolved into full and intense engagement.  Despite their youth and robust sexuality they managed to prolong the experience beyond the near instantaneous eruptions of most of their prior encounters.
“Umm!  That was great!" Sharon exclaimed after she had caught her breath.
“I think we're getting the hang of it," Frank laughed as he collapsed beside her.
“Shussh!  Not so loud!" Sharon hushed him and giggled softly.
A while later Sharon retrieved a tee shirt and struggled into it. She sat up then fumbled about in the dark until she found Frank's backpack and pulled it toward her.  She retrieved a diet coke and a package of cheese crackers.
“Want some?  You'll need some energy so you can do it again."
“Sure, but I need a break."
“I thought studs like you could do it ten times in one night."
“You've been reading too many stud blogs!  Give me twenty minutes and I'll be ready."
Later, much later, they were satiated.  After finally recovering from their last exertions they began the process of repacking their belongings.  The early June night had turned cool and Sharon was regretting that she had only brought a pair of shorts and a sleeveless tee shirt.
Frank drove slowly back to Sharon's house while they talked sporadically about future possibilities.  They embraced and kissed a few times as though they might not see each other for weeks although they would be seeing each other only fifteen hours later.
The glow that had suffused Sharon was still a lingering presence when she finally slipped into bed.
Sharon at the Barbershop
The following week passed happily for Sharon.  She was no longer, conflicted although she still wasn't quite sure how she was going to get her hair cut.  She leaned toward getting a buzz cut.  She knew that her Mom favored that as did Frank.  And Jimmy the barber thought she'd look good with it buzzed.
So it was that Saturday morning after spending the evening late into the night with Frank, a slightly groggy Sharon made her way to the shower where she finally recovered from the exertions of the prior evening. She had promised herself that she would get to the barbershop at nine O'clock, but that was certainly not going to happen since it was already past eight thirty.
It was approaching ten O'clock when she finally parked down the street from the barbershop.  A short walk brought her to the entrance.  Pushing  into the small shop she stopped abruptly.
“Frank!  What are you doing here?"
“Is than anyway to greet your guy?  I came for the same reason you did, to get a haircut," Frank laughed.
“You got a flattop!  It looks awesome!"
“Thanks.  It does look pretty good doesn't it?" Frank laughed.
“I didn't think you would ever get one.  I really like it!"
“I thought I'd do something to surprise you.  I'm glad you like it.  Not it's your turn!  I've been waiting here for the last half hour," Frank said in mock exasperation.
“It's your own fault.  You kept me up too late last night," she retorted.
At about that point Jimmy had finished his customer and was removing the cape.
“Be with you in just a minute Sharon.  Have a seat in my chair."
“OK.  I suppose you still want me to get a buzz cut," Sharon said to Frank.
“Absolutely!  You'll look fantastic with it buzzed.  Better than Jen even."
“It seems like everyone wants me to get it buzzed.  Even one of the women at work said so."
“How did that come about?"
“I had gone out to lunch with her and a couple other women.  Joan - she was the one who said I would look good with it buzzed - had noticed a woman at a nearby table with a very short haircut and commented that she was going to get her hair cut short and that she would like to get a haircut like that.  The other two women had commented on her already short haircut and said she'd look good with it even shorter.  That's when I said I was going to get mine cut too.  Joan asked me how I was going to get it cut and I mentioned that my boyfriend wanted me to get  a buzz cut.  She was quite enthusiastic and said 'Wow!  You would look great with a buzz cut.'  I said that I was thinking about it, but thought it might be too radical.  One of the other women chimed in and said it wouldn't be too radical at all and  that she'd seen a couple of women with buzz cuts and thought they were quite attractive. The other woman was a little skeptical of the idea but admitted that it would probably look good on me."
“There you go!  It's obviously not too radical for the women at your work and it would certainly look great."
“I agree.  He's right Sharon," Jimmy said as he wrapped a paper strip around her neck then shook out the cape, let it fall over her and fastened it snugly over the paper strip.
“Everybody is ganging up on me," Sharon laughed.
“You've the perfect features and head shape for a buzz cut, and everyone recognizes it.  So should I get started?" Jimmy retorted.
“I'm going to be a mess of nerves, but go ahead.  Just don't make it too short."
“Don't make it too long either," Frank interjected.
“Get out of here!" Sharon exclaimed with a nervous giggle.
“I'll start with a number four, but I think that going to be too long.  It should probably be more like Jen's," Jimmy told them.
“Jen's is really nice.  I guess I wouldn't mind it being that short."
“You'll get to see it this way first, then you can decide," Jimmy told her as he continued to run the clipper up the back of her head, reducing the hair to a soft pelt only a half inch long.
Sharon had an immediate reaction to the feel of the buzzing clipper on her head.  She felt a tingling sensation that ran from her back all the way down her legs.  She gripped the arms of the chair and held herself rigid in an effort to ward off the sensation and not betray it to Jimmy or Frank.  She had had some sensations when Jimmy clipper her nape for her bob, nothing like what she was experiencing now.
Jimmy continued up the right side of her head, going around her ear, and then up in front of her ear.  He continued unhurriedly, but efficiently on the left side and then over the top, where he went from left to right and then right to left over her crown.  Even so he was not yet finished as he proceeded to go over her head in various directions making sure it was very even everywhere.  Finally he stopped, turned off the clipper.  Picking up his brush he went over her head, forehead, and neck brushing off any hair that had adhered.
During the entire process Sharon had experienced waves of sensations that traveled from head to toe and back.  She realized that she had become sexually aroused as well.  It took all of her will power to keep herself still and not reveal the intense sensations that coursed through her.  When Jimmy stopped she took a deep breath and let it out slowly in order to compose herself.
“OK.  That'll give you a rough idea of what it will look like at that length.  I'd need to taper the sides and back a little.  What do you think?" he asked as he turned the chair to face the large mirror and held up a hand mirror behind her head.
“It's too long.  You'll look a way better with it a lot shorter," Frank said emphatically.
Sharon finally had regained control of herself and with some trepidation ran her hand over her head savoring the feel of it.  The previous sensations had abated, but they returned unabated intensity with that gesture.  She held her body taut until the response subsided.
“It doesn't feel like Jen's at all.  I do look good with it buzzed don't I.   I guess it is a little too long though," Sharon agreed, her nerves mostly gone now that her hair was buzzed so that she could see its effect on how she looked.  She had immediately found that she liked it, but the unexpected sensations that she had experienced seemed all too near the surface.
“Gives you a much more open look and draws attention to your features," Jimmy observed.
“I think it would be a lot better if you had it cut shorter – at least as short as Jen's," Frank encouraged her.
“Maybe I should.  What's your opinion Jimmy?"
“You have such a perfectly shaped head that you should show it off.  You'll look even better the shorter you go."
“I'm beginning to think you're right.  Go ahead and make it shorter."
“Good choice.  I'll go with a number three just like Jen.  If you want it shorter I can certainly accommodate you," Jimmy laughed.
Jimmy worked more slowly this time, being careful to achieve a very even result, but that didn't alter the sensations that Sharon experienced.  It was a little less intense this time and she had expected it, so she was prepared - keeping herself under control was a little easier.  The tingles and other sensations were still present, but she was able to conceal them better with her controlled breathing.
When he had completed his first traversal he stopped to review his work and ask a question.
“I tapered Jen's cut on the sides and back, but I'm not sure about doing that in your case.  Maybe I should leave it a uniform length and just tidy up along the hairline."
“I thought Jen's looked good.  Why not do Sharon that way?" Frank interjected before Sharon could speak.
“Wait a minute you guys.  I'm the one getting this haircut.  I'll decide what's to be done!" Sharon exclaimed a little exasperated at them for apparently making decisions about what she wanted.
“Opps!  Sorry!  I got ahead of myself there.  If I taper it, it will look much lighter on the sides and back because your scalp will show through it.  If your hair were lighter the contrast wouldn't be so much.  The way it is now you have a nice uniform dark buzz that is a real contrast to your face.  It's a good look."
“I see what you mean Jimmy.  I do like it like this.  It's as though I have a little cap on my head.  It feels good too.   I think I'll leave it this way for now.  Maybe I'll get it done shorter next time, but I'll need to get used to it this short first."
“It looks super good Sharon, but I'll bet it'll look even better if it's shorter," Frank exclaimed enthusiastically.
Sharon didn't respond, still working to regain her normal state of calm after the storm of feelings that had accompanied her haircut.
A while later with her hairline neatly trimmed, the cape and neck paper removed, and her emotions finally returning to their normal state, Sharon examined herself critically in the shop's mirrors.  She used Jimmy's large hand mirror to study the back.
“I like it Jimmy.  I think it makes my face the focus of attention and it really shows off the shape of my head.  I hadn't paid that much attention to Jen's head shape but it must be quite good.  I could wear it even shorter couldn't I?"
“Hers is like yours, very even with no bumps or hollows and a nice shape.  Both of you could go shorter if you liked, but you'll look even better with a very close buzz."
“I suppose that's your opinion too Frank," Sharon laughed.
“Absolutely!  The shorter the better.  You'd look fantastic with a super short buzz," Frank responded enthusiastically.
“Like I said, I might get it done shorter later.  I'll give it some thought.  It looks a lot better than I thought it would, so I'm convinced about keeping it buzzed."
Sharon said very little else as she parted with Frank and headed toward her car.  The experience had a much larger impact than she was willing to divulge to Frank or Jimmy.   It had generated a very intense tingle that had traveled down her body all the way to her toes.  It threatened to cause her to shudder in response – a response that she had rigorously suppressed.  She had felt her  body become warm and the warm sensation in her crotch was palpable.  All of those feelings combined had resulted in a major impact.  They had opened up a whole world of sensations that she had not know existed within her.  The intensity of the feelings was a huge surprise.  She wondered how such a simple thing as a haircut could have such an effect.  Even running her hand over her head awakened the feeling although to a much lesser degree.
Frank was puzzled when she wouldn't let him feel her buzzed head.
“What's wrong?"
“I don't know – nothing really.  I'm just not ready to have anyone touch it yet.  It's just so different.  I'll see you tonight," Sharon said as she struggled to make sense of her feelings.
Sharon's New Reality
She arrived home still bemused by what she had experienced.  She needed someone to talk to and her Mother Gail was the one person she thought would understand and be able to help her make sense of what had happened.
“Mom, I'm back," she announced as she entered the back door and heard the sounds of Gail working in the kitchen.
“Come on in and let me have a good look at you.  Oh!  You got it buzzed!  Turn around.  Yes!  That looks extremely good.  What do you think of it?"
“I like it.  Jimmy said that I'd look even better with a shorter buzz.  Maybe I'll do that next time."
“I agree.  You would look quite splendid with it buzzed nice and close.  It's really the ideal look for you if you don't mind standing out from the crowd."
“I think I'd be OK with that, but that's not what has me confused."
“Confused?  About What?"
“Well, it's sort of strange.  I had the wildest reaction while Jimmy was buzzing my head."
“OK.  Out with it.  I'm listening."
“When he ran the clipper up the back of my head I had a tingling sensation that ran all the way down my legs and I wanted to give a big shudder," Sharon said, illustrating what she had felt with a jerking of her arms and shoulders.
“Did it happen just that one time?"
“No.  It happened several times although the first time was the worst.  I got goose bumps the second time he buzzed me to get it a little shorter.  And then I started to get warm down here," Sharon said indicating her crotch.
“Why would I react like that?  What is it about having my hair buzzed that would cause that kind of reaction?"
Gail laughed, then coughed as she tried to regain her serious demeanor.  Finally she was able to respond.
“I think you've developed a serious thing about your hair.  I saw an inkling of it when you so obviously enjoyed Frank shaving your nape.  So now you've really awakened your passion for having short hair and I guarantee that you'll respond quite intensely when Frank runs his hand over it."
“Really! I think I sort of guessed that might happen.  I wouldn't let him do it when we left the shop."
Gail reached out to rub her hand over Sharon's head, but Sharon jerked away.
“I'm your Mother.  It's not the same as Frank doing it," Gail said as Sharon relented and she ran her hand over her head.
“How does that feel?" Gail asked.
“Sort of tickles, but kind of nice too," Sharon admitted.
“We're much the same Sharon.  I still get tingles when I feel the clipper going up the back of my head.  It's a sexual turn on.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's just one of those things that happens to a lot of people.  It's a kind of fixation or fetish.  You and Frank both have it which is a good thing, because you can share it easily with each other so long as you aren't careless."
“What do you mean."
“Isn't it obvious?  You need to be sure you're not going to get pregnant when you and Frank make love."
“Mom!"
“Don't Mom me.  I'm not deaf, dumb and blind.  You and Frank have been having sex for the past year.  It's quite obvious.  You come home and you have that glow about you.  And you left your birth control pills on your dressing table," Gail chuckled.
“You aren't upset?"
“Of course not!  You're practically a grown woman.  I'm only telling you to be sensible and safe and – most important – happy, especially about your buzz cut,"  Gail laughed
“I do like it.  It was just such a surprise to me to have those feelings that I was afraid there was something wrong going on.   Now that you've told me you get the same feelings, I can let Frank feel it anytime he wants if we don't get too turned on."
“That's right.  Does Frank's parents know about you two?  I'm sure they suspect."
“I don't know.  They've had me over several times.  They're very nice."
“They probably know.  Getting your hair cut won't be quite so overwhelming the next time and you'll be able to control it better, but having Frank run his hand over it is always going to be a big turn on for you and probably for him too.  Like I said, just be careful."
“We will, now that I know what to expect.  I think he got turned on in the barber shop.  He got a flattop haircut too.  I thought it looks really good on him," Sharon laughed.
“No doubt.  So you've discovered one more thing that keeps you two together," Gail laughed in turn.
“I guess we do, now that I think about it.  I'm going to fix myself a sandwich for lunch.  Can I fix one for you?"
“That would hit the spot.  Whatever you're having would be fine."
They chatted as Sharon fixed their sandwiches, then retired to the back yard and washed them down with some iced tea.  Sharon's misgivings about her reactions to her haircut had largely evaporated.  She discovered that she was beginning to anticipate the pleasure of her next haircut and equally what might transpire between Frank and her when their mutual interest in hair came fully into play during their love making.

