Home » Language » English » Blond, Black and Pink (Part 9)

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In Part 8 Audra, one of the five anigas, and her Aunt Steffie get their new haircuts at Sam’s Barbershop. Audra gets a very short buzz and Aunt Steffie gets her head shaved, something she has wanted to do for a long time. When they arrive home Audra receives a call from Melissa, the leader of the amigas, telling her that she and her Mother Hallie are invited to a Sunday brunch at the Herb Garden. Melissa tells her that a number of other girls and Mom’s are going to be there. Most of the characters that appeared in earlier episodes come together for the first time in this episode.

Week 4 Sunday Brunch at the Herb Garden – The Bald Girls’ Mothers Club

Both Melissa and Christine were up early and had gone to the kitchen to fix breakfast.

“Wait a minute Christine! We don’t need to fix breakfast. We’re having brunch at the restaurant.”

“Oh for the love of pete! What’s wrong with me. I was thinking about having breakfast fast so we can shave” Christine exclaimed. “Well, start Mom’s coffee and I’ll have some orange juice to hold me. What about you?”

“Sure, pour me some too.”

The coffee started and a glass of juice downed they headed upstairs for their daily shave.

“I’ll do you first Christine.”

“OK, I’m ready.”

Melissa ran her fingers over Christine’s head. “What’re you doing Melissa?”

“I’m just checking to see how much your hair has grown since yesterday. I can barely feel anything. I think that moisturizer must be working.”

Christine explored her head carefully. “You’re right Melissa. There’s hardly anything to feel. We should skip shaving next Saturday and see what it’s like on Sunday.”

“Good idea. But I want to be sure to be extra smooth today.”

“Me too. So what are you waiting for?”

“You’re supposed to tell me to leave some skin on your head.”

“OK little sister. Leave some skin on my head. Just make me smooth as satin.”

“Which is smoother, silk or satin?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, I don’t know,” Christine laughed.

“This is going to be fun. Mom said that there will be some other girls there, but she wouldn’t say who. I think she may have talked to that girl Sandra’s Mom. You remember, Kate shaved her last week.”

“Yes. That must have been something. Of course you and I see it every day.”

“Yeah, but its different seeing a girl get her hair buzzed off and then shaved with a razor. I think she was only ten or eleven years old. She told her Mom she wanted to keep it shaved forever,” Melissa added.

Melissa ran her fingers over Christine’s head in the way that had become a part of the ritual of their shaves.
?”It’s done Christine. She used a damp cloth to remove the last bits of gel and then dried her sister’s head with a towel.

Christine stood up, unpinned the towel from around her neck and called out in the deepest voice she could manage.

“Next.” Melissa sat down and Christine pinned the towel around her. “What’ll it be Miss. How about a nice shingled bob.”

“Ma’am, I would prefer a nice smooth shave if you please,” Melissa giggled.

“One nice smooth shave coming up Miss.” Christine couldn’t keep from laughing. She spread the gel on Melissa’s head and proceeded to shave her. The process had become automatic. She hardly thought about it.

“What time is it Christine.”

“I don’t know. I left my watch in my room. It couldn’t be much past nine o’clock.”

“Do you think we should wake up Mom pretty soon.”

“If she’s not up by the time I finish you, maybe we should.”

“Oh, never mind, I think I hear her shower running.”

Christine turned off the shaver. “I hear it now. You’re done too.” She quickly cleaned up Melissa and dried her head. She cleaned the shaver, shook off the excess water and returned it to the charging stand and put the tube of gel away.

Melissa had already put on her moisturizer by this time and pushed the dispenser over to Christine. “I’ll put the towels in the laundry basket.” she said. Then we can do the shiner.”

Christine was vigorously rubbing her head with moisturizer and nodded her agreement.

By the time they finished, Paula appeared.

“Hi girls. Looks like you’re all ready to go. You both look great.”
?”Almost Mom, I’m going to change cloths. I decided to wear something a little nicer” Christine responded.

“I’m ready Mom. We started your coffee. It should be ready now. We just had a glass of orange juice, since we’re having a big brunch.”

“Good idea Melissa. A glass of orange juice and some coffee and I’ll be ready.”

Twenty minutes they were on their way.

The entered and were greeted with the usual “Can I help you?”

