permcurl
Being a child of the 70’s, Elliot had always been drawn to a certain hairstyle, something about the tightly coiled curls of a permed hairstyle, preferably short. It wasn’t mainstream anymore, but to him, it exuded a bold, confident charm. He’d never quite mustered the courage to admit it outright to his wife, Lily. Her long, chestnut-brown hair framed her face like a portrait, softening her features in a way he adored. But lately, an idea had been gnawing at him.
One evening, after several glasses of wine, the conversation took an unexpected turn. “You know, I’ve always wondered what you’d look like with short hair,” Elliot ventured. He kept his tone light, testing the waters. Lily raised an eyebrow. “Short? Like a bob or… shorter?” He hesitated, then shrugged nonchalantly. “Short. Like… really short, and…. maybe permed.” The words were out, and he immediately regretted how specific they sounded. Lily stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed. “You’re joking.” “Just a thought,” he said quickly, feigning indifference. But to his surprise, and slight panic, Lily didn’t let it go. Over the next few days, she made offhand comments about his “strange little fantasy,” teasing him at first, but then turning reflective.
One night, she surprised him by saying, “You really want this, don’t you?”
“No… well…I mean, I think you’d look great,” Elliot replied, caught between honesty and diplomacy.
“Well,” she said, crossing her arms with a mischievous smile, “maybe I’ll call your bluff.”
Lily couldn’t stop thinking about Elliot’s suggestion. It wasn’t the first time he’d hinted at wanting her to change her hair. He’d dropped vague comments before, but this was the first time he’d been so specific. At first, she dismissed it with amusement—men had their quirks, after all. But the more she thought about it, the more it began to bother her. Was her long hair not enough for him? Was this some underlying dissatisfaction? Or was it just harmless curiosity? Her intrigue soon morphed into a kind of stubborn determination and obsession of her own. If Elliot wanted to test his little fantasy, maybe she would. For years she’d only ever had her hair trimmed, and had never seen her hairdresser giving anyone the kind of style that Elliot had talked about. She knew she needed to think about this, and do some careful research.
After a week of searching the internet, and asking around locally, she came to the conclusion that she needed to find a traditional hairdresser, not one of the newer, now more common, trendy salons. But how? It came to her in an absent moment when she was brushing her teeth. Her mother, she needed to talk to her mother. Lily’s mother never had trendy hairstyles, but her hair was always tidy, and Lilly guessed her mother either used an older hairstylist, or at least knew of one, who could give Lily the style Elliot wanted.
She spoke to her mother on the phone that night, and as a result she booked an appointment with a hairdresser that her mother had suggested, for Saturday morning the next week.When she heard Lily’s plan, her mother insisted on going with her. Lily told Elliot that she was having a day with her mum and that she’d be home about tea time.The hairdresser, a bubbly woman named Jenny, was all smiles as Lily described what she wanted: a short cut, about five inches, and a tightly curled perm that hugged her head. Before the hairdresser had time to start, lily’s mother cut in, “five inches is too long Lily, from what you told me Elliot said, it needs to be no longer that three inches, trust me,” Lily looked at the hairdresser for guidance and was met with a shrug of the shoulders. Lily conceded, “ok, do as mum suggested please.”
As the scissors snipped away her long locks, leaving her hair just three inches long, Lily felt an odd mixture of liberation and apprehension. By the time the thin perm rods were wound in her hair, and the perm lotion applied, a strong pungent smell filled the air, and she wondered if she’d gone too far, but it was too late now. When the final look was revealed, a helmet of tight, springy curls, it didn’t look bad, exactly, but it was a shock, and definitely made her look older. Her mother was delighted that her daughter had finally grown up.“Well,” she thought with a mix of defiance and nerves, “let’s see what Elliot has to say now.”
When Lily walked through the door that evening, Elliot froze.Her long, flowing hair was gone, replaced by an ultra-short, tightly permed style that made her look entirely different. The transformation was startling. “Ta-da!” she announced, spinning slowly. “So? This is what you wanted, right?”
Elliot struggled for words, he felt sick. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but this… this was overwhelming. The tight curls hugged her head in a way he hadn’t imagined, and the drastic change was jarring.“You look.… wow,” he said weakly, trying to muster enthusiasm.
Lily’s smile faded. “Wow, huh? That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“No, I mean, it’s just so different,” he stammered.
“You wanted this,” she shot back, her voice tinged with both hurt and triumph.
“I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” he admitted, guilt washing over him.
For the next few days, there was tension in the air. Lily noticed how Elliot avoided lingering too long on her new look. She felt self-conscious, but she also refused to admit it out loud. If nothing else, she had proven a point: Elliot’s fantasy didn’t match reality.
Elliot, meanwhile, was drowning in regret. He realized how much he missed her old hairstyle, the way her long hair felt between his fingers, the way it cascaded over her shoulders. This new look just wasn’t her, and the smell of perm lotion lingered on her hair. One evening, as they sat on the couch, he finally broke the silence. “I owe you an apology,” he said.
“For what?” she asked, though her tone suggested she knew exactly what he meant.
“For pushing you into something that I didn’t think through. I love you for who you are, not for some silly idea in my head.”
“Now you tell me.” Lilly snapped. Then she softened. “I don’t hate it,” she said, running her hand over the tight curls. “But I miss my old hair, too.”
“Then grow it back,” Elliot said earnestly. “Or don’t. Whatever makes you happy, and I’ll do whatever you want to help.”
A small smile crept onto Lily’s face. “We’ll see. But next time, keep your fantasies to yourself.”
