I hate it when I'm pushed for time. I always like to arrive a couple of minutes in advance of any appointment, whatever it is for, just so that I can check out the lay of the land. It must be some sort of instinctive need to plan for an escape. It was never more needed than last night, and it had never been as ineffective as it proved. I played out the events of yesterday evening in my mind once more.
I walked briskly to the salon door and pushed it open, trying to control my breathing as I did so.
"Hi, I'm Amy Wilson. I'm Paula's model" I said, pleased that I had managed to get that out without sounding too asthmatic.
"Ah, yes" the receptionist said "Paula said that you'd be coming in. I'll just get her for you".
She scurried off into the salon itself and left me to compose myself. I looked across at my reflection in the full-length mirror and studied myself. I turned side on so that I could fully appreciate the way that my dark blonde hair cascaded onto my shoulders. It had been longer until recently, probably down to my bra strap, but I had given in to my stylist's urging to take a few inches off the ends to make it more manageable and a bit more in keeping with my status as a thirty-something. I must admit that it had been the right decision as it did make it easier to manage and did save me time getting ready in the morning. It was still long enough for me to be able to qualify for this evening's assignment as a model for some 'up-do's' and wedding styles and that was the main thing as far as I was concerned.
I had been doing a bit of hair modelling for a friend who was doing a beauty course at college. Once she qualified, she recommended me to one of her friends and I've been doing it off and on for a year or so. It gets me out of the house from time to time and gets me a bit of cash for very little effort. Thirty-something or not, all of the curves were in the right places, even if I did say so myself. I was still standing there quietly pleased with the trim figure staring back at me when I heard my name. I turned around.
"You must be Paula" I said.
"That's me" the newcomer replied with a pleasant smile. She was older than I expected, perhaps even slightly older than me. Certainly older than the usual stylists that I worked with and she didn't have the air of someone who needed to practice her art one little bit.
"Come on through Amy and we can have a coffee and a chat" she said, motioning with her arm. I followed her down into the salon until she stopped at one of the styling chairs.
"Have a seat here and I'll get the coffee. Milk and sugar?" she asked.
"Just black will be fine" I replied.
She disappeared into an alcove, but was back quickly, carrying two mugs. She put them on the counter in front of me and pulled a wheeled stylist's chair closer. She sat down and took a deep breath.
"Time for a little confession.." she said. I nodded and reached for my coffee, waiting for her to continue.
"I know that you're here for some formal styles, but there's a bit of a situation if you can call it that. I need to prepare for a competition and my model for that has called in sick. Sooooo..." she continued slowly "..I was wondering if you would step in for her."
"For formal styles?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee.
"That's just it, she was in for a cut."
"And what about the formal styles?"
"I'll just have to wing it on those. It's the cut that's the killer. You'd be doing me a tremendous favour. Obviously your fee will be for the cut rather than the updos."
More coffee was called for while I tried to take in what she was saying to me.
"When's the competition?" I asked, thinking that she would have time to get somebody else in.
"Tomorrow" she replied quickly. "If there was any other way I wouldn't ask, really."
"So what's it for?" I asked.
"Good girl!" she said.
"Hang on a minute, I'm only asking" I replied quickly, holding up my free hand in a very definite 'Stop' gesture.
"The style that I really need you for is a bob" she said.
"Is that it?"
"Pretty much. A bob. Cut with clippers. It would suit you" she said.
"You would say that, wouldn't you" I replied with a smile.
"Really, it would."
And then that word registered. "Clippers?" I queried.
"Yeah, I like to use them for bobs. I find it easier to hold the line than with scissors" she replied, disarmingly. She reached forward and touched my hair, running the backs of her fingers down its length for a few inches.
"I'm thinking of something that will be striking, head turning" she said.
"Unlike the way it is now" I queried, with mock indignation.
"This is more like a shampoo commercial, if you don't mind me saying. What I have in mind is in a different league" she said. She looked at me intently.
"So, what do you say?" she asked.
"I like my hair like this" I said more meekly than I intended.
"Ah, but haven't you ever thought that you'd like to stand out from the crowd when you're out in the evening?"
