We Have Rules Here

“Well, Emma wants to go to Vegas mom.”  Nicky, who was the coowner of the salon I worked in said into her phone.  “And we’re kind of in a rush here, we hadn’t expected that we might not be able to a year or two down the road.”

Nicky sat in her barberchair as she used the time before the shop opened to have the conversation with her mother at a gradually increasing volume.  It sounded like her mom wanted Nicky and Emma to get married somewhere more local than Vegas, though I wasn’t totally sure since I could only hear one side of the conversation.  I stood by the sinks folding towels, pretending not to eavesdrop.  

“Sure it passed in the house, but do you think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of it getting through the senate?”  Nicky grumbled, her tone getting annoyed.  “Ok, I’ll talk to Emma about it…….  Love you too.”

Nicky looked exasperated as she hung up her phone and stuck it back in her pocket. Then she looked around.  I wasn’t fast enough looking down, and Nicky caught me watching her.

“You’re wearing a plain ponytail, Sarah. AGAIN.”  Nicky pointed out.  “We have rules here, no basic ponytails.”

“I just wanted the hair out of my face while I folded the towels,”  I said, trying to make it sound like an explanation and not just like I was making excuses.  “I was planning to let it down before the shop opened.”

“Just letting your hair down after it’s been in a ponytail half the morning isn’t really an improvement.”  Nicky said, while frowning.  “The point of the no ponytail rule is not that we want hair in your way while you work, it’s that you are supposed to have nicely styled your hair, like curled it back or something.  If it was in your way before you put it in the ponytail, it’s going to be in your way again when you let it down.  It’s also going to be a mess with a dent in it when you let it down.  I expect something better than that.  Forget the towels for now and go do something appropriate with it.”

Nicky then got up, and went to go unlock the door as I walked over to where I’d stashed my purse under Tom’s work station.

It wasn’t the first time Nicky had complained about me being in a ponytail, about a month ago, I’d walked into the salon early Tuesday morning and Angel had been cutting Nicky’s hair really short, shorter than Mike’s.  Just dragging clippers over the top of Nicky’s head.

Angel and Nicky were squabbling. Angel was obviously upset about something.  Nicky had also sounded annoyed that morning, saying something to Angel about not overreacting and it just being a game her and Emma played.

There were a few really weird things about that haircut.  Nicky had only just gone from the mullet-hawk to the crop about a week earlier, so why the hell had she then decided to get it buzzed down to crewcut length so soon after?  And why had there been so little hair on the floor, I mean sure Nicky’s hair had already been short, but there should have been more than a bare dusting going from the crop to the crewcut.  I spend half my day sweeping up after haircuts, I know how much is normally on a floor after one, and it was not the right amount.

Anyway, it had been weird and Nicky was obviously in a touchy mood and caught me staring and was not happy about it.  And of course I’d worn a ponytail that morning.

“Didn’t Klaus tell you the no ponytail rule?”  She’d growled at me.

“He said it couldn’t be plain,” I explained.

“That looks pretty plain.”  Nicky’d said.

“I curled it, and used a sparkly elastic.”

“I’m not impressed.”  She’d said.  “Unless it’s so spectacular it’s going to make Arianna Grande jealous, it counts as plain.”

——————————————-

I was just finishing putting my long dark hair in a bun when I overheard Mike talking to Nicky.  “Your first three appointments just cancelled.”

“How the hell do three appointments cancel with a single phone call.”  Nicky snapped at Mike.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.”  Mike snapped back.  “It was Jill, Ray, and Kerry, you know the throuple.  They find it convenient to come together.  Well, now they’ve got covid and are in quarantine.  They said they’re all vaccinated, so they should be fine.”

“Great.”  Nicky grumbled at Mike as I walked back over to finish folding towels trying not to be noticed again.

“Do you want to take walk-ins?”  Mike asked.

“Are you serious?”  Nicky’s grumble was evolving into a growl, she obviously had lost patience with the morning.