“We’re with the Brower group,” Paula responded.

The greeter laughed. “Somehow I suspected you might be. They’re in the private room in the back. Jill is your server. Follow me.”

“We know Jill!” Melissa exclaimed. “Is that why we’re here Mom?”

“Well partly. You’ll see.”

Heather, Ginny and Penny had already arrived although it was not yet ten thirty.

“Ginny let me see you. You look great. Wow, that’s almost shaved isn’t it? Christine was impressed. “Hey, you got a nose stud. That is so neat.”

“It’s been a week, so it has grown out some. I’m getting it redone tomorrow. I really like it. I get a lot of compliments at work too. They like my nose stud and, see, I had my ears pierced again.”

“I like three. I think I’ll get my third next summer. My seconds haven’t healed up completely yet.”

“Mrs. Brower you look very cool. That is a great haircut for you.” Melissa said.

“Heather, you look fabulous. You look ten years younger. You could pass as Ginny’s older sister.”

Heather laughed. “That’s what Jill thought. Chris loves it too. I guess I’m going to have to keep it like this for the foreseeable future unless, that is, I decide to get it cut even shorter. Not like Ginny though.”

“I am so jealous Heather. I’d love to have that cut right now, but I thought I had better wait until I’ve been in my new job for a while. I can’t wait until Friday evening. I going to have Kate cut it off short – not as short as yours yet, but some short style with a clippered back.”

“Look everybody, here comes Audra and Aunt Steffie!” Penny was almost dancing in excitement.”

“Aunt Steffie got her head shaved!” Christine yelled excitedly.

“Look, Christine, is that Jill. She got her head shaved!” Melissa shouted.

The room erupted in a clamor of talking and exclaiming, head rubbing and laughing.

Finally Penny and Melissa had a chance to talk with Audra.

“Audra, I love the way you look. That curve in the back is soooo cool. It’s shorter than Ginny’s” Melissa pointed out.

“Yeah, Audra, I knew you would look great. You’re a lot prettier and more grown up looking now, Penny added.

“Thanks, It took a little while to get used to, but I like it a lot. I have to get it trimmed every Saturday to keep it looking good Kate said.”

Christine and Ginny were talking with Jill, and Paula and Heather were in an animated conversation with Steffie.

“Jill, I work at the Captain’s Table at the resort. Everybody liked my haircut. How about here?”

“They liked it. I get a lot of comments from customers, mostly good. I think we’re getting some extra customers just because they get to see a bald female server. I love it. I bought the shaver and moisturizer that Kate recommended. I’m going to keep it shaved when I get back to school. Christine, you look better than that day you first came in. Your Mom said you liked it now.”

“I do like it Jill. It lets me swim a lot faster too” she joked.

“Yeah, right. You are just flat out beautiful Christine.” Ginny interjected.

“There’s Sandra and her Mom” Penny exclaimed as she ran over to greet her.

“Hi, Sandra, you look great. You got your ears pierced too. They look
good.”

“Hi Penny, thanks. Timmy got his pierced too and Mom got hers pierced again. She said that when mine heal I can get them pierced again. Anyway, everybody calls me Sandy except Mom” Sandy explained.

Paula went over to greet Jan. “Hi, you must be Jan. I’m so glad to finally meet you. And now I have three friends to envy for their haircuts. Come on and let me introduce you,” Paula greeted Jan enthusiastically.

“Heather This is Jan, Sandra’s Mother. Jan you already know Penny, Heather’s girl. And this is the fabulous Steffie. She’s Audra’s aunt.”

“Oh, Jan I’m really glad to meet you. That was a great idea you had. This is going to be a really fun group” Heather exclaimed.

“Oh, there comes Michelle and Cindi. I’m glad they made it. Cindi really wanted to come even though she’ll be the only long haired girl in the room, well except for you Paula” Heather said.

More greetings and introductions followed. They had hardly settled down before Abby and her daughter Tess arrived.

Christine recognized Tess immediately. “Tess, I didn’t expect to see you her. What’s going on?”

“Mother said that there was going to be a group of girls and their Mothers having a brunch here and wanted to go and take me. She didn’t say it was going to be all bald girls and women. This is pretty weird” said Tess.