PROLOGUE
Sharon had gotten her first buzz cut earlier in the day at the barbershop.  Frank had known what she intended and was there to greet her when she arrived.  He had gotten a flat top, a style that Sharon admired.
Although her own trepidation was somewhat dampened it was still present.  When Jimmy, the young barber, began her haircut she was immediately struck with some intense feelings.  A rush of heat, tingles down her back, goose bumps and an almost irrepressible need to shudder at the intensity of the feelings.  She was taken aback by what she thought of as a very strange reaction.    She had also experienced a very definite sexual arousal, which she found disturbing.
When the haircut was complete Sharon was happy with the result despite the misgivings that she harbored.  It was what she thought of as her strange reaction to the haircut that was her main concern.
When they left the barber shop Sharon had shied away from Frank when he reached out to feel her new buzz cut, saying that she wasn't ready for him to do that.
She arrived home and went to her Mother Gail to talk about her experience.  That conversation quickly allayed her fears.  Gail explained that she had a similar reaction to getting her haircut and that it was simply a manifestation of the fact that Sharon had a hair fetish; that is, she responded sexually to having her hair cut or to having someone fondle her buzzed head or to feeling someone else's buzzed head.  That led to Gail telling her that she should be careful about it and making sure she didn't get pregnant when having sex with Frank.
This statement surprised Sharon who, like most young people thought that their sex life was a secret from their parents.  Once the subject was out in the open, Sharon was reassured that Gail did not disapprove of what she was doing, only cautioning her to be cautious and careful.
With her fears allayed, Sharon was looking forward eagerly to Frank's arrival and to their evening together.
Youthful Exuberance
She greeted Frank ardently when he arrived, surprising him.
“Umm!  That feels yummy," Sharon giggled as she ran her hand up the back  of Frank's bristly head, resulting in an immediate response in her lower regions that was quickly multiplied when Frank ran his hand over her head.
“Oh my God!  That feels so good," Frank responded both to the feel of Sharon's hand on his head and his own response to feeling her buzzed head.
They held each other for a long moment before Sharon offered her lips to him and they kissed with all the passion that young love and their mutual responses to their unexpected new reality could conjure.  Finally they broke apart as Sharon gently restrained Frank.
“We need to take it easy or we'll never get to our restaurant.  There'll be plenty of time to have fun later."
“I don't know if I can hold off that long," Frank said with a slightly choked voice.
“You'd better.  I'm looking forward to tonight!" Sharon said.
“So am I," Frank said as he reluctantly released her.
“Come on in.  I need to tell Mom we're leaving."
After their dinner and a movie they returned to the park to find that their little secluded spot was waiting for them.  The remainder of the evening proved to be a rousing success even though their state of arousal was so intense that the actual moment arrived and passed in what seemed to Sharon to be almost instantaneously.  Even so her urge was momentarily satisfied.
“Can't you slow down a little?  That was too fast," Sharon complained.
“I couldn't help myself.  You got me too turned on."
“Well, next time we're going to take it easy and enjoy it a little longer."
And so they did as Frank gently stimulated her clitoris while she ran her hands over his head.  She returned the favor as he savored her buzzed head.  Finally they coupled and enjoyed each other.  Sharon found it very difficult to refrain from vocalizing loudly as  Frank penetrated her deeply and brought her to a resounding climax.  She was sure that the sounds that she made would be heard by the nearby campers.
Much later they discretely packed up their gear and slipped quietly out of the area and back to Frank's car for the ride back to Sharon's home.
“That was great Frank.  It was the best night of my life."
“Same for me.  Your buzz cut really turns me on."
“I know.  It turns me on to have you rub your hands over it."
There was a long pause as Sharon became momentarily pensive.
“Do your folks know we're been doing this?"
“I don't know.  They've never mentioned anything.  I suppose they suspect."
“Mom knows and she's OK.  She just wanted me to be careful and not get pregnant."
“Your Mom's pretty open minded from what I've noticed.  You are being careful aren't you?"
“Of course!  I always take my birth control pills!" she told him somewhat heatedly, a little miffed that he would question her conscientiousness.
“OK.  I was just asking."
“Well, you would have gotten me pregnant if I hadn't been the one to have the sense to take charge of things.  Now get me home before I get any more upset."
“Sorry.  I shouldn't have brought up the subject.  I suppose I could have been more understanding when you made me wait until you'd been taking the pills for a while, but I was going to use a condom."
“I wanted to do it as much as you, but I wasn't going to take any chances – it's just the way things have always been in our family.  We've all been taught not to take foolish chances when we can easily avoid it."
“I'll walk you to the door.  I need to make up with you with a little necking," Frank joked.
“You'd better be nice or I won't let you feel my buzz cut," Sharon threatened.
“I'll be nice."
Sharon's Second Buzz Cut
Almost two weeks had passed and Sharon had become increasingly at ease with her buzz cut.  She had received compliments at work and from complete strangers as well as from a couple of waitresses at the restaurants where the people at work often went for lunch.  It wasn't really apparent to her how much it had grown until she felt it, but by Friday it was too obvious to ignore.  It was now five eighths of an inch long, almost twice as long as its original three eighths of an inch.  She determined that it was time to get it cut again.
Saturday morning at breakfast she mentioned her intention to Gail.
“Mom, I think I need to get my hair cut again.  It's really getting too long to be a nice buzz cut.  Frank noticed it and it doesn't feel like it first did even to me.  What do you think?"
“You're absolutely right.  It does need to be kept trimmed frequently when it's short like that.  Like I said before you would look very good with a very close buzz.  That way you could easily take care of it yourself as often as you think it's needed.  A very good clipper with some guides costs about what two haircuts set you back.  I was thinking about getting one so we can keep Gary's Mohawk in shape," Gail laughed.
“You really think I should get it buzzed shorter?"
“Absolutely.  You can go with a nice close buzz and you'd look absolutely angelic.  Frank would love it.  You can ask Jimmy how short you should go, but my opinion is that you should go for a very short buzz, no more than an eighth of an inch.  It will show off your features as well as the nice shape of your head."
“That sounds a little scary."
“Not at all Sharon.  You want to emphasize your eyes and mouth and keeping your hair to a minimum does that.  You really do have perfect features and your ears are just right for a really short buzz especially since you have such a great looking head.  It will be outstanding," Gail said trying to convince her that she should go for an extremely short buzz cut.
“I'm almost convinced.  I'll ask Jimmy too.  Why have you suddenly become such a promoter of a super short buzzes for me?"
“Getting my own hair cut short the way I've always wanted it has something to do with it.  I guess I've just thrown off my inhibitions.  I always wanted you and Jen to have really short cuts, but I held back.  I was actually very pleased with your original buzz and that made me realize how good you and Jen both looked with short cuts.  I think I'm going to have Jen's cut super short too and keep it like that from now on.  I'd like you to enjoy yours cut extra close too.  I think you'll look quite splendid," Gail explained.
“You're going to get Jen's cut extra short too?  How short are you thinking of doing it?" Sharon asked a little taken aback.
“I'm not quite sure, but it will be the bare minimum I'm sure – just enough to show that she's not bald."
“Wow!  You really like it short don't you?"
“I really do.  I think that both of you will be outstanding with a super short buzz.  You only need a bare minimum of hair – just enough to show a little shadow, although with your hair even the minimum will still look quite dark."
“I'm beginning to think that everybody wants to see me practically bald," Sharon laughed.
“You'll look terrific. Maybe I'll buy a good adjustable clipper so I can keep Jen and the twins very neat.  You'd better be going if you don't want to have wait an hour at the shop.  Be sure to get it buzzed down very close.  You'll give Frank a big surprise and he'll be blown away," Gail encouraged her.
“I think I will.  It will be fun to see his reaction," Sharon said as she got up to leave.
Fifteen minutes later she entered the shop to be greeted by Jimmy.
“Hey, Sharon.  Looks like you're ready for a cleanup.  It'll be a while.  There're two ahead of you."
“Hi Jimmy.  I do need it cut.  I can wait."
Half an hour later, her turn arrived.
“You're next Sharon.  I'll be right with you.  Have a seat." Jimmy said as he walked to the register to receive payment and deposit it in the register.
“OK."  Sharon got up and went to Jimmy's station where she settled herself into his big barber chair.
“So what are you going to do?  Get the same buzz as last time, or maybe something a little shorter," Jimmy asked as he shook out his cape and fastened it snugly over the paper strip that he had wrapped around her neck.
“My Mom thinks that I should get a very short buzz cut, almost shaved, but I'm a little scared about doing that.  What do you think?"
“I can get it quite close and you would look extremely good.  You can definitely pull off a very short buzz.  I can do it in stages if you like.  I could take it down to a quarter inch first.  That's only a little shorter than your last cut and you'd hardly notice the difference.  Or I could start with something shorter – an eighth of an inch would be good.  Or you can let me decide.  With your dark dense hair, even an eighth of an inch will form a definite dark covering for your head."
“You mean that I'll have a dark cap of hair even with it extremely short?"
That's right.  Even if I actually shaved your head razor smooth, you'd have a quite distinct dark shadow.  So if having you head with a distinct dark covering is what you want, you don't need to worry much.  You can go just as short as you want,  right down to nothing but prickly stubble."
“I'm convinced even though it sounds scary.  I think I'll do it in stages.  You said an eighth of an inch?"
“That's right.  Is that what you want?"
“Yes.  Let me see that so I can decide whether I want to go shorter."
“You've got it," Jimmy exclaimed as he picked up his big Oster clipper and removed the cutting head, which he placed on the counter.  He picked up three others and laid them on the counter in a line.  Picking up the first one he snapped it onto the clipper.
“An eighth of an inch buzz coming up," Jimmy announced as he put the clipper at the base of her neck and ran it up several inches before flipping off the cut hair.
Sharon gripped the arms of the chair as goose bumps immediately made themselves known on her arms and back.  She breathed deeply and exhaled slowly, gaining control of her reaction.  Jimmy continued, seemingly oblivious to her excited state.  He had clippered the entire back and was now performing the same service on the right side, going up and around her ear from the front.  A few more passes up the side of her head and he went from front to back twice getting close to the middle of her head on the second pass.
At that point Sharon was able to get some idea of what her head was going to look like.  It was obviously much shorter than the remaining hair, but the hair was just as dark as ever and seemed to conceal her scalp completely.  She watched closely as Jimmy went to the left side and repeated the process that he had carried out on the right side.  Sharon was intrigued with the way the cut was progressing.  There was something about it that she found appealing.  Her ears were fully exposed, and her eyes seemed bigger than ever.  The shape of her head was even more apparent.  She had finally conquered her intense reaction to the feel of the clipper and the sexual excitement they invoked.  Now she saw her head becoming more and more exposed with no hair to alter it's natural shape and size.  She liked what she saw and it triggered a surge of excitement including a flush of warmth that flowed down her back and into her crouch.
Jimmy had finished the right side and was making passes from front to back.  He continued running the clipper over her head for what seemed an unnecessarily long time before he finally halted.
“There it is Sharon.  Not quite done, but close enough for you to get an excellent idea of what it will be like after I clean up the edges.  Take a minute or too to evaluate it and then let me know what you think."
“It looks almost exactly the way it did two weeks ago.  I can hardly see the difference even though I know it's a lot shorter and my head seems more it real size.  Is that what you expected?"
“Absolutely.  It's short enough to emphasize the shape of your head and make your features, especially your eyes and lips the focus of attention.  You don't get a hint of your scalp showing, so it's like you have a tight black cap on your head.  That's why I think you can go even shorter and it will look extremely good."
“I like the way it looks.  I'm thinking that maybe I should go shorter.  It seems so natural looking to have my whole head exposed and my face the center of attention.  What do you suggest?"
“That's easy.  I have only two more short clipper heads for my Oster clipper.  The longer one is only a very small amount shorter than what you have now.  The other one is half as long as the first one.  That's the one I think will look the best.  It will make your hair short enough that it will look just a little bit lighter, but your head will still have an obvious covering of very short hair.
“I've gone this far, so I guess I should just take the plunge and go the rest of the way.  I've actually persuaded myself that I'll look good with my head practically shaved."
“Are you sure?  I think you'll look quite dazzling and very special with it like this.  If you like it you'll need to have it redone every week.  Twice a week would be better."
“Go ahead.  I'll worry about maintenance later," Sharon laughed.
“Right!"
Jimmy had replaced the one eighth inch head with the three sixty-fourths inch head while they were talking.  With no further hesitation he ran the clipper up the back of Sharon's head all the way to the crown.
“This is going to look very good, I can tell you now," Jimmy reassured her.
“It's too late to get cold feet now anyway, so I don't have a choice do I," Sharon laughed.   The tingles returned in full force as the vibrations of the clipper going purposefully up the back of her head released the pent up responses that she had tried so carefully to repress.
“That clipper sends chills and tingles down my spine," Sharon admitted.
“I noticed.  You're not alone.  I have a couple of guys who have the same reaction, but they won't admit it.  They're your age too," Jimmy laughed.
“I was trying not to let it show.  I like the feel of it.  I think I'd like having my head clippered twice a week to keep it looking good," Sharon giggled.
“Nothing wrong with that.  It's not abnormal, just not very common.  I'm making progress.  Pretty soon you'll be able to get a good look at yourself with this haircut."
“If it look half as good as it feels, I'll be completely satisfied."
Jimmy had nearly reached the end.  He looked at Sharon's head from several directions and in the mirror.  He went over her head thoroughly one more time and examined it again.  A few more passes of the clipper here and there where he thought he could detect some slight unevenness and he was satisfied.
“There! It's done except for cleaning up the hairline in back and around your ears.  I can give you a shallow “V" neckline and little pointy sideburns.  That makes it look even more feminine from the sides and back."
“I think I'd like it done like that Jimmy."
Jimmy trimmed her sideburns into points followed by carefully sculpting her hairline so that it formed a distinct, but shallow “V" neckline at the back.  As a final touch he tugged the neck paper down so that he could clean up the few stray hair that grew there.  A little powder on her neck led to the last dusting of her head, neck and around her face.  Finally he turned the chair back so that she faced the mirror and removed the cape and neck paper.
