A Commitment Thing

What am I doing here? I wondered for probably the thousandth time. I was sitting in a chair contemplating what was about to happen to me and what events had led me to my current predicament.

It’s probably best to start at the beginning.

I grew up on a cattle ranch outside Bozeman Montana. The only girl in a family with four other brothers. I couldn’t help but be something of a Tom Boy.

I saw my share of medical emergencies while growing up. Not only us, but the animals. So, I became interested in medicine at an early age. And, I’ve always been drawn back to my roots.

My interest in medicine grew and I became an orthopedic surgeon. I specialize in the care of hands and elbows, and I work with several other orthopedic surgeons, each with their own specialties. The only problem was it wasn’t anywhere near Bozeman.

Several years ago I met Kevin. We were each invited to a party by a mutual friend, although neither of us knew each other at all.

My friend, Kathy, is a habitual match maker. She is constantly seeking to get lonesome singles of suitable means together and holds cocktail parties to setup those lonesome singles.

Kathy specialized in putting people together that needed help.

For me, going to bars, or going out with my girlfriends trolling for dates, just wasn’t the ticket. As an orthopedic surgeon, I make a fairly nice living. Meeting someone at random usually puts one or the other at some sort of imbalance in a relationship. Either the guy makes a ton of money and the lady doesn’t or vice versa. It just makes things difficult.

Kathy’s parties usually avoid that. She invites people of similar means to her events. Less stress on everyone.

I have gone to a few of these events. And while I have met a few nice guys, none had ever really gone further than a date or two.

That was until I met Kevin.

He attended one of Kathy’s parties and was already there when I arrived. It seemed I had no sooner walked through the door than he appeared at my side and asked if I needed anything to drink. After all, it was a cocktail party.

Somewhat surprised at his approach, there was no catch line, just a very simple request to get a drink. I just said a wine would be nice and we wound our way to the bar.

One thing led to another and we exchanged contact information and spent the rest of the party together.

I also met his business partner Johnny, and as I was getting ready to leave, Kevin asked to see me again. I immediately agreed to a date.

I don’t know what it was. His immediate approach, his looks, which by the way are incredible, or something else, but something about him just clicked with me.

We met for our first date and it really went well. Much more so than any previous date setup by Kathy. More dates were conducted and I was beginning to think Kevin and I might be something more than just a few dates.

I thought Kevin was thinking along similar lines.

Kevin and Johnny are software developers and entrepreneurs.

They could see a market that was either not being served or was underserved. Then they developed a product to meet a need and made money. If they were able to sell the company after creating the product, they could make a lot of money.

Kevin and Johnny had done this with more than a couple of companies. And made quite a pile of money in so doing.

After a few months of dating we decided to move in together. Kevin actually had more of an estate than a house. It was out in the country. While I made a nice living, I realized it paled in comparison to Kevin’s. It was a very comfortable home for Kevin and then for me. No one but Kevin had ever occupied the master suite. I was not invading someone else’s space that had moved out.

Time went by and I was finding I was truly in love. I believed Kevin felt the same way. But it seemed to me that something was just a little bit off, or I should say missing. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. But my feminine instincts were telling me something was missing.

We continued along our path for a while. I kept waiting for that something else to appear. But nothing ever came.

Johnny was a regular at what I now thought of as our house. Johnny was still going to Kathy’s matchmaker parties. Kevin and I had stopped going to those after we became a couple.

Kathy was overjoyed that we had become a couple. Her new target was Johnny.

One day Johnny was over and Kevin was out somewhere. While we waited for him to return, Johnny and I sat on our deck and just talked.

Johnny was just like Kevin and was always easy to talk to. He and Kevin went back to grade school and had been best of friends since probably first grade. They knew each other like a well-read book.

“Johnny, you know Kevin better than anyone. Am I expecting too much or is there something I should know about Kevin that I’m not aware of?

Johnny gave me a look. “Jenn, what do you mean? I know he’s in love with you.”

