Dealing with a cheater

I was sitting bleary eyed at Heathrow airport waiting to board my flight when a woman across from me caught my eye. She was tapping away rapidly on her laptop, perhaps on a business trip, I speculated. She was beautiful, there was no doubting that. Her oval face was lightly freckled and her dark eyebrows full. But something about her reminded me of another woman from my life, almost 10 years ago. As I sat waiting at my gate my mind took me back to when I was 24.

I had only just moved to London at the time. Having finished my degree, moving to the big city seemed like the logical choice. It was after almost a year in London that I met Kim. She was a few years younger, in her second year of a social sciences degree at King’s College. I first met her through mutual friends at a party and my attraction to her was instant and undeniable.

It was after the second time we met that we slept together and from there things progressed fast. The next few months saw Kim staying at mine at least once a week and we’d often spend the weekends together going for lunch, to markets or the cinema. Still I found myself surprised when after having met her 3 months prior she asked if I wanted to be her boyfriend. I couldn’t believe how fast time had gone, in my mind I had only just met her.

I remember vividly when she had asked me. It was a dreadfully wet April’s day. We had been lounging around my apartment most of the day, fucked a couple times on my couch, watched some TV and I was brewing us some coffee when she asked, very matter of factly if I wanted to be her boyfriend.

Now I think I need to explain Kim to the reader a bit better, to fully understand why this was such a dilemma for me. Kim was and probably still is the hottest girl I had ever slept with. She was stunning, it was undoubtable. Whenever I went out with her you could sense eyes were drawn to her. She had a slight natural tan, her mum had Greek heritage, and a sprinkle of freckles across her oval face. She would look at me with her hazel eyes and I would get an irrepressible urge to touch her and pull her closer to me. She rarely wore her hair down but when she did it fell to a few inches past her bra strap, thick and wavy hair that toed the line between brown and blonde in color.

And then there was her body. Making love to her was like a dream. She had gorgeous long legs. Her body was toned and she had the most perfect perky breasts. I remember the first time seeing her naked actually feeling overwhelmed. It almost seemed ridiculous how perfect she looked. I would say I’m an attractive man, but I had never managed to pull someone like this before.

At this point in time she must seem like the perfect package. What is there to consider? You simply have to make her yours I remember thinking to myself. But despite the unquestionable physical attraction there was something about her that left a slightly bad taste in my mouth each time we saw each other. She was kind and approachable. Very friendly and left a good impression on anyone she would meet. I however couldn’t help shake the thought that something wasn’t quite right. I think a big aspect was the age. While 20 and 24 might not seem like a massive age gap, with her it felt it. She had one more year at university, while I was into my second year in a full time job at a marketing agency. She was 20 but oftentimes seemed like a child to me. She had never had a job, only seemed to either eat out or order in and was so poor at holding her drink I lost count of the amount of times I had to carry her home as she was blacked out in my arms.

The whole relationship made me feel somewhat sleazy. She was beautiful and the sex was amazing but it just felt like something was missing. Academically I knew she was smart, her grades were better than mine had been but her street wises seemed to be non existent. It was a never ending cycle of her losing her keys or phone, getting lost in areas she definitely should’ve known and being chronically late to any arrangement.

Maybe these characteristics don’t seem as bad as I make them out to be. And maybe they weren’t actually as bad as I remember. The key however was that I knew deep down she wasn’t someone I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. It was that simple. I never saw the point in dating someone if you didn’t believe they were the one you wanted to marry at some point. Maybe it’s naïve thinking but it’s how I felt. My only relationship up until then was a 2 year long one where I was convinced we would be together for the rest of our lives, that was until I was unceremoniously dumped.

So when Kim asked me this question on that wet April evening I felt conflicted. The most beautiful girl I had ever seen was stood in front of me yet I felt as if I had to cut things off at that moment. However I struggled to find the words. I wouldn’t even be able to properly explain why I didn’t want to be her boyfriend. So I didn’t cut things off and I said yes.

