Nash Girls: Secret

The morning shift at the Nash automobile factory had just ended, and the streets around the plant were crowded with workers heading home.
Inside Frank’s Barbershop, business had been steady.
Frank was finishing a gentleman’s haircut in the first chair. Vivian was working at the middle station, cutting a young factory woman’s hair into a short, sharply angled bob. Eddie, the youngest barber, was sweeping up around his chair.
The shop smelled of shaving soap, hair tonic, cigarette smoke, and freshly brewed coffee.
Vivian had only been working at Frank’s for a relatively short time, but she had already developed quite a following among the women employed at Nash.
It was a remarkable change from the beauty shop she had inherited from her aunt.
When her aunt died, Vivian believed she had been handed a wonderful opportunity. Unfortunately, all four of her employees eventually left for better-paying jobs at Nash. Without anyone to help her, she couldn’t keep the business operating.
Frank had given her another chance.
Now she was making more money cutting women’s hair in a barbershop than she had ever managed to make running her own establishment.
And the women certainly weren’t afraid to experiment.
“You’re sure you want the back this short?” Vivian asked her customer.
“Absolutely. I’m tired of having hair hanging around my neck when I’m working.”
Vivian picked up her hand clippers.
“Well, you’re going to have a nice clean neckline when I’m finished.”
The woman smiled.
“That’s exactly what I want.”
Outside, another woman had stopped in front of the shop window.
Her name was Eleanor.
She was twenty-nine years old, married, and had never in her life worn her hair shorter than her shoulders.
In fact, her thick, dark brown hair reached nearly to her waist.
Every morning she spent a considerable amount of time brushing it, arranging it, and pinning it into a respectable hairstyle.
Her husband had always admired her long hair.
But Eleanor had a secret.
For several years, she had wondered what it would feel like to have absolutely no hair at all.
Not merely a fashionable bob.
Not even a short crop.
She wondered what it would be like to have her entire head shaved smooth.
It was something she had never mentioned to anyone.
Certainly not her husband.
And definitely not the women at church.
Yet there she stood, watching Vivian run the hand clippers up the back of another woman’s head.
The sight fascinated her.
Inside, Eddie noticed her standing outside.
“Frank, you’ve got another window shopper.”
Frank glanced toward the glass.
“She’s been standing there awhile.”
Vivian looked up from her work.
“Maybe she’s thinking about getting her hair cut.”
The customer in Vivian’s chair laughed.
“Well, tell her to come inside. She can watch me lose the rest of mine.”
Frank finished brushing off his customer.
Then he walked to the door.
“Good morning, miss. Can we help you with something?”
Eleanor immediately looked embarrassed.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry. I was just watching.”
“Nothing wrong with that. We’ve had quite a few women coming in lately.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Would you like to come inside?”
Eleanor hesitated.
Then she looked once more at the woman receiving the angled bob.
“Well, perhaps just for a moment.”
Frank held the door open.
“Come right in.”
Eleanor entered the barbershop.
Vivian smiled at her.
“Good morning. I’m Vivian.”
“Eleanor.”
“Nice to meet you, Eleanor. Have a seat. I’m just finishing up.”
Eleanor sat in one of the waiting chairs.
She watched as Vivian carefully cleaned the neckline of her customer.
The woman’s hair was now dramatically shorter than when she had entered.
The back was clipped close, while the front fell into a sharp angle toward her chin.
Eleanor couldn’t stop looking.
“Do many women have their hair cut that short?” she finally asked.
Vivian laughed.
“You wouldn’t believe how many.”
Frank spoke from his chair.
“When we first started cutting women’s hair, people thought we’d lost our minds. Now half the women coming out of Nash seem to want it.”
“Some want it even shorter,” Eddie added.
Eleanor turned toward him.
“Shorter?”
“Oh, sure. I’ve cut a few almost as short as the fellows.”
Vivian nodded.
“And I’ve had two women ask about having their heads shaved.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Really. One went through with it. The other changed her mind.”
“What did the woman who went through with it look like afterward?”
Vivian smiled.
“Like a woman with a shaved head.”
Everyone laughed.
But Eleanor wasn’t laughing.
She was thinking.
For the first time, she realized that the secret she had carried for years might not be quite as strange as she had imagined.
When Vivian finished her customer, she removed the cape and shook the loose hair onto the floor.
The woman stood, admired her reflection, and paid.
“See you in a few weeks, Vivian.”
“Don’t let it grow too long.”
“I won’t.”
The customer left.
Vivian turned toward Eleanor.