“I just feel there is something I am not getting. Kevin seems to have an issue with committing to me the way I think I’ve committed to him.”

Johnny looked out across the grounds as if thinking about what he would say next.

“You know he almost got engaged a few years ago, right?”

“Yes, he’s mentioned it. That was before he built this place and while he still lived in town. But he’s never said what happened between them. I just figured it was a private issue they had and something just came between them.”

Johnny smiled, “It came between them all right. Jenn, has he ever mentioned things he really likes and doesn’t like?”

“Nothing really specific. I know he’s like me, a carnivore and potatoes guy. He likes to work out and have a good time. He’s mentioned he wants to move even further outside town and get a lot of land. That’s all good with me. The further out the better. Is there anything else?”

“You never heard this from me. You have to swear it.”

Johnny looked really serious for one of the very few times since I’d known him. I looked at him and realized I was about to enter the boys clubhouse. Like Harry Potter and The Marauder’s Map. I said, “I swear to never let anyone know of what we are about to talk about.”

“OK, here goes, Kevin was really serious about a gal he was dating.” “Yeah, that was Kim right?” “Yep, well we all thought they were going to get married, yada, yada, yada. But he told her of his biggest “things” or whatever you want to call them. She thought he was some kind of freak and told him that. She got mad and left, and we never saw her again. Since then he really keeps women at something of an arm’s distance. I think even you to some extent. He’s afraid of opening up and then have the woman, that being you, run away like Kim did.”

I stared at Johnny with my mouth wide open. I didn’t know any of this. Was I about to be told Kevin was into some kind of cult thing, Satanic worship, chicken entrails scattered about?

I gathered myself together. “OK, what is Kevin’s big thing here?”

Johnny looked at me again, took a breath and let it out before speaking. “Jennifer, you can never, ever let him know I told you any of this. Ever.” I knew this was serious. Johnny almost never called me Jennifer. I nodded back at him.

“Kevin has this thing for women with short hair.”

Is that all? Johnny had me ready for something really weird. Like I said, cult stuff.

OK, obsessing over women with short hair isn’t exactly what I would call normal behavior, but it’s a far cry from what Johnny had me prepared for.

Johnny continued, “When he told Kim about it she just took off. I guess she wasn’t ever going to get her hair cut and then she probably thought he would be forever looking at some gal with short hair and wishing it might come true with her. Whatever it was, like I said, she took off after telling him he was a freak and we never saw her again. That was devastating to him.”

I sat there for a moment, thinking about what Johnny had just said. “OK, I get it, but then why are we a couple? I don’t have anything even approaching short hair. If he’s into women like that, what was his attraction to me in the first place?”

Johnny smiled, “I remember that day at Kathy’s party. He and I were both there looking for someone. I’m still looking. But I do remember he and I were talking, waiting for more people to arrive. You walked in the door and the next thing I know is I am talking to empty space. Kevin was gone and raced over to talk with you before you got grabbed by some other guy. We still chuckle over it every once in a while. It was so out of character for him to run and meet someone like that. He told me later he just had an urge to meet you.”

Johnny continued, “Did he ever tell you he thought it was love at first sight?”

“He’s told me he always thought I was the one. But not love at first sight.”

“Well, it was. What I think you’re feeling is the sense that he hasn’t said anything about his thing for gals with short hair. It’s the unspoken thing between you.”

“Do you think it’s what is keeping him from openly committing to me? Like with a ring?”

Johnny took another breath. “Yeah, I do.”

I laid back into the lounger. I started thinking about Kevin’s obsession and what it would do, either for us or against us.

Kevin came home about then and Johnny and I joined him and our evening proceeded as if nothing had happened.

Weeks went by with me thinking more and more about Kevin and his issues with short hair and then if I could ever do something about it.

I have never been too attached to my hair. It wasn’t Pantene hair by any means. Almost bra length, light auburn hair. I guess some would call it a dark shade of copper. Medium body and I’ve never done anything special with it. I get it cut maybe 4 times a year as my schedule allows. In essence, it looked like just about every other female surgeon I knew, with a couple of exceptions.