The next few months were strange. Kim seemed over the moon while I was feeling more and more trapped by the day. I felt ungrateful, how could I be unhappy with such a beautiful women so in love with me? At the end of the day however I was unhappy.

We did more and more couply things together. I went to visit her family in Kent. They were about as posh as I had expected and the weekend there left me drained. I considered how I would break up with her. I felt as though I needed a concrete reason to tell her but I struggled to find a reason other than it felt wrong.

Then something out of the blue happened. I sensed something was wrong the moment I saw her. She had come over to mine and when she stepped through the front door I got this feeling something had happened. After a few minutes of small talk she blurted out that she had cheated on me last night before she burst out into tears.

I was shocked. True raw shock. She kept talking while crying. Telling me how she got too drunk, and how much of a mistake it was, how sorry she was, how bad she felt, how much guilt she had. How she would do anything to regain my trust. I still hadn’t said a word. A million thoughts had entered my head. I’d never had this happen to me before. I didn’t feel angry, more just embarrassed. And then suddenly I felt a wave of calmness come over me. This was the reason I would have to break up with her.

I opened my mouth but then closed it again. An idea had entered my mind. A truly sinister idea. I had to suppress a grin from spreading across my face.

“I need some time to think about things.” I finally said.

There is one thing I need to explain before I get into the next part of this story. And that is my thing for short hair. Ever since I can remember I’ve been obsessed with short hair on women and this has continued my whole life. Especially when a girl goes from long to short hair. So with any girl I have ever dated I had always tried to convince them to cut their hair short. With Kim it was no different. Daily I tried to imagine her without the long strands of straw colored hair that streamed down her back.

Across the time I knew her I tried my best to see how close I could get to convincing her to cut her hair. I was also terrified that anyone would ever figure out my obsession, so I had developed a technique. I very slowly and carefully and casually would bring up hair and short hair over the course of multiple months.

“Do you like short hair on girls?”

“Sometimes, I think some people can pull it off”

“Have you ever had short hair?”

“Ummm, no, never shorter than my shoulders I guess.”

“Would you ever cut your hair short?”

“Maybe a bob would be cute one day.”

I remember I held onto that maybe furiously. It almost gave me hope one day I would see some of her hair falling to the ground.

It was about 2 weeks before she had cheated that I pulled a quite risky move. I had found a photo on my Pinterest of a haircut somewhere in between a short bob and a pixie. Risking my luck I showed it to Kim.

https://pin.it/rGNeAHSYN

“Would you ever cut your hair like this?” I ventured showing her the phone.

Her response was pretty definite.

“No way”. She almost recoiled at the photo. Her had continued to shake as she spoke. “That’s so short.”

“You don’t think that would be cute?”

“You think that’s cute?” She countered back.

“Yeah, I can definitely see you with something short like that.”

She screwed up her face.

“Really? I don’t think I could ever have something so short.”

I decided not to proceed any further. Clearly she wasn’t biting in the slightest.

This interaction came back to mind after Kim’s confession. Especially after hearing her say she wanted to regain my trust. One can maybe guess my plan at this point. Was there any way I could convince her to cut off her hair as a way to regain my trust?

I first decided to give her a call.

“I just want you to be able to trust me again. I’ll do anything.” she spoke animatedly into the phone.

Quite damning words I noted. It was time to test if she really meant what she said.

I called in sick for work for the remainder of the week and spent my time planning how I would execute my idea. After some research I found a suitable salon. It was a cute little studio in Soho. It had good reviews and was quite intimate with just the 2 chairs. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a opening Friday evening. It was Wednesday at the time and I knew Kim’s last class on Fridays finished at 3. Either way I was pretty sure even if she made any plans she would cancel them to satisfy me.

I called the salon after making my booking.

“Yes 6:30 for Kim?” the lady on the line sounded Spanish or maybe Italian.