I glanced up.  It was a mistake, because I noticed Nicky was staring at me.  I looked back down at the towels I was folding hoping Nicky had just happened to be looking in my general direction, and not actually at me.

“Sarah is that messy bun supposed to be more put together than the ponytail, or did you think this was about the precise definition of plain ponytail and not about making sure your hair looks like you put some thought and effort into it?”  Nicky asked pointedly.

“I uhhh…”  My mouth grew dry, “Thought a messy bun would be cute.”

The expression on Nicky’s face told me she did not agree.  

“Tom, Klaus,” Nicky called across the still quiet shop.  “Do either of you really need Sarah this morning?  Can I have her for an hour?”

I looked at them with pleading eyes, hoping one of them would claim they couldn’t possibly waste time washing their own clients’ hair.  They knew Nicky, hopefully they’d take pity on me.  Then again, they’d also both complained a couple of times that I needed to do something better with my hair considering this was a salon.

“I can manage.”  Tom said.

“I’m not too busy till after lunch.” Klaus then added,  “Why?”

“Somebody broke the no plain ponytail rule,”  Nicky stated as she looked at me like a cat about to pounce on a catnip mouse. “AGAIN.”

“Don’t make her cry so hard that I feel like I have to let her go home early.”  Klaus said to Nicky like that was going to alter her behavior in any way, shape, or form.  “You can’t take it out on employees just because you’re annoyed at the world.  She isn’t on the supreme court.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nicky said to Klaus dismissing his concerns, then turned back to me as she got up and started walking towards the back door.  “Come on Sarah, we’re going to do something actually cute.”

I wanted to refuse.  I wanted to stand up for myself.  I wanted to appeal to Klaus, he was half of Nicklas & Nichole, he was the one who hired me.  I stood there, frozen.

“Don’t forget to get good before and after photos for instagram.” Klaus called out as Nicky walked past the sinks I was standing next to.

“Come on Sarah,”  Nicky snapped, “I don’t have all day, just an extra hour this morning.”

I started walking, still clutching the black towel I had been folding. At the door to the hallway to the back, Nicky took the towel from me, dropped it into the nearest chair, she pushed me up against the back wall, ordered me to stop looking miserable, and snapped a couple of pictures.  Then we left the salon and went down the hallway.

I watched Nicky twisting the key in the lock to her terrifying back room.  I’d had to clean it up a few times, and just being in it alone was creepy.  Being in it with Nicky in a good mood was intimidating,  I was about to be in it with Nicky in a bad mood and focused on me.  I was terrified.

Nicky held the door open, and I walked in.  The only explanation I have for why I walked in instead of objecting and arguing is that Nicky is just that damned intimidating.  

“Climb on up and take out that terrible bun while I fill my water bottle.”  Nicky ordered impatiently and pointed at the antique barber chair that dominated the center of the room that looked like a Victorian vampire lair.  

I sat on the leather seat between the ornate armrests, my feet just barely touching the cast iron foot rest.  I started taking out the bun, placing bobby pins into a pile.  I’d put two rhinestone barrettes in the messy bun, I set them to the side of the pile of bobby pins.  

 My hair spilled down over my shoulders.  It rested on my chest, the soft dark locks a rich mahogany color.  When I was standing it reached the small of my back.  It was mostly straight, and just a bit tricky to get to hold a curl.

I was finger combing out tangles when Nicky came out of the bathroom, put the spray bottle down, then went to the cabinet with the capes and other stuff that terrified me.  Fortunately when she returned, she was not carrying any restraints, just a cape.  The regular red and white one with the N&N Barbershop logo on it.

“Do you have any product in your hair?”  Nicky asked as she fished around in a drawer and pulled out a big claw clip.

“No,”  I said as Nicky went behind me and began gathering up my hair.

“Good,” Nicky smiled at that, then twisted my hair and popped the clip in to hold it in place.

“So…” I started nervously with my dry mouth.  “You’re going to put it up in a more professional updo?”

