Home » Location » Barbershop » Like Mother Like Daughter (Part 1)

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It had been almost 3 years since I had visited my mother. We had kept in touch almost constantly but since my husband?s transfer this would be the first time to see her. My dad had died 5 years ago and my mother never remarried so I was concerned that she would get lonely. But to the contrary she had met up with a gentleman whom she finally confessed was Dad?s former barber. Bill was his name and she assured me he was a very nice man. I hoped so, because mom and I had always been close. In fact over the years, many people had mistaken us as sisters because we looked so much alike. Mom was a very striking woman and had aged well.

During the final phone conversations before my arrival she had explained that she and Bill were talking seriously about marriage. She had shared how much fun they had together and he too had lost a spouse. She had known Bill for years because Bill had cut my Dad?s hair and my little brother?s hair. I was mildly shocked that he was now cutting her hair too. Mom had always been particular about who cut her hair. She always wore her hair in a precise shoulder length bob, but she had shared with me that she was now wearing her hair a little shorter since Bill started cutting it. I was curious as to how ?short? my conservative mother allowed a barber to cut her hair and found my answer when she answered the door. I was shocked to see my mother with a bright red flattop!

After the initial shock and the answer to all of my whys, I ran my fingers through it and looked at it from all sides. It looked really good on her and she told me it had set her free. She shared how she ran into Bill at church one Sunday and things progressed from there. One night after dinner, Bill had to run by the shop and check on something. She went in the shop with him and sat down in the barber chair waiting for him. One thing led to another and she asked him if he was good at cutting women?s hair. She was impressed with his attention to detail and over a course of a few months decided to take the plunge. ?And this is what I ended up with!? she exclaimed. We went out for lunch and I noticed a lot of people staring at her, especially men. She explained that since she went this short, she has received nothing but compliments. ?Every week, Bill trims it for me and I touch up the color every three weeks! I love getting up in the morning and looking good. Not a hair out of place. And when Bill kisses me on the back of my neck, it sends shivers up my spine!? That was just a little too much information for me. We finished eating and drove by Bill?s barbershop so I could meet him.

He was a very nice man and after a few minutes of small talk, my mother sat down in the chair for a trim. It was weird watching a barber cut my mother?s hair with clippers, but she really seemed to enjoy it and I must say I was transfixed as he took out the flattop comb and squared off the top. ?You should try this dear, just once. I have become addicted to these clippers and the feel of having your neck shaved is incredible!? my mother was talking to me but I had been lost watching him shave her neck. He dusted her off and she stood up and kissed him. ?It was a pleasure meeting you,? he said and shook my hand. He seemed to be a very nice man, but I was curious as to how she had ended up with such short hair.

?Did he talk you into this mother?? I inquired. She replied that it was a mutual decision after he had mentioned to her that he liked short hair on women. ?At first, I was concerned,? she told me, ?but he was a very normal man and had been above board on everything. He treated me with respect and over the course of time my hair just got shorter and shorter. Finally one day I decided to try this haircut knowing that if I did not like it, I could always grow it out. Bill was very supportive and tried to talk me out of it. But once I got it cut this way, I cannot imagine growing it out. In fact, after the wedding, I have decided to take it all off!? Those words hit me like a ton of bricks and I was trying to imagine having a bald mother. I tried desperately to talk her out of it but she told me she had always wondered what it would be like to shave her head ever since ?your father shaved his head that one time.?

Things sure had changed with my mother but she seemed happy. The wedding was a small one and my husband came with me. He even commented how much better my mom looked with short hair. I asked him if he thought I should do the same and he shocked me when he said yes! I told my mom this and she recommended I let Bill cut it. ?After the ceremony I am going to the shop to get my head shaved. Why don?t you and Danny come with us and Bill can cut your hair too!? my mother said to me with a smile on her face. This was all so weird. My mother was about to get married, go have her head shaved and both her and my husband were encouraging me to get a flattop!

After the ceremony, I shared with my husband what my mother had said and he agreed. ?You look so much like your mother that you know you will look good. Why not go for it?? he said. We followed them over to the barbershop and I sat down as my mother was caped and Bill ran the clippers all over her head. He then shaved her clean with a straight razor and my mother seemed to be enjoying every stroke! He then rubbed oil on her head and I must admit she looked good. She rubbed her hands over her head and exclaimed ?wow! This feels incredible!? She got up from the chair and kissed Bill and thanked him. She then walked over to my husband and me and asked what we thought. My husband touched her head and complimented her. I was trying to get over the shock of just watching my mother have her head shaved but I too admitted that she looked incredible. She looked at me and smiled. ?Perhaps you should give this a try!? pointing to her head. I looked at my husband for some sort of objection but he was nodding his head in agreement.

?Are you sure about this honey?? I asked my husband. And he replied affirmatively. Bill motioned for me to sit down and he placed a tissue around my neck and then fastened the cape. The chair was big and very soft. Bill pulled out the clippers from the drawer and looked at me in the mirror. ?Flattop or all the way like your mother?? he asked. This was weird. I was sitting in a barbershop about to have my haircut by a man who was now my stepfather and I was given the choice of being bald or nearly bald. My mother intervened and told Bill to give me a flattop first and then if I wanted to, I could ?always go shorter.? So here I sat looking in the mirror, my husband looking on smiling, my newly shorn mother looking on barely able to contain her excitement, and Bill attaching a #2 guard to the clippers. He turned them on and started at the side of my head. I watched hypnotized by the hair falling down on the cape and then onto the floor. Each stroke of the clippers went higher on my head and then he worked his way around to the back. I was starting to understand what my mom said about the feel of clippers on your head. It was calming and exciting at the same time. After a few more strokes, Bill took the guard off the clippers and placed the flattop comb on top of my head and started shearing off what was left of my hair. I closed my eyes not wanting to get any hair in my eyes. Then I heard the clippers turn off. I was afraid to open my eyes but I heard my husband say how incredible I looked. Curious I opened my eyes and saw myself without any hair for the first time. No bangs, no hair on the sides cascading over my ears, no hair in the back to pull up in a ponytail. Bill took out the edging clippers and edged in some very pointed sideburns and then he shaved a V in the back of my head. He dusted me off and gave me a mirror to check out the sides and back. He had done an excellent job and as he turned me I instinctively brought my hand out from under the cape to feel my hair. There was nothing to grab so I ran my hands up the back of my head and on the sides. It was so soft and it felt like velvet. I then ran my hands on top of my head and it felt so strange! I brushed my hands back and forth to try to get it to move. No more bad hair days! Bill ran some wax through my hair to make it separate and gave it a wet look. It looked good and I could tell my husband liked it. My mother was elated and she hugged me thanking me for doing it.

I left the barbershop that day wondering how I was talked into getting a flattop but grateful that I did. The first kiss on the back of my neck by my husband made me a customer for life and I promised mom that I would allow Bill to take it all off the next time I visited. She told me that she was going to stay bald for a while but would grow it out enough to have a mother daughter head shave party the next time I came to visit!

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