5-To Kill a Mother-in-Law

Please read the other stories in the series before this one. They build on each other and are very much needed to understand this one! List and links at the bottom of this story.

~*~

Tom was severely questioning his life choices right now. He had just left an ambush for one of his closest friends in his apartment, and now he was driving to his parent’s place with his girlfriend. A girlfriend that he was pretty sure his mother was going to rip to shreds.

He loved her though, and so this meeting would have to happen at some point. He was just hoping that Clara, and ultimately their relationship, would survive it.

He glanced over at her in the passenger seat, she was asleep. He smiled to himself.

’Let her sleep,’ he thought, ‘it is going to be a long week and she needs her energy for it.’

As they approached his family’s home, Clara started to stir.

“You are awake.”

Stretching, Clara started blinking, trying to clear the fog of sleep from her vision.

“How much longer?”

“Only about 15 more minutes.”

Clara grew very quiet and tried to hide herself in the seat.

Tom placed a hand on her knee, “It will be ok. I have already warned you that my mother can be intense.”

He glanced over. Clara didn’t seem that reassured.

“Just be the sweet, caring person that I fell in love with, and you will win them over.”

A slight smile started to grace Clara’s lips.

She could do this. If she was planning on managing people, she needed to be able to manager herself and even Tom’s parents.

She could. No! Would, make a good impression on them.

~*~

Just as Tom said, they pulled into the driveway of the enormous house that Tom’s family owned.

His parents were there to meet them and they were polite enough. It was late for dinner, but they had a small meal waiting for them.

Tom’s mom, Elizabeth, kept eyeing Clara, disapproval seeming to grow with every glance.

Tom and his father, Arthur, talked politely about everything, especially the business that Tom was expected to join once he graduated.

Basic, getting to know you type questions were thrown at Clara, which she answered honestly, but briefly.

Soon enough, the house staff were called in to show Clara to her room and get her settled.

~*~

Clara couldn’t believe this house. She was in awe at the sheer size of it. She knew Tom’s family had money but didn’t realize how much.

‘I shouldn’t be here,’ she thought, ‘Tom knows I don’t come from money. Why would he want to bring me into his life, when I am just a nobody.’

Clara couldn’t help but have those thoughts swirling in her head as she got ready for bed.

It was a restless night of sleep.

~*~

Much of the week was fairly peaceful. Tom and Clara would hang out during the day. They would spend time at the pool, taking walks, or even just sitting with a good book.

Clara couldn’t help but feel that she was constantly being watched though, and it unnerved her.

Arthur still had to work, but was home, and the four of them would share dinner together.

At first Elizabeth, while somewhat cold, was polite enough. Asking Clara about her family, school, and other basic information.

Tom and Arthur would dominate the conversation with work.

Finally, during the final dinner before Tom and Clara were to head back to college life, something seemed to snap.

Elizabeth couldn’t stop glaring at Clara across the dinner table.

Finally, she all but threw her napkin on the table.

“Tom, I do not like your girlfriend!”

The rest of the table went very still, and Clara became very interested in her food.

“She obviously does not come from a well-off family. She does not belong in our level of society!”

Clara’s shoulders had increasingly hunched as Elizabeth went on.

“You need to think about the future and how to carry on the family name,” she waved a hand towards Clara, “and you want to bring her into this family? She looks like a child with those ridiculous bangs of hers.”

With that, Clara couldn’t take it anymore and all but ran out of the room.

Tom glared at his mother.

Standing, he leaned over this table towards his mother.

“Since the moment that Clara entered this house, you have been judging her and have not given her a chance. She is sweet and kind. And she does have the strength to be a part of this family.”

Turn towards his father, “And you have let mother scare her off.”

He turned on his heals and went to find Clara.

~*~

Tom found Clara on the back patio, crying.

Sitting down next to her, he gently laid his hand on her back.

“I am sorry,” he said, “The rest of the week had gone by fairly smoothly, and I hoped that my mother would not act out on the final night.”