“Oh child.”  Nicky sighed at me as she pulled out a neck strip, then started fastening it around my neck.  “How long have you worked here?”

I wanted to take issue with being called a child, I was in my 20s, but decided it was wiser to just answer the question.  “Almost a year.”

“And in that time have you ever seen me do an updo?”

“No,” I admitted in defeat.

“You don’t need a fancier updo,” Nicky told me.  “You need a nice easy wash and go style.  Something that will look polished when you show up here no matter what.”

Nicky then started shaking the folds out of the cape and swung it over me.

“I’m not at all butch.”  I pointed out,  “Maybe Klaus could do something.”

“Relax, I can do femme,”  Nicky assured me in a tone that was a poor imitation of reasuring as she fasten the cape at the back of my neck.  “And I’m not aiming for punitive, just practical.  I need you to look decent after all.”

I found that not very reassuring.  Practical was not something I generally strived for in my personal style. I’m pretty sure Nicky felt like she looked decent when she’d had Angel buzz her entire head.   And I wasn’t sure I was buying that there wasn’t a punitive element to this, especially since she’d brought me here to the back room instead of doing this out in the main salon.

Nicky fished around in her drawer again and pulled out a comb and scissors.  I sighed, resigned to my fate.  Nicky just was way too intimidating to really say no to.

I sat watching in the mirror as Nicky combed my long hair smoothly around me, grumbling a vague complaint every time she hit a snag.  I had no idea what she was planning, other than that it was going to be practical and decent according to Nicky’s standards.  She roughly divided the hair on my scalp into quadrants.  

She held the hair from the left front of my head in a tight bundle just above my shoulder.  She raised the scissors to it just an inch or so above her hand.  She started closing the scissors on it.

Hissss-shhrunch-shrunch-snap

Nicky carefully laid out the bundle of long hair on the counter, just behind my bobby pins.  The hair from the quadrant only reached half way down my neck.  I felt a lump in my throat, but managed not to cry.  It was the shortest my hair had ever been, and I wasn’t happy about it, but I had thought she was going to take it too short for a ponytail, so still vaguely able to get it into a short ponytail was a relief.

Nicky gathered the next bundle.  I couldn’t see this one as well, but I could feel the cold metal of the scissors halfway down my neck.

Hissss-shhrunch-shnap

I watched the second bundle of long hair laid out next to the first.  I looked in the mirror trying to decide if it counted as a long bob, or a short lob.

Nicky swiftly dispatched the other two quadrants of hair, Hissss-shrunch-snap, shhrunch-shrunch-snap.  Then laid them out too.   I turned my head back and forth, contemplating in the mirror how I looked with my hair not touching my shoulders.

“I guess that’s not so bad.”  I squeaked out.

“Don’t get too used to it.”  Nicky warned me and picked up her spray bottle.  “You’re not keeping all of it.  I’m not leaving it long enough for you to do a half-assed ponytail.  And that’s more boring than cute.”

“Mmph,” escaped.

Nicky rolled her eyes at the sound as she squeezed the trigger of the sprayer and wet down the dark hair.  I listened to the rhythmic squeak as water droplets hit my ears and neck.

When my hair was thoroughly damp, Nicky went back to her drawer.  She changed to a different comb and different pair of scissors, and put 2 alligator clips on the hem of her smock.

Nicky very quickly combed my much shorter damp hair down around my head.  This time not encountering any tangles.  She parted the hair first down the center of my head, then across the bottom from ear to ear, sectioning off my nape.  She used the alligator clips to hold the rest of my hair forward.  She pushed my head forward and down, pressing my chin against my chest.

I felt her comb up the hair that rested against my neck.  She clamped the hair between her fingers, right up against my nape.  Then I heard the unmistakable sound of scissors cutting wet hair.  

Shhhhnnnnup

I felt the wet hair plop back down on my neck, but different now. Disconnected.  It felt cold and heavy.  I swallowed as Nicky released the hair trapped between her fingers, and it was so short that it just stayed up off my neck.  

