Lira1802
Clare was ecstatic. There was no doubt, her results were in and clear, she had a child on the way. Her husband, Thomas, was happy for his wife and made her comfortable in the coming months. In the sixth month of the pregnancy, Clare threw herself a baby shower. It was attended by her good friends and Missy, Clare’s older sister.
Missy had come from out of state to attend the baby shower. She brought Clare many things for the baby: diapers, baby powder, cute onesies, and warm hats to put on the babe in the winter months. Her gifts were much appreciated by Clare who wished Missy could stay there forever. Missy smiled, saying,”Oh, I am staying here until the baby arrives. No sister of mine is going through a pregnancy alone”
”Don’t worry”,Clare backtracked a little,”I’ll have Thomas with me”
Missy chuckled,”That boy doesn’t know you like I do, let alone being pregnant. I have decided and that’s that”
Clare was hesitant to stand up to her sister and let Missy stay after all her friends left. Thomas was first to press Missy on what she decided but quickly, he backed off after Missy told him to be quiet and that she was now Clare’s primary provider.
Going to bed, Clare felt uneasy hearing Missy downstairs humming to herself. Her man was allowed to sleep with her but Missy could have easily made him sleep in the guest bedroom if she wanted. In the morning, Clare walked downstairs to find Missy making breakfast.
”Here we are”,Missy put a plate of organic food in front of Clare,”It’s nutritious and healthy. You’re going to eat only good food from now on til the baby comes, alright”
”Yes, ma’am”,Clare nodded in agreement reluctantly.
Missy smiled widely. She started to run her fingers through her baby sister’s head of brown curls. Clare tried to ignore Missy’s antics and ate the food.
”You know”,Missy started,”This hair is way too long. I want you to focus on the baby and not worry about taking care of this mop. We’ll go to the barbershop this afternoon and have it cut, okay”
Clare did not answer. Missy was miffed and took her sister’s chin in her hands and repeated,”Okay?”
”Yes”,Clare meekly said,”That sounds nice”
Missy smiled and let Clare go back to eating her breakfast. After a nutritious lunch, Missy ordered Clare to dress comfortably for the trip. Clare came downstairs in an outfit that showed a lot of skin. Her sister took one look and said,”No no, you are not wearing that. You are going to be a mother so dress like one, not like a prostitute”
Clare was disheartened but obeyed her sister. She changed into a frumpy dress that looked very ‘motherly’. The woman didn’t remember buying the dress. She came downstairs again to Missy’s delight at seeing her in such an ugly thing.
The two then headed out of the house. Missy drove the car as she wouldn’t think of Clare getting behind the wheel. In a few minutes, the car pulled up to a barbershop in the heart of the small town. Clare wasn’t allowed to open her own door so Missy came round and helped her sister out of the car. Sisters, hand and hand, walked straight up into the establishment and were welcomed inside by a sweet, old lady.
”Good afternoon, ladies”,she said,”I’m Dolores. What can I do you for”
”My sister here is having a baby”,Missy replied.
”Oh, congratulations”,Dolores took one of Clare’s hands in good will.
”Thank you”,Clare blushed a little.
”Yes”,Missy went on,”And since the baby will be taking up most of her time, she will be needing a really short haircut”
”Well, I can do that”,Dolores said,”Come on back, sweetie, and I’ll get you prepped”
Clare went with Missy towards the chair and sat in it. She gave her sister a smile like she was ready to have her hair cut. Her sister just gave a nod and watched Dolores flip a cape over Clare. The cape was tightened a little. Dolores pumped up the chair and asked,”Alright, how short do you want your hair, miss?”
”It’s all coming off”,Missy said. Dolores couldn’t believe and looked to Clare for confirmation. Clare slowly nodded in agreement. Dolores looked at Missy and then shrugged. She grabbed the clippers and turned them on. The brown curls were slowly pushed off of Clare’s head and lied dead on the floor. Dolores didn’t want to but she turned to Missy and asked,”To the skin?”
Missy nodded. With orders, Dolores caked Clare’s head in shaving foam and used a straight razor to take it all off. Clare was bald and Missy was happy. The chair went down. Dolores took off the cape and said,”Well, I guess this will give you more time to focus on the baby”
”That’s the plan”,Missy took hold of Clare’s hand, helping her out of the chair, saying,”I’ll bring her back every other day for another shave, alright”,she looked deeply into her sister’s eyes. Clare nodded obediently. Like clockwork, Clare was back in the chair and had her head shaved again and again every other day. Missy was the boss for the coming months, micromanaging her baby sister until the day Clare’s baby came into the world. She was beautiful and happy. For once, Missy left Clare alone to enjoy her time with her child.
When Clare and Thomas came home from the hospital, Missy was waiting. The couple froze as soon as they saw her in the living room. Missy smiled,”Don’t worry, I know you must be tired after a long day’s work. You can leave the babe with me and go get some rest, you guys deserve it”
Reluctantly, Clare left her baby with Missy and headed up to bed with her husband. The next morning, Clare quickly got out of bed, quickly walked downstairs, and found Missy making breakfast in the kitchen. She was holding the baby in her arms securely as she cooked. She looked at Clare and smiled. Handing over the baby to her baby sister, Missy went back to cooking.
She put a healthy plate of food in front of Clare and watched her eat it. Her fingers then touched the overgrown stubble on Clare’s head and said,”It’s already decided. We’re going back to the barbershop to get this shaved off one last time before I leave”
Clare knew she couldn’t get out of it. She packed up the baby and went to the barbershop with her sister. Dolores was over the moon to finally meet Clare’s baby. Missy held onto the baby as Clare sat in the barber chair and was caped up. The mother looked at her baby all the while the chair was pumped up. Dolores smiled, reminiscing, as she clicked on the clippers and took the stubble down. The clippers were clicked off and put away. Shaving foam was applied to Clare’s head and whittled away with the razor. A good buffing later, Clare’s head was nice and smooth.
The steps were reversed and, out of the chair, Clare got up. Missy gave her her baby and kissed her bald head. She drove Clare back home and packed her things to leave. Clare came into her room and asked,”Do you have to leave?”
”Do you want me to leave?”Missy asked quizzically.
Without hesitation, Clare said,”No, I would really like the help to raise my little girl”
Missy smiled,”Okay, I’ll stay”
”Thank you”,Clare replied.
