His Birthday Gift

“So what do you want for your birthday?” Arya asked.

Emerson sighed, “I don’t need anything, don’t worry about it.”

“That’s what you always say,” Arya said, giving him a look, he hated getting that look. “There’s got to be something I can do for you. Anything you want.”

“What I want would be violating your boundaries, and so I’ve convinced myself I don’t want it because I would never do that. But I don’t know of anything else.”

“You want my hair?” Arya asked, looking him in the eyes, her tone direct but surprisingly not annoyed, “I’d do it you know; if you asked.”

Emerson sat back in shock, staring at his wife who he thought he knew. His wife who had declared a bob as short hair and anything shorter as unfathomable, or so he thought up until that moment. Responding tentatively he said, “I don’t want to push you into anything.”

“Ask the question and answer mine. What do you want for your birthday?”

Emerson gulped, studying his wife’s face, an image of determination. Keeping his voice as measured as he could through his heady mix of nerves and excitement, he looked his wife in the eyes and said, ”Would you cut your hair short for me? I want to be there to watch when you do, and I want you to save your ponytails so I can keep them and remember what you did for me.”

“I’ll do it for you my love.” Arya responded, content with finally pulling it out of her husband, she continued, “On one condition. You’re not allowed to ask me anything about what I’m planning, and you’re not allowed to touch my hair until after it’s cut.”

Emerson nodded, not saying anything, afraid that if he did the bubble would pop and he’d find out that this was all a dream. Arya nodded back, a satisfied smile on her face as she went back to reading her book.

The next two weeks were exciting, but also so tortuous, the ever-present questions trying to claw their way out of his mouth. He also caught himself at least once a day reaching up to run his fingers through his wife’s hair, wanting one last time to feel the length that was about to be chopped off; images of the potential results churning through his mind. There were a few times when he almost blew it, almost broke the promise and sent his dreams crashing down, but the sun dawned on his birthday and he just had less than a day until his wish would become a reality.

Emerson’s heart thudded as he drove them to the salon, following the directions that Arya put into her phone. Pulling into the parking space he looked over at her. “Are you sure about this?”

“No questions, remember?” She responded with a sly smile, unbuckling herself and starting to get out of the car.

Emerson followed her into the salon, trying to be cool while Arya got checked in.

“Alida will be right with you,” the receptionist said with a smile. Emerson did his best to sit down next to Arya in a nearby chair, hoping that his bulge wasn’t too obvious.

Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long for Alida to come around the corner, greeting them with a smile. “It’s so great to see you Arya, and I see you’ve brought the birthday boy!”

Emerson’s face flushed at the last remark, curious about how much Arya had shared. He smiled in greeting and quickly stood to be led back to Alida’s private studio. His eyes quickly surveyed the room as they entered, there was a shampoo basin and chair in the corner, a styling chair with a large mirror and granite countertop front and center, and then a folding chair off to the side. It was cozy, but not cramped and Emerson made himself comfortable in the folding chair as Arya settled into the styling chair, her deep purple waves caught between her and the chair back.

“I’ve got some cameras set up to record this event at your beautiful wife’s request,” Alida said, smiling at him as she reached for a large black cape. “She said you might want to watch it back later and didn’t want you messing with your phone the whole time.” Emerson’s face reddened two more shades and he squeezed out a thank you as he returned the phone he had just pulled out back into his pocket. Looking around again he now noticed the camera on the counter as well as one on a tripod to the side.

Sitting back, Emerson watched the events before him unfold. Watching the caping before a cut was always something he loved to focus on and contemplate, it was always the start of a transformation whether a miniscule one or a makeover; it started the process of change. Today the potential for a big change made his heart thud more than normal. He’d been able to tag along to a few trims in the past and always hyped this moment up in his head, playing with the possibilities that he knew wouldn’t come true but he enjoyed savoring in his fantasies.Today he had a feeling that those fantasies had a chance of becoming a reality.