“Yes great. Well I just wanted to ask because I made the booking for my girlfriend. But I’m going to come with.” I explained, feeling a bit unsure of my words as I went. “So it’s fine if I come with her? She’s going from very long to very short hair so she’s quite nervous.”

Just saying the words was turning me on immensely.

“Oh yeah, yeah no that’s fine. We have plenty of space you should definitely stay around.”

“Ok great.” I felt a tad awkward making the call but had to be certain it was fine for me to join. “Well thanks for the help.”

“Yes no problem, I’ll be there Friday so see you both then!”

I put down my phone and slowly a smile started breaking across my face.

In my mind I already had a haircut in mind. Something very short. Pixie short. Definitely short enough to be off her ears and neck. It only took a few minutes of scrolling through my Pinterest to find exactly what I wanted her to get.

Now I needed to figure out the best way to tell her my plan. I considered not telling her at all and simply marching her into the salon. But I could see this tactic blowing up in my face, maybe she would freak out and refuse or it would become clear to the stylist this wasn’t consensual. No, she needed to know beforehand I decided. I was pretty certain if I framed it right she would feel as though she couldn’t refuse if she wanted the relationship to continue.

I invited her over on Thursday night. I had planned on telling her that evening but didn’t quite find the courage. Instead we had make up sex and ordered takeout. As she fell asleep on my chest and I played with her hair, I had a brief consideration of canceling the appointment. Maybe this was just a massive fuck up by her. Maybe I should try and forgive her and make this work.

I got out of bed and poured myself a tall glass of water. I gulped it down greedily. No, I wasn’t going to back down. Tomorrow she would have to have her hair cut off.

We sat down to have breakfast around 10 before she had to go to class.

“Look,” I said while holding my mug of coffee. “I need to be able to trust you again.”

She nodded enthusiastically.

I went in depth about how our trust had been broken and how it made me feel, how it wasn’t going to be easy to fix it.

“And it’s going to sound a little unconventional. But here’s what you’re gonna need to do.” I felt nervous at this point. How was she going to take the news I wondered.

“I want you to cut off all your hair.”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she took in my words. Her hair was piled on top of head in a messy bun.

“Like something very short. And I know it sounds weird but it would make me feel a whole lot better.”

“Like how short?” her voice was noticeably smaller than normal.

“I have a photo.” I unlocked my phone as I explained. “But it’s just like a way for me to fully see your commitment. Making a sacrifice to show me that you’re committed. I really feel like it’s the only way for me to trust you again.”

She nodded slowly. She seemed to be taking it quite well.

I passed her the phone. I could see the shock spreading across her face. Maybe she had thought it was going to be something to her shoulders, a bob maybe.

https://pin.it/3tg3QHELo

“Okay but that’s so short.” She spoke so fast I barely understood her. She covered her face with her hand. “That short? Really?”

I nodded back slowly.

“Okay but…” her voice trailed off. She tilted her head backwards and exhaled a shaky breath. “That’s so so short. I mean… I’m not going to have any hair left.”

“I know, I know.” I reached over and took her hand. “But look… I need you to do this. Because I know it’s going to be a really big change for you, but I just see it like…” I paused to consider my thoughts. “It’s you sending a message like ‘I’m committed, I want to fix this’”.

She wasn’t looking me in the eyes.

“You are committed right?” I pressed.

“Yes, of course.” I noticed her eyes were slightly watery.

“Plus, I think it would suit you really well. I mean you can grow it out straight away but honestly I think you’re really gonna like it.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever even had it above my shoulders.” Her words came out choked. “Can I just think about it?”

I checked my watch. “Well you can think about it for the next 7 hours because I already made an appointment for you at 6:30.”

She threw her head back.

“Are you serious?”

“Very. Look, Kim. I don’t want to be mean or anything, but you fucked up. You understand that right?”

Tears had started forming in her eyes.

“I know.” She shook her head and wiped her eyes. “I know, I really did.”

“There has to be some type of repercussion.”