Choking back sobs, “She’s right though. I don’t belong in this family. My mom lives in a trailer.”

“And because of that, you have become the incredibly strong woman that I love.”

She turned and looked him in the eyes. With a tone that came out much harsher than she might have wanted, “Is that enough though? Your family has been living at this level for years. I haven’t even stepped into it, and your mom seems content to kick me to the curb before I have even had a chance.”

Tom’s hand drifted up to Clara’s neck, where he slid his fingers under her hair, lightly touching the undercut that Clara had decided to keep.

“You were strong enough to get this haircut for us, even after only getting to know each other for a few week, you are strong enough to handle my family,” he whispered as he gently stroked the undercut, “You just need to find your footing.”

There came a slight knock at the patio door behind them. Tom’s father was standing there.

“Tom, can we talk for a moment?”

Tom got up and faced his father.

“You were right. I am sorry. I let your mother intimidate Clara this entire week and just let it happen.”

Tom crossed his arms, while Clara, who had mostly composed herself, turned to see Arthur.

“Your mother is correct that you do need to think about the future and who you bring into it with you,” Arthur paused, “However, you proved tonight that you have the strength to make your own decisions regarding this.”

He then looked down at Clara, “If you are willing to try to brave my wife, and this family, I am willing to try to help. You are going into business. I think I can help you find a place at the company that I work for once you are done with college. Tom already has a place there.”

Clara thought about it for a moment, looking between Tom and his dad.

She slowly stood and took Tom’s hand.

“I would like that sir,” she said, a tentative smile forming on her lips.

“Call me Arthur. That is what I am known by at the company. Get some sleep, both of you. You have one more semester to go before you are ready to enter the even more cutthroat business world.”

~*~

The next six months went by in a blur for both of them. Getting through their last classes, exams, and graduation.

They continued to talk almost every day, though for now, they agreed to keep it more casual. Tom’s mother was watching them, and they didn’t want to cause problems for either of them or their potential work situation.

True to his word Arthur not only had Tom’s position waiting for him, but within days of graduation, Clara had received a letter from the company offering her a position as a junior manager in a department that worked closely with the one that Tom was going to be in, though not in the same one.

It seemed Arthur understood the need to allow them to work together, but not close enough to arouse suspicion. This ‘protection’ seemed to extend to keeping Clara out of sight of Elizabeth as well. Important meetings that were suspiciously cancelled or rescheduled, only for Clara to spot Elizabeth in the hall during the day.

Clara understood the need for subtlety. It did not mean that she didn’t stare dreamy eyed at Tom when they were sitting in a meeting together.

In her mind, he had only gotten more handsome. He had grown out a short beard, and could command a room almost as well as his father. It took an effort of will to ensure that she paid enough attention to the meetings to ensure that she could do her job.

To fit in better with the environment, she had also grown her hair back out. The first thing to go were the ‘child-like’ bangs. After about a year, her hair was starting to resemble the look she had when she had first met Tom. Though she never got rid of the undercut. It was too practical, and made her hair lay a lot nicer than if she had grown it out too.

Besides the meetings, Tom and Clara continued to hang out privately on the weekends whenever they could. There was still concern about Tom’s mother, so they made sure that for now they kept everything far away from his family.

~*~

Clara’s phone lit up, ‘Pack a bag. I want to spend this weekend together.’

Clara was intrigued. She was expecting to spend time with Tom this weekend, but for him to propose a weekend getaway was not expected.

‘Anything in particular I should pack?’ she shot back.

‘Bring one nice outfit, but otherwise comfy clothes. I know how you like your sweats.’

Clara smiled. While she didn’t don sweats nearly as often as she used to, and especially now that it was the warm summer months, she still loved being comfy.

~*~

Saturday morning found Tom knocking on Clara’s door and when he said comfy, he meant it. She hadn’t seen him wear a T-shirt in months, preferring to maintain a semi-professional appearance with polos, even on his days off.