“It is weird to see so many of girls with almost none or no hair. I think its pretty funny. But we all like it short or shaved. Hey guys, this is Tess Quinalt. She’s the best swimmer on any of the summer teams. This is Ginny, Tess. And this is Jill. She’s our server. She just got her head shaved and so we all decided to come here today to see her and show off ourselves” Christine said.

Heather was standing on a chair trying to make herself heard. Jill had handed her a large lid and a big spoon. She made a racket and finally got everyone’s attention. “OK, everybody. We’re all here. Lets do quick introductions. All the Mom’s tell who they are and who they brought. Let’s start with you Michelle.”

The role call went around the room and was done in a couple of minutes.

“OK, now our fabulous bald server Jill has some things to tell us before we can get anything to eat.”

Jill made the usual announcements about the menu and the breakfast buffet, then asked about what they would like to have to drink. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and orange juices was being ordered, when Leigh and Beth arrived.

Melissa grabbed Beth. “Beth. I was afraid you might not make it. This is a really fun party. Come on and I’ll tell you who everybody is.”

Introductions made, Beth finally had a chance to speak.

Audra, that is a really super short cut. You look so cool.”

“Thanks, Beth. I like the way it makes me look.”

Finally, Jill had the orders and the gang of sixteen formed a line at the buffet in the main dinning room. A lot of heads swiveled to look at this unusual group of girls and women, some with very short haircuts and some completely bald. They knew they were being watched, and so they giggled and turned to see who was watching them. Jan patted Sandy on the head when she noticed everyone at a table staring. Paula saw her do it and thought ‘that’s pretty funny.’ She had a chance to get close to Melissa and did the same. Melissa looked up questioningly. “I just had an urge to pat the beautiful bald head of my lovely daughter.” Melissa grinned and tilted her head in that direction as though asking for more. Paula smiled and complied. She realized that it was a very nice feeling and Melissa seemed to enjoy it She left her hand there as long as she could and instead of moving away Melissa moved closer. ‘I should do this more often’ she thought.

Finally, they were all sitting down around four tables arranged in a rectangle, and enjoying brunch. Jan was sitting next to Paula who had called her last Monday to ask about what it was she had found to make Melissa’s head have a nice glow to it. During that conversation Jan had said that she was going back to Kate to get her own hair cut shorter.

“Jan, I like your haircut a lot. It suits you well. I guess you did get Kate to cut it for you?” Paula asked.

“I went in on Wednesday. I already had a nice chin length bob with a little bit of a clippered nape, but It wasn’t exactly what I had wanted. My regular hair dresser did a nice job but not as good as the cut Kate had done on my friend. Anyway she suggested that I could go shorter because of my face shape, and showed me some pictures. So I let her do it the way she suggested. I’ve never had it clippered so high in back before and it leaves almost half my ears exposed, but it looks great. And the big surprise was that Ben, that’s my husband, liked it. Now that I’ve gone so far with Sandy there’s no telling what I might do next! Kate said I would good with bangs. I haven’t had bangs since I was a little girl.” She laughed.

“So he was OK with Sandy?” Paula questioned her.

“Oh, he was shocked at first, but Sandy cried and told him how much she wanted her hair cut that way. So he relented and said it was OK for her to keep it cut like that. He couldn’t bring himself to use the words shaved or bald. Isn’t that funny? Now he pats her on the head when he gets home or even gives her a kiss on the top of her head, so I guess he’s used to it. Sandy can hardly wait for me to shave her in the morning.”

“It’s always a shock I expect, even if you know it’s going to happen. Well, Melissa loved being shaved right from the first. Sounds like Sandy is like that too. Has Sandy had any bad experiences?”

“Not a one. The kids are all intrigued by it. Some of them are envious, because when they play she is the only one who has nothing hanging down her neck and onto her back to get all hot and sticky.”

On the other side of the table Abby was talking to Heather and Michelle.

“Heather you look fabulous with that buzz cut. Weren’t you a little scared when you got it done?” Abby asked.

“I was almost petrified. I knew I wanted to do it, and Ginny told me to go for it, but it was scary. When it was done and I looked at myself, I quite literally thought I was seeing someone else. It was the strangest sensation. I felt like I was in a trance or a dream. But when I finally woke up I liked it. And the more I saw it the more I liked it. I’m afraid I’m really addicted to it now. I don’t think I could ever let it grow out again. It just looks and feels so right. I might get it cut even shorter some day. And it helps that Chris loves it too. I do wonder how it will look when I’m sixty five or so.”