I shrugged. The thought had occurred to me more than once, but I certainly wasn't going to admit it at that precise moment.
I finished my coffee, immediately regretting that this prop was removed from me as a means to stall making a decision. Paula picked up her cup and took a mouthful of coffee, fixing me with her eyes as she drank. She lowered the cup and smiled.
"You could always phone a friend" she said.
"Okay" I replied.
"Okay, you're going to phone a friend or 'okay' we're doing this?"
"Okay, we're doing this, I think" I replied hesitantly.
"So are you happy with what we're doing, Amy ?"
"Happy probably isn't a word that I would use at the moment" I replied.
"Why ever not? I'm not going to do you bodily injury or anything" Paula said with that smile again.
"I don't know" I said "
"But you're here as a model, even as a long haired model it shows that you're curious, creative, open to new ideas? So let's just have a little fun." she replied.
"That's not what I'd call it at the moment."
"So you're having second thoughts?"
"I'd probably call it fear" I replied with a smile.
"Don't worry, you're in good hands" she said with a smile.
I should have realised there and then what that meant, but I wasn't concentrating as much as I should.
While we were talking Paula had shrouded me in a gown and I had held my arms out submissively while she put it on me. She tied it around my neck; suprisingly gently. She rested her hand on my shoulder and paused for a moment.
"Right, let's get started shall we?" she said in a cheery voice. She was obviously in her element now, in creative mode, in control.
"Are you going to give me a clue?" I asked feebly.
"It'll be shorter" she said with a smile.
"How much shorter?" I asked.
"I can see that you're going to be one of those awkward ones" she said with a wry smile.
""I think it's just my instinctive self-preservation kicking in" I replied.
"Look, Amy. My advice is just to go with it. Try to enjoy it, but if you don't like it, then you can just write it off to experience."
"And wait for my hair to grow again" I retorted.
"That's the beauty of it. It will grow again." She paused for a second. "Have you got any tattoos?" she asked.
"No" I replied.
"Well, that's shot that example down. All I'm trying to say is that it's not the end of the world, whatever I do." She paused for a moment. "You should try a tattoo, you know. Just a little one. Somewhere special. You'd be surprised at the reaction you'd get."
"Well, that's one way of putting things in perspective, I suppose, but I think I'll save that one for another day, if that's ok. All I'm trying to say is that I don't think that I'm ready to go too short, just yet" I said. said.
I really had not been paying attention as without further formality, Paula had turned the clippers on and made a cut just above my collar.
"What.." I exclaimed.
She leaned in to me a little. "Think of it as jumping into a cold pool. That was the shock, but then you start to get used to it and soon you can't understand what you were afraid of" she said.
"But I thought that you would talk me through what you were going to do" I said, realising at once just how wimpy that sounded.
"We'd be here all night if I did that, wouldn't we?" she said, starting to cut again. I could sense hanks of my hair falling to the floor as she continued.
"I know, but please tell me that you won't go shorter than that" I begged.
"Shorter than this?" she asked.
"Yes" I replied.
"So you're okay with this length?" she said, trying to get me to agree in one of those dubious hard-sell confirmation sort of ways.
By this time she had worked her way around to the front so that I could see the damage that she had wrought. My flowing hair was now just about collar length on the left hand side. The hair on the right was untouched and served to show only too well what had been only moments ago. It would be a long time before my hair was that long again.
I turned my head to the side so that I could examine it a little more closely. As I looked, Paula carried on cutting and before I could respond she had worked her way around to the other side. It was immediately obvious that the right hand side that she had just arrived at was shorter than the left-hand side that I was in the process of assessing.
"I was about to say that I could live with it if I have to" I said.
"Remember what I said, Amy. Just think of the water getting warmer."
"Looking at what you've just done I'd say that it has already go too hot for me" I said, my voice cracking a little.
"The only thing that is going to be hot will be you, missy" she said with a smile.
She started again at the left-hand side and touched the clipper head to the hair. The tress fell silently to the cape and slid down onto my lap. I looked down at it, making sure to keep my head still while Paula worked further round. She reached the back of my neck and the clippers stopped humming. She moved around to the other side, looking critically at her work. She combed through my shortened hair and stood back to appreciate it further. Her left hand swivelled my chair towards her and she crouched slightly, before looking me in the eye.