She examined her head intently for a few minutes looking straight at her face, turning it a bit to the right then to the left, evaluating how her features had become even more the focus of attention.  Finally she tentatively put her hand on her head and savored the bristly feel of it.  A smile began to brighten her face as the distinctiveness of her new appearance settled in.
“It's wonderful Jimmy.  I love it!  It's perfect!  I had no idea that having it this short could look so good.  My Mom was absolutely right.  She said that I would be Angelic.  Do I look Angelic to you?"
“I don't know about that, but you look striking and quite fabulous.  You couldn't possibly find a better style.  Rather low maintenance too," Jimmy laughed.
“I can't believe how much I like it.  I was so unsure about getting it buzzed this short  even though my Mom was certain it would look great.  I was hesitant about it this morning, but now I realize how good it makes me look and feel.  It's the best haircut I've ever had and it feels so marvelous," Sharon said, unable to contain her delight at what she had finally had the courage to do.
She stepped down from the barber chair and examined herself from every angle in the large mirror.  At the same time she explored her barely there haircut with first one and then both hands.  She giggled just a little nervously as what she had had the audacity to do.
“You know, a lot of girls and women look a lot better with very short haircuts, but they're so unwilling to break away from the mainstream that most won't consider it.  You're the exception.  I expect you're going to get a lot of compliments from women who would love to do what you've done, but can't quite work up the courage to defy the social norms," Jimmy said lapsing into a bit of philosophical musing.
“I agree with you Jimmy.  I'm really looking forward to showing off my new radical haircut.  I'll see you in two weeks," Sharon said as she handed him the bills to pay for her haircut and waved him off when he tried to give her the change.  She headed toward the door.
“Wait!  I forgot to tell you that the boss and I talked it over and he agreed that for women with a short buzz cut like yours was two weeks ago, we'll only charge you eight dollars if you're going to come in every week for maintenance.  So you don't have to wait two weeks."
“Oh wow!  That's great.  Only eight dollars?  I do want to keep it looking like this as much as I can.  I'll definitely be here next week."
Sharon exited and walked back to her car with a spring in her step and an uncontrollable urge to keep running her hand over the little bristles that covered her head.  They tickled her hand and felt quite fabulous to her heightened senses.  She laughed to herself thinking about Frank's reaction to seeing and touching her head.  She laughed aloud as the thought ran through her mind that getting this haircut had been a “heady experience."
Arriving home she could hardly wait to show Gail her new cut.  The kitchen was empty as was Gail's bedroom.  Finally Sharon realized that she must be out back planting the flowers that she had purchased the prior evening.  She hastened down to the back hall and out the back door.
Mom, I'm back,"she called as she spotted Gail on her knees in front of one of her small beds near the hedge that separated their modest yard from their neighbor's.
“Let me see!  My goodness Sharon, that looks fabulous!  It suits you perfectly!  How do you feel about it?"
“I love it Mom.  It's the best haircut I've ever had.  I'm really sold on it.  And if you hadn't encouraged me to get it I probably would have left it like it was the last time.  It feels so delicious.  You should feel it," Sharon encouraged her.
“I know how its going to feel – prickly and tingly.  Exactly!  Just exactly right!  Now how are you going to keep it feeling so good like that?"
“Jimmy said that I could get it redone every week for just about half price, but if you get a clipper so I can get it done like this at home, that would be great.  I could do it as often as I liked and it will take only about ten or fifteen minutes!"
“I'm going to get the clipper, never fear.  Frank is going to flip over it.  You'll get a lot of comments from other people too, especially people at work.  You're prepared for that I hope."
“I've thought about it Mom.  It's not a problem.  I feel really good about myself.  I can handle any criticism that occurs.  I like the way I look and it makes me feel great and really confident.  I'll will be fine."
“Good.  I'm going to do a little shopping tomorrow and I'll get a good clipper set.  Did Jimmy tell you how short he cut it?"
“He did.  He started out at only an eighth of an inch and I decided I wanted it shorter.  He said that it was a little bit less than half of an eighth, less than a sixteenth I guess."
“That will work with the clipper that I've looked at.  It's adjustable from a sixty fourth to an eight of an inch.  So, are you going back to have Jimmy redo it next Saturday."
“I think I will, unless you're  going to help me.  I'm not ready to do it completely by myself."
“Good.  I want you to take Jen with you and get her buzzed just like you.  I may want to do hers even shorter than yours after I see it.  I'm absolutely certain I want her to stay with a short buzz until she tells me differently."
“That will look great on her.  She and Billy will make a very cute pair with his bald head and hers almost bald," Sharon laughed.
“That's right.  She will complement him.  She'll look very sweet and innocent.  I seem to have quite a thing about girls having very short buzz cuts don't I?"Gail laughed.
“You do, but I'm beginning to think you're right about it.  I've got some itchy little hairs down my neck.  I think I'll go shower after I've had lunch.  Can I fix you something?"
“Sure.  Whatever you're having will be fine."
She found herself looking at herself in any mirror she came upon and even making unnecessary trips to the downstairs lavatory so that she could see herself.  During her second shower the water spraying onto her head had a special feel to it which she savored.  Stepping out of the shower she spent some time examining her closely clipped head once again.  The reality of it had begun to sink in.  She had a closely buzzed head and she was delighted with it.  She felt amazingly good about herself.  She kept seeing herself looking and feeling quite wonderful with her nearly shaved head far into the future.  It felt right.
That evening, dressed and waiting for Frank's arrival, she was eager to show him her closely buzzed haircut, but decided to act very casual about it.
When the doorbell rang she walked to the door, opened it and smiled up at Frank.
“Hi Frank.  Come on in."
“Whaaa....  Omigod!  You got your hair buzzed!"
“Yes I did.  Glad you noticed," she responded in the same casual manner.
“It's really short! Oh shit..." he exclaimed, nearly speechless.
“Aren't you going to kiss me?"
That brought forth the expected response as Frank reached out to her, folded her into his arms then held her head as they kissed with unwonted passion while standing at the threshold with the door still open.  Sharon's arms had circled his waist and she held him tightly.  Finally they separated.
“You look fantastic!"
You mean I'm crazy looking." she teased him.
“You know what I mean.  It's stupendous.  You're gorgeous.  You have the most stunningly beautiful head in the world."
“Going a little overboard aren't you?"
“Maybe, but that's how I feel about it!  I've dreamed of you having a haircut like that.  It's absolutely outstanding!  Now tell me how do you like it."
“As it happens, I'm very happy with it even if it was a bit of a shock when I saw it the first time.  I've looked at myself in the mirror fifty times and I've become happier with it every time.   I intend to keep it this way for the foreseeable future.  I feel confident and very good about myself.  We can explore that and other things a lot more later.  Come on.  Let's tell  Mom that we're leaving."
Having said their goodbyes they headed out to their favorite restaurant – more of a diner if truth be told.  They liked the food and it was inexpensive.  They took in a movie and then headed toward the park or so Sharon thought.
“Hey, this isn't the way to the park.  Where're we going?"
“It's a surprise.  We get to have a nice bed tonight."
“What!  Where?"
My parents left to go to a company affair in Chicago.  They're not coming back until Monday night.  Mother told me Friday that they were going.  This morning she said that we could use the house as long as we were sensible and didn't throw a big party."
“She knows we've been making out?"
“Yeah.  Kinda hard to keep them in the dark very long I think."
“Just like my Mom.  It's OK with your Mother if we spend the night there?"
“Sure.  She didn't put any time limit on it."
“I'd better tell Mom that I won't be home tonight.  I don't have any spare clothes except what I brought in my little duffle bag."
“That's OK.  You can use the washer.  I have a few snacks for us.  There're some videos too."
“Sounds nice.  You can enjoy my buzz cut as much as you like."
“That's what's been going through my mind."
Telephone call made and assurances dispensed they made themselves comfortable in Frank's recreation room enjoying some snacks and watching a boring video.  Later they retired to Frank's bedroom.
For the first time they could enjoy the sensual pleasure of slowly undressing each other.  That was followed by some prolonged petting and Frank's exploration of Sharon's buzzed head which    raised their passion index to the point that coupling became an insistent need.
It turned into a marathon night for them.  The next morning after yet another romp they slept until well after ten O'clock.
They snuggled for a while before the practical minded Sharon decided it was time to get up and have some breakfast.
“I'm starving.  Let's get some breakfast."
“Uhh.  I could sleep for the rest of the day."
“I doubt that.  You'd start to rub my head and we'd be making out again, not that I would mind," Sharon laughed.
“OK.  I'll get up.  I have no idea what we have.  Eggs I guess.  There's some waffle batter somewhere and I know where the waffle maker is."
“I going to take a shower and go down to the kitchen and explore a little bit.  You could even shower with me if you want."
“Oh ho!  Making out in the shower!  That sounds interesting!
“Go back to sleep.  I want to have food now.  Sex later."
I'll have some food.  I'll be better able to come up with some new interesting ways of screwing you, maybe."
“Slowly!  I like to do it slowly!  You barely give me time to get turned on before you're done."
Just as Gail had predicted, having Frank rub her extremely short buzz cut had been arousing, both to her and to him.  That had registered quite firmly and had reinforced the tentative thought that she had been careful not to allow to grow.  Still it was present.


The remainder of the weekend passed happily for them.  When they finally parted Sunday evening they knew that they were developing a relationship that might very well be enduring.
Sharon's alarm woke her early Monday morning and she reluctantly arose.  By the time she had entered the shower she was alert.  The water cascading onto her head felt warm and pleasant.  Rubbing a little shampoo on it and working up a lather reminded her of how good it felt to have Frank run his hand up the back of her head and over it, sending tingles down her spine.
She smiled as she imagined the astonished looks and comments that she would encounter at work, but felt little or no concern about them.  Looking in the mirror she found her self-assurance growing.  Running her hand over her head felt sensuous and sent a little shiver of pleasure down her back.  Each time she looked at herself in the mirror she grew more assured that she had discovered her perfect haircut.  Dressing quickly she danced down the stairs to be greeted by Gail.
“Good morning Sharon.  You're looking very good this morning – unusually bright and smiling."
“I feel great Mom.  I'm beginning to really love this haircut.  I think it's just about perfect for me.  It makes me feel super good."
“And it shows in your attitude too.  You were very upbeat and enthusiastic all day yesterday."
“I know!  And I'm looking forward to getting things done at work today too."
“Well, get out there and break a leg, as they say in the theater," Gail laughed.
“I expect I just might do that," Sharon laughed in turn.
Sharon had dressed up a little compared to her usual casual outfits.  Three pairs of fancy earrings, a frilly sleeveless blouse and an above the knees skirt enhanced with modest two inch heels.  She was greeted by her coworker Joan.
“Wow! That's a great looking haircut, Sharon!  You look really spiffy.  It really complements your features.  It's super short isn't it?  What do you think of it?" she asked, her amazement clearly on display.
“Thanks Joan.  I totally love it.  I'm going to keep it like this.  I think it shows off my head and features really well too, and it's super easy to take care of.  My Mom and my boyfriend are very enthusiastic about it," Sharon giggled.
“Your Mom likes it?" Joan asked in surprise.
“She really does.  She keeps her own hair cut very short, like a little boy's haircut.  She wanted me to get a very short buzz cut.  She encouraged me to get it cut like this.  My sister Jen has a short crewcut which she really likes.  She looks super cute.  She's had a crew cut for more than a year now and is ready to have it cut even shorter.  Mom thinks women and girls look a lot better with short cuts – the shorter the better," Sharon laughed.
“Goodness!  That's rather unusual – a whole family of females who swear by their extra short haircuts.  I expect that your Mom's right about women and girls looking better with short hair.  I'm getting mine cut next Friday – not as short as yours though," Joan laughed.
There were quite a few other compliments and only a few abstentions, which Sharon interpreted as disapproval.  Only one woman voiced a criticism.
“That's too short Sharon.  You shouldn't have hair that short.  It takes away your femininity," Aggie told her at lunch.
Several other women immediately objected, but Carrie put it best.
“Aggie!  That's ridiculous!  No one could possibly mistake her for anything but a very feminine young women.  She's absolutely gorgeous and her buzz cut is striking.  It draws attention to her great features and tells you she has a lot of self-assurance.  If anything it enhances her femininity."
Several other women concurred in that assessment which effectively brought the discussion to a close except for Sharon's quiet statement.
“I believe that this is the best haircut I've ever had.  It makes me feel very feminine and self-confident.  My boy friend thinks it's the sexiest haircut in the world.  My Mom says I've never looked better.  This is the haircut that I intend to keep for a long time."
Over the week even a few of the men in other departments complimented her on her unique haircut.  So the week was a success for Sharon.  Her determination to keep her hair closely buzzed was reinforced.
The Gang Returns to the Barbershop
It was Thursday evening when she was helping clean up the kitchen after their evening meal that something reminded her of what had happened three weeks earlier at the barbershop.
“Mom, I just remembered something.  I don't know why I didn't remember it when you told me you wanted Jen to have her hair cut like mine."
“OK, tell me."
“Well, when Jen got into Jimmy's chair she asked me if she could get it shaved like Billy's.  I told her I didn't think you'd go for that.  Was I wrong?  She'd look very cool with her head shaved smooth.  Her hair is only a medium brown so if she gets it cut like mine or shorter, it will look shaved anyway."
“That's interesting.  I had no idea she might want to get it shaved.  She would look sweet with it shaved, but I'm not sure I'm willing to take on the maintenance."
“I've thought about that.  I'd be willing to help keep it smooth if I could use a depilitory cream.  She'd only have to have it done about once a week."
“That's not a bad idea.  The new creams are quite mild and very effective so I've heard."
“That's what I've read too.  They're supposed to keep you smooth for up to two weeks, so once a week should keep her head quite smooth."
“OK.  Tell you what.  If she still wants her head shaved go ahead as long as you're willing to do the maintenance until she learns to do it herself."
“I'm willing.  She'll be a very cool bald chick.  Billy will be very impressed," Sharon laughed.
“Gary and David need to go with you on Saturday.  Gary's Mohawk needs a good cleanup."
“That reminds me.  I could take care of Gary too with a depilitory," Sharon suggested.
“Hum.  That could work well.  I'm beginning to admire his Mohawk.  Maybe I'll let him keep it for school if their rules don't say it's not allowed.  If he's OK with that you can do it for him.  He's complained that it doesn't look right now that the sides have grown out."