“As good as you look now Heather, and you will look great even at a hundred. I think Steffie is just stunning too. I was really blown away. All these bald or almost bald girl’s acting as if it was the most natural thing in the world certainly has my attention. Seeing Steffie, though, has me thinking I should go looking for a barber shop that is open on Sunday so I can get my head shaved. It’s a very strange feeling.” Abby confessed.

“Yes it is. And seeing Steffie is likely to do that to you. Paula has already decided she is going to get her head shaved by next spring or summer. But don’t do anything too impulsive, especially not until you are sure about how you husband will react.”

“I think I can hold off for now. But if Paula does shave her head, I’ll have to do it too.” she laughed. “I told my husband Dan about seeing Melissa and Sandy at Kate’s shop. He also knows about Christine. Tess told him how good a swimmer she is. He just laughed and said being bald must make her more slippery through the water. I think he wouldn’t be upset by it. He’s very easy going and once or twice he has pointed out a woman with a very short haircut with some admiration. I’ll tell him about Steffie. Maybe some day he’ll get to meet her. I do love the look of a bald head on these girls. Christine is just beautiful. Anyway I’ve decided to take Tess to Kate tomorrow an
d have her head shaved. I think she will be lovely with a shaved head.”

“She will be, Abby. Are you just going to surprise her.”

“No, I’m going to tell her, but I going to do it even if she objects. I think she will get over it and like it. She acted as though she was interested in it when she talked about Christine.”

“I think if she doesn’t like it pretty quick you should let her grow it out.”

“I suppose you’re right, although Paula did it and it worked out OK.”

“Paula and her girls were a special case, Abby. Christine and Melissa were very close to Paula and had always respected and accepted her decisions because she was open with them. Melissa liked it right away and that influenced Christine. And then Tommy took an immediate interest in her. Everything worked out because of a lot of unexpected factors.”

“I guess that would make a difference. I suppose I ought to do it like you suggested.”

“She’s right Abby. Paula has a ‘thing’ about bald women and girls and she let it get out of control. Luckily it didn’t backfire on her. I was shocked to see her girls bald, but I’ve finally realized that there are a lot of women and girls who want to have very short or no hair. I must admit that I can’t help thinking that Steffie does look elegant and beautiful with no hair. And Heather does look great with her buzz. All these girls seem to be happy with their shaved heads and Christine is quite beautiful. I guess I’ve finally learned that girls and women can look good with these crazy haircuts. Still they’re not for me. And Cindi is keeping hers long.” Michelle said this last with determination mixed with a little desperation.

“I agree with you Michelle. Maybe I have a ‘thing’ about short hair myself. I’ve looked in the mirror trying to imagine myself bald and I always see myself looking elegant and regally beautiful just like Steffie. And I do think all these bald girls look wonderful.” Abby admitted.

Leigh was sitting at the end of the table with Steffie.

“Steffie, I think you look just stunning with your head shaved. Weren’t you nervous telling someone to shave your head smooth?” Leigh was quite captivated by Steffie’s new look, but very curious about how she arrived at the decision to do something so drastic.

“Not a bit Leigh. I had been about to do it several times before, but always lost my nerve. This time I had already had Audra’s cut super short, and I had seen how good Melissa and Christine looked, so I was ready. Besides I had seen a few black women who are bald and thought they looked good. so my nervousness was gone. I just sat back and enjoyed. It’s a great feeling.”

“I guess it must be. Melissa says she loves having Christine shave her head. She likes the feeling of the razor and then the feel of it as she puts on her moisturizer. I’ve been tempted to take Beth over to Kate’s shop and get her head shaved. I’m pretty sure she wants to get it cut short – either shaved or short like Penny’s. I really like the way these bald girls look. It is so neat and sweet looking. They have an innocent look to them that is very appealing. Ray seems to have the same reaction. I’m sure he would like it if Beth were shaved.”

“You’re lucky. A lot of men go hyper if their wives get short haircuts. If you like the idea yourself you should get a short haircut from Kate. Maybe, you should do like Paula is going to do and get it shaved. Every woman should try it at least once.”