She combed more up into her fingers again, and sliced more off.  I just listened to Nicky snipping away at the hair of my nape, reducing it to what she could trap between her fingers.  I’d seen Nicky’s finger, they weren’t pudgy, the hair left behind must be very short.

When she’d snipped off everything she could comb up into her fingers, I hoped she was done.  She wasn’t though, she started combing up and cutting it even shorter scissors over comb.  The short splinters of hair falling on my neck and shoulders.  

I sighed.  It was obviously going to be really short.  After what felt like forever, she used the com to scrape the loose hair off my neck.  

She slipped the comb and scissors into her pocket, and went to drawers below the counter again.  I took the opportunity to look up.  First at the mirror which told me nothing since the cut section was behind my head, then I twisted to look down at the floor behind me.  There was a small pile of short hairs, I knew was just the beginning.

“Stop being wiggly.”  Nicky ordered and turned my head back forward and down.

I noticed as she did it, she was holding the hairdryer and a brush.  She turned it on, sending a short blast of air that barely had time to warm up at all, over my nape and neck, brushing my neck clean.

When she put the hairdryer down, she came back with the trimmer.  I listened to the buzzing hum as she first took the hair on my neck down to stubble.  She gave my hairline a new curving shape.  Then she started using the trimmer to taper the nape even more, using it the way one would do clipper over comb.

When she finally turned the trimmer off, my neck was once again covered in the cut off hair.  This time it was just lighter and drier.  Nicky used a quick blast of air from the hairdryer to clear off my neck.

Nicky undid the clips, and combed a new section of hair down.  It fell wet and heavy against the dry hair on my nape that was too short to keep the dampness from seeping through to my scalp.  The ends dripped cold against my warm neck. 

Nicky combed the hair up, and I once again felt her fingers against my nape, but angled differently this time.  The crunching and snipping started up again, and the hair fell against my shoulders.  It seemed like she was cutting the hair pretty much all to the same level, just barely below the occipital from ear to ear.

When she combed down and started snipping off the next section, it became clear I was correct.  Nicky was cutting all the hair to just about earlobe level.  When she finally worked forward far enough, I watched the hair that still reached halfway down my neck brought up to my earlobes.

I’d never felt the metal blades of scissors press against my earlobes before.  Then they slid against my face.  The hair below the closing blades falling away.

As the last of the hair was let down and cut to a length where it just brushed my cheek. I hoped it was mostly over, but then Nicky started sectioning off the unmistakable triangle for bang above my forehead.  She combed the, by that point, only slightly damp curtain of hair down over my face, and used the clips to hold the rest of the hair back behind my ears.  

I felt the points of the scissor poke my forehead just above my eyebrows.  I kept my eyes closed tightly as the hair fell against my face,  As much as I wished I could see what was going on, I also didn’t want to get lose hair in my eyes.  I tried to relax as the soft snippets piled up on the tip of my nose.  Bits of hair stuck in my lip balm.  I breathed shallowly, scared of inhaling hair.

It was an immense relief, when Nicky finally started brushing off my face with a soft brush.  The bristles tickles slightly, but it was just good anyway.  Finally to be able to open my eyes and look, finally able to breath.  

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I barely recognized myself.  I’d gone from bland maybe sporty femme with messy hair, to sweetly girly timeless french bob girl.  it was a look that depending on what I wore with it could read many different ways.  It could be played up for a retro flapper vibe,  a cool Parisian, a goth chick.  Or it could be dressed down for a simple fun and sporty vibe.  I wasn’t sure which I was more interested in trying as I listened to the droning howl of the hairdryer while Nicky styled it simply.

It took very little time till it was fully dry, which made sense, I had a lot less hair.  Nicky tilted my head forward and down again, like she had when she’d cut the hair on my nape, but this time as I felt first the hot towel, next the shave gel, and finally the razor scraping down my neck, I also felt the dry ends of my hair brushing against my cheek.