She quickly grabbed her bag and was out the door.

To her surprise, Tom was standing by the passenger door, holding it open for her.

‘He hasn’t done this in a while,’ she thought. It reminded her of their first date.

The nostalgia continued to assault Clara as it became obvious that Tom was driving them to her college town, where they had originally met.

Tom quickly found the hotel that he had booked for them. It was near the beach that she had taken him to on that same first date.

Clara was starting to get nervous. She loved Tom, but she wasn’t sure they could make this work in the long run. Not with the way that his mom was. She had to make sure she didn’t shake whenever she thought about that week at his parent’s place, or saw his mom in the hall at work.

Tom and Clara spent the rest of the day relaxing and hanging out.

As the afternoon wore on, Tom told Clara to get changed into the nice outfit. It seemed that he had made reservations at the nicest restaurant in town.

Clara’s nerves were on edge at this point. She kept expecting to see a ring show up. She really wanted him to propose.

She did!

She was just concerned about the aftermath of that decision.

To her slight surprise, no ring showed up at dinner, and the night quickly found them crawling into bed.

~*~

After a fitful night sleep, both were up early. Though

“Hey, how about we go for a walk?” Tom said.

“Sure. Any place in particular?”

“We are only a few blocks from the beach. I thought we might be able to spend some time walking and talking like we used to.”

“That sounds nice.”

~*~

They walked to the beach in silence.

Tom had said he wanted to talk, but he couldn’t seem to get anything out, as it felt like something heavy was in the air between them.

Finally, Tom stopped.

Clara turned, concern written all over her face.

After a long breath, Tom looked her in the eyes.

“I know that things have not been the easiest between us…”

Tom pulled out a ring box from his pocket and opened it between them.

“You are possibly the strongest person I know. My mother intimidates everyone. The only ones not phased are the ones that grew up in the same circles she did and are used to those sorts of bullying tactics. You did not have that backing, but still you pushed her to the edge of breaking before she finally got to you.”

Tears had started to well in Clara’s eyes.

“I know that she will always be a sore point for both of us, but I also know that we can face her. Together. Clara, will you marry me?”

Clara choked back a sob as a grin spread across her face.

“Yes,” she said quietly, “I will marry you.”

~*~

The next few weeks were torture for both of them.

Tom had not told his parents about the engagement, and if Arthur noticed the ring during the regular meetings that took place, he didn’t say anything.

Clara and Tom found more reasons to interact while at work.

While it might have been an open secret that they were a couple before, now it was out in the open for all to see.

They knew they should be more careful, but they were so happy, that it was hard to contain all the excitement that they felt.

That was until Elizabeth spotted them one day standing around and chatting.

“You!” she stormed over, “What are you doing working in this company?”

Tom stepped to meet his mother, “She got a job here after we graduated. She is one of our best managers.”

Elizabeth sneered as she looked Clara up and down.

Shock rolled through her as she spotted the ring on Clara’s hand.

She whirled on Tom, “I told you that I did not approve of her. Get rid of her or I will destroy her, and she will not be able to work in the business world ever again!”

“That’s enough!” Clara growled, “Tom and I love each other in spite of your malicious ways. To prove it, I am willing to go to the courthouse right now and get married. With or without your blessing.”

Elizabeth stood there in stunned silence for a moment, Tom looking on, impressed with Clara standing up to his mother.

“Fine,” Elizabeth finally spat, “if you two want to throw your lives away, that is on you! But I will not have you getting married in a courthouse. I will find a suitable location for a wedding, just be ready when it is and we will get this torrid affair over with.”

With that, Elizabeth turned on her heals and stormed off.

As soon as she was out of sight, Clara deflated.

“What did I just do?” she asked Tom quietly.

“You just did one of the bravest things I have ever seen you do.”