We just didn’t care about our hair. Medicine, and our schedules, took priority over everything.

Kevin, me, Johnny and Johnny’s date of the month were out for dinner one evening. At a very nice restaurant. One we went to frequently.

While we waited to get seated at a table, Kevin and whoever Johnny’s date was went to get something and Johnny and I were able to talk.

I brought up the subject I had been wondering about for weeks.

“Johnny, how come you know about this thing Kevin has for short hair?”

“Jenn, I know everything about him. Everything. And if your next question is does he love you, the answer is an unequivocal yes.”

“I think I already knew that. But Mr. Commitment issues still isn’t committing. So the question is this. If I were to get my hair cut, how short is short enough?”

Johnny got another look on his face. Once I had asked the question, he wondered if he ought to say what he knew he had to say.

“Very short. The shorter the better.”

O no. He pictured me with a buzz cut or something.

“You mean like a buzz or even shaved?”

“Oh no. Not that short. But he likes it really short on the sides and back. If I see anyone with what he likes, I’ll let you know. Or if you see someone, give me a look and I’ll give you a thumbs up or down.”

“Deal.”

“You love him enough that you’ll cut your hair to get him?”

I had been thinking about this since our talk a month or more ago.

“I think so, yes.”

We didn’t have too long a wait to see a perfect example of what might spark Kevin’s interest.

As we got seated, our waitress arrived for our drink order. I took one look at her and she had a very short haircut. I thought it was a bit too short. At least I hoped it was too short for Kevin. I looked at Johnny and raised my eyebrows, indicating our server. Johnny looked up at her and gave a barely imperceptible nod.

Oh crap.

I looked at Kevin. As she walked away he tried mightily not to get a neck cramp as his gaze followed her.

It was obvious he thought she looked great.

Her hair was multicolored but not wildly so. Her base color was blond. But her hair was definitely short. The sides and back were mere whispers of hair. The top went every which way and it was sort of spiked up. It couldn’t have been even a couple inches long. But I could tell she could also get it to tone down if she desired. Tonight she had no desire to tone it down at all.

We ate our dinners and I made an excuse to get up. I made a bee line for our waitress, Laurie.

I found her and asked, “Hi, I have to tell you I really like your hair. Where do you get it done, and is there a lot of maintenance to it? And most importantly, what does your significant other think about it?”

She looked a bit surprised at first but recovered quickly and said, “Thank you. I am almost embarrassed to tell you where I get it cut. Not exactly the kind of place somebody like you would probably go. There is almost no maintenance. I just go back and get a trim every few weeks. I get it cut at the same place my boyfriend gets his cut. I go to Sport Clips with him. And yes, it really sparks his interest if you know what I mean.” She grinned at me in a self-deprecating way.

Sport Clips! OMG.

“Well it looks so good on you. Do you always go to the same stylist?”

“Thanks. My boyfriend talked me into using the same gal he goes to. And yes, it isn’t the kind of place I’ve ever gone before. But once I started going there I don’t have any problems anymore. And I love the way she cuts it. Apparently, you like it too. If you’re thinking of going to the same place, it’s the shop on Main and 5^th. If you’re going to get yours cut, book yourself with Michelle.”

I replied, “Thanks, uh, can we keep this talk just between the two of us?” “No problems.”

My adrenaline was pumping from our quick conversation and I forgot to go to the bathroom and went back to our table. We finished dinner, I suggested to Kevin that we give her a big tip and we left.

Now what to do? Should I tell Kevin or should I just cut it and come home with it cut or what?

A couple more weeks went by. I began to notice that if Kevin saw a woman with short hair that his eyes would follow her. If it was really short, then his eyes never left her. Unfortunately, it appeared that Johnny was right. Kevin really seemed to like the shorter is better look.

I decided discretion being the better part of valor, that I should just plunge in and get it cut and see how Kevin would react. Based on what Johnny had said, and on observations of Kevin over the past few weeks when we would see a gal with short hair, I was sure Kevin would like it.

