Theobald
Eve and Sally stepped out of the department store, blinking against the late afternoon sun. In front of them, two women strolled arm in arm, their voices animated with laughter and conversation. Eve nudged Sally sharply in the ribs, tilting her head toward the pair. One of the women had hair cropped so short it barely covered her scalp. This she had offset with huge hoop earrings.
Intrigued, the girls subtly quickened their pace, moving closer to catch snippets of the conversation.
“…so glad to be back in the city,” the cropped-haired woman said, her voice warm with affection. “And to see you again! Let’s find a place to grab coffee and catch up properly.”
Eve and Sally exchanged a look, their curiosity fully piqued. When the two women chose a table at a bustling curb side café, Eve and Sally slipped into seats at the next table. Close enough to hear the conversation, they pretended to be engrossed in their own chatter while eagerly eavesdropping.
“So, tell me,” the woman with longer hair asked, leaning forward with a curious smile, “what have you been up to lately? And what’s the story behind that drastic haircut?”
The cropped-haired woman looked up through long lashes, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup. “Where do I even start? Well, I resigned from my job. One of the partners started coming on to me… sexually.”
Her friend’s smile vanished. “What? That’s awful!”
She nodded grimly. “It got worse. I filed a complaint, but the whole process was turned against me. Turns out, his wife is the daughter of the big boss. So, naturally, it became his word against mine.”
The long-haired woman shook her head in disbelief.
“The worst part?” The cropped-haired woman’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “He was stupid enough to approach me after the hearing—just to gloat. He bragged about my humiliation and even boasted about his other conquests. But I’d been prepared. I had a recorder going the whole time.”
Her friend’s eyes widened. “No way.”
“Way,” she said with a wry grin. “I copied the recording onto a flash drive and sent it to his wife. After that, I quit. There was no way I could stay after that mess.”
“Good for you.”
She gave a small shrug. “It wasn’t exactly a happy ending. I couldn’t find work for a while—word gets around, you know? But then my sister stepped in with a proposition.”
“Your sister? The model?”
“Yeah. Her agency needed two women for a goth-themed shoot, and the pay was… let’s just say, worth it.” She chuckled. “The catch? I had to dye my hair jet black.”
Her friend glanced at her closely. “That explains a lot, but the cut?”
“The black did not suite my skin tone, so when I was done with the gig, I couldn’t get rid of the dye fast enough. Chopping it off was the easiest solution.”
“That’s drastic,” the long-haired woman said, her voice tinged with sympathy. “Did they use some cheap dye that ruined your hair?”
The cropped-haired woman sighed and nodded, her hoops swinging in her ears. “Unfortunately, yes. I went to a hairdresser to strip the black out and dye it back to my natural colour. But the dye had done so much damage that she told me it wasn’t an option. My hair was too brittle to handle any more chemicals.”
Her friend winced. “Ouch.”
“I know,” she said with a rueful laugh. “I mulled over what to do for a while. As I said, the black didn’t suit my skin tone at all, as you can imagine. My sister, on the other hand, loved the look and decided to stick with it.”
Her friend tilted her head, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. “So, what did you do?”
“Eventually, I walked into a barbershop and laid it all out. I told the barber the situation, and he agreed to take it down slowly—cutting off the black little by little until we got back to my natural hair, or at least as close as possible.”
“And?”
“Well,” she said with a sheepish grin, “it turned out I’d underestimated how fast my hair had been growing out. He had to go almost to my scalp to get rid of the black completely.” She gestured at her closely cropped hair. “This was the result.”
Her friend studied her for a moment, then smiled. “Honestly, it suits you. It’s bold, and it makes your eyes stand out more. Those earrings just top it off perfectly”
“Thanks,” she said, chuckling. “It took some getting used to, but I kind of like it now. Plus, it’s way easier to manage.”
“So, when did all this happen?” the long-haired woman asked, her eyes scanning her friend’s short hair.
“About eight weeks ago,” she replied.
“Eight weeks? And this is all the hair you’ve managed to grow back?”
The cropped-haired woman chuckled. “Actually, this is where things get complicated.”
Her friend raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Oh, I’m listening.”
“Well, I met someone at the barbershop.”
Her friend’s eyes widened. “Seriously? At the barbershop?”
“Yup,” she said, her lips curving into a small smile. “He was there waiting for a trim and struck up a conversation. He was fascinated by my cropped head—said it was striking, that it really suited me. We ended up going out for dinner that same night. One thing led to another, and… we got involved.”
“And?”
“And… he insisted I keep my hair cropped. Said it fitted my look and brought out my features.” She shrugged. “To be fair, as you said, it does kind of suit me.”
Her friend gave her a pointed look. “Okay, but what happened to him? Did you ditch him?”
Her smile faded slightly. “No, actually, I got pretty fond of him. For a while, things were
Her friend reached over, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Good for you. You deserve so much better than that.”
“Yeah. As I said, he insisted I keep my hair cropped—he loved the look on me. Said it suited my face, my whole vibe. And honestly, I agreed. It was freeing in a way I hadn’t expected.”
“So you kept it cropped for him?”
“Not just that. We even talked about going a step further… shaving it all off.”
Her friend gasped. “You mean bald? Like, totally hairless?”
She nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah. I actually got to the point where I wanted to do it—wanted to be his bald woman.”
Her friend’s jaw dropped slightly. “But what happened to him? Did you ditch him?”
She sighed, her expression softening with a mix of fondness and frustration. “No, I didn’t ditch him. I got really fond of him, actually. Things were looking so bright. But then—”
Her friend cut her off with a knowing smirk. “Let me guess. He was married.”
The cropped-haired woman groaned, throwing her hands up. “Exactly! How did you know?”
Her friend rolled her eyes. “Because it’s always the way with these types. So what did you do?”
“I confronted him, of course. And to his credit, he didn’t lie about it. But that was the end of it for me. I’m not about to be anyone’s secret.”
Her friend reached across the table, giving her hand a supportive squeeze. “Good for you. You deserve someone who’ll treat you right.”
“Thanks,” she said with a small smile. “It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, to say the least.”
The cropped-haired woman pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to her friend.
“No, thanks,” the longer-haired woman said with a small shake of her head.
An arched eyebrow lifted in amusement. “Trying to quit?”
“Busy trying,” her friend replied with a laugh.
Undeterred, she lit one, took a deep inhale, and blew out a perfect plume of smoke through her nose.
Nearby, Eve signaled to the waiter, paid for their coffee, and exchanged a knowing glance with Sally. The two women were still deep in conversation, the scent of cigarette smoke curling into the air as Eve and Sally got up to leave.
Hand in hand, they strolled through the fading light, heading back to their small apartment. Inside the modest bedsit, Sally dropped her bag onto the couch and flopped down with a dramatic sigh.
“Well,” she said, turning to Eve, “that was something. What a story! And, honestly, I wonder how you’d look with your hair cropped that short.”
Eve gawked at her. “Are you crazy? With my blonde hair, I’d look completely bald!”
“What about it? Cropped is cropped,” Sally teased, a sly grin forming. “I asked first.”
Eve narrowed her eyes and pounced, her fingers finding Sally’s sides where she knew she was most sensitive. Sally shrieked, trying to fend her off, but Eve was relentless. Laughter bubbled up as Sally grabbed Eve in a desperate clinch, the two tumbling back onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.
Breathless, their laughter softened, and their eyes met. Slowly, their mouths found each other, and the teasing melted into something tender, their tongues entwining in a heated kiss.
The excitement of their eavesdropping adventure would remain just that—an arousing memory.
