Razor’s Edge: Planting the Seed

My day began as any other, rushing around the house to get my family ready for the day. On the way out of the door, I caught a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror. I wasn’t bad looking, just an average 40 year old mom with bottled brown hair cut to the traditional “asymmetrical mom bob” as my daughter would say. I had a nice figure, and was blessed with breasts that most women were jealous of. I just felt like I never had a moment to admire the blessings I had received in life.

“Let’s go go go” I said ushering my daughter and husband out to the garage. “You’re going to be late for work if you hit any traffic at all.”

“Thanks Rhonda.” Bill said to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. “I’ll be fine. Have fun at school Jenny.”

“I will dad.” Jennifer said sliding into the front seat of my car. “Let’s go mom, or I’ll be late like dad.”

“Not going to be late!” Bill replied jokingly as he backed out of the garage.

I hopped into my car and started down the road to Jenny’s high school. She had really blossomed into a beautiful woman just in the past 2 years. She had gorgeous blonde hair that reached to her mid back and had an athletic build like me. As we drove through downtown we hit a stoplight outside of a hair salon called “The Razor’s Edge.”

“That looks new.” I said pointing out the salon to Jennifer.

“Nah.” Jenny replied, glancing up from her phone. “It’s been there for a while.”

“It reminds me that it’s about that time for you to get a trim.” I responded, sweeping the hair out of her eyes. “I could do it at home like usual or we could try this place out after school.”

“I think I’m a little old for you to keep cutting my hair at home mom.” Jenny said with a smile putting down her phone. “Let’s go to the salon.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I said as traffic started moving again. “Let’s go after you get off of school if you’re not busy.”

“Okay mom.” Jenny replied, returning to whatever she was watching on her phone. “Maybe you can have them update your hair too.”

We both chuckled because I knew that my hairstyle was getting stale. It was just so easy to go to my stylist and get the same cut that I had been getting for years. There had been a few times I had considered changing up my cut, but it seemed like my stylist always steered me back to the safe option. Maybe it was time for something new, including a new stylist. I dropped Jennifer off at the front of the school and headed back towards our townhouse.

As if by fate, I was stopped at the same light as before in front of The Razor’s Edge salon. Without thinking, I turned on my blinker and pulled into the parking lot. The salon didn’t look busy first thing in the morning, so I thought I would pop in and make appointments for Jenny and I.

I got out of the car and walked in. The salon was very nice inside, but was clearly empty besides the woman sitting at the reception desk.

“Hi, welcome to The Razor’s Edge” the woman said with a smile. “My name is Laura. How can I help you?”

“I was hoping to make appointments for my daughter and I for this afternoon around 5.” I replied shaking Laura’s hand. “I’m Rhonda.”

“It’s nice to meet you hun.” Laura replied. “It looks like we only have one appointment slot available around that time. Our stylist Ramona has an opening at 5:30. Would you like to reserve that chair?”

“Wow, yes of course.” I replied. “Go ahead and put my daughter Jennifer Martin down for that time. I’ll just have to find another time to get a trim.”

Laura looked at me with a smile. She was a pretty young girl with beautiful shoulder length copper hair that looked perfectly made up. She clicked away at her computer before replying.

“If you’re just getting a trim, we can squeeze you in now before Rabeckah’s first appointment if you’d like to go right now.” Laura said motioning to the back.

“I guess that’s okay if she has the time.” I said running a hand through my hair.

“Excellent.” Laura said as she clicked away at her computer. “If you’ll take a seat, I’ll go let Beckah know.”

I walked back to the waiting area and sat down. In my old salon, there were style magazines to flip through, but not here. I didn’t have too long to contemplate the implications of the missing magazines before a very tall a beautiful woman appeared around the corner. She had mocha colored skin and chin length dark chocolate hair.

“Rhonda?” She called out to me with a smile. “You can follow me back if you’re ready. My name is Rabeckah. Beckah for short.”

We exchanged pleasantries on the way back to her station, before I climbed into her chair. Beckah expertly caped me with one motion, and began to play with my hair.

“So what are we doing today girl?” Beckah said standing behind me, looking at me in the mirror. “Laura mentioned something about a trim.”

“Yes.” I replied. “I’m about due for a trim to keep its shape.”

“How long have you had this style?” Beckah asked as she continued to run her fingers through my hair. “And are you happy with it?”

“I’ve had it for a while.” I replied sheepishly. “I’m not exactly up to date on popular styles. It’s been easy just asking for the same thing every time.”

“Well that’s certainly a safe choice.” Beckah said as she walked over to her station counter. “So do you still just want a trim, or do you want to try something new and exciting?”

“Depends on what kind of excitement you’re talking about.” I replied back with a smile. “Safe is safe. Excitement can be scary.”

“I was thinking shorter.” Beckah said, picking up a pair of clippers. “Much shorter.”

I stared at Beckah and her clippers, transfixed with her suggestion, running a million scenarios out in my head.

“I can tell I got you thinking about it.” Beckah chuckled as she placed the clippers back on their hook. “Maybe we’ll come back to the clippers at a later time.”

“I’m sorry.” I said, finally taking a breath. “Those might be a bit too extreme for me.”

“A lot of women say that until they take the plunge.” Beckah said as she picked up a pair of scissors and a comb. “But I can safely say that you would look amazing with a buzz cut… or something shorter.”

“Shorter?” I asked as Beckah began to wet down my hair. “There’s not much shorter than a that.”

