Mullet mums

“Who is that?”Mirabel asked her group.

”There the new people up state”,Tanya replied, gesturing with her chin to the woman who was watching the men work hard,”She’s due in a month or two”

”A new mom”,Mirabel nodded,”Well, let’s welcome the new comers to the neighborhood”

The other girls nodded and the pride walked briskly over to the their new neighbors. A big belly was a good sign for the neighborhood’s economy and way of life. There was a ritual to begin.

”Oh, why, hello there”,the wife of the couple curtsied politely as the group approached her,”How do you do? I’m Rachel. Me and my husband just moved from New Orleans and I intend on making an excellent first impression”

”Well, honey. I’m proud to say you’ve already had”,Mirabel ran her fingers through the falls on the back of her head,”A newcomer is always appreciated, as long as they know the way”

”I’m sorry”,Rachel scratched her head of black hair,”I don’t understand what you mean”

”You’ll grow accustomed to it in time”,Mirabel smiled,”I’m two doors down if you would be so kind as to stop by”

”I will”,Rachel awkwardly returned a smile as the group of women walked back to the playground to pick up their kids.

According to her word, Rachel came to Mirabel’s house. A cheesecake pie was in her hands as a fellowship gift. Tanya answered the door and was very pleased that the neighbor was stopping by. She took Rachel into the house. Children ran about as the mothers gathered in the kitchen.

”Ah, Rachel”,Mirabel hugged Rachel tightly,”Here, come sit”

There was a chair in the middle of the kitchen and Rachel was reluctant to sit down on it. But, against her gut feeling, Rachel sat down in the chair with the other women helping her into it. Settled in, Rachel asked,”Girls, what’s happening?”

”You’re going to be a mom”,Tanya said,”And you’re going to be living in the neighborhood”

“So…”Rachel tailed off as she felt her hair being piled on top of her head. Something clamped her hair in place as she tried to say,”I have a bad…”

Tanya put a finger to Rachel’s lips and shushed her. Rachel could do nothing as Mirabel flung a cape over her body and snapped its buttons. Hair down, the leader of the pack of women molded Rachel’s crowning hair into a topknot and separated the left and right sides of her head from the back.

”Alright, girls”,Mirabel handled the clippers,”You ready”

As the other women cheered her on, Mirabel flicked on the device. She took control of Rachel’s head and slid the clippers up the woman’s left temple. Again and again, until the side had nothing but stubble, Mirabel buzzed Rachel’s left and right side.

Rachel was in shock but she couldn’t do anything. All she could do was watch from the chair as Mirabel did as she pleased. Turning off the clippers, Mirabel undid the topknot and replaced it with a ponytail of sorts. With a sharp pair of scissors, the woman snipped of the ponytail at practically the base. Accompanying the scissors, a comb glided over Rachel’s crown. Mirabel kept cutting until the top was very short than trimmed the excess to tidy up.

”And there”,Mirabel set down her tools and ran her fingers over the top of Rachel’s head,”Cute as a button”

The other women of the group started to clap and blow kisses in excitement for their new member. Mirabel removed the cape and again felt up Rachel’s head, brushing out the long, black hair on the back of the woman’s head. Rachel couldn’t speak. She was helped up by the other women and taken upstairs. As Mirabel cleaned up the kitchen floor, the other women started to do Rachel’s makeup. By the end of the ordeal, Rachel couldn’t recognize herself in the mirror. She had party in the back, but everything up front was just business.

As the group was helping her downstairs, Mirabel met them at the bottom of the stairs and said,”By the way, hun. I expect you back here every two weeks or so for your regulatory haircut. And remember, we have book club here on Thursday at five so don’t be late”

Rachel could only nod as her new neighbors escorted her home.

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