“Isn’t there something else I can do?”

I shook my head resolutely and stood up.

“Look you got to get ready for class. I’ll come pick you up from your place at 6, please be ready by then.”

We said goodbye and she left my place looking rather shell shocked.

I found myself overcome with nerves for the rest of the day. I was convinced Kim would call, telling me how she couldn’t go through with it. I felt my heart race with any notification I received and tried busying myself by doing a load of wash and starting on a new novel I recently picked up. If I was nervous I could only imagine how Kim felt. She never did call or message me however and at half past 5 I made my way to her flat.

It was a pleasant summer evening, the streets were filled with people leaving work, excited to start their weekends. I was in a strange state. Excitement mixed with restlessness. A slight feeling of guilt was creeping in, rising up from my stomach.

I rang her doorbell a few minutes before 6 and to my surprise she answered “I’m coming down.”

On time for once I thought to myself.

Just a few minutes later she was downstairs. Seeing her in the flesh reminded me that this wasn’t just some fantasy, this was really about to happen. Kim was wearing jeans and a white tank top but I noticed her makeup was a lot more pronounced than usual. Her hair was down which was quite the rarity. I noticed it seemed still a bit damp, she had probably just washed it. It was looking golden in the sunlight, thick waves laying halfway down her back. I was reminded how long it was and just how much hair she had.

“Ready?” I asked as I kissed her hello.

“Is it nearby?” she dodged my question.

“Yeah, just like a 10 minute walk.”

We walked in silence as she followed me down the road.

“I’m going to send you the photo, just show that to the stylist I’m sure she’ll get the idea.” I said as I texted over a screenshot of the haircut.

“I was thinking…”She turned to me. “Maybe today I just cut off some of it? Like this much do start and then we go shorter another time?” She put her fingers across her hair, showing about a 7 or 8 inch length.

It would take her hair up close to her shoulder blades. I knew that wasn’t anywhere near close enough. I shook my head.

“It’s going to have to be that photo I showed you.”

“Up to my shoulders maybe?”. She folded her hair right by her collarbone. It would be a good foot of hair gone.

I simply shook my head again.

“Are you sure?” She pleaded.

“Yes, I’m 100% sure.”

More silence followed as we continued towards the salon. I could only imagine what was going through Kim’s head at this moment. I had a bad feeling she would pull out at any second. I just wanted to get to the salon as fast as possible.

We continued to walk in silence and I felt great relief when I recognized the salon coming into view. We crossed the road and the storefront was clearly in our view now. I had seen images online so was somewhat familiar with how it looked. It gave off a high end look, reminding me of the salon I knew Kim frequented. A glistening chandelier hung from the ceiling and a white leather couch extended across one of the walls. 2 large salon chairs faced the opposite wall. Surprisingly I couldn’t seem to see anyone inside.

“Ready?” I said as I started to move towards the door.

“I really don’t know about this.” Her feet hadn’t moved an inch. Her face was one of distress.

“You’re gonna be fine.”

Really I had no idea if she would be fine. Maybe she would have a complete breakdown, maybe she would hate this haircut with all her might. I really didn’t know but was struggling to care too much all the same.

“Does it have to be that short?” She asked yet again.

I too was nervous (for completely different reasons to her) and I just wanted desperately to get her inside. My response back had a certain sharpness to it. A sharpness very unlike my usual easygoing self.

“Yes, this is what I need to happen. Come.” I motioned to the door, almost like I was ushering a pet dog back inside.

While before I had seen dread and nervousness, I now saw a different emotion spread across her face. Fear. She looked genuinely scared. I wasn’t sure if she was becoming scared of me or the impending cropping. Probably both I concluded.

I pushed open the door. To my relief she followed. Cool air conditioning replaced the muggy summer air, and I watched a figure come out from around a corner in the back.

“Hi,” the woman called out as she walked towards us. She was in black trousers and a white blouse. “You’re the 6:30 booking I’m guessing?”