"Looking better already" she said.
"You make it sound like there's more to come" I replied.
"I can leave it like this if you want, but I need to make it sit properly first. Lots to do, so take another deep breath. Do you want another coffee, by the way?"
"No, I'm fine thanks."
"Fine about the coffee or fine about your hair?"
"The coffee" I replied.
"So it's like that is it?" she said with a smile.
"I'm just trying to think what I will say to my other half."
"You'll be surprised."
"Not half as much as him!" I interjected.
"Well there is that, but I don't think that you need worry about that. He'll be stunned and won't be able to wait to play with his new toy."
"I hope you're right. God help him if he doesn't notice though!"
"Oh he's one of those is he? If he needs a hint that there's something that he should be commenting on when he next sees you, you'd be best to get yourself another one!"
"He'll notice alright, the question will be how he reacts."
As we were speaking, Paula had started work again, gathering hanks of my hair and pinning them up on top of my head. She could obviously see my quizzical look in the mirror.
" It's not sitting right, I'm just going to sort that out" she said.
As I was sitting there vaguely amused by the sight of some of my hair pinned up and some of it hanging down, I heard the hum of the clippers again.
For the first time I felt them against my head as they moved up the nape of my neck. The sensation was not unpleasant, but I wasn't sure where this fitted into a bob cut. My concern must have been obvious.
"This will make it sit better. Just close your eyes and imagine yourself lying back in the water.
"I'm not a very good swimmer, so that's probably why I'm finding this difficult!" I said.
"Well you'll be more streamlined after this evening, so perhaps that'll make you a better swimmer!" she said.
The sensation had continued uninterrupted and I could feel it going higher up the back of my head. I tried counting backwards from a hundred, anything to take my mind off what might be happening back there. Except that I didn't have a chance to get right down to one before Paula moved around to my side. She placed the clippers at my temple and in an instant, what had been wispy strands of hair was no more. There was bare skin at my temple. Before I could get the words out, there was more bare skin above my ear. Not short hair, not stubble, but bare skin.
Paula anticipated my exclamation of concern, girly scream, whatever you want to call it.
"I told you, this will make it sit right once I let the rest down."
"And that's meant to put my mind at ease is it?" I exclaimed.
"You'll love it, I promise, it just won't be something that you would have asked for on your own."
It was too late in any event. Paula had nearly worked her way all around my head, shaving off all of the hair below the line that she had created. 'Shaving' now there's a word that I had never thought I would use in connection with my own head. Rob's maybe. I had occasionally pondered how he would look if he went a little further when he had his hair cut and went the whole hog rather than just his usual number two, but I had never imagined that I would experience the clippers like this.
The clippers fell silent again. It was strange, but the sound of the clippers was not an unpleasant sound. The feeling of the clippers was actively pleasant. It was only the result of their use that was so disturbing to me at that moment.
Paula undid the clips holding up what was left of my hair and I breathed a sigh of relief as the tresses fell eagerly down to cover up the clipper work. She began combing my hair and teasing it so that it lay the way that she wanted. She stole a glance at me in the mirror, but then turned her attention back to her work. It looked alright, I had to admit to myself, despite what she had just done. There was no need for most people to know what was going on underneath my hair and if I was prepared to let them get close enough to me to discover my new secret, then I probably would not object to them knowing.
The clippers clicked into life again. Paula hadn't pinned my hair up again, so she was obviously going to make a minor adjustment to the line that she had cut. Clearly something had offended her eye when she had combed the hair back down again. She was standing behind me and then the lightest touch of the vibrating blade against the back of my head startled me. Paula made no comment. There it was again. By no stretch of the imagination could that be mistaken for touching up the ends. This was high up on the back of my head. Paula's concentration was unbroken by any thought for my reaction. She was working away regardless, but then in hindsight, what else could she do?
She had worked her way around to the front, angling downwards as she progressed, although I still lost a little more length at the front.
"Please tell me that that is it" I said.
"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you. I'll buy you a big, stiff drink when we're done, I promise."