“My goodness Steffie. You’re right. I do want a short haircut. Heather’s is so good looking. I really want something like that. I’m going to talk with Ray and see if it’s OK with him.”

Jill had found a box for the diminutive Heather to stand on so she everyone could see. Jill had an empty glass pitcher which she was hitting with her spoon to get people’s attention. Finally the talking died down.

“Hi, everyone. Most of you don’t know what this occasion is all about. So I’m going to tell you now. The is the very first meeting of the Bald Girls’ Mothers Club. The founding members are Jan, who was the one who first thought up the name, and her adorable bald daughter Sandy, Paula who was the first to be a Mother of bald girls, the beautiful Christine and her incredible sister Melissa, me Heather the Mother of the great Ginny and her perpetual motion sister Penny, Hallie, the Mother of the gorgeous Audra, and April, the Mother of our phenomenal bald waitress Jill. Hallie couldn’t attend today so she sent the fantastic Aunt Steffie in her stead. April is actually out of town today, but Jill has already told her she is a member of the club and she promises to attend the next meeting.

We also have an honorary Mother and her daughter member. Michelle and Cindi have been so close with most of us and our daughters that it was unthinkable that they should not be included. Cindi has said that she is actually a beautiful bald girl with long hair. We agreed that was sufficient to qualify. And of course we have guests who may be potential members. But whatever happens they are always welcome to join us. So we have Abby and her daughter the great swimmer Tess, and Leigh and her great soccer playing daughter Beth.

Who believes that this is a great and fun club?” There was shouting and clapping at this question.

“It’s a wonderful way to get to know each other and have fun. So save the last Sunday in July for our next meeting. We’ll be sure to call and remind everyone. Now enjoy the rest of your brunch and another cup of coffee or hot chocolate get to know each other.”

Heather, Jan, Paula and Steffie circulated around the table talking with each other and the other three women. Jill found time to sit and talk with Ginny, Christine, and Tess who was very curious about the motives of the two older girls.

“I can’t believe that both of you work in restaurants and nobody objects to you being bald. It seems weird.”

“I asked my boss before I did it. We talked about it some and then he said ‘What the heck, it might be good for business. Go ahead.’ Actually, he might be right. Our greeter told me several groups have asked if they could have the bald waitress. I thought that was funny. But I just go about my work as thought there’s nothing different going on. They always want to know why I did it. I’ve never gotten a really bad remark and I’ve gotten quite a few compliments, especially from younger women and other girls, but also from some guys. How about you Ginny.” Jill asked.

“A lot of the servers there have pretty wild hair styles. So it was no big deal. They all thought it was very cool. Most of the customers seem not to pay much attention, but a few have made comments – nothing bad. I’ve gotten some compliments too – like you, they’re mostly from girls and young women although a couple of guys said they liked it. One gray haired lady with a very short cut did compliment me. She said something like ‘Very good looking haircut young lady. You should keep it like that.’ I thought it was neat that she thought I should keep it cut this short even though I’d already decided to do that.” Ginny smiled.

“Christine, what about you” Tess asked.

“One obnoxious boy from our school made some nasty comments. Melissa stood up to him. When he started to push her around Tommy stepped in to protect her. He tried to punch Tommy, but Tommy used a judo move and flipped him right over onto his back. He hasn’t been around since then. Anyway, everywhere I’ve been people keep telling me how much they like it. The clerk at Casandra’s, then Jill, the lady at Rings and Things in the Mall, the check out lady at Super Lots, and my swimming instructor. I even got a compliment from a woman at the concert last week. If you don’t want to be noticed you better not have a bald head if you’re a girl, but I’m used to it now and it’s kind of fun to see how people react. At first I didn’t believe what people were saying, but now that I’ve seen some other bald girls beside Melissa I know that it lo
oks good on every one of them. I can’t wait until our Mom gets her head shaved so we can all go out together. That will be great.”

“No way is she going to get her head shaved. Look at how long it is now.”

“I know, but it’s just because she has a new job and didn’t want to do anything too drastic. She’s going to get it cut pretty short on Friday. After that she’ll get it cut shorter and shorter until next spring. That’s when she’s going to get it shaved. She always does what she tells us she is going to do Tess.” Christine said.

“It sounds wild. I’m surprised that there aren’t more stupid or mean comments from people. It’s pretty amazing that people seem to accept it or even like it.”