He reached out and pulled Clara into a tight hug. Why even pretend to be subtle after that blow up. His hand drifted to the back of Clara’s neck, rubbing the undercut.

“Now we just have to prepare for the wedding.”

Clara smiled at that, though the shaking had yet to subside.

The message came later that day. Elizabeth had secured a church a month from then.

~*~

Clara’s head was still spinning from how fast everything was moving.

Within days of her confrontation with Elizabeth and the wedding date being set, a box of wedding invitations were dropped on her desk.

It seemed that Elizabeth was going to try to dictate every aspect of this wedding.

While Clara was grateful that some parts of the wedding she didn’t have to deal with, there were some that Clara would not allow her to control.

This found Clara walking into Rachel’s salon one morning.

Six months earlier Rachel had approached Tom and Clara about getting some starter money to open a salon in the touristy area of their old college town.

Rachel had decided to go to cosmetology school right after they graduated. Not so much to do hair, but to understand the industry.

Now she was busy getting her new business up and running.

As Clara walked in, she had to say she was impressed. Rachel had not skimped on the look and feel of the place. Though she still had a bit of a sense of humor, as she had named the place, Hair Funk.

It was obviously meant as a higher end salon. Black and gold accents, and Clara thought she spotted a closed off, and dimly lit shampoo area tucked away in the back.

Clara quickly spotted Rachel standing behind the reception desk.

“I was wondering if you would stop by,” Rachel smirked, “I received your wedding invitation yesterday.”

“How are you doing?” Clara said by way of greeting, “And sorry to drop in. I should have called first.”

“Well, you are here now. I am guessing you want to ask for my services for the wedding?”

Rachel, always one to get to the point.

“Are you able to? I want you in the wedding. You and Dan. Would you be able to do that and help with hair and makeup?”

Rachel’s grin widened, “I have employees for a reason. If you can pay for their time and services, I just have to be there for one of my best friends as she gets married.”

“There is just one thing,” Clara said as she rubbed the back of her head. “My future mother-in-law doesn’t know about the undercut. I am already on shaky ground with her. I don’t want her to know about it.”

Rachel came around the counter and looked closely at Clara’s hair.

“I think we can make something work. It won’t be some fancy updo, but that isn’t your style anyway.”

“Well, you are right there. Thanks Rach. I do need to get moving. I am meeting Lauren shortly to talk about her being in the wedding as well.”

“Don’t let me keep you! I could tell by the date that this is happening rather quickly, so you need to get moving.”

They laughed as Clara quickly slipped out the door.

~*~

Clara felt it appropriate that she was meeting Lauren at the diner they went to when Clara spilled the beans about her and Tom going out.

She was early, so she sat in her car, reminiscent of that day when she spotted a blonde walking towards the door, one side of her head completely shaved.

Clara couldn’t help but admire it, wishing she could be that brave, but didn’t dare anything beyond the undercut she maintained.

With a start she realized that the buzzed blonde was Lauren.

Clara quickly got out of her car.

“Lauren!” she called out.

Sure enough, the blonde turned.

As Clara approached, she couldn’t stop staring. It looked like half of Lauren’s head was buzzed.

Lauren laughed as Clara got close, “You like?”

“Yes, but…” Clara couldn’t get the words out.

Lauren laughed again, “Let’s head inside and I can tell you all about it while you tell me about the wedding.”

Clara followed Lauren in, and then sat down, milkshakes in hand.

As they enjoyed their milkshakes, Lauren quickly recounted what led to her shaving most of her hair off.

Clara kept instinctually reaching back to rub her neck, in awe of her friend that she was willing to make such a big change. Especially when her hair always felt like was part of her beauty.

Clara gave Lauren the run down of the events that led to the engagement and the subsequent confrontation with Elizabeth.

“She sounds like a piece of work,” Lauren said as she took a long drag of her milkshake.

“That she is.”

“I am guessing my hair won’t meet with her expectations, will it,” Lauren said as she reached up and brushed her fingers over the shaved part of her head.