I had such mixed feeling, as Nicky added just a hint of soft layering to the cut, dry locks flew through the air as they were snipped off.  I hadn’t wanted this haircut.  I felt almost hypocritical to actually be liking it.  I should be angry and upset, but instead this weird thing inside me felt grateful.  

Nicky had taken me from someone who never quite knew what to do with my hair, to someone who never had to think about it, because it would always just fall right back into this perfect shape.

As Nicky unfastened the cape and gave me a final dust off, I was so unsure what to do.

“There we go.”  Nicky announced, then looked down at her counter at the rhinestone barrettes.  “Hang on one finishing touch.”

She picked up the little ornaments, and fastened one on each temple, holding the hair back slightly, giving extra emphasis to the bangs that dried and beveled now rested well above my eyebrows.  

“Perfect.” Nicky stated, and took my hand.  

She led me back out into the salon, and pushed me back up against the white wall again.  This time she insisted I smile as she took the photos, making me turn to show off my cute little bob from various angles.  

As she took the photos, I spotted Emma coming up behind her.  She wore a disallowed ponytail.  Of course since she didn’t work here, the rule didn’t apply to her, but maybe the jauntly curled high pony with the little polka dot scarf tied at it’s base wouldn’t count as plain even if she did.  Emma’s bangs had grown out just a bit from the day Nicky had given her an after hours makeover about a month ago.  I noticed though, that her undercut looked like it had been freshened up quite recently.

Emma tapped Nicky’s shoulder, then said, “Can we talk?” 

Nicky turned from me, photo taking forgotten.  I’m sure she’d taken enough anyway as she shoved her phone into her pocket.  

“Sure babe,”  Nicky suddenly sounded happy, “Just give me one sec.”

Nicky turned back to me, and told me, “Ok, go clean up the backroom.  Make sure those bundles of hair get tied up first, Klaus can use them.”

“I don’t get to see the back?”  I asked in a disappointed tone before I remember how terrified I was of Nicky.

“Fine, go use my mirror.”  Nicky just rolled her eyes and waved me away, she turned away from me back towards Emma.  ”What’s up babe?”

“Your mom called me.”  Emma told Nicky.  “It seems she really wants to be at our wedding.”

I listened and pretended I wasn’t, as I lifted up Nicky’s hand mirror.  I started petting the short pelt that stuck out from underneath the sleek bob.  I wasn’t stacked, just the bit that stuck out under the straight weight line.

“I know darling.”  Nicky said, tilting her head. “But I told her you want to go to Vegas.  it  You’re the bride, it’s your wedding, you get to have it where you want.”

“You’re the bride too, and your mom wants to be there.”  Emma said.  “It’s not like I really want to go to Vegas, I just didn’t feel like dealing with my mom.  But it’s not fair to punish your mom just because mine is difficult.”

“We could take my mom with us to Vegas and just not mention it to Marge.”  Nicky suggested, I’m not sure whether or not seriously.

“It’s ok,” Emma said.  “I can handle Marge.  The whole rush thing will limit how long she has to drive us crazy.”

“So where do we get married?”  Nicky asked.

“I don’t care.”  Emma said and grabbed Nicky around the waist and pulled her close.  “I just want to be married to you as soon as possible so I can stop worrying that I will miss the opportunity.  Ok?“

“Ok,”  Nicky agreed, and gave Emma a big kiss.

“When you get home tonight, we can go over details.”  Emma smiled at Nicky. “Now, I need to go run a few errands, I can come back in a couple of hours to take you to lunch.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”. 

Nicky gave Emma a last kiss and turned back toward her barber chair.  The barber chair I was still standing in front of half admiring the nape of my neck, half eavesdropping.  Nicky gave me a crooked frown.

“You need to stop watching your boss like I’m the star of reality TV and get to work.”  Nicky said to me, as she came over and reclaimed her hand mirror.  “Go get the back room cleaned up,”

“Yes Nicky.”  I replied quickly, but somehow she seemed a bit less intimidating as I said it and noticed she was still a bit smiley.

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