“He'll probably object to having to shampoo.  Maybe I can just clean off the depilitory with a damp clothe and a little soap and water."
“That should work.  Go ahead with that approach."
Later that evening after their dinner, Sharon went to Jen's room where Jen was playing an online game with some of her friends.  She waited at the door until there was a break.
“Jen, did Mom tell you that we're all going to the barbershop on Saturday?"
“Yes, she told me.  Billy said that I need a haircut.  I want to get it cut really short this time."
“We're going to the barbershop Saturday.  I remember you asked if you could get your head shaved the last time.  Do you still want it shaved like Billy?"
“Yes!  Can I do that?"
“You'd better ask Mom.  I think she might let you do it if you ask her."
“OK.  I want it shaved.  I'll asked her."
Sharon grinned to herself, knowing that Gail would be more than willing to say yes and might even encourage her.  She tried to imagine her younger sister with her head perfectly smooth.  She thought that Jen would be quite beguiling.
Friday evening Jen rushed into Sharon's room with her news.
“Mom said I could get it shaved!" she said excitedly.
“That's great Jen.  You'll be outstanding with it shaved!  You and Billy will make a cool pair."
“Mom said you might have some idea about how to keep it smooth too.  How can you do that?"
“It's a new kind of cream that you put on your head.  You let it stay on for about ten minutes.  When you clean it off there's no hair at all and it will stay smooth for a week.  It's a lot simpler than shaving twice a week the way Billy has to do," Sharon explained.
“Wow, that sounds great.  That's exactly what I want!" Jen exclaimed.
Saturday morning came and Jen was up ahead of everyone, eager to get to the barbershop.  She rushed about in the kitchen energetically setting up the waffle iron, making batter with chopped nuts and mashed bananas and providing orange juice for everyone.  Maple syrup and butter was put on the table and she was finished except for getting Sharon and the twins to join her as early as possible.  A few minutes of waiting and she was beginning to feel frustrated.  She knew that Billy would be showing up soon.  Finally she took preemptive action.
Running upstairs to the twins' room she knocked loudly.
She could hear them scuffling about.  “Come on you guys!  I've got breakfast waiting.  It's waffles with nuts and bananas.  Get a move on!" she called loudly.
Sharon, who had been awake for a while, but was only now getting out of bed, laughed at Jen enthusiasm as she quickly headed toward the shower.  She had heard Jen taking her shower.  Now she slipped across the hall assuring Jen that she was up as she closed the door to the bathroom behind her.
Fifteen minutes later the entire family had gathered in the kitchen.  Jen had prepared enough waffles for everyone to have one immediately.  Gary, who had wolfed down his first one, had taken charge of making the second batch.
“What's holding up the show, Gary," Sharon teased him.
“I can't help it if they won't cook fast enough.  Let's see you do any better," he retorted.
The coffee maker jangled and Sharon was quick to pour cups for herself and Gail while Gary delivered four waffles from their large waffle maker.
By nine thirty they were finished and the kitchen was cleared.  Billy, who had shown up earlier, was in the family reading the comics. In short order the five of them crammed into Sharon's small car and they were off to the barbershop.
Jen, Billy, Gary and David all tried to get into the barbershop at the same time with considerable laughing and shoving.  Sharon followed more sedately as befit her more mature status, but she laughed with them all the same.
There was only one customer in the shop.  They had arrived only ten minutes after it had opened.  Sam, the head barber and owner of the shop, would be finished in a few minutes.
“Hello you guys.  Good to see you all again.  Whose going first," Jimmy asked.
“Hi Jimmy.  It's Jen.  She's going for the full Monty," Sharon laughed as Jen eagerly got into his chair.
“So you're going for the full Monty?  You'll have to explain that to me."
“I'm getting my head shaved smooth, just like Billy.  Mom said I could and I really want to have it done.  Sharon is going to keep it super smooth for me," Jen explained enthusiastically.
“Well, that's a surprise.  Is that it Sharon?"
“Absolutely.  Mom thinks she'll look quite good with no hair.  She definitely approves."
“Well, this is a first for me.  Ready for me to get started Jen."
“Yes. Make it as smooth as you can."
“I'll do my best.  I'll go over it with my finish clipper."
Billy and the twins were talking excitedly about what Jen was about to have done.  Billy was the most excited of them.
“Wow, Jen!  That's so wild.  You're very cool."
“Next!" Sam spoke loudly to get their attention.
“Go ahead Gary.  Sam, he wants his Mohawk redone," Sharon called out over the noise.
Jimmy had checked his clipper for the proper cutter head and had started on the right side of Jen's head.  Billy and David were riveted by what they were watching.  The right side of Jen's head quickly became bare as Jimmy's clipper did it's work, leaving only a minimal amount of hair where it had passed.  Jimmy moved to the back.
“Head down Jen."
Jen dutifully ducked her head, her chin resting on her chest, as Jimmy made one pass after another quickly baring the back of her head.
“OK Jen, you can put your head up."
The left sided followed the back, as the clipper went around her ear, and up the side until it matched the right side.  He moved back to the right side.  Putting his hand on the back of her head he held it as he move the clipper from front to back making several passes until he was reaching across her head to get to the far side.
“There!  I'll go over it with my finishing clipper and get it almost razor smooth."
“That's beginning to look super good Jen.  You're going to be a really great looking bald girl.  It's going to be the perfect style for you," Sharon told her enthusiastically.
Billy was entranced.  Finally he managed to say something.
“Wow, Jen.  You're looking great!"
Jen grinned at him as she got one hand free to feel the bristles on her head.  She was facing the mirror, but could see Billy on the bench behind her.  She grinned even wider as her hand savored the sandpapery texture of her head.
Jimmy had exchanged his big Oster clipper for a small finishing clipper.  Starting at the front of her head he ran it back, leaving a noticeably paler strip behind.  He continued over her head, meticulously removing every bit of hair that was more than a hundredth of an inch long.  Up the sides and back, left and right over the crown, at various angles over the top of her head striving to cover it completely despite the curvature of her skull that make achieving a uniform result very painstaking.
Jen sat perfectly still and watched with a grin on her face as her head was swiftly laid almost completely bare by Jimmy's sharp and efficient clipper.  Toward the end there was only one remark – it was from David.
“Awesome!"
“Well, how's that Jen?  That's the best I can do," Jimmy said as he brushed her off one last time after a little talcum dusting.
“It's great!  Really super good!  I love it!  It'll be even better when Sharon makes it nice and smooth.  So how do you like it Billy?"
Billy's eyes had gotten big as he watched Jen give a little swagger as she stepped out of the chair.  She was five feet five inches tall, almost an inch shorter than Billy, whose growth spurt in the past year had finally allowed him to surpass Jen.  She was quite slim which made her small breasts more noticeable.  Her slimness disguised a well conditioned body that boasted an abundance of hard muscle.  That muscle was the evidence of how hard she worked in her sports, but it was also that muscle that had made her a superior athlete.  Now Billy saw her as a girl for the first time.
“It's.... it's stupendous," he finally managed after stammering briefly trying to find the right word.
“Is that all you can say?"  Jen said as she struck a serious faced pose looking at him.  She was wearing a simple white tee-shirt and her sports bra, but there was no doubt about the fact that she was all girl – a girl with big luminous eyes.
This time Billy was finally able  get control of his tongue and the emotions that had sprung up uninvited.
“It's the best haircut you've ever had.  You look better than I've ever seen you.  You look amazingly good.  You should never let your hair grow."
“Promise me you'll keep your head shaved."
“I'll keep it shaved if you keep yours shaved."
“You're on," Jen broke into laughter.
“Good looking haircut for a good looking youngster," Sam allowed.
Sharon couldn't keep herself from laughing.  Jen had definitely gotten Billy's attention as a girl, a formidable girl who was very different from all the other girls he knew.  Things were going to be different from now on.  Billy had a bald girlfriend although he probably hadn't quite figured it out yet.
The High School boundaries had been changed because a new school had been built.  Jen and Billy would be Freshmen in the fall and riding the same bus.
“Very cool," Gary said as he stepped down from Sam's chair.
“Looks like you're next Sharon," Jimmy observed.
“OK.  Sam's ready for you David.  He can get whatever he wants Sam." Sharon said to David and Sam  as she slid into Jimmy's chair.
“Just like last time," Sharon said to Jimmy.
“Right.  It's grown out an eighth of an inch.  That's pretty long compared to how it started out."
“I know.  I wish it would stay just the way you did it.  That was the way I liked it best.  We're going to buy a good adjustable clipper so I can keep it pretty close to perfect all the time."
“Good idea.  It does look best when it's  just been buzzed down close to your head so you have only a shadow," Jimmy said as he continued clippering up the side of her head.
Fifteen minutes later Sharon admired herself and her closely buzzed head before she stepped out of Jimmy's chair.
“It look great Jimmy.  I love the way it shows off my head and makes my eyes the center of attention."
“You are an extraordinarily good looking young woman and this haircut emphasizes all your good points. You couldn't do better in my opinion."
Thanks Jimmy, I appreciate that."
Even David had been inspired to go a little shorter and had received a number two crewcut.
“That's a very good looking crewcut David," Sharon complimented him.
Sharon paid the bill for them, noting that as promised her maintenance buzz had only cost eight dollars.  She hustled the gang out the door.
“Come on you guys.  Let's get going.  I have to make one more quick stop at Harper's Supply Store."
A short drive brought them to the store, Sharon jumped out with an admonition to them to stay close to the car because she would be back in a few minutes.  True to her word, she returned with a small shopping bag containing her purchases, which consisted of four bottles of the new depilatory cream that she and Gail had discussed.
“OK, let's get you guys back home so you can get on with whatever you planned for today."
“Billy and I have a softball practice this afternoon.  Are you going to help me shave my head smooth like Billy's?"
“I'll do both you and Gary tomorrow morning.  I'm going to be busy for the rest of the day."
They arrived home, the twins eager to get to the park, and Jen eager to get into her softball uniform, but of course they had to show Gail their haircuts.
“That's a very good looking Mohawk, Gary.  It suits you well.  And David it looks like you got a shorter crewcut this time.  That was a good choice.  What do you think of it?"
“It's OK." David answered in his usual taciturn way.
“And Jen you look just super with your head shaved.  That's a great look for you," Gail complimented her effusively.
“I like it a lot.  It will be even better when Sharon makes it really smooth.  I want to keep it like this.  Can I?" Jen's satisfied grin suddenly vanished to be replaced by her serious face as she asked that question.
“Of course you can.  Absolutely!  I'm very pleased that you like it shaved smooth.  I'd like you to keep it like that for as long as you're happy with it," Gail encouraged her.
After the four younger kids had left Gail turned to Sharon.
“That turned out very well.  Jen is just darling with her head shaved.  So you're going to make it smooth for her tomorrow?"
“Yes.  It's simple to do.  By the time I have to leave for school she'll be able to do it herself.  It's quite easy.  I wonder how being a bald girl in High School is going to work out for her?  She's pretty independent so maybe it won't be much of a problem."
“She is that and sure of herself as well.  That thought crossed my mind too.  I'm thinking that by the end of Summer she'll be  used to being bald and quite confident about it. She'll have met with a lot of girls as well as boys at the park and will know what to expect at school.  I guess we shouldn't worry."
“Well, Billy is going to stand up for her as well,  so between her own self-confidence and Billy's support I expect she'll do just fine, now that I think about it," Sharon agreed.
“You look extraordinarily good yourself Sharon.  I'm getting that good clipper tomorrow.  I forgot to get it the last time I said I was going to.  You should do your head two or three times a week to keep it looking it's best.  I'll help you the first couple of weeks until you've gotten the hang of it.  It really is the perfect haircut for you.  And to hear you tell it, a number of the women at your work liked it as well."
“I was surprised.  One woman criticized it, but several others immediately spoke up and said she was wrong and that not only was it flattering but also that it was very feminine looking.  Joan who is my biggest fan, got her hair cut very  short too.  It's not quite a buzz cut, but it's pretty close."
“So you're having some influence on them."
“I guess I am.  I hadn't thought of it that way."
“Well, being young, good at your job and confident usually has an impact.  You'll see," Gail smiled.
Smooth for the Summer
Sunday morning had arrived, everyone was up and had congregated in the kitchen where cold cereal was being dispensed and oranges were being peeled.  Sharon had the coffee maker on and the pot was being filled with fresh brewed coffee.
“Is Billy coming over this morning?" Sharon asked Jen.
“I told him not to come until noon.  He knows I getting my head done though."
“Good.  As soon as you've finished breakfast and cleaned up you and Gary can come upstairs and I'll get started on making your heads smooth for you."
“OK," Jen responded.
Finishing her second cup of coffee and the article she was reading in the newspaper, Sharon went upstairs to read the instruction on the depilatory bottle.  It was quite simple – apply the creamy lotion to the area, wait ten to a maximum of fifteen minutes for coarse hair, then wipe it off with a damp cloth, wash it gently with a mild hand soap and apply the supplied soothing lotion.
At the bottom of the instructions for the soothing lotion was a caution in even smaller print.  It had something to do with how well that lotion worked and the hair growth retardant that it contained.  It helped to slow hair growth which seemed like a good thing to Sharon.  She had started to  finish reading the rest of it as Jen arrived.
“Hang on a sec. Jen," Sharon skimmed through the remainder and saw nothing to worry about.
“OK, I think I'm ready.  Sit down Jen so I can do this right.  It's pretty easy.  You should be able to do it yourself in no time, but I'll do it for you for a while anyway," Sharon said as she slipped on the plastic gloves that had been provided and squeezed the bottle to dispense some of the white cream onto Jen's head.
“That's cold," Jen complained.
“Yeah, it feels cold on you bald head.  You'll get used to it pretty soon.  I have to put some more on to cover your whole head," Sharon said as she squeezed the bottle, dispensed more cream and spread it over her head.
One more generous dollop spread out and Jen's head was covered in a layer of the cream.  She set the timer for thirteen minutes as a compromise between coarse hair and fine hair which Jen's hair certainly was not.
OK, You're done for now Jen.  Gary come on over here and I'll take care of your head," Sharon ordered him.