It seems like it’s not such a big deal after all. I mean Christine has had hers shaved for weeks now and apparently most people don’t pay much attention to it. And it doesn’t seem to cause you two any problem. I thought you would be getting nasty comments all the time. I guess I have to admit you all do look good. It’s just a shock to see it. It’s not for me though,” Tess demurred.

Tess’s original surprise and rejection had largely dissipated, but she still found it strange – not something that she could embrace.

They continued to talk until the first meeting of the Bald Girls’ Mothers Club finally broke up. They all agreed that they had enjoyed themselves and wanted to continue. The next meeting was planned. They had talked about what they might do at the next meeting to liven up the proceedings. The idea of giving awards to the girls was proposed and met with quick acceptance. The agreed to suggest appropriate awards.

Back home Christine began thinking about her date with Tommy for that evening. They were going to a movie playing at the big theater downtown and would have to take the bus. She looked over her various short skirts and decided on the one she would wear and a blouse to go with it. The white sandals she had worn to the concert would go nicely. They would have to walk to Elm Street which was about three short blocks over.

“Mom, can you help me with that eye shadow you used last week.”

“Sure. It makes your eyes look even bigger. Did you like what we did the last time” Paula asked.

“It was great Mom. I thought it was perfect.”

“I thought it looked nice too. I’ll do it that way again. There are a few other shades and ways of doing it that we could try, but it’s important that you don’t overdo it. It’s very easy to go overboard and you can end up looking like a runway model at a fashion show. Being bald, you should stay very natural I think. Just enough color to enhance your look, but not enough to be noticed unless you look closely.

“I never liked the way some of the kids at school looked. They would put on a lot of makeup after they left home and it made them look weird, like cartoon characters or something.”

“That’s right Christine. I’ve seen some of those fourteen or fifteen year old girls with all that makeup. They look very trampy to me.”

“There is one thing that I’ve noticed that is interesting. I was browsing through a book on make up by a famous New York artist and he had a section on eyebrows. The interesting thing was that he lightened the eyebrows of a lot of women so they were lighter than their hair. He pointed out that doing that made their eyes more noticeable without have to use a lot of eye makeup. He even showed examples of what they looked like with no eyebrows at all. It was interesting. I liked the effect of having light brows, so when I get my hair cut on Friday I’m having Kate bleach my eyebrows. I think that will look much better with my new short haircut. Anyway, I have a suggestion for you. Your eyebrows are a little heavy and dark, so they tend to draw attention away from your eyes. Maybe you should have them shaped and thinned. Take a look at Ginny’s and you’ll see what I mean. You don’t want your eyebrows to overpower your face and eyes. You have big beautiful brown eyes and they should be the main feature.

“You’re going to bleach your eyebrows, Mom. Won’t that look weird. Blond eyebrows and dark brown hair.”

Paula laughed. “No, no, not blond Christine, just lighter. I can show you few pictures. It will make my eyes look nicer. Did you know that Heather lightens her brows all the time. She’s been doing it for years. She said that her brows were so dark that they make her look like she was scowling.”

“Really? I never noticed it. I guess her eyebrows are lighter than her hair.”

“Sometimes she just uses face powder to make them look lighter. She puts on a little vaseline and then dusts them. That’s how she did it this morning. I’m going to try that myself just to see how it looks. There you go Christine. All done. You look very beautiful.”

Christine examined her self critically. The subtle makeup that Paula had applied did make her eyes show up better even though you had to look carefully to see what had been done. She liked the effect. Her light pink-orange lipstick went well with the ivory under her eyebrows and the beige on her lids. She was curious about what Paula had told her and wondered how it would make her look.

“Mom, can you do my eyebrows like Mrs. Brower did hers so I can see the effect?”

“I think we can do that. I think that there is a jar of vaseline in the closet where we keep all the medicine and shampoos and stuff. Stay here and I’ll get it.”

Christine looked at her self in the mirror trying to imagine herself with different eyebrows. Her eyebrows were rather thick and dark. She knew that some of the girls had already begun to keep their eyebrows shaped and a couple had very thin eyebrows. She hadn’t thought much about it, but she remembered thinking that the shaped and thinned brows looked better. Now that she thought about it, Mrs. Brower had pretty thin eyebrows shaped in a distinct arch and they were a lighter color than her hair.