"It'll probably take more than one" I replied, only half in jest.
She moved to the back again and worked her way round to the front without further comment. As she turned the clippers off I could at last turn my head to see what she had just done. My eyes followed the contour from my lip, along the line of my hair until I came to the back. The back of my head was bare. Bald. Visible to the world. The part that I thought would be my little secret was now on full public view. It was dramatic, it was shocking.
"We're not finished yet" she said and held up an aerosol can that had been sitting on the shelf just to one side of us. My stomach jumped slightly.
"You're not..?"
"It finishes it off nicely. If I don't it just doesn't feel the same" she replied.
I sat there, resigned to my fate as she sprayed some foam into the palm of her hand and then smeared it over the back of my head. She shaved it gently with a razor, gliding through the whiteness to reveal my skin once more. Once the back was done, she moved to the side, holding up my hair with one hand while the other wielded the razor.
"There" she said, with a note of satisfaction, catching my eye in the mirror.
"You can touch it, if you want" she said.
I reached up tentatively. It was so strange. There was nothing there. It was smooth. Paula brushed the backs of her fingers over the area next to my own hand.
"Doesn't that feel wonderful?" she asked.
I hesitated, not wanting to admit it to her, but then nodded in agreement.
She picked her scissors up and combed my fringe forward and down to my eyebrows.
"Close your eyes" she said.
I did, but as soon as I felt where she had positioned her scissors, they opened wide, just in time to see what had been my bangs falling to the cape. My perfectly normal bangs were now probably half an inch long at most. The strange thing was that my surprise subsided rapidly. I didn't think that there was anything that she could do now that would surprise me. Then she surprised me!
"I'll take the back higher if you want me to" she said.
I played that sentence over in my head several times to make sure that I understood what she had said.
"Just a bit more" I said quietly.
"Sure?" she asked.
I nodded. The clippers started to hum and I felt them caress the back of my neck again. There was no shock, no surprise, just the welcome return of the slightest vibration against my skin. In moments the line of my bob was slightly more angled than it had been. My hand crept out from under the cape and touched the back of my head. I was now starting to feel sensations that should not be felt in public. This was for me now, nobody else mattered. It really didn't matter to me at that moment what Rob would think.
"I think you're well and truly acclimatised to the water now aren't you?" Paula asked.
"Mmm" I acknowledged, the warm glow still coursing through me.
"Decision time again, my dear" she said.
My hand went to the back of my head and stroked the bald expanse.
"More?" I asked.
"I think it would be less rather than more if you want to be exact" she smiled.
I returned her smile.
"I was rather hoping that you would ask me to colour it for you" she said.
"Me? Ask you? Why would I do that?"
"Because we're freeing the real you, the one that has been hiding away, that's why." she replied.
"So that's what we're doing. I thought I was just being shorn like a sheep."
"Well, if that's what you're thinking, we may as well wrap it up" she said.
"No" I said, just a little too quickly.
"No?" she repeated.
"I don't want to stop yet" I said.
"Well, what do you suggest?"
"I want you to colour my hair."
"You do, do you?"
I nodded.
"Ok then. We can do that for you. What colour were you thinking about?"
"Haven't you got a chart we can look at?"
"I have, but I think you should just pick a colour and we'll take it from there."
"What, you mean, just pick red, blue, black?"
"Well, I was thinking just one colour, but we could do more if you want" she replied.
"Sorry, I'm being a bit dense. I haven't ever coloured my hair before, so I don't know how you broach the subject."
"You could always let me pick the colour, but I think you'll find it a bit more of a turn-on if you want to call it that, if you pick the colour. That way you can tell that man of yours that it was you who asked to be shaved a bit more and you who asked for the colour."
"I don't know what will suit me" I said.
"The moment will be gone..." she urged.
"Red or black. Darker" I said.
"I'm going to have to hurry you" she said, with a cheesy game-show host smile.
"Black" I said.
"Black it is" she said placing a hand on my shoulder. She walked away into the storeroom and came back a few minutes later with a mixing bowl and a strong chemical smell in her wake.