“Nope,” Clara agreed, “She doesn’t even know about my hair, and Rachel is going to make sure my hair covers it for the wedding.”

“Rachel is doing hair?” While she kept in touch with her friends, she hadn’t heard this piece of news.

“She didn’t tell you? She opened a salon with money she borrowed from Tom, has agreed to do my hair, and has a style planned that should keep anyone from noticing the undercut.”

Lauren stared at Clara for a long moment. Long enough that Clara was starting to get worried. Lauren had a bit of a wicked streak in her, and Clara could see that she was concocting a scheme.

“You know,” Lauren finally said, “I wonder if Rachel might be able to help us do two looks at the wedding?”

“What do you mean?”

“I am wondering if she could give us styles that hide the shaved parts of our heads during the wedding but then change them so that they are exposed for the reception.”

Clara sat there for a moment. She hated the way that Elizabeth had tried to push Clara out. Once the ceremony was done, she would be part of the family, and Elizabeth couldn’t do anything about it if she found out about the undercut.

It was Clara’s turn to get a wicked grin on her face, “I wonder if we can get Rachel and Sierra on board with the idea too.”

“Maybe… Though I think they might be a hard sell.”

“Are you willing to come with me to Rachel’s salon tomorrow morning? I am meeting with Sierra for lunch. It might take both of us to convince them to go through with this.”

“To pull this off on Elizabeth, I will do what I can to help you get even with her.”

Clara hesitated, “Let me make sure that Tom is ok with this. It might cause problems for him too.”

She quickly pulled out her phone and called him.

Lauren started laughing as she heard the almost evil chuckle from Tom that came through the phone. It seemed he was onboard.

~*~

The next morning Lauren and Clara walked into the salon and Lauren whistled.

“What did you do to your hair?” came Rachel’s shocked voice as she came around the corner and spotted Lauren’s buzzed head.

After a quick run down of the events, Clara cut in, “Can we talk somewhere private for a bit? We have a request.”

Rachel led them into a private area of the salon that was clearly set up for a more intimate experience for clients.

“So, what is this about?” Rachel said, turning on them, “I am assuming it has to do with me now having to come up with some elaborate hairdo to cover that monstrosity of an undercut,” she said motioning to Lauren’s head.

Clara chuckled, “Yes, but there is more.”

Clara laid out the idea, along with seeing if Rachel would be willing to shave part of her head and join in the little reveal that Lauren and Clara had planned.

Rachel started glaring at Lauren, “You are not making my life easy, you know that?”

“What?” Lauren tried to feign innocence.

“Clara is too kind to come up with this idea. It had to come from you.”

She sighed, “I will need to talk to Dan. We have continued to grow our hair since my haircut. His is back to what it was, but we hadn’t talked about being done with the grow out. He has only allowed me to get small cuts so that mine looks professional for opening this place.”

“Thank you,” Clara said as she gave her friend a hug, “Even if you don’t, thank you for considering it.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she said, “Also, you have to get Sierra on board. If she isn’t willing to join, I won’t do it either.”

“Fair. And do you think that you can come up with something for Lauren’s hair for the wedding.”

“Yeah, I will talk to the other stylists and come up with a plan. Also get me pictures of Sierra when you see her. That way we can plan a style for her as well.”

“We are on our way to see her now, so we can do that.”

~*~

Clara and Lauren made it to a laboratory that Sierra was working at. It seemed she had taken that science degree and made some use of it.

As they entered, they noticed that not only was Joe there too, but that Sierra had changed up her hair again since they had last seen her. Gone was the blonde, and in its place was Sierra’s natural chocolate hair, but with broad purple streaks on either side of her face.

Joe smiled as Lauren and Clara made their way to them, though Sierra’s jaw hit the floor when she spotted Lauren.

“What did you do?!”

This resulted in another quick rundown of how Lauren had shaved half her head.