“I found it Christine. I brought along some light face powder. Let’s see how it works. I’ll do just one so you can compare the results. It ought to be easy. Just apply some vaseline and make sure each hair is coated. Wipe off the excess and dust on a little face powder with a brush. And there it is. My goodness that looks quite nice Christine.”

“Mom, that does look better. I didn’t realize how dark and intense they were. Do the other one please.”

Paula complied. The other eyebrow soon matched the first in being several shades lighter. Her eyes seemed to be lighter as well as more open.

“I like the effect Mom. You’re right, I do need to do something about my eyebrows. I know some the kids do it themselves, but I don’t want to try it.”

“One of my coworkers just had hers done at a beauty shop that has a person who does waxing and eyebrow shaping. I can get you an appointment there on a Saturday. It will probably be several weeks, unless she does evening appointments.”

“That’s OK. I can wait.”

“Well, you keep looking better and better Christine. I beginning to be envious.”

“It’s your own fault Mom. If you hadn’t had me shaved I would just be the same old plain Christine. And now you can’t seem to stop finding ways to make me look even better. When is it all going to end!” Christine laughed.

Paula laughed with her. “I’m going to catch up with you young lady and don’t you forget it. You just wait until I get rid of this nasty old hair and begin showing off my beautiful bald head. Then everyone will be looking at me.”

Paula and Christine laughed so hard they had tears running down their faces. Once they had calmed down Paula repaired Christine’s eye shadow where tears and eye rubbing had done some serious damage.

“OK, no more funny stuff Christine. I can’t keep redoing this for the next half hour.”

:Thanks, Mom. You’re really great. I can’t wait until you get your head shaved. It will be so cool for the three of us to go out together.”

“I really look forward to it Chri
stine. Right now you look fantastic. I hope you and Tommy have a wonderful time. When will he be here?”

“About five thirty. The movie begins at six thirty. We want to have plenty of time to walk over to Elm Street to get the bus. Oh, I forgot to ask you Mom. Tommy asked if we could stop at that desert shop that’s near the theater for ice cream.”

“I don’t see why not. How late will that be. You should definitely be back before 10 o’clock.”

“I know Mom. We get out of the Movie at eight fifteen. So we’ll make sure we get the nine fifteen bus. We would still be back in time if we took the nine thirty bus.”

“OK, just don’t goof up things. You’d better have a sandwich or something before he gets here.”

“I thought of that too. I going to fix something right now before I get dressed.”

Christine was ready and had a warm glow of anticipation by five fifteen. She looked at herself and suddenly thought of something that she had meant to ask Paula.

“Mom!” She called as she stepped into Paula’s small office.

“What is it Christine?”

“Mom, you know that gold chain that you have but you hardly ever wear. Can I borrow it for tonight”?

“Oh, sure Christine. That would look nice on you. You know where it is. Go ahead and get it.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Let me know when Tommy arrives. I’d like to say hello to him.”

‘OK.”

Christine went down stairs to the living room, then went to the kitchen where she got a glass and filled it with water. She drank a little and poured out the rest. The door bell chimed and she walked quickly to open it.

“Hi, Tommy. Come on in.”

“Hi, Christine. You look really nice.”

“Well, so do you.” She had never seen him dressed so nicely. “Mom wants to say hi to you before we go. I’ll be right back.”

For perhaps the first time in her life, Christine walked up the stairs instead of running. She turned into Paula’s office. “Mom, Tommy’s here.”

“I’ll be right down Christine.”

Christine went back down stairs followed closely by Paula. Christine went over to Tommy and took his hand.

“It’s good to see you again Tommy. You two do make a very good looking couple. I told Christine that she has to be home by ten o’clock. Is that going to be OK with you?” she asked.

“It’s no problem Mrs. Jenner. We’ll be sure to be back before then. Did Christine tell you that we wanted to go to the dessert shop for ice cream after the movie?”

“She did Tommy. And it’s OK with me. Have a good time and enjoy the movie. I’ll see you when you get back.’

“Bye Mom.”

“Bye you two.”