Alida draped the cape over the crook of her elbow and then as Arya leaned forward a bit to clear her hair from the chair, Alida gently gathering it up, taming the loose curls as she quickly twisted it up into a rough bun with practiced ease. Once she had secured the hair in place with a clip, she tossed the cape over Arya, gathered the collar of the cape loosely around her neck before pulling it snug and snapping it closed, leaving his wife fully enveloped from the neck down.

Next came Emerson’s favorite part of any caping process as Alida released the clip and allowed Arya’s hair to tumble free down the back of the chair. Alida then wasted no time in sectioning out the hair into two pigtails, securing each tightly with hair ties at shoulder height. Before Emerson knew it, scissors had appeared in the stylist’s hands, as if she too was concerned that her willing victim would back out. The soft crunching of scissors through dry hair could be heard clearly in the quiet studio, Alida was cutting high above the band, almost to Arya’s nape. Soft tendrils of hair slowly released to fall along Arya’s face as they were severed from the length that had held them back. Soon the ponytail was free and Alida palmed the end securely before moving to the right side. She had started on the side closest to Emerson for maximum effect, but even slightly further away, Emerson was over the moon as he watched the second ponytail be sheared off the same as the first.

Once the second tail was free, Alida walked both over to Emerson, handing them to him carefully with a wink, “I’ll leave these with you for safekeeping,” she said conspiratorially. Emerson had for the most part been shocked out of any embarrassment by now; it was clear that his interest was well known by his wife’s stylist and that she was happy to indulge. He marveled at holding the lengths of hair in his hands, the soft jagged ends draped out the side of his left hand as he held them at the bands, running his eyes and his hands gently over the length.

Not wanting to miss much, Emerson looked up to check on progress and saw that Alida had secured the top layer of hair up with a clip and was reaching for the clippers. He was in disbelief as the hum began and the clippers were first touched to Arya’s hair right in front of him, the very short guard easily shearing off the remaining lengths and leaving a short pelt in their wake. The stylist operated them methodically as she cleanly removed strip after strip of hair. Emerson enjoyed watching her work and even more enjoyed looking down at the floor as Alida rounded to the other side; piles of hair which had previously been on his wife’s head, scattered haphazardly around the base of the chair, his wife sitting calmly in the middle as the last sections were sheared off. Alida touched up a few spots before turning off the clippers and setting them back on the counter.

“Ok, miss, over to the shampoo bowl, and then we’ll finish up once I’ve got you washed up. And you,” Alida said, turning to Emerson and handing him a broom, ”can help me clean up these piles of hair that I just sheared from your wife.”

Emerson took the proffered broom and carefully set the ponytails down on the chair he had been sitting on. He then began to methodically sweep the small piles into larger and larger piles while marveling at how much hair had been left even after the ponytails had been removed. It took him two dustpans to get most of the hair into the bin. He went back for one last pass but was stopped short as Alida called over with a chuckle “You don’t need to make it too perfect, there’s plenty more hair to fall in a few minutes”.

Setting the broom back where it had come from, Emerson turned to check on the shampoo and saw that Arya was lying back in the chair, eyes closed as Alida gently massaged her head and scalp with a rich lather. Casually leaning against the wall opposite the bowl from where Alida was standing, he took in the scene, his beautiful wife still caped, reclined back into the bowl; her newly buzzed hair was exposed as Alida’s hands lifted the much thinner bob-length hair as she worked through it. One of Emerson’s favorite parts was the rinse and from his vantage he was not disappointed. The water slowly washed the suds from Arya’s scalp, down into the bowl and down the drain. Where not long ago there had been lengths of hair which would have clung to the lather, the short hair held onto few suds as Alida thoroughly rinsed it. The application of conditioner was perfunctory, the buzzed hair didn’t need it and most of the remaining hair was likely to be on the floor soon anyway; Alida worked the conditioner through and then was soon rinsing it out. Wanting to stay out of the way despite his desire to catch every moment, Emerson made his way back to his seat as Alida gave her client’s hair a final once over with the sprayer before shutting the water off. Picking up the ponytails from the chair before sitting back down, Emerson readied himself to watch the rest of the events unfold, Arya’s hair clutched gently in his hands.