While working on my computer at night one day after several long procedures, I wandered around the Internet and found the Sport Clips’ web page. I found they had an app to download to my phone and then I could use it to schedule my haircut.

Damn, it wouldn’t allow me to schedule a haircut for next week. I could only check to see who was working that day and then try to get in on the day Michelle worked. Even then I would have to wait at home or at the clinic for the right time.

Kevin and Johnny had been working with a potential buyer for their latest company. If the sale went through as hoped, it would be a big sale for them. How big the sale would be they only hoped but they said nothing to me.

The buyer wanted to meet them in Chicago to negotiate the terms. Kevin thought it would take the entire week. He asked me if I wanted to go with them on a trip and do some shopping. I said I couldn’t as I had surgeries already scheduled. Now I also thought I might have other plans as well.

I looked at my schedule and saw I had a fairly easy day on Wednesday after 3 early surgeries. But now, would Michelle be working that day?

I finished the third procedure. A fairly simple thumb surgery. Simple for me, but my patient would have a painful and lengthy recovery. I left my patient, finished some post-op work, and checked the app. Michelle was indeed working. She had a wait of about an hour. I checked in with her and sat back.

Waiting.

What would it feel like to have super short hair? What would I look like? Would I look too much like a guy? Mine had never been shorter than just below my shoulders.

I assessed my face and body. I worked out regularly. We had a small gym in the first floor of our house. Kevin and I used it on a daily basis. A good way to relax after surgeries or difficult coding.

I think I was in pretty good shape. Slim build, all of my pieces were nicely proportional. I wasn’t too tall at 5’8” and my body weight never moved from 125 pounds. Nobody was going to mistake me for a guy.

Then I thought some more. As I said, I had never been so attached to my hair that it meant a lot to me one way or the other. I just had it long because it was easy.

Now I was seriously considering going shorter than Kevin’s hair.

The more I had been thinking about this over the last few months, the more I realized if this might be the thing that got Kevin to make a commitment to me, then it would be worth every inch I had cut off.

However, if Johnny was wrong, it could be a wrinkle in our relationship.

After watching Kevin’s reactions to women we’d seen with short hair, I knew Johnny was right.

I drove over to the Sport Clips shop. It took all of my energy to get out of the car and walk into the shop. A place that catered to men. What was I getting into?

You’re probably wondering why I was walking into Sport Clips instead of my usual stylist.

In one of my infrequent trips to her I had casually mentioned going shorter. She looked at me and immediately started talking me out of that. Instead she began telling me how great I would look as a blonde.

Going blonde was a non-starter. It was obvious that asking her for a super short cut was not going to end well.

Laurie had already told me of the place and a stylist that would obviously do the cut I was after. I just had to invade a man’s domain.

I opened the door and one of the stylists looked at me and asked if I had logged in online or not. I said yes, and she pointed to a keypad and said just put your phone number in and we’ll be with you in a few minutes.

I entered my phone number and began to look around.

There was very little privacy here. There were probably 8 or 10 chairs with nothing really separating them, but there seemed to be only 4 stylists working. Then I noticed all the TV monitors at every station. They all had some ball game on. Duh! You’re at Sport Clips, Jenn.

What did I expect? Wine and cheese while some background music played like my other stylist’s?

I sat down in the waiting area. Shaking. Luckily, the shop wasn’t busy. Just two other patrons getting a normal haircut. Another monitor in the waiting area said Jenn S On Deck with Michelle. I guess I was next up with Michelle.

The stylist that I assumed to be Michelle finished with her client and looked at me. I started to get up but she said it would take her a minute to clean up after that client. Another Duh moment.

I was really nervous. Spooking at almost every input.

Finally, Michelle came out, introduced herself, and said she was ready and to come on back. I sat in the chair indicated and she looked at me, probably wondering what this lady with the long hair was doing in her chair. I think she had also noticed the car I got out of. A woman driving a Porsche 718 could obviously afford a better salon than Sport Clips.

