The Shopkeeper
Mary had been watching the changes for weeks. The old beauty parlor that her mom and Grandmother had been going to for the last 40 years had closed, and in its place a new, modern salon was moving in to the building. From the seat of her car she could see the interior had been totally re-done and all new modern equipment had been installed. The final piece was a bright new sign showing the new name “The Allen Beauty Lofts”
Mary had been a customer of the old “Avenue Beauty Parlor” from the time she was a little kid up until she left for college. At that point she gained independence from her mom choosing every hairstyle she had ever had. Once she returned from college she chose to go to a posh salon in the next town over.
She had been starting to feel like her current stylist was not really putting in the effort anymore when it came to styling Mary’s shoulder length hair, and thought it might be time to give this new place a try. She found the new salon on Facebook and decided to go ahead and schedule an appointment for June 1st, the first week they opened.
The new salon was incredible, all the modern convieniences that you could dream of. She had seen 4 styling chairs, each with a young stylist, all wearing modern clothes and hairstyles. She checked in with the receptionist who asked for her name and email address. When the girl entered Mary’s information into the computer, she said “Oh, you are already in the system. Were you a client of the old salon?” Mary thought nothing of the question “Yes. My mother brought me here for years, until I left for college.” “Oh wonderful, lets just update your profile then I will put you in with the owner Debbie Allen.”
Mary was then led to the wash area and was given a luxurious shampoo and incredible scalp massage she ever had. She was then taken to one of the private work stations. After a few minutes the stylist entered the booth, and it was not what Mary had expected. A grey-haired women at least 60 years old smiled as she saw Mary in the mirror “Hello Mary, I’m Mrs Allen. I’ve been doing your mothers and grandmothers hair for the last 20 years.”
Mary was taken aback by the old woman “I thought this was a new salon” The stylist smiled “When I bought the old salon I agreed to keep it the same until Mrs Weber, the original owner, passed away. Now that she is gone it was time for a fresh new look”
Mary wanted to get out of there in the worst way. She knew that if her mom knew that they were going to the same salon she would schedule their appointments together. She was stuck for now and decided she would just stick with a minimal trim of her current haircut.
Mrs Allen was looking at a tablet on her work station. One of the things she had done for the new salon was to digitize all of the old client records. Setting the tablet down she looked at Mary “So then First of June, time for your summer haircut”
Mary was confused at the statement “I just wanted a small trim to neaten up my current style. Mrs Allen was always in control of the women who sat in her chair. “I know what haircut you are to get when you come in. I have all the instructions right here in the system”
Mary wanted no part of a ‘summer’ haircut “Listen Debbie, all I want is a slight trim” Mrs Allen was ready to get on with it “Listen young lady, I’m old enough to be you grandmother, so I expect you to call me Mrs Allen. Understood?”
Mary started to feel like a little girl being taken to the beauty parlor by her mom again “Sorry Mrs Allen. Can I just have a trim, please?” “Well young lady, the notes in my system say that you are to have a pixie cut once school is out, then in September we will give you some nice curls.”
It all came back to Mary now. These were the instructions that her mother had put in place all thru her teenage years. Short pixiecuts every summer followed by a permed wedge cut for the start of the school year. “Mrs Allen. My mother doesn’t decide how I want to wear my hair anymore”
Mrs Allen was now combing Mary’s hair with rather hard strokes “Young lady, your mother has left very specific instructions for how your hair is cut. She had been a valued customer for over 20 years, and however she tells me to cut your hair, that’s how it will be cut. Understand?”
Mary, now feeling like she was a teenager all over again, remained silent as Mrs Allen reached for her scissors. She knew that any chance of saving her hair was no longer a possibility, so she just closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. It only took a few seconds for Mrs Allen to cut off Marys hair to ear level. Pinning all of the hair on top of her head Mary feared what was coming next. The humming was all she needed to her as all the memories from her teen years came rushing back. She had come to realize that she had basically given control of her hair back to her mother again. Even if she never came back to the salon, it would be years before hair ever reached her shoulders again. Mrs Allen wasted no time as clump after clump of hair rolled down the cape into Marys lap. Thru her watery eyes Mary watched the pile get larger and larger. She kept her eyes open as Mrs Allen finished the sides and raised her head. It was worse than Mary had remembered from years before, the clippers had reduced the sides of her head to a faint stubble. Mrs Allen had decided that the best approach to get Mary back in line was to take her extra short so she knew who was in control. “This will keep you nice and cool this summer.” She left Mary with a couple inches on top, just enough so it could still be considered a feminine style.
Mary wanted nothing more than to put this experience behind her, but before Mrs Allen took the cape off her she picked up the tablet again. After a few minutes she looked at Mary “Okay Mary. I have scheduled your July and August haircuts for the first of each month at 3:00, and your in luck, I scheduled your September appointment for the 2nd, the same day as your mother and grandmother’s appointments. They’re both going to be over the moon when all 3 of you walk out with matching heads of curls.”
Mary was heading towards the door, with no intention of coming back, but Mrs Allen wasn’t about to lose a customer “I sent you and your mom an email with your appointments. I’ll follow up with her a few days before your next visit.” Again defeated, Mary responded “Okay Mrs Allen, I’ll be here on the 1st.” And she was.
Oooh I’m looking forward to the September visit. Let’s hope she gets a nice tight perm and that neck line is really cleaned up, just as her mother and grandmother would like.