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She walked slowly down the street. Her focus was straight ahead. Nothing seemed to grab her attention. She knew where she was going. She knew why she was going there. She knew he would do it for her, no questions asked.

She got to the shop. The red and blue pole was visible from a distance. It rolled up and down, twisting as it rolled. She stood in front of the large window and looked inside. He was sitting in his chair, reading the newspaper. In the waiting area sat four elderly men who always came to his store for small talk and to play a couple of hands of cards. She knew who they were and she knew they would not bother her when she walked in the door.

One of the men saw her standing there. He looked at her and then he spoke to the old man: ?Hey Luigi, Christina is standing outside the door.?

Luigi sat up in the chair and he looked at her. She walked to the door and opened it. The small cowbell went off as she stepped inside. He got out of his chair and he spun it around. She walked into the shop, placed two duffel bags on the floor and proceeded to open them. She took a couple of pieces of equipment out of the bags and set them up in the middle of the floor. Finally the last thing she took out was a video camera. She mounted it on a tripod and then she looked at her Grandpa. She looked deep into his eyes and she walked over to him. She gave him a hug and spoke: ?Everything is going to be okay. Do you understand? I am doing this voluntarily. No questions asked.? He nodded his head while choking back his tears. She pointed to the chair and she walked toward it and she sat down. He did not even speak to her. In her hand was a small remote control, which she activated as she sat in the huge red chair.

He grabbed a pin-stripped cloth cape and he flicked it open. He threw it up into the air and let it settle down over her torso. He stepped to the counter and grabbed a tissue strip. She reached around to her neck and gathered her long black hair and held it at the top of her head while he wrapped the tissue paper around her neck. He grabbed the edges of the cape and pulled it up over her shoulders. He snapped it in place and he placed his hand on her shoulder. She knew it was time to let her long hair drop down over her shoulders.

He picked up a comb and his huge black clippers. He flicked the switch on his beast and he placed the comb at the side by her ear. He combed back her thick black hair and he placed the teeth of the clippers at her ear. He pushed the clippers up to her crown. A swatch of black hair dropped to the floor, down her shoulder. He kept going through the mass of thick black hair as he combed it back over the side. He sniffled a couple of times but she reached her hand out from under the cape and she touched him to acknowledge that she was okay.

He stopped and looked at her. ?I wish you did not volunteer to do this,? he said.

?Grandpa, I am doing this for you. You need to let me do this,? she said. He nodded his head as he continued shearing the side and moving around to the back. ?You told me you had a problem. I made a few calls and I came up with the idea and they accepted it. Honestly Grandpa, I am going to be okay. The problem is taken care of.?

?Head down, please?? he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She complied with his request. He put the teeth of the clippers under her long hair and started pushing the clippers up her neck to the back of her crown. Swatch after swatch of thick hair dropped to the floor. Thick dark hair dropping to the cape, down her shoulders, down to the cape and even some of it ending up on the floor. Luigi was being very careful about what he was doing, especially since the customer was his beloved grandchild. Someone he and his wife had raised to be a model citizen and an overall good and generous person of the community.

The card players all stopped what they were doing. Their eyes literally were glued to what Luigi was doing to his customer; shearing her hair very close to the scalp. Luigi was very good with his clippers and he worked fast but with his grand daughter, he was a little slower, only because he wanted to be more cautious. This was his only grand child and he wanted her to feel and know she could trust him.

All it took was a special touch and she moved her head to accommodate him and his clippers. She was not going to make this anymore difficult. She knew in her heart that this was hard on him but she knew she had to help. She knew he could not carry the burden on his own. So she contacted the association and offered them a deal they could not refuse. And they did accept but the grounds were that Luigi had to shear her himself. If she went somewhere else, then there would still be interest owing. So it took a lot for her to convince him that she was willing to help and she wanted to. ?Besides,? she convinced him. ?look at what you did for me when I was a child. You and Grandma literally took care of me. You gave me everything. Now you have to let me help you.? That is what touched his heart. He knew he could not fight with her reasoning. So he told her to come to the shop and he would do it even though he was opposed.

The shearing continued as he plunged the clippers into her crown. He peeled her head like an orange, stripping swatch by swatch off her crown. Her hair fell all over her, dropping to the cape. Finally he put the clippers down on the counter. ?There, you are done,? he said as he picked up a mirror and held it in front of her. She looked at her reflection. ?Are you okay with this?? he asked. She nodded her head.

After he finished shearing her head and undoing the cape, she got out of the chair. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She reached into her pocket to pay him but he shook his head. He knew he would not charge her. She was his favorite and for that matter his only grandchild.

She tried to force him to take the money but he was very obstinate. He would not take it. ?Put it back! You are family. I will NOT accept your money! ? he demanded. ?You know I will not take it.?

She walked over and gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek. ?Thank you, Grandpa. I love you,? she whispered in his ear. She turned and walked out the door. ?Grandpa, don?t worry. Everything is going to be okay.? She turned and walked to the door, pushed it open and walked out of the shop. She started to walk away but she stopped and turned back. She walked back to the shop, pushed the door opened and spoke again: ?I will come back tomorrow for the equipment. You will take care of the tape? You know where to send it?? Luigi nodded his head. She nodded in return. ?See you tomorrow then, early. Okay?? she said as she closed the door and walked away from the large window.

Luigi looked at the pile of hair that was on the floor. He heaved a large sigh and he got back into his chair. ?What was all that about?? one of the card players asked. ?You just sheared your grand daughter?s head. Why? Is she a lesbian or something??

Luigi looked at him with a very stern look on his face. ?Don?t you ever say such a thing about my child. She is a good kid and I don?t appreciate people making assumptions that are not true and have no basis<? Luigi said. ?That goes for the four of you.?

?Okay, Luigi. Take it easy. We did not mean to insult you. It is just that we?????????????..,? the card player said.

?You what?? Luigi said.

?You have always talked about how beautiful your grand daughters? hair is, or sorry, was. Now you shaved her almost to the bone,? the card player said.

He sat back down on his chair. ?You don?t know anything. You don?t know what a good kid she is. She is the best. When I needed help, she came up with the suggestion. She asked me to do it for her. When I refused her help, she said she would find another barber to do it but I did not want her going to any other store to get it done. I did not want people thinking what you were thinking and what you said. About her being a lesbian. I would not have that. So I told her I would do it,? Luigi said. He reached over and picked up his newspaper and continued his reading.

He stopped reading for a minute. He got up from his chair. He walked to the back of his shop and returned with an empty box, his broom and dustpan. He looked at his friends. ?I think it is time for you four to leave. I think I need to be alone. Please go,? he demanded. The four card players got up and walked to the door. Luigi walked to the door and turned the lock. He pulled the blinds and as he stood beside his chair, he looked down at the huge pile of black hair. He reached down and grabbed a couple of long swatches of hair. He held it in his hand and looked at the chair. He looked to the door, wishing that he could turn back the hands of time and try to convince her that she did not have to go that far. She did not have to do it. He would find a way to make it work, to get over the problem.

But as he swept up the pile of hair, he knew it was her decision to make and he needed to respect it. And he did respect her for making the sacrifice for his sake. When he spoke to her and told her his problem, he did not think she would understand how serious it was. But surprisingly, she did and she offered to do it willingly.

Author: hairman001 Copyright protected ? 2005 Copyright legal and registered with an international copyright law. ? 2000 JCWP DESIGN SERVICES Not to be turned over to any other board or site without legal permission of the author.

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