They both laughed, the tension finally breaking.
In the days following Elliot’s lacklustre reaction to her short perm, Lily found herself stewing. Sure, she could let her hair grow back, but where was the fun in that, and besides it would take years? He had pushed her into this look, and now it was time for him to live with it. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she didn’t hate the tight, springy curls. In fact, they had a certain charm, bold and unapologetic. And if Elliot had hoped for a temporary experiment, well, he was in for a surprise. The decision crystallized in her mind: she would keep the curls, not only to prove a point but to remind him that fantasies have real consequences.
Three months later, Lily announced “I’m keeping the curls,” and booked her first appointment for a re-perm. She announced it to Elliot with a smile that was equal parts sweet and sinister. “You’re coming with me,” she said.
“Why would I come to your hair appointment?” he asked, looking up from his laptop.
“Because you’re the reason I’m doing this,” she replied breezily. “It’s only fair you see the process in all its glory. You owe me that much.”
Elliot couldn’t argue without feeling like an even bigger jerk. Reluctantly, he agreed.
When they arrived at the salon, the stylist, Jenny greeted them with a warm smile. “Back for a touch-up?” she asked, running her fingers over Lily’s curls.
“Yep. And this time, my husband’s here to watch, instead of my mum.” Lily said with a wink.
Jenny’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she glanced at Elliot, who looked sheepish. “Ah, the inspiration behind the look,” she said knowingly. “You must really love short perms.”
Elliot managed a weak smile, unsure how to respond.
As Jenny began the process, cutting, wrapping the rods tightly, and applying the pungent perm solution, Elliot sat in silence, feeling increasingly awkward. The smell alone was enough to make him regret everything. When Lily’s hair was finally unwrapped and styled into its freshly permed glory, she turned to him with a triumphant grin. “What do you think, darling?”
“It looks… great,” he said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Good,” Lily replied. “Because I’m keeping it like this.”
By the time the next perm appointment rolled around, Elliot knew better than to argue when Lily insisted he come along. This time, Jenny seemed more amused by their dynamic.
“You’ve really embraced this look,” Jenny said to Lily as she wrapped her hair in rods. “It suits you. And I have to say, it’s nice to see a husband so supportive.”
“Oh, he’s supportive all right,” Lily said with a smirk. “In fact, I was just thinking…. he might look great with a perm of his own.”
Jenny’s laughter bubbled up. “Now that would be fun. Couples curls!”
Elliot’s eyes widened in alarm. “Wait a second…”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Lily interrupted, her tone teasing but firm. “I wouldn’t force you. But you did say you’d do anything to make it up to me.”
Elliot’s protest died on his lips. He had said that.
“Just think about it,” Lily added, her voice dripping with mock innocence.
Three months later, Lily’s persistence was paying off. She had played her cards perfectly, using subtle guilt and playful teasing to chip away at Elliot’s resistance. By the time the next appointment rolled around, Elliot found himself not only being teased by Lily, but also by Jenny, and no sooner had Lily’s perm been completed, than Elliot found himself sitting in Jenny’s chair, feeling utterly defeated.
“First perm?” Jenny asked, trying to hide her amusement.
“Yeah,” Elliot muttered.
“Well, you’re in good hands,” Jenny said cheerfully. “Do you want it as short and tight as Lily’s?”
“Of course he does,” Lily chimed in before he could answer.
Elliot glared at her but said nothing.
The process was every bit as uncomfortable both physically and mentally, as he’d feared. It was the first time he’d had his hair washed and trimmed in a salon, never mind getting a perm. The tight rods pulled at his scalp, and the perm solution smelled even worse up close. By the time Jenny finished, Elliot stared at his reflection in disbelief. His once-straight hair was now a mass of tight, springy curls that clung to his head. “Oh my God,” he muttered.
“You look adorable,” Lily said, clearly delighted.
Jenny clapped her hands. “Matching perms! You two are the cutest.”
For Jenny, the whole situation was a delightful spectacle. In her years as a hairdresser, she’d seen all kinds of dynamics between couples, but Lily and Elliot were something special. At first, she’d thought Lily was just indulging a quirky whim of her husband’s, but it quickly became clear that Lily was the one calling the shots now. Jenny admired her confidence and sense of humour, especially the way she’d roped Elliot into the fun. Watching Elliot squirm through his first perm was the highlight of Jenny’s week. She had to give him credit for going through with it, even if he clearly wasn’t thrilled.
“Don’t worry,” she told him as she finished styling his curls. “You’ll get used to it. And who knows? You might even start to like it.”
“Doubt it,” Elliot muttered, earning a playful smack on the arm from Lily.
For the next few weeks Elliot was the centre of attention at work and with their friends. A few people openly laughing when they saw his permed hair, but most admiring his courage in sporting such a radically different hairstyle. Lily and Elliot became something of a spectacle at Jenny’s salon. Every three months, they came in together for their matching perms, always sparking laughter and conversation among the staff and other clients.
At home, Elliot had gradually adjusted to his new look. He couldn’t deny that the perm appointments had brought him and Lily closer in a strange way, and that he had started to enjoy the appointments. And while he still missed her long hair, he had to admit there was something undeniably charming about her confidence.
As for Lily, she relished the power shift. Every time she saw Elliot’s tightly curled hair, she was reminded that sometimes, turning the tables was the best way to win the game.
What neither of the two of them, nor Jenny, envisaged, was just how much Elliot would embrace his curls and regular perms, and the process of matching perms would continue, every three months, for the next fifteen years, until Elliot’s hair started thinning, and he sadly returned to standard short haircuts.