This time she had to be careful not to get any of the cream onto the hair that formed his Mohawk.  She used a little plastic spatula to apply the cream as close as she could to the hairline from the front to the hairline in back on each side.  The remainder she did with her gloved fingers quickly and easily.
It had taken four minutes according to the timer, longer than she had thought it would take.  She realized that she would need to clean up Jen's head several minutes before the time for Gary ended.
“Jen come on back.  I need to clean you up in a couple of minutes," she called to Jen who had wandered back to her room.
Sharon rinsed off her plastic gloves in preparation for cleaning off Jen's head.  A small hand towel was plopped into the sink where it was soaked in warm water.
“There's still time left," Jen said looking at the timer.
“I know.  I forgot to take into account the amount of time I spent putting the stuff on your head.  I should clean it off in about one more minute.  Don't leave Gary.  I'll have to do you right after I do Jen."
Sharon watched the timer.  When a little less than four minutes remained she squeezed the towel to remove most of the water.  She had already put a large towel around Jen's neck to catch any drippings.
“All right.  Here goes!  One smooth head coming up," Sharon said as she wrapped the damp towel around Jen's head and worked it about to pick as much of the cream as possible.  A quick rinse of the towel in the basin and she wiped off the remainder of the cream.  A washcloth with a little mild hand soap cleaned away any remnants.  A quick rinse of the washcloth and another application of it to Jen's head left it bare and clean.  The timer went off.
“Jen, go ahead and dry your head while I take care of Gary."
The process was repeated on Gary who suffered the ministrations of his big sister in stoic silence.
“Sharon!  It feels awesome!  It's so smooth, I can't feel a thing!" Jen reacted to her first opportunity to examine her head.
“It will be even better after we've done the soothing lotion.  You're almost done Gary.  I'm going to clean up your head with a little soap and water, then put on some lotion so there won't be any irritation.  You'll stay nice and smooth for a week."
“There you go Gary.  That feels really good.  It's very smooth – not a bristle anywhere," Sharon said, quite impressed with the results that had been achieved.
“OK, Jen.  I can do you now."
“This is really great Sharon.  It feels so wild.  I can't feel a think except my skin.  I'm going to keep it like this, just like I promised Billy.  He likes it a lot.  Some of the other kids at the park were really surprised, but they thought it was super cool for a girl to be completely bald.  The girls were totally surprised.  They couldn't believe I would do it," Jen laughed.
“It's quite impressive Jen and you do look awesome.  You head is so soft and smooth it's unbelievable.  Go show it off to Mom.  She'll be very impressed.  She'll love the way it looks and feels."
Jen hustled downstairs and out the back door where she knew she'd find Gail tending her garden.
“Mom,  it's super smooth.  Feel it."
“I can see that it looks different – no shadow at all," Gail said as she took of her gardening gloves.
“Oh my!  That is a very nice feeling.  You look quick darling with your smooth bald head.  I wonder if we could find something that would make it shiny.  Giving it a nice glow would be very attractive."
“I'd like that Mom.  When Billy gets hot he gets a nice shine on his head.  I like the way it looks."
Jen's enthusiasm for her bald head was infectious and Gail found herself becoming quite beguiled by it as well.
The next two day turned out to be crucial for Jen.  She met some of the girls from the neighborhood who were aghast at the idea of having a shaved head.  Things got a little heated as Jen defended herself from their criticisms, particularly that she wasn't even a real girl.  Fortunately Billy intervened.
“She is a real girl.  She's more of a girl than any of you.  She's a lot smarter too."
One of the other girls on the softball team also defended her.
“She's just like all the rest of us.  I like her bald head.  We have a lot of fun together and she has a real boyfriend which is more than any of you can say."
“Come on guys let's get to practice," Jen said dismissing the other girls.
So one crisis was averted, although it had one unintended consequence.  It was reported by Gary and David that Jen and Billy were holding hands that afternoon when they returned from the park.  Gail smiled at the news.  Jen had finally gotten Billy to notice her.  She did not know that another girl had said that Jen had a boyfriend, but Billy did.

PROLOGUE
Gail's long repressed fixation on having her girls have ultra short buzz cuts or shaved heads has now been fully awakened.  Her new position at work has also had a major impact on her willingness to act on her own desire to have a buzz cut.  She is determined to emulate Sharon, at least to a degree.
Jen's desire to be bald is in full flower now.  Sharon will soon be off to college equally determined to keep her ultra-short buzz cut.  The family hair affair is about to arrive at a place where the new norm is for everyone to have some very short haircut or even shaved.
Gail's New Buzz Cut
It had been less than  three weeks since Gail had gotten her little boy's cut redone just a little bit shorter, but now she was resolved to get the buzz cut that she had always craved.  Having finally put her toe in the water she was ready for the plunge.  She was also  determined not to let her two girls be too far ahead of her.  She knew she couldn't go as short as Sharon, and certainly she couldn't get her head shaved, but she could certainly get a nice buzz cut.  The thought of getting a buzz cut had plagued her for the past week.  It could not be dismissed.  Every evening when she came home to greet Jen with her smooth shaved head and Sharon with her very close buzz her desire for a buzz cut was reinforced.
It had redoubled on Wednesday evening when she helped Sharon keep her close buzz.  Together they had used the new adjustable clipper that Gail had purchased the previous Sunday.   They went over Sharon's head the first time starting with the clipper adjusted to its one sixteenth of an inch setting.  Sharon thought it was OK, but was a little dissatisfied with the result.  After some discussion they set the clipper to its shorter setting of a thirty second of an inch.  That satisfied Sharon, leaving her head covered with a bare minimum of dark stubble.  She was particularly pleased with the sharp bristly feel of it even though it was only a sixty-fourth of an inch  closer than the original haircut.
“This is great, Mom!  It feels super good.  I think I may  want to do it three times a week to keep it like this," Sharon expressed her enthusiasm.
“It certainly does look sharp.  It's a great look for you.  I'm so glad that you've taken to it and want to keep it closely buzzed like this."
Gail could not help herself from feeling a little envious of Sharon's haircut.  When she had felt it   shivers raced down her spine.
The experience of feeling Sharon's bristly head had lingered and she found herself looking in the mirror trying to imagine herself with a buzz cut.  Finally she make up her mind.  She determined that she was going to get the buzz cut that she had long sought the following Sunday.
Sunday morning Jen was up early as usual.  When Sharon arrived in the kitchen somewhat later, Jen was quick to remind her that she had promised to do her head every week.
“I remember Jen.  I'll do you and Gary right after breakfast.  You need to start learning how to do it yourself."
“OK!" Jen agreed enthusiastically.
Less than hour later she came down to show Gail her perfectly smooth head.
“Mom, that cream makes it super smooth.  I spread it over my head myself.  I'll be able to do the whole thing in a couple of weeks.  Want to feel how smooth it is?  When are you going to get something to make it shiny?"
“You look terrific with your smooth head.  I think you've picked up a little color too.  I'll try to find something today while I'm out doing some errands."
Shortly after noon she told Sharon that she was going out to do a few errands and headed directly to the Hair Cuttery, where Elaine would be working.
She parked in the Mall's large lot and walked purposefully toward the shop where Elaine worked.  As usual on Sunday it was doing a good business and there were two people waiting.  She signed in requesting Elaine as her stylist.  The sign in sheet said that there was one person ahead of her, apparently the young man who was waiting.  She would have half an hour to wait and could easily do one errand at the department store.
She returned twenty minutes later.  Elaine's second customer was the young man and his buzz cut was nearly finished.  She sat down to wait her turn suddenly experiencing a few butterflies in her stomach at what she was about to do.
Elaine came to the counter to see her next client and immediately recognized Gail.
“Gail!  Good to see you.  You'll back a little sooner than usual aren't you?  Looks like you're next."
“Hi, Elaine.  I couldn't wait any longer to get my hair buzzed, so here I am."
“You really want it buzzed?  That's a big step."
“I know, but I've always wanted to have a buzz cut.  It just never seemed like a good time to do it until now.  Both my girls have their hair cut very short.  Sharon the oldest has a very close buzz and she looks fabulous.  She likes it and intends to keep it like that for the foreseeable future."
“How short did she get it cut - a quarter inch or something longer?"
“Oh no!  It's really short – less than a sixteenth of an inch.  Just barely enough to have a little dark cap of hair on her head!  She's gorgeous with it like that! Gail explained enthusiastically.
“Wow!  That's practically shaved.  Of course it doesn't last very long."
“She buzzed it herself Wednesday.  She's going to clipper it at least twice a week so it doesn't grow out much at all."
“Really?  How long has she had it like that?"
“Only three weeks.  Her boyfriend loves it and even the women at her work were quite complimentary."
“Well, I guess I can understand that.  A lot of women seem to talk about getting a short haircut especially one like they've seen on some celebrity, but always find some reason not to do it.  And that's what I expect will happen to you.  Should I go ahead and just trim up your little boy's cut?"
“No!  I absolutely do want a buzz cut.  It should be about a half inch long and neatly trimmed along the hairline," Gail told her emphatically.
“Sounds like you really do want a buzz cut after all.  Is that right?  How about if I start with something a little shorter than your boy cut?"
“No, Elaine.  I really want a buzz cut just like I said.  There's no point is stalling around with it."
“OK, if that's what you really want," Elaine said, a little skeptically.
Still unconvinced and reluctant, she attached a one inch comb guide to her clipper.
“Are you sure," she asked once again.
The exasperated Gail took a deep breath to hold back the sharp reply that threatened to escape from her mouth.  Finally she responded as calmly as she could.
“Yes, Elaine that is precisely what I want, a nice short buzz cut."
“OK," Elaine responded still not fully convinced.
She hesitated a little then proceeded to run the clipper up the side of Gail's head where she had tapered it closely three weeks earlier.  After a bit more fiddling and hesitation she finally ran the clipper from front to back over Gail's head removing a small amount of hair.  Several more passes and no more hair was was being cut.
Gail had been watching this process and was becoming increasingly frustrated.
“Elaine, what's the problem?  That's not anything like what I asked you to do.  Will you please make it much shorter – a half inch like I asked."
“All right.  I just wanted to be certain that you actually wanted it that short."
“I absolutely do.  You told me last time that you would give me a buzz cut if I wanted it.  Why are you so reluctant?"
“I guess I didn't take you seriously.  I'm convinced now," Elaine said as she replaced the one inch comb guide with the half inch one.
This time the difference was very evident.  Hair piled up on the clipper head and tumbled off to land on the cape.  Elaine continued purposefully as Gail's hair quickly lost its little boy style and took on the even look of a neat buzz cut.  The sides and back had grown out in the three intervening weeks and were mostly a half inch long or a little more, so the result was not dramatic there.  Finally Elaine put down the clipper.
“Well, that does look quite nice.  Is that what you wanted? I have a little more to do around the edges."
“It does look good, but it still seems too long for the way I expected it to look.  I think you should make it just a bit shorter," Gail told her.
“Shorter?" Elaine exclaimed somewhat aghast.
“Yes.  Not a lot, but definitely shorter," Gail said quite firmly.
“Well, OK.  I have a number three guide.  That's only three eighths of an inch.  I don't use it very often even on guys."
“I think that's what you should use.  I'm confident that will look the way I want.  So go ahead."
“If you're sure," Elaine said hesitantly.
“I'm very sure Elaine," Gail responded forcefully.
“OK," Elaine said as she picked up several guides before she found the number three and snapped it onto her clipper.
She proceeded to go over Gail's head once more, this time with a little more care, having finally been convinced that Gail knew what she wanted.
“Is that what you were looking for?"
“That's exactly what I wanted.  It looks fine.  I like it."
“I have to trim it up a little around the edges and I want to go over it again to make sure it's even, but that won't take long.  You look very good with it buzzed.  It seems to suit you well."
“It does doesn't it," Gail laughed in delight at her new look.
“So how long have you been wanting to get a buzz cut like this?"
“Goodness, I can hardly remember back that far.  Even when I was a teenager I was fascinated by some picture in the newspaper of a girl on a softball team with a buzz cut.  They described it as a crewcut and explained that she played on a team with boys and they had a tradition of getting their hair almost shaved at the beginning of Summer.  Apparently they had said she didn't need to do it, but she wanted to be part of the team so she joined them.  She didn't get her head shaved, but it was no more than a half inch long.  She had a big smile.  I don't know why it had such a huge impact on me, but it did.  I always wanted to get a crewcut like hers.  I never let my hair get very long after that.  My excuse was that it was a lot easier to take care of when it was short.  So I've had quite short hair ever since.  I've kept it as short as I thought would be acceptable at wherever I was working.  Now I'm confident that I can have it like this or even shorter and it will cause nothing more than a minor stir among the other women.  I don't think I'll ever let it grow out again."
“That's very interesting.  So you really have a thing about having short hair.  I have another women who keeps her hair short and confided to me that she'd get get it cut even shorter if her husband didn't object to it being so short," Elaine responded.
“I'm sure there are lots of women who would like to get their hair cut short, but who are afraid of what their husbands, boyfriends or other women will say.  Both my girls are even more determined than I am to have little or no hair.   Jen has been bald as an egg for a week now and is determined to stay that way.  Her head is as soft and smooth as a baby's," Gail confided.
“Really?  Did she get it razor shaved? It should have grow out some in a week."
“It was clipper shaved Saturday a week ago.  Sharon used a depilatory on Jen's head to make it smooth.  They did it again this morning.  That seems to keep it very smooth for at least a week.  You could hardly detect any hair on her head this morning before they did it."
“Omigod!" Elaine exclaimed in astonishment.
“She's using a depilatory every week!  That should certainly keep her smooth, but hair grows about an eighth of an inch a week.  You should have noticed something," Elaine said.
“I could see a little something, but it was sparse and rather fine."
“That's pretty amazing.  I'll be interested in hearing how other kids react to her."
“So far it's been fine.  A couple of kids criticized her, but the boys thought she was cool and some of the other girls were fascinated by the idea and actually praised her courage.  Besides that she's quite a self-confident teenager.  She has made it clear that she wants to remain bald.  I say more power to her!"
“That's a pretty wild thing for a girl to want to do.  I'd like to hear how it turns out over the Summer.  By the way, you may want to consider coming in a little more frequently now that you have such a short buzz cut.  It will get shaggy a little faster than your boy's cut."