They left the house and walked leisurely over to Elm Street. When the bus came they were a little awkward getting on. Tommy paid the fare and they sat quietly. Christine tried to think of something to say. She thought to herself, ‘my brain is a complete blank’. In that unconscious gesture that people always do, she reach up to rub her head. When she touched her smooth bald head she laughed.

“What’s so funny Christine? Tommy asked.

“You made my mind go blank. I couldn’t think of anything to say, but when I touched my head I suddenly remembered what we had done this morning.”

“What was so funny about that?” he asked again.

“Well a big gang of people, all girls and Mom’s went to the Herb Garden for brunch. Mrs. Brower announced what it was all about. She said it was the first meeting of the Bald Girls’ Mothers Club.” Christine giggled again. “I was thinking about us so hard I didn’t remember it. That’s why I laughed. Anyway, the bald or almost bald girls were Melissa, Penny, Audra – she had her hair cut almost bald yesterday – Ginny, Sandy – she got her head shaved last week the same day that Penny got hers cut very short – and me. Mrs. Brower has a buzz cut now. Audra came with her Aunt Steffie and she had her head shaved yesterday.”

“I think Melissa and I really started something. I’m sure some of the others are going to get buzzed or shaved too. Tess, you remember her from the Dolphins swim team, was there with her Mom, who wants Tess to get her head shaved. And I know that Beth wants to get her hair cut short. Oh, I almost forgot, the girl who was our waitress is bald. She got her head shaved last Wednesday. When we went to get our food, everybody in the restaurant stared at us. It was awesome to be there with so many other bald girls. I think they all look super good with bald heads.”

“That must have been fun. But I’m sure your were the most beautiful girl there. You really do look like a special kind of princess Christine.”

“Well I guess you have to be a special kind of prince to like a bald princess.”

They had arrived and exited the bus. The bus had been about half full, but no one made an audible comment. The walked hand in hand the half block to the theater. When Tommy purchased their tickets, the girl behind the glass held them for a moment. “Your girlfriend is really cool. She looks so beautiful with her shaved head.” Tommy smiled. “She’s special all right” he responded.

Two hours later they were walking back down the street to the Ice Cream Palace.

“I guess it makes sense for me to be taking a princess to the palace” Tommy said.

“What are you talking about?” Christine responded perplexed.

Tommy pointed to the sign hanging above the door of the Dessert Place which had the sub title of Ice Cream Palace.

“Now I get it. You know that only a handsome prince can escort the princess to the palace. I believe you qualify.” Christine had a very warm feeling inside her. Tommy had called her a princess twice. She felt very comfortable with him despite the little talking that he did.

The ordered small sundaes and limeades, something that Christine had not had previously. She saw people look at her, but was unperturbed by it.

Tommy looked at his watch. “I think we had better go on over to the bus stop. We have about ten minutes.”

“OK. That was a good sundae.”

The got up and headed out the door to the corner and across the street to the bus stop. There was a bench there for them to sit on, but they remained standing. The bus arrived a couple of minutes later. Six or seven minutes later they go off at 36th Street. They walked leisurely down 36th and Hickory talking about the movie and the laughs that it had provided. A little past nine thirty they were home.

“Hi Mom, we had a great time.” Christine greeted Paula as they walked into the family room where Paula was watching a TV show.

“Hi, kids. I’m glad you enjoyed your selves. And thanks for getting her home safe and sound Tommy.”

“you’re welcome Mrs. Jenner. I sure wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

Christine and Tommy headed back to the screened porch where they sat and talked about the coming week. There would be an important volleyball and soccer games for Melissa and a tough swim meet for Christine on Friday. Tommy said that he would have to go about ten. They fell silent.

“I guess I had better go Christine.”

“I guess so. I had a wonderful time Tommy.”

“so did I. You’re a great girl Christine.”

They stood up. Tommy had taken her hand. Christine looked up at him expectantly but didn’t move. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. She squeezed his hand and they went through the door and down the steps to the patio. They walked slowly to the front pushing Tommy’s bike.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning I guess” Tommy said.

“I guess you will if you’re there.”

“I’ll be there for sure.”

“So will I. Be careful on the way home. It’s pretty dark.”

“I will. Bye Christine.”

“Bye Tommy.”

Lights blinking, Tommy rode off down the bike path that went to 37th St. Christine went back to the screened porch and sat down, filled with the exhilaration of young love.

To be continued in Part 10

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