I won't bore you with the details of the colour, let's just say that it gave me time to gather my thoughts. The conventional woman who walked in to the salon had gone. Cut away and coloured away. Although I hadn't seen the finished effect, I was not sorry that I had done what I had done, with more than a little prompting of course. I should have done it a long time ago.
Paula had gone off to do something in the office while the colour developed, but she was back now to rinse me off. I sat up from the basin and she wrapped my head in a towel so that the suspense would last a little longer. Once we got back to the styling station she whisked away the towel theatrically. There I was. Black. Bald. A bit of both. It was really me staring back from that mirror.
Paula blow-dried my hair for me and then undid the cape at my neck. As she whisked it away with one hand, she stroked the back of my head with the other. The feeling was electric. I ran my hand through what was left of my hair and let it linger on the bare skin at the back of my head.
"I could get used to this" I said.
"I told you..now you can't see what all the fuss was about, can you?"
"I could have killed you earlier on, but now I could kiss you" I said.
She beat me to it and kissed me gently on the cheek.
"You're very sweet. Thank you" she said.
"The pleasure hopefully will be all mine when I get home" I said, in the hope that Rob would feel the same way about the new me that I did.
"I tell you what, I'll put you in the diary for next Monday and you can tell me how you got on."
"And you can tell me about the competition."
"So it's a date then, same time next Monday?"
"I'll look forward to it" I replied.
"I think we have a convert" she said.
"A convert to what?"
"Interesting haircuts" she replied.
"At least I won't need one of those next week. I take it that it's just for a freshen up?"
"If you come back next week, I think we'll take all that off. I think you'll suit really short hair."
"So you don't think I'll come back?"
"And you don't think I'll shave your head?"
"I tell you, the way I feel at the moment, I'm open to anything" I replied, turning towards the salon lobby.
"All you have to do is come back here. I've done my practice for tomorrow, it doesn't matter what we do now."
I stopped and turned towards her.
"You're serious aren't you?"
"Are you?"
"So you're saying that if I come back next week you're going to shave my head? Regardless of what I want."
"If you come back it will be in the knowledge that I am going to shave you."
"So I have to spend all week wondering whether I am going to come or not, is that it?"
"Just think of the anticipation" she replied.
"I'm not sure that I could bear it."
"So what are you saying to me?"
"I don't know" I replied.
"There's no hurry, you can go home and think about it, you don't ever have to come back here if you don't want to."
"I'm just trying to work out whether it's something that I want to do or whether I'm just getting caught up in the moment. I really liked it, you know."
"Liked what?"
"The feeling of the clippers, it really did things to me" I replied, casting caution to the wind.
She smiled at me. "Why do you think I took my time?"
"You knew!" I exclaimed.
"It was fairly obvious. That's why I thought that you might like to carry on."
"I'm tyring to weigh up whether I'll regret it in the morning" I said.
"If you let me have my way with you, you mean?" she said with that smile again.
"Something like that" I replied.
"Well, I'm not going to force you. It has to be something that you want to do. You may well regret it tomorrow, but you still have to be able to say that you wanted to do it."
"I know."
"So, are we just teasing each other here?"
I took a deep breath.
"No."
"No, we're not teasing.."
"No, we're not doing it" I said resolutely. "I need to talk it over with Rob before I do anything like that. I want to do it, but it's not fair on him. I can't just turn up at home with no hair."
"How do you think he'll react when he sees you as you are now?"
"I think he'll go mad" I replied.
"Could he be worse if you go home completely shaved?"
"Possibly."
"Do you think that he'll give you his blessing to come back?"
"I doubt it" I replied quietly.
"Like I said, I'm not going to force you to do it if you don't want to. The last thing that I want to do is to cause problems at home for you."
"I think we're past that stage" I said.
"Well, it comes down to what you want to do then" she said, matter of factly.
I nodded.
"I'll go and face the music" I said after a while.
"Is it worth me putting you in the book for next week?"
"I'll call you, I don't want to waste your time" I said.
She put on a resigned expression.
"I think that he'll like it on you once he gets over the shock" she said.
"Have you ever done it for your other half?" I asked.
"I haven't, but that's not to say that I won't! she replied with a smile.
I continued towards the lobby.