I'll consider it.  With Jen not going to the shop at all and Sharon going infrequently, we aren't spending as much money as I had thought we would.  I'll probably see you in three weeks."
“Good.  I look forward to seeing you and hearing more about your beautiful bald daughter," Elaine laughed.
Gail left and headed directly to the department store at the far end of the enclosed mall.  It was the most upscale store of it's kind in the city and it carried the largest selection of cosmetics.  She looked over some the cosmetics and waited patiently until a clerk came to help."
“I'm looking for something to give a shine to my face.  Do you have anything like that?"
“I don't think so.  I've never heard of a face shiner," the clerk said taken aback by such an unusual request.  She also made a determined effort not to stare at Gail's neat buzz cut.
“I know I've seen some kind of cosmetic that gives you a shiny look.  You don't have anything like that?"
“Oh.  Well, yes we do.  We carry several leg shiners and even a body shiner.  I suppose you could use either one on your face."
“Let me see the body shiner.  That may be what I'm looking for."
In short order she had purchased a jar of leg and body shiner and was off to do her remaining errands.  After several   other stops she was on her way home, eager to show Sharon her new buzz cut and to try the body shiner on Jen's head.
Parking her car in the garage, she went immediately to the lavatory near the door into the house and examined her new buzz cut once again.  She was inordinately pleased with what she saw.
She went upstairs to put away the toiletry purchases that she had made.  She could hear the sound of Sharon's fingers on her keyboard, typing rapidly.  After looking at herself in her own bathroom mirror she exited her room and walked through the open door into Sharon's room.
“I'm back Sharon," she said to Sharon who was facing away from the door.
“Just a minute Mom.  I want to finish this sentence before I forget it."
“Take your time."
Gail smiled while she stood in the doorway anticipating Sharon's reaction.
Sharon finished her email and turned to see what her Mom wanted.  She glanced at her then her jaw dropped and her eyes got wide.
“Mom!  That's fabulous!  I love it!  What a great buzz cut!"
“Thanks.  I'm really pleased with it.  I'm going back in three weeks to get it redone.  I may go a little shorter, although I like it at this length."
“It's really looks good Mom.  That's the best haircut you've ever had."
“I couldn't let you girls make me look like a stick-in-the-mud.  Besides I've always wanted to have a buzz cut like this.  I have the feeling that I'm a lot like you girls and I'll keep it like this or something like this from now on.  I got some body shiner for Jen too.  It should work quite well on her head.  Maybe we can try it after dinner."
“Yes!  She'll look great with a little shine on her head."
A routine was quickly established.  Jen's head was given a depilatory treatment each Sunday morning followed immediately by Sharon buzzing her own head, usually with the help of Gail.  On Tuesday and Thursday evenings Sharon buzzed her head again.  Sharon had not been satisfied with their twice weekly routine even thought you could only see the difference if you were alert.   Occasionally she would miss the Tuesday, but she was unyielding about doing it on Thursday in anticipation of her weekends with Frank.  Gail kept Jen's head well polished on the weekends, but Jen had to do it the best she could the rest of the week.  She quickly became quite proficient.
Gail's buzz cut had produced a modest stir among her colleagues at her workplace.  Most of the women though it was quite daring, but admired it and complimented her.  There were, as she had expected, some slightly negative comments, including from one of the men who asked her if she wanted to look butch like that.
Gail quickly disabused him in that regard, pointing out  that  real men would have no trouble at all discerning that she was very much a woman and would find her buzz cut attractive and even sexy.
Summer was rapidly coming to a close when Gail decided to go a step further with her buzz cut.  She had almost done so three weeks earlier.  So a week before they would all go with Sharon to her new college and the start of dorm life for her, she went back to Elaine.  As usual it was Sunday afternoon.  She actually wanted to experience what it would be like to have an even shorter buzz cut.  So she looked forward to it, but also had that tingling sensation that let her know that some part of her looked upon what she was about to do with some trepidation.  She felt the nervous excitement building up.  It wasn't the same as jumping out of an airplane for the first time, or leaping off a bridge with nothing but a bungee cord to arrest your fall, but somehow it seemed to be almost as bad.  She swallowed as she walked into the salon in the mall where Elaine worked and wrote her name and and time, then wrote Elaine in the space for stylist requested.
Elaine approached the counter with her previous customer and spotted Gail, who had taken a seat in the waiting area.
“Hi, Gail.  Good to see you.  It's going to be a while – about forty-five minutes."
“OK.  I have a couple of other things to do.  Sharon wants a new pillow to take with her to college.  I'll be back in half an hour."
Gail welcomed the delay.  She hoped that her nerves would settle down given a little more time.
She returned to the salon with her purchases and sat down in the last remaining chair.  Her jitters had largely subsided
“I can take you now Gail.  My other lady is having a coloring done and won't be ready for a while."
“Good.  I don't want to give myself too long to think about what I want to do," Gail said with a little giggle.
“So I gather that you're not just going to get the same cut again.  You know I've really gotten to appreciate how good it looks on you.  It take a little while to get used to the idea of a woman having a neat buzz cut, but you look very good with it, I have to say."
“Oh, I like it very much myself.  I don't think I'd be happy with it any longer than it is now.  So that's not a worry.  I've decided I want it shorter.  I'm just a little nervous, but I'm determined.  I like Sharon's super short buzz so much that I want to try something closer to hers.  What did you do last time?"
“Let me check.  I made a card with your instructions on it.  Here it is.  It was three eighths of an  inch – the number three attachment.  So what are you thinking?"
“Well, it sounds a little scary when I think about it, but I really want it  half as long."
“That certainly would be short – only three sixteenths of an inch.  Are you sure you want it that short?"
“I'm sure.  If it turns out to be too short, I'll just let it grow out and it will be fine before I come in again."
That's a plan.  Your hair is so dark I doubt most people will notice the difference, but if you want to keep it like that you'll need to get it redone more often."
“I thought about that.  I think I have a plan.  Sharon redoes her buzz three times a week now, otherwise it would grow out too much.  She wants to keep it looking freshly buzzed as much as she can.  I can do the same thing.  I'll come back to you to get it redone and freshened up once a month.  It won't look as good as when you do it, but it won't look too shaggy either.  So I'm ready if you are."
“You want it three sixteenth's of an inch all over I take it.  I used to have a number one and a half guide, but I don't remember seeing it recently," Elaine said as she rummaged about in her drawer.
“Well, it's not here.  One of the other operators must have borrowed it.  I can make do with what I have.  I can set my adjustable clipper to a sixteenth of an inch and use my number one guide over it.  That comes out exactly three sixteenth of an inch.  That's what you want – right?" Elaine asked one last time just to be certain.
“That's perfect.  I'm ready."
Elaine adjusted the clipper head  and turned it on briefly.  Turning it off, she sprayed the cutter with the prescribed lubricant, snapped on the number one guide then turned it on again.
“OK, here goes," Elaine said as she started running the clipper up the back of Gail's head.
Gail's jitters had stopped the moment the clipper made it's first traverse, replaced by a warm glow of anticipation.  She watched in eager expectancy as the clipper made its way over her head.  She let out a long breath as she watched the clipper move over the top of her head, barely able to restrain the impulse to reach up and feel it.  Much too soon Elaine had been over her head leaving behind a soft cap of very short hair that was just a little too long to be called bristly.  For three more minutes Elaine went over her head making sure that no hair was left longer than the specified three sixteenths of an inch.  Finally she put down the clipper.
Gail exhaled, releasing a soft sigh that signaled the intensity of her response to the feel and sound of the clipper going over her head.
“So, is that what you expected?" the bemused Elaine asked, fully aware of the near trance state that has suffused Gail during the entire process.
“It's exactly what I wanted!  It's wonderful!  I couldn't be happier!  Now that you've done it what do you think about it?"
“It looks amazingly good on you.  I'm impressed.   I never imagined a woman could look so good with such a short cut, but you do actually.  I need to trim along the hairline to make that neat."
“Sounds perfect," Gail smiled.
“Actually I think you've convinced me that a woman can have a buzz cut like this and look terrific.  The only thing I would suggest is that you let me even up your hairline here in front of your ears and up to your temple area.  I'll trim around your ears and clean up your neckline first though."
“I hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it.  It is rather ragged isn't it?"
“It is.  I can trim it a little now, but the best thing would be for you to let me wax that area and your neckline and give you a very clean and neat hairline.  I can do that the next time you come in if you like.  It would be best if you called and set an appointment."
“OK.  I'll do that."
Elaine had quickly touched up the hairline along the sides of Gail's forehead, making tiny adjustments so that there was a clean curve from her little sideburn to just above her temple.  She had also made a slightly squared off neckline that followed Gail's natural hairline with only small deviations.
“There!  How does that look.  It certainly feels nice," Elaine said as she ran her hand over the top of Gail's head then continued to clean up any loose hair by blowing it away with her hairdryer.  Finally she had finished, but could not restrain herself from running her hand over Gail's head one more time to savor the feeling of it.
“It's quite wonderful.  I do love the way it looks.  I hope people at work are not too freaked out when they see me with this super short cut."
“They'll get used to it.  It's certainly unique, but it definitely looks extremely good.  I never realized how such a short cut could emphasize your features, especially your eyes.  You have a beautifully shaped head which makes it even better.  I'm quite impressed.  I think I'd like to try it myself if I could just work up the courage and if my husband wouldn't throw a fit."
“You'd look very good with a nice short buzz cut.  I think most women would, but it's going to be a cold day down south before very many men are going to start liking short hair on women."
“I'm afraid you're right.  My husband isn't as rigid about it as a lot of men, but he still has a strong preference for my hair to be at least shoulder length.  One of these days I going to get it cut a lot shorter though.  I've seen too many cute short styles of late and I really do want to try one of them."
“Of course you should.  If your husband respects you he'll understand even if he prefers your hair long.  You'll just have to be extra nice to him when you get it cut to thank him for being understanding," Gail laughed.
“You know I think that just might work," Elaine said laughing with her.
Gail felt inordinately satisfied with herself as she drove back home.  She had to feel her head a number of times to convince herself that she had actually gotten her hair cut so short.  Each time that she felt it her sense of assurance that she had done the right thing grew.  She smiled at the thought of surprising Sharon when she got home.
She parked her car walked into the house, put away the few things that she had purchased and went to her bedroom where she examined herself critically.  She approved of what she saw.  Somehow her confidence had expanded and she felt supremely self-assured.  Exiting her room  she walked down the hall to Sharon's room.
“Hi, Sharon.  I'm back.  Anything happen while I was gone?"
“Did you get your hair cut?" Sharon asked her attention still focused on what she was doing at her computer.
“Yes, I did.  I think you might like it," Gail said with studied casualness.
OK, let me take a look........ oh, wow!  You got it cut really short!  It's looks sensational," Sharon said will unalloyed enthusiasm.
“Thanks.  I like it.  I'm going to keep it this way for quite a while.  It's very similar to yours, just a little longer.  Maybe later I'll get it cut a little more like yours.  That's really what I've always wanted.  I got you a  new pillow and I bought you the same clipper that you've been using since you got your short buzz.  You'll need it when you're at college."
“That's great Mom.  I really appreciate it.  I absolutely am going to keep it buzzed like this.  Frank thinks it's the best haircut ever.  I'm going back to have Jimmy get it looking exactly right next Saturday.  I want it to look perfect when we arrive on campus," Sharon giggled.
“You and Frank won't get to see each other very often I guess."
“Not too often. We both decided to come home whenever we have some time off.  Frank will have his car and it's only a two hour drive.  So I'll need to get back too.  It's a three hour drive from his school to mine, so that's doesn't work very well.  We'll just have to come back home whenever we can."
“I understand.  I'll pick you up whenever I can.  There is a bus that you can take which doesn't take too much longer and would save a lot of driving time."
“I know.  I can do that sometimes."
“I'd better think about fixing something for dinner."
“OK.  I'll be down to help in a few minutes."
Sharon came into the kitchen while Gail was slicing carrots and saw the baby potatoes on the counter.
“Are we having these?"
“Yes.  You can cut them into bite size pieces and coat them with that packet of seasoning.  Just follow the directions.  They get baked."
“OK.  I can do that.  I found out something this morning."
“Oh?  What is is?"
“It's about Jen's hair – Gary's too."
“What about their hair," Gail asked clearly concentrating on getting the carrots cut.
“Well I noticed that Jen didn't seem to have much hair when I did her depilatory treatment.  It's been that way since the first week that I did her, but this week I really noticed it.  It's been almost two months.  Anyway I looked very closely and you just don't see much of anything and her head still feels quite smooth.  I went ahead with the treatment, but afterwards I decided to read the  small print on the label.  It said that with prolonged use you may see a reduction in hair growth and explained that for your legs and underarms you would probably be able to reduce the frequency of use after three or four months of every other week use.  I've been using it every week for almost two months."
“OK.  That sounds good.  I can do her only every two weeks and it will stay smooth for her."
“Well, that's good, but they said that the reduction can continue up to a year and that you can have as much as ninety-five percent permanent reduction.  It has some special ingredient that deactivates the hair growth."
“Oh my!  That's something to think about.  Have you said anything to her about it?"
“No.  I thought I'd better tell you first."
“I'll have to talk to her, but it can wait until after next week when we take you to college.  I do like her as a bald girl.  It's a beautiful, clean and angelic look.  I shouldn't say anything, but if she wants to risk being permanently bald, I'll encourage her."
“That's what I thought you'd say.  You really want to have a bald girl in the family don't you?"
“Well, yes I do, but if she wants to keep her options open  she can stop using the depilatory.  I can always just keep her clipper shaved if she wants that."
“I hope she decides to keep using the depilatory.  She really looks fantastic with her shiny bald head.  She's going to be pretty special when she grows up.  I used to be a little jealous of her, but I'm over that.  She's not in competition with me, and I'll love having a beautiful bald sister.  She has so much confidence that I'm sure she wouldn't have any problem being bald no matter what anyone might say to her."
“That's right.  She is very self-confident.  And she's a great athlete, so the combination will let her do whatever she wants and she won't have any doubts about being bald," Gail expressed her evaluation of Jen.