“Well, would you like a haircut?”
Eleanor looked at her hands.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s all right. Nobody’s going to make you get one.”
Frank settled into his chair with the newspaper.
Eddie returned to cleaning his station.
Vivian approached Eleanor.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Certainly.”
“Have you been thinking about cutting your hair for a long time?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Several years, actually.”
Vivian glanced at the enormous amount of hair pinned onto Eleanor’s head.
“Well, that’s quite a change you’re considering.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Vivian pulled out her barber chair.
“Why don’t you sit down and tell me what you’re thinking?”
Eleanor slowly approached the chair.
She sat.
Vivian draped the white cape around her shoulders.
“Now, what would you like?”
Eleanor stared at her reflection.
“You’re going to think I’m crazy.”
Vivian smiled.
“After working here, I doubt there’s much that would surprise me.”
Eleanor took a deep breath.
“I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to have my head shaved.”
Vivian stopped arranging the cape.
“Shaved?”
“Completely.”
Frank lowered his newspaper.
Eddie looked over.
Eleanor immediately regretted saying anything.
“Oh, goodness. I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
Frank spoke calmly.
“Ma’am, I’ve shaved plenty of heads in my life.”
“But not many women, I imagine.”
“No, not many.”
Vivian stepped around the chair.
“Well, Eleanor, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to try something different. But that’s a mighty big change.”
“I know.”
“Does your husband know you’ve been thinking about this?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No. My husband loves my long hair.”
“Then perhaps you ought to think carefully before doing something you can’t undo.”
Eleanor looked at Vivian in the mirror.
“That’s exactly why I’ve never done it.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Eleanor surprised everyone.
“But I’m tired of wondering.”
Vivian nodded.
“All right. Let’s talk about what you actually want.”
“I don’t want a bob.”
“All right.”
“I don’t want it cut to my ears.”
“All right.”
Eleanor swallowed.
“I want to know what it feels like to be completely bald.”
Vivian looked toward Frank.
Frank folded his newspaper.
“Well, that’s certainly something we can do.”
Eddie grinned.
“That’ll be a haircut nobody forgets.”
Frank gave him a look.
“Eddie, let the lady make up her own mind.”
Vivian turned the chair slightly toward the mirror.
“Eleanor, I can cut your hair very short with the clippers first. You can look at it before we go any further. If you decide that’s enough, we stop.”
“And if I want it shaved?”
“Then Frank can finish it with a razor.”
Eleanor considered the suggestion.
“Could I keep my hair?”
“Of course,” Vivian replied. “We can tie it together before cutting it off.”
Eleanor reached up and removed one of her hairpins.
Then another.
And another.
Soon her heavy brown hair began falling around her shoulders.
Vivian helped remove the remaining pins.
When she finished, Eleanor’s hair hung nearly to her waist.
Eddie whistled softly.
“That’s a lot of hair.”
Frank nodded.
“Sure is.”
Vivian brushed it carefully.
“Last chance to change your mind.”
Eleanor studied herself.
Then she smiled nervously.
“Let’s do it.”
Vivian gathered the hair into a thick braid and secured it tightly.
She picked up her scissors.
“Ready?”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Ready.”
The scissors began cutting through the heavy braid.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Eleanor could feel the tension changing as Vivian worked through the thick bundle.
Then suddenly the weight disappeared.
Vivian held the severed braid in her hand.
“There it is.”
Eleanor opened her eyes.
Her remaining hair fell unevenly around her shoulders and neck.
She stared at the braid.
“Good heavens.”
Vivian placed it carefully on the counter.
“Well, we’ve started.”
Eleanor laughed nervously.
“I suppose there’s no turning back now.”
“Oh, there’s still plenty of hair left if you want a shorter style instead.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No. I want to keep going.”
Vivian reached for the hand-operated clippers.
Unlike the electric machines that would become common in later years, these required the barber to squeeze the handles repeatedly.
Vivian placed the clippers against Eleanor’s nape.
“Head forward, please.”
Eleanor lowered her chin.
The first strokes began.
Click-click-click.
Click-click-click.
The blades worked upward through the remaining hair.
Dark brown clippings fell onto the white cape.
Vivian made another pass.
Then another.
Eleanor could feel the cool air touching the newly exposed back of her head.
“Oh, my goodness,” she whispered.
“Everything all right?” Vivian asked.
“Yes. It just feels so different.”
Vivian continued clipping.
She worked carefully around the ears, shortening the sides until only a close covering remained.
Then she began on top.