Alida blotted the excess water from Arya’s hair at the sink before wrapping her hair in a towel and then helping her to sit up. It was only a few steps back to the chair and Arya was soon seated once more. Alida pulled the cape clear of the chair back and then took a few moments to remove the the towel and detangle the freshly washed hair. Emerson almost gasped at the first cut once Alida had sectioned it out a bit and grabbed her scissors; a foot of hair, all but a few inches of the length was dispatched to the floor, the wet hair landing with a small plop as it hit the anti-fatigue mat. Alida wasn’t haphazard in any way but did attack the remaining hair with a certain ruthlessness as she combed and snipped across Arya’s head, reducing everything to about 3 inches with some slight variation as she worked around the contours. Emerson hadn’t been sure what to expect, he had hoped for a long pixie but the clippers had been the first shock and then this scissored length the second.

As hair was snipped off it was able to curl a bit more, his wife’s curls were one thing that initially attracted him to her, though they had gotten fairly weighed down with how long her hair had gotten. As Alida finished with the scissors she worked some product into the remaining hair. Using a diffuser, she gently dried what was left of Arya’s hair. Without the length to weigh it down, this was the curliest Emerson had seen his wife’s hair, and he admired it as Alida snipped away at a few stray pieces.

Alida pulled the cape off, “there you are,” she announced, “a short-haired beauty for the birthday boy!”.

“So what do you think?” Arya asked, turning to Emerson, with Alida turning her attention to him as well.

“I love it, my dear, you look absolutely gorgeous. What do you think?”

“I love it, I’m glad I tried it, thank you Alida!”

“My pleasure,” she responded, steadying the chair as Arya stood up, “now let’s get the birthday boy a bag for that hair and I’ll let you get out of here.” She held the bag open for Emerson and he carefully deposited the hair inside before taking it from her. Heading out to the front, they stopped at the front desk and Emerson paid, leaving a hefty tip for Alida and all that she had done. With a final thank you to Alida, he guided Arya out the door, holding it for her as they exited.

“So you like it?” Arya asked, looking at him with a knowing smile once they were settled into the car.

“Like it? I love it!” Emerson said with a grin, still in disbelief at what had just transpired.

“I’m glad, we’ll see how long I keep it like this but I’m happy I gave it a try,” Alida said, gently fingering her newly shortened curls.

They sat in comfortable silence for the drive home, listening to music as Emerson tried to keep his eyes on the road while his gorgeous wife gently stroked her shorn nape with a contented smile on her face. Walking into the house Emerson set his keys down on the hallway table, followed by the bag with the ponytails before going to let the dogs out. Once they had gone out and been let back back in, he heard Arya call from the bathroom, “Hey hon, can you help me with something?”

“Coming,” he said, always happy to help but wanting more than ever to get a look at his wife’s new look again. Walking into their ensuite he was surprised to find his wife with a chair in the middle of the floor and his clippers laid out on the counter.

“I love the look that Alida gave me but I know you didn’t get a chance to participate earlier so thought I’d give you that opportunity now,” Arya said, smiling at his look of shock as he started to comprehend what she was saying.

“If you’re sure my love? This has already been the best birthday ever.”

“I’m sure, now hurry up and shave me.”

“Shave you?” Emerson asked, surprised, “no guard?”

“No guard, and I expect a hot towel shave after you’re finished with the clippers mister.”