They were quiet for a while, deep in their own thoughts about Jen and their misgivings about their own responsibility about what had transpired.  Somehow the permanent consequences of using the depilatory weighed on their consciences.
“I feel a little bad for not having read the whole thing at the beginning.  I saw that it was claimed to be very effective and mild, so that's what I chose.  It was way at the bottom in small print."
“It's understandable.  They certainly didn't make a big thing of it.  I'll talk to her.  It will all work out for the best one way or another."
They took Sharon to  her new school that weekend.  Jen and the twins got to see what it was like and even inspect Sharon's room which she shared with another girl.  They had dinner at a nearby restaurant before taking Sharon back to her dorm.  Gail could not repress the tears that came as she hugged Sharon and said goodbye.  Sharon would return home for the Thanksgiving holidays, but Gail knew that Sharon's life would be very different from now on.
Sharon had been on campus for nearly a week and was quickly settling in to her new life, learning about the campus and the surrounding town and meeting the new freshmen as well as the upperclassmen as they drifted onto the campus.  There had been little other than admiration and praise for her dramatic haircut.  Many of the girls encouraged her to keep it cut like that, to which she replied in the positive.
Back home It was Friday evening and Jen would be entering High School on Monday.  Gail had postponed the discussion about the depilatory with Jen several times since the prior Sunday.  Today they had done some final shopping for things that Gail was sure she would need although Jen was doubtful.  In the end Jen had remembered some things that she would need so the trip wasn't a total loss in her mind.
Later, just after their dinner, a dinner that seemed very odd because they had not yet adjusted to having Sharon missing, Gail brought up the subject.
“Jen, I need to talk to you about doing your depilatory treatments."
“You're not going to stop are you?  I can do it myself.  I really want to keep it smooth.  I don't want to have any bristles like Billy has."
“It's not that.  I'm happy to help you do it, although you can certainly do it yourself by now.  It's about what might happen after you've used it for a year or even less."


“It's not going to cause cancer or something like that is it?  What could happen?"
“Well it turns out that  your hair might stop growing if you use it enough.  I didn't read everything that's on the bottles and Sharon missed it too, but Sharon read it completely after she noticed that you didn't seem to be growing much hair after a few weeks."
“You mean I could be completely bald after a while and I wouldn't ever grow any hair again?  Oh my gosh!" Jen exclaimed.
“We can stop using it and you should be OK.  I can keep you clipper shaved like Billy if that's what you want."
“Oh, no!  I want to keep using it!" Jen said laughing gleefully.
“But...."
“It's OK Mom.  I read the label completely and the little pamphlet inside the box too.  I've know right from the beginning that it could make you permanently bald.  I thought you and Sharon knew too.  I like being bald and  I want to stay bald.  It's the best way to have my head!"
“You knew?  And you didn't say anything!"
“I was happy that it would make me bald forever.  I didn't want to say anything as long as Sharon was going to help me with the depilatory.  I'm sure I can do it myself, but it's nice to have someone help me.  I want to use it every week until I'm sure that absolutely no hair is going to grow on my head."
“Oh my goodness!  I'm so relieved!  You'll be my beautiful, strong, and outstanding bald daughter.  You'll be an amazing bald woman too!  How wonderful!" Gail said laughing in relief.
“That's exactly right.  You've always wanted a bald girl in the house haven't you?  Well, now you've got one," Jen said as she hugged Gail who had spread her arms for her.
“I do and she's the most wonderful bald girl in the world!" Gail responded.
“I don't know about that, but maybe you'd better think about Gary.  I'm not sure he'll want a permanent Mohawk," Jen laughed.
“I'm just going to give him a clipper shave on the sides from now on if he wants to keep his Mohawk."
“He looks good with a Mohawk.  Do you know if they'll allow it at middle school?"
“I should have called.  I'll just wait until he gets back and find out if it's a problem.  The principal would probably call me if it is one of those things that they don't allow.  They do have a dress code at the middle school, but I don't remember anything regarding a kid having a mohawk,  Actually it's  not an extreme one like I see once in a while on guys," Gail tried to rationalize her overlooking of her intention of checking to find out if a mohawk was acceptable.
“If they let me go to high school as a bald girl, they shouldn't have a problem with Gary having a mohawk," Jen observed.
“They may put me it jail for breaking all the rules about how women, girls and boys should wear their hair though," Gail laughed.

---

Sunday morning, shortly after the breakfast dishes were cleared away, Gail and Jen were in the large upstairs bathroom with Jen sitting on a chair waiting for Gail to apply the depilatory to her head.  Jen and Sharon had developed a routine – Sharon would cover her head with the white cream and set the timer.  When it indicated that the time was up Sharon would use a damp cloth to clean off her head.  Jen would then get in the shower and clean it off thoroughly and dry her head, whereupon Sharon would apply a little moisturizer and the body shiner.
Now the routine was being modified a little.
Mom if you put it on I'll take care of the rest."
“Are you sure?  I can do more."
“That much is fine.  I need to get used to doing it myself.  I want to do it every week, even if I don't really need to.  That way I'll become permanently bald even faster."
“Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Gail asked, still feeling a bit of trepidation about what she was allowing and even encouraging her daughter to do.
“I'm sure.  I want to be permanently bald.  I want to have a perfectly smooth shiny head for the rest of my life.  I like being different from other girls.  I don't want to have any hair on my head – anywhere.  I wish I could get rid of my eyelashes too.  They've grown out and you haven't trimmed them in a long time.  Can you do that today?"
“Of course!  I've neglected that for a while.  Your eyes look much bigger with your eyelashes trimmed.  Maybe we can figure out a way to take care of them permanently if that's what you want."
“That's what I want.  When Sharon first had them trimmed I wasn't bothered much about it.  I didn't think I looked very different, but after you started doing it for me I decided I liked them trimmed.  Now I'd like to have them gone.  That looks much better with a bald head and no eyebrows."
“We'll figure out something," Gail assured her.
By the middle of November Jen had become the star of the Middle School girl's basketball team.  She was exceptionally quick and had an uncanny ability to get around her defender and seemed to be able to make baskets from almost anywhere.  But her passing skill was what impressed her coach.  She was completely selfless and always seemed to know when one of her teammates had found an open spot or had gotten around her defender.  The kids who came to see her play had taken to cheering loudly for baldy.  Opposing teams soon found that jeering at “baldy" had the opposite of the desired effect.  Her play became more intense and her teammates would step up their own play in response.  They dominated most of their opponents.
Jen had become fully accepted by the other kids and even the occasional jib was usually met by a “shut up" or “don't be an idiot." She was outgoing and self-assured, traits that made her much in demand at parties and other social events.  If you had Jen at your party it was considered a huge success.
It was the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving. Jen was in the process of doing her head with Gail's help.  Sharon would be arriving Thanksgiving Eve and would stay through Sunday.  She was taking the bus to relieve Gail from having to make the hour long drive twice.
“Mom, it was really smooth this morning.  I couldn't feel anything.  Do you think it's all done already?"
“Well, we've been doing you for less than four months.  That's only about fifteen applications.  I doubt that would do it.  I checked their web site and they aren't very forthcoming about the long term effects.  We should expect a 'substantial' - that's the way they put it - reduction in about a year.  They admit they have little data for longer term use.  They seem to assume a schedule of every two weeks also.  Fourteen or fifteen treatments is a good bit short of a year.  I think we should continue until the beginning of the year at least, then maybe go to only once every two weeks.  The sooner you're done the better.  You don't want to have to keep doing this for years."
“OK.  That sounds good to me.  I really like having a smooth bald head.  It feels great and I think I look super good.  I wish there were some easier to do my eyelashes though."
“Everything I found just seemed to be too risky so near your eyes.  I'll keep them trimmed as close as I can though.  Maybe we'll eventually find a way to take care of them.  I think you look super good too.  You're going to be an amazingly good looking young woman in a few years."
“I've been having a lot of fun being a bald girl.  Billy thinks I'm special because I'm bald.  I'd like to get my ears pierced again," Jen said as she switched subjects abruptly.
“Everybody thinks you're special.  Yes, you can get your ears pierced again, after all you're fifteen now," Gail laughed.
Jen had turned fifteen in October.  She was six months younger than Billy, who should have been a year ahead of Jen.  Billy had been unable to attend most of his second year of school after a severe sledding accident in which he suffered a compound fracture of his leg that became infected.  That and some additional injuries had put him in the hospital several times and had him immobilized over an extended period.  Consequently he had to repeat second grade.
So plans were made to take Jen to the Piercing Pagoda the Sunday after Sharon went back to school.  While that was happening, Gail had carefully trimmed Jen eyelashes, reducing them to very short nubs close to her lids.
“Whew!  Glad that's done.  It's very nerve-racking because I have to have such a steady hand," Gail complained.
“All I can feel is the little stubs.  Wow, you did a great job this time Mom.  You can hardly see a thing and my eyes look so big!" Jen exclaimed happily.
Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving they had dinner at the usual time then piled into Gail's roomy five passenger sedan to meet Sharon at the downtown bus stop where she would arrive.
The celebration at her arrival was quite raucous as the twins yelled and whooped when she stepped down from the bus.
“Hey, Sharon, over here,"  Gary yelled
“Hey, you guys!"  Sharon responded as Jen snapped pictures of them hugging.
Amidst numerous hugs and  more poses for pictures, they finally retrieved Sharon's one large piece of luggage and headed back to the car and home.
“Wow, Jen your head is outstanding.  It looks like it's just been done and polished!" Sharon exclaimed.
“It's almost stopped growing.  I'm going to be permanently bald in a few more months!  Isn't it great?  I did polish it again before we had dinner," Jen said excitedly.
“You really want to be bald?  You sure do look outstanding!"
“As soon as you used that depilitory on me the first time, I realized that I liked the way it looked and that I wanted it to stay that way.  I read the label a couple of days later.  That's when I realized that it might actually do what I wanted.  Now I know it works and Mom is going to use it every week until the end of the year.  After that maybe every two weeks until it's done.  I like that you've kept your head buzzed like that.  You look super good too!" Jen said.
“I wanted to have a permanent mohawk, but Mom said I can't do that until I'm at least fifteen," Gary chimed in.
Sharon grinned at him.  “A permanent mohawk!  That would be pretty cool for a guy.  It does look good on you, although I think it's getting a little too long," Sharon kidded him.
“The school didn't object to him having a mohawk since it wasn't one of those wild looking ones.  So he's kept it.  I just haven't had the time to take them to the barbershop.  They're overdue," Gail interjected.
“I buzzed my head Monday, but I want to have Jimmy buzz it again and make it neater around the edges so that it look its best when I go to Frank's house for dinner on Saturday.  I think I'll go to the barbershop Saturday Morning.  I can take the twins if you like," Sharon offered.
“That's an offer I can't turn down.  We can't have these guys have hair that's a lot longer than ours," Gail laughed.
The next two days were happy pandemonium as everyone pitched in to help prepare a special dinner for the holiday.  Frank had been invited to join them.  Thursday just after Noon she had received a call from Frank's Mom renewing her invitation to have dinner with them on Saturday and telling her she would be welcome to stay over Saturday night and spend Sunday morning with them.  The surprised Sharon quickly accepted.
“Mom, Mrs. Wainwright told me I can stay over Saturday night so I can spend a little time with them Sunday morning.  I should be back by noon.  My bus isn't until four."
“Of course Sharon.  I'd like to have you here with us all the time but of course that's not realistic.  You deserve some time with Frank and that's a very generous offer from Jessica," Sharon told her.
Gail had finally made contact with Jessica Wainwright and talked with her about their respective kids.  Jessica had no problem with the two young people enjoying sex with each other so long as Frank didn't make the mistake of getting Sharon pregnant.  She admitted to a considerable fondness for Sharon who she saw an unusually mature and determined young woman.  Gail voiced the same concern, but reassured Jessica that Sharon was a very sensible young woman and would take no chances  in that regard.  It was then that Jessica said she had no problem with having Sharon over for the evening and allowing Sharon to stay over with Frank.  So Gail was not surprised at the invitation that Sharon had accepted.
Frank had arrived by four O'clock and offered his services, but with Gail, Sharon and Jen already crowding the small kitchen he was promptly relegated to the family room where Gary, David and Billy were engaged in computer games.
By the end of the evening they had enjoyed a fine mean and good conversation.  Jen had finally satisfied her curiosity about Sharon's life at college, and Sharon and been convinced that Jen was doing just fine in high school as a bald girl.  Her athleticism and Billy's support had nullified almost all of the potential negatives.
Friday morning Sharon slept later than usual, but was finally at the breakfast table at nine thirty.  Jen and the twins had already eaten and Gail was about to have her second cup of coffee.
“Good morning Sharon.  I guess you needed the sleep," Gail laughed.
“We didn't stay up very late.  I guess I did need the sleep.  What are we having?  Oh, scrambled eggs and bacon.  That looks good," Sharon responded.
Filling her cup with coffee and her plate with warm scrambled eggs and strips of bacon she settled across the table from Gail.
“Mom, I've gotten a lot of attention with this haircut.  It's really great.  I've even had a few guys ask me out, but I told them that I had a steady guy.  Frank texts me every day.  That's not what I wanted to tell you.  Actually I wanted to ask you to trim my eyelashes.  I didn't realize how much better my eyes look without eyelashes obscuring them.  Can you trim them for me?  I'm afraid to try to do them myself."
“Sure I can, but I have a better idea.  I tried it on myself to be sure it would work.  You didn't notice my eyes I suppose."
“Let me see.  Oh!  I can't see any eyelashes at all!" Sharon exclaimed.
“That's right!  I plucked them all out.  It was easy.  It took me a little while to get the hang of it so I wasn't putting my eyes in danger, but once I got used to watching in the mirror I could do it quickly.  That was last week.  Practically nothing has grown back.  I was planning to do Jen.  She's been getting onto me to do something about hers.  I keep hers trimmed, but she wants them gone."
“Well, I like the wide-eyed open look that I get without lashes.  I like how I look with them trimmed, but this seems much better.  Can you do mine like that?"
“Of course.  It will take a half hour – maybe less.  I can do it right after breakfast if you like."
“Great!  How long do you think it will last"
“Eyelashes grow quite slowly, so it could be a  month or more before I have more than just a few very short lashes.  So it should last quite a long time, maybe two months before I need to redo it."