Longer pieces of hair tumbled down over Eleanor’s face before sliding onto the cape.
Within several minutes, the woman who had entered with waist-length hair had a closely cropped head.
Vivian brushed away the loose clippings.
“Have a look.”
Eleanor raised her head.
She stared.
For the first time in her adult life, she could see the shape of her own head.
Her ears were completely exposed.
Her neck looked longer.
Her face seemed entirely different.
She raised one hand and rubbed the short stubble.
“Oh!”
Vivian laughed.
“Different, isn’t it?”
“I can’t believe how light my head feels.”
Frank approached.
“Well, that’s a respectable short haircut right there.”
Eleanor continued rubbing her head.
Then she looked at Vivian.
“But it isn’t bald.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Eleanor took a breath.
“I want to finish.”
Vivian looked toward Frank.
“Your department.”
Frank smiled.
“All right, Eleanor. If you’re certain.”
“I am.”
Vivian stepped aside.
Frank washed his hands and prepared his shaving equipment.
He placed a clean towel around Eleanor’s shoulders and arranged a warm, damp towel over her closely cropped head.
“First we’ll soften everything up.”
Eleanor relaxed into the chair.
The warmth felt pleasant.
She could hear Eddie sweeping, Vivian cleaning her clippers, and the occasional automobile passing outside.
After several minutes, Frank removed the towel.
He worked up a rich lather with his shaving brush and spread it carefully over Eleanor’s scalp.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
Her entire head was covered in white shaving soap.
Eddie chuckled.
“Now you look like you’re wearing a snowcap.”
Eleanor laughed.
Frank opened his straight razor and checked the edge.
“Hold still for me.”
He began at the side of her head, carefully removing the remaining stubble with short, controlled strokes.
Each pass revealed smooth skin beneath the lather.
Frank wiped the blade frequently and continued around the head.
Eleanor watched the transformation in the mirror.
The woman looking back at her was becoming someone she had never seen before.
Frank worked around her ears, across the back, and finally over the crown.
When he finished, he wiped away the remaining soap.
“How’s that?”
Eleanor raised her hand.
Her fingers touched smooth skin.
She gasped.
“Good heavens.”
Vivian smiled.
“Well?”
Eleanor slowly rubbed her scalp.
Then she began laughing.
Not because anything was funny.
But because she couldn’t believe she had finally done something she had secretly wanted to do for years.
“It’s wonderful.”
Frank examined his work.
“Let me clean up a couple of little spots.”
He applied a little more lather and carefully finished the areas that needed attention.
Then he wiped her head clean and applied a mild finishing lotion.
“There we are.”
Vivian brought over a hand mirror so Eleanor could see the back.
Eleanor turned her head from side to side.
There wasn’t a strand of hair left.
Her eyebrows and eyelashes remained untouched, framing a face that now looked strikingly different.
“I don’t even recognize myself.”
Vivian smiled.
“Do you regret it?”
Eleanor thought for a moment.
“No.”
She touched her scalp again.
“Not one bit.”
Frank removed the cape.
A tremendous pile of brown hair lay on the floor.
Vivian handed Eleanor the long braid.
“Here’s your souvenir.”
Eleanor held it in both hands.
“Imagine carrying all that around for years.”
Eddie looked at the pile on the floor.
“Well, you certainly won’t need as many hairpins.”
Everyone laughed.
Then Eleanor’s expression changed.
“Oh, dear.”
Vivian noticed.
“What’s wrong?”
“My husband.”
“Your husband?”
“Yes. He has absolutely no idea.”
Frank leaned against the counter.
“Well, I imagine he’s going to notice.”
Eleanor laughed.
“He’s going to notice before I even get through the front door.”
Vivian reassured her.
“Give him a chance. He might surprise you.”
Eleanor paid for the haircut, carefully placed her braid in her handbag, and thanked everyone.
Before leaving, she looked once more in the mirror.
Then she stepped out into the afternoon sunshine.
For the first time, she felt the breeze directly against her scalp.
She stopped on the sidewalk.
Closed her eyes.
And smiled.
THE SURPRISE AT HOME
Eleanor’s husband arrived home shortly after six o’clock.
He worked in an office connected with the automobile business and usually expected to find Eleanor preparing supper.
That evening, the kitchen smelled of roast chicken and potatoes.
“Eleanor?”
“In here!”
Her husband removed his hat and walked toward the kitchen.
Eleanor stood with her back to him.
He stopped.
Something was terribly different.
“Eleanor?”
She turned around.
Her husband froze.
For several seconds, he said absolutely nothing.