“So Jenn, what are we doing here today?”

A very ordinary question. One I had decided long ago to be absolutely honest about in my answer.

“My boyfriend is into short hair. He’s having a big week and I want to give him something special.”

Michelle smiled broadly. “I see. So why us instead of wherever you normally go? Oh wait, they tried to talk you out of it right?”

I smiled back. “You got that right. We were at dinner at the Lighthouse about a month ago. Our server was a gal named Laurie. I noticed my boyfriend stared at her a lot. I asked her where and who cut her hair and she recommended you.”

Michelle immediately knew who I was talking about. “Laurie and her boyfriend come in here every three or four weeks for a trim. I think they are about to get engaged. Is that the cut you’re after?”

“Yes.” There I had said the fateful word. I had just sealed the end of my long hair.

“No problem. We do short cuts every day. Just not on women with such long hair. Try to sit back and relax. Laurie was just in here the other day for another trim. I think it was the same as you saw a month or so ago. You want it just like hers is, right?”

I was beginning to chicken out. “If you think it would suit me.” Waffle time.

“I think you’ll look great with short hair.” She never even gave a thought to talking me out of it. That was a good thing as I was so nervous I might have easily been talked into leaving with my hair intact.

“Well then, let’s do it.”

Michelle went right to work. No shampoo. At least not yet. She flew a large cape over me and then grabbed a tissue from a dispenser and tied that around my neck. Asking if the cape were too tight or not she then proceeded to comb out my hair.

I had been in surgery all morning. My hair was a mess and needed a fair amount of combing. While she was doing this we started talking. I apologized about the mess. She asked me what I did for a living and I told her. Her eyes opened wide. A little surprised at my answer.

“Well, this cut should help keep things easy for you in your clinic.” I hadn’t really given too much thought to that. But thinking about it now, I realized Michelle was probably right.

Michelle was now ready to begin. “First question. Do you want to keep any of this, or donate it, or just trash it?” Decisions. “If it’s worth donating, let’s do that.”

“Second question. Do you want to face the mirror for the first cut, or watch it?” “I definitely want to watch you cut.”

Michelle grabbed my hair on the right side and put a couple of bands around it. She repeated that on the left side, the back and finally, the top. She then picked up a pair of scissors and slid them into my hair on the right side and closed them. Severing well over a foot of hair off.

I know I gasped. “You doing all right, Jenn?” “Yeah, just coming to terms with reality here.”

“Don’t worry. As Rod Stewart says, “The first cut is the deepest.”

Michelle cut the sections she had banded and placed them on her shelf. I looked at my hair for the last time before it went into a wig for someone.

She then proceeded to cut my hair down to a fairly uniform 3 or 4 inches all around. The cape was full of my light auburn hair. Or at least what used to be mine.

I was really into the process of this haircut. I had never paid a lot of attention to my haircuts before. A few inches off and out the door. This was much more of a process than that.

I watched her every move. I was fascinated by the haircut. So much more intricate than my trims ever were. And very much more personal. Michelle’s hands were actually touching my head. Something that never happened with long hair.

Michelle would take some hair between her fingers and carefully raise her fingers to the desired length and cut. She obviously did this a lot as this process didn’t really take her a lot of time.

She put her scissors on the shelf in front of us. She then picked up a large black device which I knew to be clippers. She looked at me in the mirror.

“Jenn, these are clippers and I use them to get to the length you want. Laurie’s cut uses a pretty small attachment. I’ll start with a longer one and you tell me what you think after the first pass. We can always cut more off to get to what you want. Or we can stop at a longer look. You make the call.”

I just nodded. I saw a person in the mirror that I really didn’t recognize. I had hair that stuck out from my head at weird angles. It reminded me of my childhood.

I remembered the small corn patch we had on the ranch. Mom and I took care of that corn every year. This was corn for the table, not the cows. Mom and I were very protective of our vegetable and corn patch. I would make a scare crow man and stick it in the middle of it to help keep the birds away.

I looked a lot like my old scare crow men.