"Thank you, Paula. You've opened something up for me. I guess the ball's in my court now."
"Hit it over the net and see if he can get it back to you, that's my advice" she replied.
"Enough of the tennis stuff, I'm off" I replied.
So here I am, the morning after an eventful night. Rob's reaction was immediate and surprising, given that it was often him badgering me to 'try something new', 'to be more adventurous' in the bedroom department. He obviously could not see the link between my hair and a new direction for us to explore and chose to spend the night at his place, which was a shame, considering what might have been. His parting remarks contained the word 'freak', so I take it from that that he and I might be about to go our separate ways. It's best to find out now really, because at least I can say that the last six months were fun and that I did not have too much invested in the relationship.
I have sat here for more than an hour thinking about him and thinking about last night. To be honest though, I have thought more about my time in the salon than I have about him. I thought about the 'me' that walked through the door and the 'me' that walked out. It wasn't only my appearance that changed, something inside me changed too. I am on my third cup of coffee and still astounded by the effect that stroking the back of my head can have on me. It certainly banishes thoughts of Rob instantly!
I look at my watch again. At last, it is nine o'clock. I pick up the phone and dial the number that I had written down on the pad.
"Hi, it's Amy Wilson, I was a model for Paula last night" I said. "Could I have a quick word with her please?"
"Let me just see if she's free" the voice said.
A few moments later I heard foosteps approaching the phone.
"Hi Amy, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon. How did it go?"
"It didn't" I said.
"Oh dear" she commiserated.
"Don't worry about it, if he doesn't come round, that's his loss" I said, surprising myself at how easily I could say it.
"That's putting a brave face on it, is it not?"
"I don't really feel much about it, to tell you the truth, Paula. It's his choice, now it's time for me to think about what I want."
"And what would that be?"
"Coming in to see you again?"
"For?"
"For you to finish what you started" I replied.
"We could do that, when were you thinking?"
"Now would be good" I replied, not expecting the answer I got.
"I'll be waiting."
"Haven't you got anybody else in?"
"I usually just do admin on Wednesday mornings, so I'm free. You weren't quite expecting that, were you?"
"No, not really" I replied.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It's good, I hope" I replied.
"Well, as soon as you're ready then" she replied.
"I'll see you in a bit, bye" I said.
She had gone and in moments, so had I, pleased that I had showered and dressed as soon as I had got up.
The drive to town went quickly. I would hesitate to say that I wasn't concentrating on driving, but I was so excited that I barely noticed the passing of time. I was doing something for myself, something that I really wanted to share with someone else, but wasn't sure that there would be anyone to share it with. The thought of having my head shaved was certainly turning me on, but would it turn anyone else on? Would everybody react in the way that Rob had?
I parked the car and walked the short distance to the salon. The receptionist smiled a greeting.
"Hi, you must be Amy" she said.
"How did you guess? I asked".
"Paula told me about the really sharp cut that she did on her model last night" she said, and then leant forward before continuing. "Don't tell her that I told you, but she was really pleased with how it turned out. I agree, it looks stunning."
"And I was only the practise one" I said.
"Guess who the competition model is?" she said.
"Not you?"
She nodded.
"So what do you think?"
"I was really nervous when she told me how she was going to do it, but now I've seen it on you, I'm much happier. It looks really good" she said, reaching up to touch my hair.
"Sorry, you don't mind do you?" she said as she saw me turn slightly.
"I only turned, because you should touch the back of my head, not my hair" I replied.
"Ooh" she said, as followed my instructions. She wasn't the only one who was thinking the same thing.
"Isn't it great?" I asked.
"It just feels so different, you get used to feeling hair there, but when there isn't any, it's sort of.."
"..a turn on" I finished for her.
"Well, that's one way of putting it" said a voice from the side. Paula had appeared just out of my line of vision and was standing there smiling.
"Has she told you what we're going to do now, Linzi?" Paula asked.
"No" the receptionist replied.
"Are you going to tell her or shall I" Paula asked, fixing me with a smile.
"I'm going to have my head shaved" I said quickly, pleased to have the chance to say it out loud, after all the times that I had said it to myself since I had got up. It sounded good.