Sierra was still dumbfounded by the new look, while Joe seemed to be enjoying the shock on his girlfriend’s face.

They make their way to the breakroom and Clara lays out the plan and request, along with the why behind all of it.

Sierra was shocked by the idea of shaving part of her head. She readily admitted that it looked cool on them but wasn’t sure she could go that far.

Joe loved the idea but could understand why Sierra was hesitant.

“Babe, you bleached your hair. How much more ‘extreme’ is buzzing a little of your head?” he reached over and grabbed one of the purple locks of hair that Sierra had gotten right after they had earned their purple belts.

“Yes, but I don’t know if I could live with it. Even if it is covered up.”

Clara’s phone chimed.

‘Dan is ok with the idea. I am in, but ONLY if Sierra does this too.’

Clara looked Sierra straight in the eye, “Rachel is going to do this too. It doesn’t have to be much. Just enough to be shown during the reception to scandalize Elizabeth.”

Taking a deep breath, Sierra lowered her head, “Fine. You are about the only one in the world that could convince me to do this.”

“Thank you! Now, let’s get some quick pictures so that Rachel can plan our styles.”

As the girls got some pictures of Sierra, Joe slipped his phone out of his pocket.

‘We need to talk’

~*~

Time seemed to fly for Clara as the wedding approached. While Elizabeth was planning most things, there was still plenty that Clara and Tom had to decide.

As more decisions were made, Clara got more nervous. Frequently touching the back of her head.

In those times, Tom would grab her hand and hold it tight, promising her that they would get through this. And have some fun at his mother’s expense in the process.

~*~

The morning of the wedding arrived, and everyone was gathered at the salon.

Rachel took charge, like the boss she had become in opening Hair Funk.

Rachel quickly explained how everything was going to go down.

First up was the bride.

Clara’s hair would be in a low bun for the ceremony.

Rachel and Sierra’s hair would be done in simple curls, though Sierra would also get a hair gloss over the purple that would hide it for the ceremony.

Finally, Rachel had found a wig for Lauren to wear that would hide the buzzed sides.

Then came the fun part. Tom and Clara had convinced Elizabeth that they needed an hour to spend alone after the ceremony before the reception. Just to spend their first moments married alone.

~*~

Everything went smoothly for the first part of the day and it quickly found Clara and all her friends at the church for pre-wedding photos.

Clara quickly lined up with Rachel, Sierra, and Lauren, and there were nothing but smiles from all of them.

Then it was the guys’ turn. Tom was just as handsome as ever in his dark suit. He had even shaved for the occasion.

Daniel, Joe, and Andrew weren’t half bad either. At least according to the girls.

It truly felt like this was going to be a joyous occasion. Though the nervous energy radiating off of all eight of them was almost palpable.

~*~

As photos were coming to an end, the doors to the church opened, and a woman in a light purple dress slipped in, clearly unsure of herself.

“Mom?” Clara’s eyes had gone wide. She had sent an invitation but hadn’t heard back from her. They didn’t speak much, so Clara didn’t even think she would come.

“Clara!”

Tom could only marvel, Clara’s mom looked like an older version of Clara. Same eyes and curly hair.

Clara grabbed Tom’s hand and led him to her mom.

“Tom, I would like you to meet my mom, Catherine. Mom, this is Tom.”

Tears were starting to well in Catherine’s eyes.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Tom said, taking her hand.

“Same,” turning towards Clara, “Is there somewhere we can talk? I know the ceremony is soon, but I want a couple minutes before that. Is that ok?”

Clara quickly led her to a side room.

Catherine took Clara’s hands, “Oh Clara. You’re so beautiful.”

They both started to cry, “I’m sorry that I haven’t been around. Things have been tough, but I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I love you.”

Tom’s mother burst into the room.

“The ceremony is about to start. Why are you not ready?” she barked at Clara.

Elizabeth then noticed Catherine standing there.

“Oh, you must be the mother,” she sneered, “Just more proof that you do not belong in this family.”