“If I had my way, I’d shave you clean.”  Beckah said as she snipped at the ends of my hair. “Completely smooth.”

“Definitely not something I’d be able to pull off.” I replied with a chuckle. “Don’t think bald would suit me.”

“You wouldn’t know unless you tried.” Beckah said as she moved to my side, expertly shaping my bob. “I’ve shaved enough heads where I can tell who can pull it off. And you’re one of them.”

A few moments later, Beckah finished trimming my ends and shaping.

“All done Rhonda.” Beckah said with a smile. “You can settle up with Laura at the front desk.”

With that, she shook off the cape and I stood up from the chair to admire her work.

“Of course, if you’re not busy, you could stick around and watch my 10 o’clock appointment.” Beckah said brushing some stray hairs off of my shoulder. “Definitely something worth watching.”

Without responding to her, Beckah ushered me to a neighboring station and sat me down before walking back to reception to get her next appointment. Beckah came around the corner with a woman in her early forties with stick straight blonde hair to the middle of her back. They were chatting like she was a regular at the salon, as Beckah sat her down and caped her.

“This is my friend Rhonda.” Beckah said giving me a wink. “She was hoping to get to watch your cut today, if you don’t mind Bev.”

“Of course I don’t” Bev replied smiling back at me. “Is she new to the salon?”

“Very.” Beckah said as she straightened her station. “She walked in today for a trim.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Rhonda.” Bev said with a short wave.

“So what are we doing today Beverly?” Rhonda said as she played with her hair. “Another trim, or are we going all the way?”

“Today is the day.” Bev said making eye contact with me. “All the way.”

Beckah didn’t need any more convincing. She reached for a pair of red clippers and flipped them on with a pop. I jumped a little as they came to life. Beckah brought them, guard less to Bev’s forehead before dragging them down the middle, leaving a pale path of shadow in its wake. I watched motionless as Beckah mercilessly dragged her clippers over Bev’s head, sending sheets of blonde hair to the floor. After several more passes, Bev’s hair was reduced to stubble and she looked perfectly pleased as she ran her hands over her shorn head.

“How does that feel hun?” Beckah asked as her hands playfully rubbed her stubble.

“Lighter.” Bev responded, withdrawing her hands under the cape. “And rough. It’s gotta be smooth like we talked about.”

Beckah removed a steaming towel from a box on her counter and draped it over Bev’s freshly buzzed head. After a few minutes, she removed the towel and began to apply shaving cream to her head. Beckah made eye contact with me as she took a safety razor and began scraping away the remaining hair on Bev’s head. I couldn’t deny that the rasping sound of the razor on Bev’s head stirred something inside me. If once wasn’t enough, Beckah lathered her up again and went back over every inch of Bev’s head to insure that it was as smooth as possible. After Beckah finished, Bev’s hands shot out from under the cape to touch her now smooth head.

“So much better.” Bev said as her fingertips danced over her freshly smoothed scalp. “John is going to go nuts when he sees this.”

“You look gorgeous.” I caught myself saying. The comment slipped out of my mouth. “You look so different. So exotic.”

Beckah and Bev turned towards me with a smile.

“You can touch it if you want.” Bev said motioning me towards her. “It feels heavenly.”

Without thinking, I stood up from the chair and slinked towards Bev, before my hands explored the smoothness of Bev’s fresh shave. Her scalp felt so smooth as I ran my hand over her head.

“That feels so nice.” I said as I stepped back to my chair. “It really suits you.”

“I remember sitting in that seat where you are as I watched Beckah shave a woman, just like she did to me.” Bev said as she admired herself in the mirror while Beckah uncapped her. “I sat there wishing that I had the guts to go through with it. Take my advice, don’t wait forever. Hair grows back, but you’re only young once.”

With that, Bev stood up and walked around the corner to reception while Beckah started sweeping up the large amount of blonde hair on the floor.

“Enjoy the show?” Beckah asked as she pushed the hair into an industrial dustpan. “Bet you haven’t seen anything quite like that before.”

“I won’t forget about that.” I replied with a smile. My head was still swimming from everything I had just seen. “I better get out of here though. I have some more errands to run. How much do I owe you for the trim?”

“It’s on the house.” Beckah said still sweeping up the mass of blonde hair from the floor. “It was nice enlightening you to something you hadn’t thought of before.”

I thanked Beckah before I walked back to the front. On the way out Laura slipped me an appointment card for Jennifer.

“I hope we exceeded your expectations.” Laura said with a smile.

“Beckah is very talented.” I responded as I fingered my new trim. “I’d like to schedule a follow up with her. Does she have any openings?”

“Beckah stays very booked, but if you’d like, I can see if I can squeeze you in somewhere.” Laura responded with a warm look on her face.

“Just call me if she ever has a cancellation.” I replied as I wrote my number on a sticky note. “I think I may try a new style next time. She was very convincing.”

“Will do.” Laura said back to me as she took my number. “Either way, I guess we’ll see you tonight with your daughter.”

As I walked out of the salon, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like if I had let Beckah shave my head bald like she did with Bev. Would I like it? What would Bill say? How would my friends react? Would Jennifer’s stylist be as clipper happy as Beckah was? My mind was racing a mile a minute. The only thing I was certain of as I drove home, was that I was secretly hoping that I would receive a call from Laura telling me that Beckah had a cancellation.

To be continued.

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