Lira1802
My wife is an odd sort but her love is pure and true. When I asked her to marry me, not of my own volition, it was at the barrel end of a shotgun. I was a young man back then, free and wild. Betty was also a wild card. She saw me from across the room at a party and fancied me out of all the jocks and tech-boys there. A presumption of mine was that she feared the other hussies getting to me first and so, she took action.
She came straight up to my door, pointed the gun at my face (ready to fire), and demanded I marry her. My fear wasn’t that of the gun but what the neighbors might say if I was in the obituary the next morning. And so, I dropped onto one knee and said,”Betty, darling. Will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me”
”Of Jim”,she blushed, resting the firearm on the doorframe,”I thought you would never ask”, she dropped to my level and hugged me tightly. We were engaged by noon. Before the wedding was even possible, Betty told me to graduate university and get a high-paying job before she would marry me.
I did as she asked and graduated with a job offer at the end of the semester. It is a good job, pays the bills and gives us enough dough to invest in retirement plans and college funds for our future kids. Betty always insisted on a baby.
After Valentina, our oldest girl, was born. My wife’s mind was a contradiction of sorts. She dressed really conservatively and modest, acting according to my every whim. One day, she asked me for money so that she could go get her hair done. I gave her the cash and offered to drive her. Her eyes sparkled and her lips grew into a grin as she accepted my offer with a quick nod. Valentina was swaddled in a traveling blanket and Betty held our little bundle of joy as I drove the family truck into town. There was a beauty parlor on the right but as I pulled in, Betty shook her head and said,”This place is wrong. Could you take me to a barbershop downtown”
My brain was slow to comprehend her reasoning but I trusted her decision. Tires were back on the road and headed for downtown. Betty was the first to spot the place and I followed her lead. The truck was parked perfectly, and we all walked up to the door. I held it open for Betty. She playfully hit me with her hips. We both laughed hysterically as our family went inside.
”Hello, my good man”,a portly gentleman with white hair and beard shook me hand firmly,”Here for a haircut, eh”
”No”,I laughed,”Well, not for me. See, my wife…”
”I’m Betty”,Betty elegantly extended her hand for the barber to shake,”I’m the getting the haircut”
The portly fellow looked at Betty, wide-eyed, as he respectfully shook her hand. He then said,”Well, I was just not expecting a woman to be requesting a haircut today. It’s usually men who come into my shop”,the man chuckled.
Betty smiled knowingly. She handed me Valentina and went with barber to the lone chair. I sat on the waiting bench with my little one and watched as Betty sat with air of properness surrounding her. The barber tossed a striped cape over my love, snapping its buttons, and letting my wife’s hair down. He took a comb through her chocolaty brown hair before he asked,”You know, ma’am. I’m afraid to ask but here it goes. What haircut do you want”
My girl giggled and said,”I understand your hesitance. I’m usually not for the faint hearted. I was thinking about a number six. The one on the board”
The barber and I looked on the board. A number six was a horseshoe flattop. He looked at me, that poor man, and when I shrugged, he shrugged and started his work. Valentina was asleep and the humming of the clippers didn’t wake her. I watched as the portly barber used the comb to buzz off Betty’s hair with. The back and left and right side of Betty’s head was reduced to microscopic stubble. She had the hair on top of her head suspended in mid-air by the comb and clippers took off what they needed. An inlet was buzzed into Betty’s hair.
When the clippers finally clicked off, the barber hoped it was all over. I pity the man, seemed like the best barber in his field. Betty interrupted the man who was reaching for the cape to unbutton it and said,”Could you shave off the stubble. I would really appreciate it”
I could see the man be torn. He had already cut so much hair. But he just breathed and nodded,”Yes, ma’am”
He did his work dutifully. He mixed up some shaving cream and caked my wife’s head, accepted for her narrow crown of hair, in white. He opened up a new blade for his razor and gently scraped off the cream. When he was done, my looked beautiful. Everything was put away and all that hair that covered my wife’s lap and shoulders was dusted off onto the tiled floor. The cape’s buttons were undone, making the barber sigh with relief, and my wife was turned in the chair towards me. She always looked stunning in her nature-green dress that had flowers on it. With the thick crown of hair bordering the front of her head, she looked like a fairy. An Angelic fairy with magical powers to make a man fall deeply in love with her.
I stood up for her with Valentina in my arms, still asleep. Betty smiled warmly and dismounted the chair, coming up to me and taking Valentina into her arms.
”Hello, little one”,she whispered softly to our daughter,”Momma got her hair cut. Do you want to see?”
Valentina declined and slept on. Betty and I and the barber all laughed heartily. I embraced Betty and ran my fingers through the soft bristles of hair around the front part of her head. She was my girl and I loved her for her uniqueness.
The haircut was reasonably priced, about thirty dollars US, and then Betty and I left the shop and traveled home. As I drove, I glanced over to Betty who was nursing Valentina tenderly. The evening sun was illuminating her head beautifully and she seemed to radiate pure joy from her soul into my heart.