“Hurry up and get to the alter so we can get this charade of a marriage over with,” Elizabeth called out as she walked out, slamming the door behind her.

Catherine gaped, “How can someone like that have raised someone like Tom?”

Clara chuckled, “I don’t know.”

Leaning in close and whispering, “But just wait until the reception. We have a surprise for her. But don’t let that slip out.”

Catherine looked at Clara with worry in her eyes but nodded.

~*~

The ceremony was beautiful, if not relatively standard.

Clara’s mom kept having to dab at her eyes to keep the tears at bay, while Tom’s mother looked on with barely contained distaste.

At least she was behaving herself.

Tom and Clara were in their own little world and couldn’t be happier to finally be married.

~*~

Finally, the ceremony was over, and the wedding party filed out.

An announcement could be heard telling all the guests where the reception would be held and that the bride and groom wanted a few moments to themselves before then, so the festivities would resume in an hour, and that they were free to mingle.

As Clara made her way to the back hallways of the church, she spotted Rachel’s stylists and the chairs they had prepared while the ceremony was happening.

She turned to her friends, “Thank you all for everything. I guess it is time for part two.”

Everyone was smiling as a stylist quickly grabbed Sierra and led her to a sink to wash out the gloss in her hair.

While this was happening, Clara and Lauren quickly sat down in the waiting chairs.

Clara’s hair was possibly the simplest to change. The stylist quickly undid the bun that hid the undercut and expertly redid it higher on her head.

Lauren’s hair took a little more work. The wig was quickly removed and her pinned up hair was let down. The stylist was deft at what she was doing though as she quickly swept up the hair into a bit of a pompadour style, with a bun that had some curl to it.

Sierra was back from getting the dye washed out, and she sat down next to Rachel.

“You haven’t had clippers used on you before, have you?”

“No,” Sierra replied clearly nervous.

The capes were already being thrown around their necks.

Rachel reached over and grabbed Sierra’s hand.

“It is an experience. One that I think you will enjoy.”

The stylists had already separated out their napes for the undercuts they had agreed upon.

As the clippers were turned on, Sierra jumped.

Rachel squeezed tighter.

“You’ve got this.”

The clippers touched their napes.

Rachel shuddered with pleasure, while Sierra tensed.

As the clippers bit into their hair, Sierra realized that the experience wasn’t unpleasant.

A smile started creeping across her face as she squeezed Rachel’s hand right back.

“I told you,” Rachel grinned as she glanced over at Sierra.

“Yeah, yeah. Quit gloating.”

A few moments later, and the stylists were pulling their hair up into updos that would show off the newly buzzed areas.

Finally, they stood and the girls looked at each other and laughed. This was going to be a moment to remember.

They didn’t notice the glance that passed between the guys as they quickly moved to sit in the chairs that the girls had vacated.

“Ready men?” Tom called out.

They all nodded.

“Wait, what is going on?” Clara asked, looking at Tom.

Tom looked deeply into Clara’s eyes.

“When you and Lauren convinced Sierra to do this, Joe messaged me. He convinced me that you girls couldn’t be the only ones to have fun today.”

Clara just stared.

“So,” he continued, “we are all getting buzz cuts.”

The girls all looked at their respective guys, shocked.

“You agreed to this?” Rachel asked Dan, “After all the time growing it out?”

He shrugged, “I grew it out once. I can do it again.”

He winked at her, “I was the one that let your stylists in on the plan.”

Rachel gave him a look that told him that she was going to pay him back later for that.

Clara turned back to Tom. He was already caped and the stylist was standing by.

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

With that, she stepped back and all the guys had the clippers run straight down the middle of their heads.

~*~

As the reception started, an announcement was made introducing the couples of the wedding party.

First came the call out for Daniel and Rachel.

Gasps went through the hall as they appeared. Dan no longer had his flowing blonde locks, and Rachel’s buzzed nape stood out in stark contrast to her red hair.