I recognized the voice from the phone call I had made.

“That’s correct.” I replied steadily.

Kim was almost hiding behind me. I could see her eyes slowly move around the room, taking it all in.

“Great, so nice to see you both.” She spoke warmly, her dark eyes glistening. She looked to be around 30, dark curls framing her face. She had red lipstick on and her high heels clicked as she walked. She was holding an Ipad and looked up towards Kim. “The name is Kim right?”

Kim, maybe realizing she looked like a sulking kid, took a half step to the side so as to no longer hide herself behind me. I was surprised to see her smile and playfully cock her head to the side.

“That’s me.” Any look of fear or distress seemed to be gone. I couldn’t help but commend her. While I was sure it was a front, I was glad she seemed to be putting on a brave face.

“Your stylist just popped out, she’s going to be back in a minute. Please take a seat, I’ll grab some water. Sparkling or flat?”

“Flat is great.” I answered as we walked over to the couch

“Coffee or tea? We also have orange juice or soft drinks. Beer?”

“I’m fine myself.” I said as shaking my head. Kim shook her head briefly too.

She returned with the glasses and as she set them down looked up at Kim.

“Now I hope I’m remembering right but you’re getting something shorter?”

I studied Kim’s face. She maintained her composed look. Her hair was draped over her left shoulder so it lay against her chest. Her fingers toyed with the ends.

“Yeah, something shorter.” She nodded a singular firm nod briefly shutting her eyes as she did.

“So nice! You’re in great hands with Emily. Your stylist.” She added, probably realizing as this was her first time here she didn’t know the stylists.

Kim manufactured another warm smile.

“That’s very comforting.”

“Something shorter for summer will be great too, I think.” the women, who I was assuming was the receptionist, noted.

The door was pushed open and I turned my head to see a blonde woman entering the salon. Her eyebrows raised as she welcomed us.

“Hi, sorry I just had to pop out.” She had her hand out to Kim. “I’m Emily, it’s so nice to meet you.”

She wore glasses and a black blazer which I found surprising considering how warm it was outside. She must’ve been in her early to mid 30s. An attractive woman for sure, her blonde hair reached just past her shoulders in loose waves.

“Kim.” Kim said as she shook her hand.

I introduced myself and after a few minutes of small talk Emily whisked Kim away to the nearest chair.

“Let’s get you seated then shall we?” Emily motioned to the chair.

Kim slowly rose from the couch. She looked back at me and for a moment her smiley front vanished. She didn’t say a word but I could see in her eyes she was begging me to somehow pull her out of this. I very slightly shook my head. She turned away from me and made her way to the chair and took a seat.

“So what are we doing today?” Emily asked with her hands resting on the back of the chair.

My ears perked up and my heart started pounding harder than I thought possible.

“I have a photo.” Kim simply said and pulled out her phone.

She unlocked it and handed it to the stylist. I watched as a look of shock spread across Emily’s face. She took in the wavy hair laying down Kim’s chest and then back to the phone in front of her. Surely she wasn’t going to be one of those stylists that refused to chop off customers’ long hair I prayed to myself.

Kim noticed the look on Emily’s face and spoke up.

“Yeah it’s a bit of a change.” She said quietly.

“A bit?” Emily scoffed in reply. She tilted her head and winced slightly. “A little bit of a change. Wow, okay.”

Kim sat awkwardly. Her fingers ran over the armrest of the chair and she briefly made eye contact with me through the mirror.

“Okay so… wow.” Emily was still processing. “Can I take your phone?”

She reached over and took in the photo more closely.

“Well, it’s going to look beautiful on you. I can definitely say that much.” Emily nodded enthusiastically.

Kim strained back a smile.

“And you’re not joking with me or anything right?” Emily softly touched her shoulder as she asked.

Kim opened her mouth and closed it. Her eyes briefly met mine again. I could feel sweat forming, my face getting warmer and warmer. Kim could so easily out me, jump from the chair, exclaim how she doesn’t want to do this. To my relief she spoke.