A half hour and a few tears later, Sharon looked at herself in the mirror and approved of  her elfin open eyed look.
“That look great Mom.  I can put on a little pale blue eye shadow and it will look even better.  Jen is going to look terrific when she gets hers done.  We're going to be a very unique family aren't we?" Sharon laughed.
“I think we are.  Get Jen in here.  I might as well do her now that I'm into the swing of it," Gail laughed.
“You can do my lashes now?" Jen asked as she came into the bathroom.
“It's not permanent, but it does last for a  couple of months or more," Gail explained.
“That's a lot better!  OK, I'm ready!" Jen exclaimed.
Twenty minutes later she was done.
“There you go Jen.  I couldn't get every one, but you can barely see anything without a magnifying glass.  You have very big wide open eyes now," Gail laughed.
“It looks super good Mom.  Thanks.  It's just the way I want to look.  Maybe after you do them a few times they won't come back," Jen said hoping for some assurance.
“I wouldn't count on that Jen.  It might take several years."
“Well it's a lot better this way even if they won't quit growing."

---

Saturday morning Jen had gotten up early determined to fix banana nut waffles for them as her contribution to the festivities.  She would be going to Billy's home at the invitation of his Mom.
Leanne had been somewhat aghast when she first saw Jen with her bald head, but had come to accept the fact that indeed Jen liked being bald, and that she had no problem being a bald girl on the basketball team or being the school's only bald girl for that matter.  Jen's exuberance and complete self-assurance about being bald had finally won her over to the idea that a bald girl could be accepted and otherwise be quite normal.  Jen was, of course, anything but normal, being a superior student as well as an outstanding athlete in several sports and genuinely very likable and fun to be with as well.  Billy's  Dad, Brad, had taken it in stride when he first saw Jen with her head completely without hair following her first depilitory treatment.  He had laughed, given her head a quick rub and declared “Good looking head you have there, Jen."
So this Saturday morning Jen had the coffee pot gurgling as the coffee brewed,  the waffle maker chimed signaling its readiness, tangerines had been distributed around the table with paper plates on which to deposit peels and seeds, a skillet full of sausage nearly cooked and no one around to share it with.  Once again she decided to take preemptive action – Action that would certainly get everyone's attention.  Hustling up the stairs she went to the middle of the hallway.
“OK, YOU GUYS.  BREAKFAST IS READY.  COME ON GET ROLLING!!" She yelled, not quite loud enough to wake the dead, but certainly loud enough to disturb the neighbors.
“Goodness, Jen.  What's going on?" Gail asked as she stuck her head out the door to her room.
“Every time I fix a good breakfast nobody is ready to come down," Jen complained angrily.
“You didn't tell anyone that you were going to do it did you?"
“No.  I wanted it to be a surprise."
“OK, I understand.  We keep doing this to you don't we.  I know you wanted it to be a surprise, but you can't expect everyone to get up if they have no idea that anything special is happening."
“Sorry, Mom.  I guess you're right.  I just kind of lost control because I was so frustrated."
“Maybe we can figure out something that will work.  I'll get everybody up.  You take care of whatever you're cooking."
Much quicker than she expected, the entire family was assembled in the kitchen.  Jen had made the first batch of waffles which were staying warm in the toaster oven, Gail and Sharon had cups of coffee, and everyone was making comments about how good the tangerines were while complaining about the number of seeds that had to contend with.  Large quantities of butter, maple syrup, waffles and sausages found their way into eager mouths and waiting stomachs before the large bowl of waffle batter was finally depleted.
“That was super good Jen.  I'm sorry I wasn't up in time." Sharon apologized.
“It's OK.  I should have told everyone I was fixing a special breakfast.  It's impossible to have a surprise breakfast – we never get up at the same time on weekends."
“OK guys.  Lets get the place cleaned up.  Jen, we'll take care of everything.  Is Billy coming over?"
“Not until this afternoon."
“OK.  When I get back I'll give your head a special polish so you'll be ready to greet him and go to his house for dinner."
“Cool.  It looks best when it's been polished.  I haven't gotten the hang of doing it right."
Ten minutes later with the dishwasher loaded and the kitchen back to normal Sharon rounded up the twins and they headed to the barbershop.
The usual crowd was present and Sharon knew they'd have to wait a while as soon as she stepped through the door.
“Hi, Sharon.  Good to see you.  It's been quite a while," Jimmy greeted her.
“It's the first time I've been home since I started college – almost three months."
“You've been doing a good job taking care of your buzz.  Did you find some place near campus to get it done?"
“I'm not sure I'd trust anyone else to do it.  I've been doing it myself."
“You're doing a good job.  It's going to be a while before I can get to you."
That's OK.  We can wait. I need mine redone with the edges cleaned up and made neat."
Forty-five minutes later Sam called out “Next!" indicating one of the twins.
“Go ahead David.  You said that you wanted to get a haircut."
“OK.  I want it cut shorter than last time."
“Sam, by some miracle do you remember what you did the last time?"
“No chance of that.  How long has it been?"
Sharon paused thinking back to what Gail had said.  “I think it's been five weeks.  They usually come every four weeks."
“I expect it was a number two – a quarter inch.  Might have been a number three, but I doubt it."
“It has to have been a number two.  He had a number two before I went to college and I don't think he had anything different after that.  How much shorter do you want it David?"
“I don't know, just shorter.  Not as short as yours."
“How about a number one.  That's an eighth of an inch isn't it?"
“That's right.  Boys his age look good with that cut."
“OK, do that with the sides and back tapered down some with a short fade."
“Right."
David was well on his way to a very short buzz cut when Jimmy finally finished the customer ahead of Sharon.
“You're next Sharon.  Have a seat and I'll be right back."
“OK."
“Just like before?"
“Yes!  It's supposes to be less than a sixteenth of an inch.  Actually I do it with my clipper set at the one thirty-second of an inch.  Them make my hairline nice and neat please."
“I used my 0A cutter.  It 's three sixty-fourths of an inch.  I see you kept your eyelashes trimmed."
“Actually they're mostly gone.  My Mom plucked them out for me.  She did herself and Jen too. I won't have to worry about them for a couple of months.  I think it makes my eyes look a lot bigger, sort of elfin like," Sharon laughed.
“It's an interesting look," Jimmy said as he continued to run his Oster clipper over her head, taking care to insure that it was strictly uniform.
“Doesn't take very long to do this haircut.  I'll have the hairline cleaned up shortly.  I gave you a little 'V' in back didn't I?"
That's right.  I wish I could do that myself, but it's just too tricky working with my clipper and two mirrors.  I tried it once and made a mess," Sharon laughed.
“Next," Sam intoned looking directly at Gary.
“Clean up his Mohawk for him Sam.  It's gotten a bit long."
“No problem.  I'll have it looking good in no time."
“There you go Sharon.  Sure looks good.  Haven't seen your sister recently."
“She just uses a depilitory every week.  It keeps her head smooth as a baby's bottom," Sharon laughed.
“So she likes being bald?  No trouble at school?"
“She's the star of the JV basketball team and she'll be an honor student too.  She's smarter than I am.  She's very striking looking and she loves being bald.  She's determined to stay bald and wants to be permanently bald.  She's actually very popular."
“That's pretty surprising  She must be quite confident."
“She's super confident Jimmy and very outgoing as well.  She's special."
Sounds like it.  Next," Jimmy said as he finished cleaning up his area.
“Your mohawk looks great Gary," Sharon complimented him.
Sharon paid their bill to Sam, told him he'd done a fine job on the boys, assured Jimmy that she'd see him again during winter break and them took the opportunity to run her hand over David's head as he tried to duck away.
“That feels good David.  And it looks good too.  You made a good choice to have it buzzed close like that.  What made you change your mind?"
“I don't know.  Some guys in at school have buzz cuts."
“Do some of the girls say they like them?"
“Yeah, I guess so." David replied reluctantly.
Having elicited about all the information that she expected to get from the taciturn David, Sharon refrained from asking any more questions, but she guessed that there was a girl involved and that David was likely to get his head shaved eventually.
“OK guys let's get back home.  I have a lot to do today."
“Mom, we're back," Sharon said as she passed Gail's room.
“Oh, good.  Can you spare a few minutes.  I don't have any pictures of you with your wonderful buzz cut.  I'd love to get a couple for my picture album."
“Oh, Mom.  OK. Just don't take too long.  Frank is picking me up at five and I have a report to finish."
“I promise to take no more than ten minutes.  I think the light is just right out by the wall."
“OK.  I'm ready."
In short order they were in the small back yard with Sharon standing in front of the old back fence with its age darkened wood.
“Face that way," Gail said pointing toward their house.  “Not quite that much.  Good.  Now turn your head toward me, but look over there and smile," Gail said pointing to her right.  “That's it.  Perfect!  Let me take a couple more, but I don't think I'll do any better."
Gail enjoyed photography.  It had been her only indulgence as long as Sharon could remember.  She had taken several night classes and displayed some of her better pictures at various photography exhibits.  She was quite skilled.
Several more photographs later she was finished.
“You're absolutely gorgeous Sharon.  Just look at this picture!  I love the way your super short buzz emphasizes your face and eyes.  It's absolutely the ideal haircut for you."
“You don't have to convince me on that score.  I've really come to appreciate it.  I love the way it feels and looks.  It makes me feel special.  Most of the other girls at school were a little bit shocked, but it wasn't long before they realized it was a great look."
“We're a rather unique family aren't we.  What do you think is happening with David?  That was a pretty short crew cut he came home with."
“I expect that it's a girl in his class who has gotten his attention.  She probably told him his hair is too long and he should get it cut short."
“He would look quite good with his head shaved like Billy."
“He would, but don't mention that too him.  Let his girl friend do it.  He's a little young to start paying attention to girls, but it certainly happens," Sharon laughed.
“We're done.  We might as well go in.  I noticed that your brows look a little different.  What did you do to them."
“I wondered if you'd notice.  I thought they were too dark with my hair like this.  I thought about going browless like Jen, but when I covered them up it didn't look right.  My room mate Dawna said to lighten them.  So that's what I did.  She helped me do it."
“Actually I noticed right away, but we were so busy doing things I never had a chance to comment.  Now I can.  It looks quite good.  Making them thin helped, but making them light opens up your eyes even more."
“That's what I thought too.  I've got to get back to work on my report.  Sorry I'm not going to have time to help with dinner."
“Don't worry.  We have plenty of left-overs.  I'll fix something to go with them."
Later in the afternoon, Jen arrived downstairs.  For one of the rare times in her life she was wearing a skirt.  It was a short one – several inches above her knees.  Flesh colored tights covered her muscular, but shapely legs.  She had chosen the blouse a week earlier.  It was a peasant style blouse with wide sleeves patterned in earth tones.  She also sported a well polished head and some discrete eye makeup in pale earth tones as well, courtesy of Gail.
Sharon had taken a break from her report to come see the newly glamorous Jen.
“Wow Jen, you look super.  Mom said you're going to get your ears pierced again too."
“It feels a little strange to be dressed up like this, but it's kind of fun," Jen giggled.
“It's going to be a little chilly when you come back Jen.  You need a cap and a jacket of some sort," Gail said.
“I have a baseball cap," Jen suggested.
“Wait a minute.  I have a nice cap that I've never worn.  Let me go get it," Sharon said as she rushed back upstairs only to reappear almost immediately.
“Here it is!  Try it on Jen," Sharon said triumphantly as she held up a tan colored billed cap decorated with gold stars.
“Look at that!  It fits! And it goes with your outfit perfectly," Gail exclaimed.
Jen looked at herself in the dinning room mirror and declared herself satisfied.
“It's neat!  Can I keep it?"
“Absolutely.  I have no idea why I ever bought it in the first place.  I never wore it – well, maybe once or twice," Sharon said.
“It's chilly today.  She needs a nice jacket of some sort.  What else do you have in your closet that might do?"
“I'll go look. You can wear any of my cloths now Jen," Sharon said as she raced upstairs again.
A few minutes later she returned with two possibilities.  After some discussion Jen picked the reddish brown jacket.
“You look terrific Jen.  I'm so proud to have such an outstanding bald sister.  You're going to knock them dead," Sharon laughed.
“Maybe I will," Jen grinned.
An hour later Billy arrived to be greeted by Jen who he looked at in open mouthed astonishment.  Finally he regained his speech.
“You look super good, Jen."
“Thanks.  Let's tell Mom we're going."
After telling Gail they were going, they left the house and turned onto the sidewalk in the direction of Billy's house.  A short distance down the block Billy reached over to take her hand.
Gail felt inordinately pleased and proud as she watched her remarkable bald daughter walk confidently down the street.  A tear trickled down her cheek.   She wiped it away and smiled.
Half an hour later Frank arrived to pick up Sharon, who greeted him warmly.  She quickly turned back to Gail who had come from the kitchen where she was preparing a small meal for herself and the twins.
“I guess we'd better be going Mom," Sharon said as she embraced Gail and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Enjoy yourselves and say hello to Jessica and Scott for me.  Will I see you tomorrow Frank?"
“I'll drop Sharon off about Noon.  I need to get back to school early so I can't spend much time."
“I understand.  Have a safe trip tomorrow."
Thanks Mrs. Handley."
Once again Gail watched, somewhat wistfully, as her grown daughter left.  It felt very much like a rite of passage to her.  Her daughter seemed to have transformed into a responsible young woman right before her eyes over the Summer and in the short time she had been at college.
She walked slowly back to the kitchen.  She experienced some sadness, but mostly a sense of pride and wonder.  She had two remarkable daughters who had chosen to be captivatingly different from their peers.  And indeed they had inspired her to break out of her self imposed mold as well.
She smiled at that thought as she ran her hand over her slightly bristly head and savored the feel of it.  She and her family were indeed special.
Maybe I should fix something a little special for the twins for dinner after all, She thought to herself.
Bustling about the kitchen she began to prepare a meal that involved some of Gary's and David's favorites.  The anxiety of realizing that her girls were maturing so rapidly faded away.  A sense of accomplishment took its place.  She would have a remarkable bald girl and two boys with great potential to keep her on her toes for some years to come.

---

---

---

---