Not for long.

Michelle started her clippers. I heard a whirring sound coming from them, I expected them to buzz, but these whirred instead, and in no time they were in front of my right ear. And Michelle pushed up. Pretty high up too.

As she went for the second pass I couldn’t really see any difference. I knew my hair was gone but the hair kind of stuck to the clippers. So I couldn’t see progress. After the second pass I could definitely see progress.

Hair fell off the clippers. My hair was really short. Michelle went about her work like a demon. She worked her way to the back and pushed my head down so she could get everything back there. Then she finished up on the left side.

I looked again in the mirror. I certainly didn’t look like my old scare crow men anymore. My hair was pretty short.

Michelle took me out of my reverie.

“What do you think Jenn? That’s a little longer than Laurie’s. Do you want me to keep going, or stop here?”

I raised my hands to my neck and brushed them up and down. It was longer than Laurie’s had been.

I remembered how Kevin ogled her.

“Let’s keep going. Just like Laurie’s.”

Michelle smiled and reached for another attachment for her clippers. Slipping this on she flicked the switch and again the whirring sound began.

She moved her clippers up my right side again and small amounts of hair came floating down the cape. I could immediately see the damage this time. Michelle quickly proceeded to cut all around my head.

I now had whitewalls. I am not sure why I didn’t expect this. Laurie was something of a blonde when I had seen her. So her skin showed through the whisper of hair she had. I, on the other hand, had light auburn hair. Because it was dark, the shortness of my hair left a very distinct showing of my skin poking through.

Michelle put her clippers back on a hook and picked up her scissors again. This time she cut off smaller amounts of hair. But she was definitely making it shorter. By this time, I thought my hair was something around two inches on top. And Michelle wasn’t done.

She placed her scissors on the shelf and picked up another pair. These had big mean looking teeth.

“These are thinning shears. Jenn, your hair is pretty thick and I need to even things out to get the final style you’re after.”

With that she proceeded to cut rather haphazardly into my hair. Huge tufts of hair came out, scaring me to death. Was she cutting everything off? She finally stopped and put these scissors down.

I thought she was finished. Not quite. She picked up a small set of clippers and turned them on. She outlined my neck and ears, then whatever small side burns I had left. I could barely see them, but I knew they were there.

Then she picked up something else. “I’m going to shave your neck of the little strays.” For being so small these made a horrendous noise. They gave me goosebumps. I think I was getting somewhat aroused.

When she finished shaving my neck, I had to ask. “So how short is my hair now?”

Michelle took a few seconds to answer. Probably worried I might freak out. “On top it’s right at 2 inches, maybe a bit longer than that. A little longer than Laurie’s is. She likes hers at no more than an inch and a half. I thought shorter might look good on you but that you might not be ready for it that short just yet. The sides go from a graduated sixteenth at the bottom, to an eighth near the top of the sides. The back is the same. We call it a fade.”

She stood back and asked me what I thought. “Is it enough like what you thought you wanted?”

I turned my head from side to side. Yep, those are whitewalls all right. I took my hands and felt my hair all over.

This was the strangest sensation ever. I was used to long hair. I guess I had brushed my hands on either my brothers or Kevin’s hair enough times. But even those were longer than what I was now feeling.

Rough velvet. I sort of expected stubble. But that wasn’t it. All I can say is it exceeded my expectations and it felt wonderful. On top, my hair was combed over to the right but in a fluffy kind of way.

And now I had bangs. Very short bangs that didn’t exactly come onto my forehead. They were currently sticking straight up. I hadn’t had bangs since grade school. But I liked the look. In fact, I loved this look.

I also realized I was lucky. My hair could do anything I wanted it to. I wasn’t stuck in a single short style. I would have some styling options.

I smiled. “I think it looks great. And it certainly feels great.”

Michelle smiled then she took me back for a shampoo. Going back to her station she dried my hair. That took all of a minute. Today was turning into one surprise after another.