“No, not joking. Just time for a change.”

Emily puffed her cheeks slightly and nodded slowly.

“Well, hard to argue with that. I think this will be a nice little change then.” She smiled cheekily as she pulled back the hair to let it stream down the back of the chair.

“So just like the picture then right?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Kim nodded stoically back.

“Well this is gonna be so so exciting.” She continued pulling the hair out and letting it drop against the back of the chair. It made an audible thwack each time it struck the chair. “Really not everyday you see such a big change like this.”

Kim gave a slight smile.

“And you’re very sure about this?” Emily cocked her head as she asked. Her hands still ran through the golden locks sat in front of her. Emily’s apparent excitement was turning me on.

“I am yeah.” Kim spoke fast. I tried to study her face but it gave little away. I could only imagine the panic going on under the calm exterior.

“Not gonna be any tears?”

The question looked like it caught Kim off guard slightly. She awkwardly chuckled.

“No I don’t think so.” A forced smile was cracked briefly. It was followed by a hard swallow and a quick glance to me through the mirror. I smiled back.

Emily nodded.

“And definitely as short as in the picture?”

Again Kim spoke rapidly back. “Yes, definitely.”

Emily nodded slowly and began slowly pulling the hair up with her hands. She pulled the hair into a loose ponytail. I realized with a steadily increasing giddiness that the whole foot plus of that ponytail would be gone shortly.

“I just want to be certain. Because some stylists would slowly, slowly take it shorter and shorter.”

Kim nodded slowly.

“But personally I would always prefer just to lop it off right at the start. I just find that with clients it’s easier just to get the initial shock out of the way. Just straight away give them that feeling of having short hair.”

I liked what I was hearing. Kim didn’t seem to be at all. A severity had crept over her face as Emily spoke.

“Right” Was all Kim managed to reply.

“So first I’ll do a bit of a rough cut, alright?”

“Sounds good to me.” Kim croaked back.

Emily released the hair from her grip and let it fall down the chair back again. Kim’s face seemed to be losing color.

“Let’s get right into it then I say.” Emily said with a smile. She wheeled across a trolley and looked back at me. “And you’re fine with this too then I’m going to assume.”

I shuffled slightly in my seat. Kim was looking at me through the mirror. I could feel her gaze burning into me. It felt as though she was daring me to keep up the lie. I still had nerves pulsing through me.

“Very much so. I think it’s going to look great.” I winked at Kim. She flicked her gaze away, sternly lookikg herself in the mirror.

“I completely agree.” Emily slowly wound up Kim’s hair and clipped it atop her head. She shook out a black cape and clipped it in place around Kim’s neck. She removed the clip and I watched as in slow motion the hair unraveled itself. I took a moment to take it in as it hung down the back of the chair.

“Let’s get started then.” Emily announced chiperly. “Ready?”

Kim took a shaky intake of air. I waited with bated breath for her to speak.

“Ready” She nodded solemnly as she spoke.

Emily wasted no time as she opened a drawer on the trolley and produced a comb and began pulling it through Kim’s hair. The salon was silent except for the raking of the comb as Emily gathered up the hair. She took out an elastic, pulling the hair through it and creating a low ponytail. The elastic sat at shoulder level, with a good foot or so of wavy brown hair beneath it.

“We can save this tail to start with.” Emily remarked.

I was struggling to come to terms with what I was about to see take place in front of me. Kim was about to lose all her hair.

Without much delay Emily was holding a pair of silver scissors and clicking them together. The metallic scrap of the blades was making my hairs stand up. I tried to imagine how Kim felt.

Ever so gently Emily tipped Kim’s head slightly forward.

“Here we go.” Emily announced calmly.

She brought the scissors up to the ponytail and without pausing began sawing through the hair. The scissors were set directly against Kim’s neck.

Schnick, schnick, schnick.

The noise was unbelievably loud. Kim watched herself closely in the mirror, a look of disbelief on her face.