Emerson picked up their cape from the counter, they had purchased it during Covid for Arya to cut his hair, and more recently it had been used for dyeing her hair every few months; never had he imagined it being used for cutting his wife’s hair. Once Arya was seated he threw the cape over her, the lightweight black fabric settling gently. He did his best to steady his hands as he carefully snapped the first, and then the second button closed. Putting his hand gently on his wife’s shoulder and then making eye contact in the mirror he reached over and picked up the clippers from the counter, turning them on with a buzz. Careful to steady his hand as it shook with excitement, he placed them against Arya’s forehead, looking at her in the mirror one last time for any signs of hesitation, but then seeing none he carefully drew them back into her curls. These were nice clippers that he had invested in a while back and they entered the hairline with little resistance. Arya’s short curls clumped up as the clippers severed them, before rolling off the continuously advancing clippers to the floor. After the first pass, Emerson ran his fingers over the newly bared skin, his touch sending a slight shiver through her caped body.

Knowing that he’d have plenty of time to savor the final result Emerson placed the still buzzing blades to the right of the first pass, gliding them smoothly back and sending more hair to cascade to the floor. His third pass was far less dramatic as he cleaned up the edge of the longer hair atop Arya’s head. Half her curls removed, he switched his attention to the right side, making short work of the short stubble and buzzing it clean to the skin. Carefully working around her ear and all its piercings, he cleaned his way around the back of her head, guiding her head down to enable full nape access. Buzzing his wife’s neck was incredibly sexy for him, a vulnerable position and she was letting him go down to the skin; he did his best to keep calm and work diligently on keeping nice smooth strokes and getting Arya’s head buzzed to the skin as requested.

Onto the left side, he repeated in reverse what he’d done on the right. Then like the final morsel of dessert saved for last, he put the clippers to her temple and removed the last little bit of Arya’s hair.

Setting the warm clippers down on the counter he turned on the water in the sink and let it get hot. Once it was up to temp he picked up the washcloth and wet it thoroughly before wringing it out and quickly moving it to Arya’s head where he wrapped her head in it gently.

“Oooh,” Arya sighed as her head was wrapped, “I could get used to this.”

“I will gladly do this for you whenever you want my dear,” Emerson responded chuckling.

After the towel had sat for a minute or two, he squeezed some shaving cream into his left palm and then rubbed his palms together to warm up the thick cream. He then pulled the now-cooled cloth from Arya’s head dropping it into the sink before lathering the cream all over Arya’s stubble. Once he had gotten a nice even layer he rinsed the extra from his hands before picking up a razor with a fresh blade. Taking a breath to calm his excitement, he steadied his gorgeous wife’s head with his left hand and began taking short smooth strokes with the razor in his right.

Arya sat quietly with her eyes closed, enjoying the new sensations. What started as a small path amidst the white slowly broadened as the razor scraped off more and more of both the cream and the stubble that it concealed. He carefully guided the razor down the side of her head in short strokes, gently holding her ear down as he cleared the tender skin behind. Pausing as he switched to the other side of his seated wife, he admired the sight before him, his wife’s mostly bare head hovering over her caped body as she sat with a calm and content smile on her face.

With the top and right side already cleared, it wasn’t long before Emerson was making the final passes with the razor on Arya’s right side. Running his fingers over her head to check for rough spots, he rubbed on a bit of extra cream and did a few touch-ups in any spots he found before declaring her complete. Taking a soft towel he gently wiped off any stray bits of shaving cream and then gently massaged in some lotion to the newly bared skin.

“Ok my dear, you are bald and beautiful,” Emerson said, smiling at Arya in the mirror as he undid the cape and slid it off her. “What do you think?”

“I think it will take some getting used to,” she said, tentatively feeling her bare scalp, “I’m not sure that I love the look of it it, but I do love the feeling, maybe it will be a special treat for both of us every now and then.”

“Well, I think you look amazing and I will give you a scalp massage and offer any touch-ups whenever you say the word!”

Arya left Emerson to clean up the hair strewn about the floor which he did happily. He then left the bathroom and looked for her, finding her upstairs. Sitting down on the couch near her, she turned and lay across his lap, and grabbing the remote turned on the TV. Sitting there, absentmindedly stroking his wife’s newly bald head, Emerson’s mind replayed the events of the day on his best birthday ever.