She finished by adding the gel and suggested I buy some as I would probably need it to make this style look good. She then showed me how I could get a few different looks by doing this or that to it. She recommended just experimenting and see what I liked.

Using just her hands she gently combed it over, leaving that fluffy look I had before my shampoo.

I got up and went to pay her. $28? Was that all? I decided she needed a hefty tip for her work and gave her a 20 in addition. Plus the gel product. It was still less than I had paid since leaving school.

I drove home. As I got in my car, I saw I had a message on my phone. It was from Kevin.

“We closed the deal early this morning. Johnny and I are flying home now. Love you. See you soon.”

I managed to get home before Kevin. I stood in our bathroom playing with my hair and wondering what we would do for dinner and celebration.

Kevin called on his way home. “Things couldn’t have gone better. Johnny is picking up someone and what do you think about going to dinner to celebrate?” “That sounds good. I’ll get into something and I’ll be ready when you get here.”

Now, what to wear? I decided a nice casual outfit would be great. I was ready when Kevin came in the door.

As he came through the hallway from the garage he saw me. His mouth opened but no words came out. Then he smiled and rushed over to see me. But we didn’t hug or kiss. He held me by my hands.

He kept me at an arm’s length and kept gawking at me. He took my hand and twirled me around, but slowly, very slowly so he could get a good look.

Finally, he stood back and his face said everything. He liked my look. Stepping back from me, I could tell he liked it in every obvious way.

We kissed in a way we usually reserved for the bedroom.

“You look fantastic. This hair style really makes you stand out, in a very good way. I love it.” That I could tell.

Then we realized that we had a date for dinner. Pushing me ahead of him, so he could get a good look at my hair from behind, we made it to the garage. Other than his first comment, we still had barely said a word.

Once in the car, Kevin looked over at me and said, “Jenn, I am shocked at how great you look.” I played with him a little. “I didn’t look good before?” He stammered. “No, no that’s not it at all. I think you just look incredible that’s all. I never expected this from you. Not ever.”

“Well, thank you. I figured a nice change would be good. It appears you think so too.” I patted the bulge in his pants. He grinned at me, “You got that right. Maybe we ought to ditch Johnny and just go back home and do something more fun?”

“We can celebrate two things tonight I think. We’re going to dinner. By the way, where are we going to dinner?” “The Lighthouse.” That was interesting. That’s where Laurie worked.

As we entered the restaurant, Kevin immediately went to the men’s room. Johnny and his date were not yet there. I asked the greeter if Laurie was working that night. She looked at her sheet and said Laurie was working. I asked if we could sit at one of her tables. She scribbled something on her sheet and said no problem.

Kevin came back at about the same time that Johnny and his date arrived.

Johnny winked at me, smiled and said he thought my haircut looked great. The staff escorted us to our table. I think it was the same table we had the last time we were here.

Laurie arrived and took one look at me and grinned a huge grin. Kevin’s eyes never left me though.

We ordered, we talked about the business deal. Everything except how big a deal it was. Johnny’s date was not that close to Johnny, yet. She had no need to know.

We finished dinner. I got up to head to the ladies room, at least that’s what I told everyone. I wanted to meet Laurie.

She gave a little squeal and said, “I thought you might do something. You look fantastic. Did you go to Michelle or somewhere else?” “I went to see Michelle late this afternoon. I think she’s great. If my boyfriend likes it then I think I’ll be going back again.”

Laurie looked at me with a big smile. “I think your boyfriend hasn’t had a clue to what he’s ordered or eaten. His eyes haven’t left you all night.” I smiled, “Is it that obvious?” “It is to someone who knows what to look for and he hasn’t hid it all night.” She grinned again. “You better be ready for a special evening tonight when you get home.” We hugged briefly and I went back to our table.

As we left, I told Kevin to give Laurie a big tip. She deserved it.

Our evening went as you might think. Out of this world. Kevin was all over my hair. He spent so much time on my neck and ears I thought he might have chaffed them.