Schnick, schnick, schnick, snip

The blades finally closed on each other. I watched in awe as Emily held up the detached ponytail. It must’ve been close to 40 cm of hair. Emily gently placed the hair on top of the trolley, Kim’s eyes were fixed on her former ponytail.

“Must feel so much lighter.” Emily spoke chiperly as she ran her fingers through the now shoulder grazing hair.

Kim was still forlornly looking at the mass of hair atop the trolley next to her. The permanence of what was occurring struck me. At least a year, maybe 2 years of growth was gone in only a few seconds, and still more hair was soon to fall. I felt sympathy towards the girl sat in the chair, a look of bewilderment and dejection across her face.

“Did you just wash this before you came in?” Emily asked, still running her fingers through the hair.

Kim opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. She slowly nodded instead.

“I thought so. I’m just going to spritz it down quickly then.” Emily nodded to herself as she reached for a spray bottle.

It didn’t take long for the hair to be damp and Emily began running her comb through the hair. She combed the hair straight back, wet it just about touched Kim’s shoulders.

“I think you’re having a little bit of a nervous moment but I just going to start cutting it down alright?.” Emily touched her shoulder and produced a pair of scissors.

Kim was pale. Her eyes were cast downwards.

“Okay, that’s fine.” She managed.

Emily began with a section right at the front of the head. Using her comb she took a large vertical section and then took it between her fingers. Not more than 2 inches of hair sat beneath the fingers. Swiftly, Emily’s scissors sliced through the protruding hair. 5 inches of wet hair fell past Kim’s face to the cape.

Kim briefly pressed her eyes shut. I could only imagine what was going through her mind at this point. Her long haired days were coming to a ruthless end.

Emily took another section directly behind the first and with another few snips more hair dropped to the cape. She took another section behind this again, moving from the front to back of the head. She moved methodically, snipping away more and more hair as she went. She has now reached the nape and I watched as more hair fell to the floor.

It was a slightly comical look, Emily had started at the front and worked all the way to the nape, leaving what could only be described as an inverted mohawk, a strip down the middle cropped short, the rest hanging shoulder length.

Emily worked fast, taking another section at the front of the head, to the right of the original, and after snipping away the hair above her fingers began working back across the head again.

The salon was silent, Emily focused as she sent strand after strand of wet hair either to the cape or the floor. Kim seemed to be in another world, a glum look on her face and her gaze set just below the mirror.

The snipping was almost rhythmical, hair was set between Emily’s fingers and duly hacked away at once. Hair was sprawled across the cape and small clumps lay around the chair. I watched the cropping in a daze. My fantasy had come to life and I was struggling to come to grips with the fact.

Before I knew it, almost all of Kim’s hair had been chopped away. She was a whole new person, hair so short it spiked up had replaced long, soft, gentle waves. Kim sat silently, blinking away tears. Slowly she braved a glance in the mirror and I watched a look of horror spread across her face. The realization that this was her reality seemed to be setting in. It would take the best part of a year for her to be able to tie up her hair again.

Emily finally put down her scissors. Kim’s haircut was finished. I had to admire how accurately she had followed the photo. Kim now had the pixie cut I had pictured.

“How do you feel?” Emily smiled to Kim. She ruffled the cropped hair.

“Think it will take some time to get used to.” Kim slowly replied.

Emily removed the cape, more hair fell to the floor.

And there she was, the Kim I new so well, yet so unmistakably different. The image of a freshly shorn lamb entered my mind as I looked at her. Her discomfort as she gingerly raked her fingers through her short locks was clear.

“And this if for you.” Emily handed over the ponytail. It’s length seemed almost absurd compared to the meak couple of inches atop her head.

Kim gripped the tail tightly, holding on the evidence of her long haired days. Uneasily she pulled herself out of the chair. She walked close to the mirror, taking in the new her.

A smile came across my face. My plan had been executed perfectly. What a day it was.

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