Then he blinked.
“What happened to your hair?”
Eleanor smiled nervously.
“I had it cut.”
“Cut?”
He stepped closer.
“Eleanor, you haven’t got any hair!”
“I know.”
Her husband stared at her smooth scalp.
“Good heavens. What possessed you to do that?”
She took a deep breath.
“Can we sit down?”
Her husband pulled out a chair.
Eleanor sat across from him.
“There’s something I’ve never told you.”
He looked concerned.
“What is it?”
“For years, I’ve wondered what it would feel like to shave my head.”
He frowned.
“Years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because I thought you’d laugh at me.”
Her husband looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said something she hadn’t expected.
“Eleanor, we’ve been married seven years. You could have told me.”
“I know.”
“Did you do it because you were unhappy?”
“No.”
“Did somebody talk you into it?”
“No. The lady barber actually suggested I think about it before going through with it.”
“Lady barber?”
“Her name is Vivian. She works at Frank’s Barbershop near Nash.”
Her husband shook his head.
“I know Frank’s place. Never imagined you’d be going there.”
Eleanor smiled.
“Neither did I.”
He looked at her scalp again.
“May I?”
She nodded.
He reached over and gently touched the top of her head.
His eyebrows rose.
“Well, I’ll be.”
Eleanor laughed.
“That’s exactly what I said.”
Her husband rubbed his hand across the smooth skin.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a woman with her head shaved like this.”
“Neither had I, until I started hearing about women getting their hair cut short.”
He sat back.
“Well, it’s certainly different.”
Eleanor’s smile faded slightly.
“Do you hate it?”
Her husband considered the question.
“I loved your long hair.”
“I know.”
“But I married you, Eleanor. Not your hair.”
She smiled.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Then he added, “Although I might need a few days to get used to seeing you like this.”
Eleanor laughed.
“I think that’s fair.”
Her husband noticed the handbag sitting on the table.
“What’s in there?”
Eleanor opened it and removed the long braid.
He stared.
“Good Lord. That’s all your hair?”
“Most of it.”
He picked up the braid.
“That’s quite something.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Vivian said I could keep it.”
Her husband looked between the braid and his wife’s bald head.
Then he began laughing.
“Well, I suppose if you ever miss it, you can always look at it.”
Eleanor joined him.
For the first time since leaving the barbershop, she felt completely at ease.
A RETURN TO FRANK’S
Two weeks later, Eleanor returned to Frank’s Barbershop.
This time she didn’t stand outside watching through the window.
She walked straight in.
Vivian was cutting another factory woman’s hair.
Eddie was trimming a gentleman’s neckline.
Frank was sharpening a razor.
“Well, look who’s back,” Frank said.
Vivian turned around.
“Eleanor!”
Eleanor smiled.
“Good afternoon.”
Vivian looked at her head.
A faint covering of dark stubble had begun growing back.
“How are you enjoying your new haircut?”
Eleanor laughed.
“That’s why I’m here.”
Frank raised an eyebrow.
“Going to let it grow back?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No. I’d like you to shave it again.”
Vivian smiled.
“Well, I guess that answers that.”
Eleanor sat in the waiting area.
“And I have something else to tell you.”
Frank looked over.
“What’s that?”
“My husband didn’t divorce me.”
Eddie burst out laughing.
Vivian shook her head.
“Oh, Eleanor!”
“He was shocked, of course. But he actually said something rather sweet.”
“What was that?” Vivian asked.
“He told me he married me, not my hair.”
Frank smiled.
“Sounds like a sensible fellow.”
Eleanor nodded.
“He is.”
When Frank’s chair became available, Eleanor settled into it.
Frank fastened the cape.
“Same as last time?”
“Exactly the same.”
He reached for his clippers to remove the short regrowth before preparing the razor.
Eleanor watched him in the mirror.
“You know, Frank, I’ve spent years wondering what this would be like.”
“And now?”
“Now I wonder why I waited so long.”
Frank smiled.
“Well, sometimes it takes people awhile to figure out what they want.”
Vivian looked over from the middle chair.
“And sometimes all they need is a little courage.”
Eleanor nodded.
“That’s exactly right.”
Frank began clipping away the two weeks of growth.
Outside, the Nash factory whistle sounded in the distance.
Workers were changing shifts.
Automobiles rattled along the street.
And inside the little barbershop near the factory, a woman who had spent years keeping a harmless secret was finally comfortable being herself.
She no longer needed an excuse to sit in Frank’s chair.
She simply liked having her head shaved.

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