As they entered, they crouched down into surfer poses and threw shaka’s to all the guests.

A growl seemed to gather in Elizabeth’s throat as she witnessed this inappropriate display.

Next came Joe and Sierra.

Sierra’s purple streaks hung around her face for all to see. For them, they came in throwing flying martial arts kicks to the thrills of the crowd.

Elizabeth started breathing hard at this. She couldn’t imagine what would possess people to make such vulgar displays. Especially at a wedding.

While there were plenty of guests that were starting to murmur, none seemed upset. They were wondering what this was all about and enjoying the show.

Finally came Andrew and Lauren.

Not only were the guests awed by the extreme undercut on Lauren and Andrew’s buzzed head, but they were shocked when she picked him up briefly. It was quite the site of the reversal of the bride carry.

Elizabeth was getting furious at this point. This display was uncouth. She was about to go ballistic. Only decorum kept her from acting out.

Beside her, Arthur looked on almost impassively. She could not believe that he was not fazed by this.

While she was raised to be a lady, and to command a house besides her husband, he had been just as well mannered and respectable as she had come to expect from their level of society.

Catherine stood off to the side, watching as Clara’s friends entered. This must have been the surprise that Clara had talked about. She kept glancing at Elizabeth, smile widening with every entry. Now she understood that they were getting revenge for the way that Elizabeth had treated them.

“Now making their first appearance as newlyweds, Tom and Clara!” the announcer blared over the Public Announcement system.

Out came Tom and Clara, arm in arm. No fancy poses. Just looking at each other with love in their eyes and hearts.

Elizabeth lurched forward at the sight of Tom with a buzzed head. This could not be her son.

Then Clara turned her head and Elizabeth got a good look at the undercut that had been hidden from her for a year and a half.

It was too much!

Elizabeth’s head began to spin, and suddenly the ground rose up to meet her.

Gasps rang out around the room as Tom’s mother passed out from the shock of everything.

Tom and Clara just stared, smiling. They gave each other a quick kiss and kept walking into the room.

Catherine had gone to Elizabeth’s side, fanning her face in an attempt to wake her up.

Arthur approached the new couple.

“I knew you had something up your sleeve,” he said as he raised his glass of champagne towards his son and daughter-in-law.

Turning to face Clara, “You have proven that you belong in this family. Elizabeth might never forgive you for this stunt, but she deserved the shock you just gave her.”

“Thank you!”

“Feel free to show off that undercut around the office. You lead with enough strength to carry that look.”

Clara and Tom were shocked.

Arthur turned to Tom, “Though your hair…”

Tom raised his hand.

“I will grow it out,” he said, “I could not let Clara take the only risk today.”

“And I applaud you for it. It just does not work for the sorts of people we run across regularly.”

With that Arthur clapped Tom on the shoulder and walked back to his wife who was starting to recover.

~*~

The reception was fun with lots of music, dancing, and good food.

Tom’s mother never fully recovered from the shock of the impropriety of her daughter-in-law having such a haircut.

She and Arther left as soon as it was socially acceptable to do so.

As the night wore down, Catherine approached Clara and Tom.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

Clara looked stunned, “You are my mom, why wouldn’t I invite you?”

“I know I wasn’t much of a mother, and I know we haven’t been close.”

“It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want you here. I just wasn’t expecting you to show up.”

“Same,” Tom echoed.

Catherine smiled, “Well, Clara, you got yourself a good man. Even if his mother is a piece of work.”

They all laughed.

“And who knows,” Catherine winked at Clara, “Maybe I will have to try the shaved look someday.”

“I know a good stylist that could help with that.”

~*~

Stories in chronological order:

The Game – The whole gang

The Unexpected Date – Clara and Tom

Shave and a Haircut – Sierra and Joe, with a nice helping of Rachel and Dan

Barbaric – Andrew and Lauren

To Kill a Mother-In-Law – The whole gang