Mr. Commitment made a commitment to me a few weeks later. My engagement ring was huge. My only problem is I can never wear it at work. It won’t fit inside exam gloves. And, for obvious reasons, I cannot wear anything inside surgical gloves.

I realized something else. I am certainly no psychiatrist, not my field at all. But I began to think that I had made a commitment to Kevin by getting my hair cut. I thought that my commitment to short hair was what triggered Kevin to commit to me.

It’s funny how things work out. I was looking for a commitment from him while he was probably waiting on the same from me. We were both in love with each other but were blind to the needs of our partner. People are funny. I was just glad we had each given something special to each other.

Our wedding was not too long after that.

I went to see Michelle every three weeks. I like the little bit of pampering even though it is much less than I’d be getting at a traditional salon. But this is every three weeks, not every 4 or 5 months.

In the time before our wedding, a ranch adjacent to our family’s went on the market. Dad and my brothers didn’t have the means to buy it, and they were wary of someone coming in and changing things up. We had all been so used to having the Russell’s as neighbors and friends for generations. We worried about who might buy their ranch and what changes that would bring.

Kevin fixed all that. He also knew how much I missed my family’s ranch. He and Johnny had made a killing in the sale of their latest company.

My wedding present from Kevin was the Russell ranch. Because he was keeping it in the family, the Russell’s gave him a very good deal. This was a present I never expected. I was speechless, tears streaming down my eyes.

As another wedding present to us, my brothers bought the two of us a couple of quarter horses from a rancher we knew in Wyoming. They are perfect ranch horses.

I’ve been riding all my life. Now I got to teach Kevin how to ride. He’s a fast learner and pretty fearless too.

We united both large ranches into one large ranch. Even for Montana, it is very large. Dad and my brothers are going to be busy. They are excited about the possibilities.

I quickly joined an orthopedic practice in Bozeman, specializing in sports medicine. We are now the orthopedic practice for Montana State University sports teams. That connection gets us a lot of business. People now don’t have to go to Seattle, Salt Lake City or Denver to get world class orthopedic treatment. They can get it in their own backyard.

It’s a fair commute from the ranch to the clinic, but worth every minute. The freedom I enjoy both at work and at home is incredible.

Speaking of commutes. I had to sell my Porsche before we left the city behind. It was a fun car to drive near the city. But not at all practical for a ranch with a dirt access road almost a mile long. I picked up a new F-250. While a sports car is fun, it’s impractical, a pickup can always find a use on the ranch.

If we get some bad weather, and it has to be really bad, I just get a room at a hotel until things clear up. Nothing out of the ordinary for life in Montana.

When we decided to move back to Bozeman, I had to tell Michelle we were leaving. She said she knew of a Sport Clips there and to ask for Lisa. Lisa is just as good as Michelle. I keep Lisa on my schedule the same as I do my surgeries. She will be keeping it super short as long as I want.

What I want is to make sure Kevin is happy. So I will be seeing Lisa for a long time to come.

Kevin is quickly learning the ropes of a cattle and horse ranch. He loves it and still works in software. In fact, he has ideas for new software for the rancher and farmer. I think I can see a new business starting here soon.

One thing I wanted to do was surprise Kevin with a new ranch house. The Russell’s house was dated and I just didn’t feel like it could ever be ours. I wanted to turn it into a guest house while we built our own place.

In doing some research I found an architect that specialized in ranches and outbuildings. She was from Oklahoma. We did a Zoom meeting just to test the waters.

As soon as I saw her on the monitor I knew we had found our architect. Her name was Allie and her strawberry blond hair was as short as mine. I could tell by her face when she saw me that she was thinking the same way. She wanted to be our architect too.

We invited Allie up to look at the ranch and do some sketches. Kevin and I loved them. She flew home to do some final design work.

About 2 weeks after Allie left, I called to let her know we needed to include a nursery in the design. I was pregnant! Now we just hoped we could build it in time for the baby to arrive.

I haven’t told Kevin about what Johnny told me. He’s never asked, and I have no plans to tell him. Just ensuring the two of us are committed to each other is all that matters.