"Really?" the receptionist said.
"So what do you think about that?" Paula asked her.
"Wow" she managed to say.
"I hope so" I said, just a hint of nerves starting to creep in.
Paula touched my forearm gently to signal that the serious part was about to begin. I followed her into the salon and was quite pleased that she led me further in than last night. I was even more pleased when she showed me to a styling station that was in a small alcove.
"So last night didn't go too well" she said, patting the back of the chair to urge me to sit down.
"He shouted at me for as long as it took him to find his car keys and then he left" I replied.
"He'll be okay once he's calmed down a bit, I'm sure" she said.
"I think that it's too late for that. The more I think about it, the more I think it's best if we go our own separate ways. I mean, what will he think when he sees me next time?"
"You may have a point there" she replied.
She swept a gown over me and tucked it in to my collar.
"So, how are we going to reveal the new you, quick or slow?" she asked.
"Last night I would have said slow, but now I just can't wait" I replied.
The gentle hum of the clippers started and then I felt their insistent vibration at my hairline for the briefest of moments. Then they were moving. Backwards. Over my scalp. Quickly. I smiled.
"I can't believe how far you've come in such a short time. Less than twenty-four hours ago you were a committed long-hair girl and now look at you."
"Just look at me" I repeated with a smile as I looked at the furrow that she had cut down my parting.
Her left hand cupped the back of my head and rubbed the undercut gently. I closed my eyes to enjoy her touch and then felt the caress of the clippers once more. She kept her hand on the back of my head and I moved my head slightly to give myself the sensation of somebody stroking me. That part was a bit sad really as I had hoped that it would be Rob getting to do that for me last night. If ever I was in need it was then!
In what felt like a matter of moments, the clippers fell silent. The remains of my hair were barely discernible, just a shadow to indicate what had been there until just now.
"Well?"
I looked at myself from various angles, pleased at what I saw.
"I'm so glad I've done this" I said and reached up to stroke my newly bald head.
I knew what was coming and could not wait. She smeared my entire head with shaving foam, making me look more than a little comical. She shaved me expertly and then did it again. I'm not sure if this was for any function or for the enjoyment of both of us, but I was pleased that she did. She wiped my head with a towel to get rid of any last traces of the foam and then patted me gently on the top of my head.
"You look beautiful" she said.
"You know" I said slowly "I have to agree with you."
She gave me a playful slap on the arm and then removed the cape.
"Now what?" she asked.
"I'm going shopping" I replied.
"And what about that man of yours?"
"Who?" I replied with a smile.
There was no way that Rob could deal with the new me. That part of my life was definitely over and I just had to find someone who could deal with something a little out of the ordinary and enjoy it to the full. Would that be a man with hair? To start with perhaps, I mused.
I stood up and walked with Paula to the lobby. I saw the receptionist's eyes widen as I got closer.
"This will be you tomorrow, Linzi" Paula said.
"No way!" she exclaimed before realising that she had reacted a little too quickly in front of a client.
I smiled at her.
"If you'd told me yesterday morning that I would be standing here with a shaved head, I would have laughed at you. See how you feel after tonight. Give it a try, it'll grow back if you don't like it."
"I'll think about it" she said quietly.
I looked at Paula.
"I couldn't do it before the competition, but come and see me next week for a touch up and you never know, young Linzi and I might both have gone for the barely there look."
"Good luck for tonight, both of you" I said.
"Thanks" they said in unison.
Paula saw me digging in my bag for some money.
"Don't worry about it, it was my pleasure" she said.
We both smiled as we both knew that much of the pleasure had been mine.
"I'll see you next week then" I said.
"I'll put you in for the same time, is that okay?"
I'll look forward to it" I said and left the shop.
I walked down the street, smiling inside. I had left my hair behind and I had left Rob behind. The only way to go was forward. Well, the only way to go was to the beauty shop down the road as one thing I had been thinking about while Paula was shaving me was that it will look really odd unless 'top' and 'bottom' matched. I have never gone completely bare down there, a radical trim from time to time when I was on holiday, but never bare. Now was the time to try something else new. I'll let you know how it works out...
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