8 -MOTHER'S NEW DAUGHTER

A few minutes later Pat finished with the customer and rang her up at the counter. Pat then went to the back with my mother and returned a few moments later.

"Jesse," Pat said. "Come on back honey." I reluctantly got up and walked back. Mother followed behind. "Jesse, have a seat there in front of the sink."

I sat looking around the salon as Pat got a towel. "My what a beautiful head of hair you have. Many a girl would die for what you have," Pat said as she fingered my hair. I muttered as I blushed, "Don't cut much off!" "Cut this hair? Why? It's gorgeous!" she said as she put a pink plastic smock around my neck. "It just needs some style. Do you like Guns and Roses?"

I nodded. I sat stone-faced but relaxed. At least I wasn't getting a crew cut. "Well, lean back and let's get you shampooed and rinsed," said Pat. After rinsing my hair, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my head like a turban, then helped me to sit up.

"OK, right this way, honey" Pat said as she led me to the chair in front of her station.

She removed the towel and patted my hair with it. "Well, let's see," she said grabbing a brush. She began to brush my hair out making it lay perfectly straight.

"How about just an inch at the sides darling?" Pat asked me. "Then we'll bring the back up to give it movement." "Movement?" I questioned as she began.

Mother reached into her purse and brought out the haircut picture. "Jesse, this is how I want Pat to cut it today," Mother said.

I looked at the picture in amazement. "That's like a girl!" Pat said, "It won't look that feminine on a boy!" Mother said, "This haircut has been a long time coming. That is the style I want!"

"Mom, I'll be good from now on. Really I will!" I pleaded from the chair. "Please don't cut my hair like that," I begged.

"Pat, cut it," Mother said calmly. She watched as Pat combed my hair out again and neatly laid it down my back one more time. Mother gave a slow nod to go ahead. Pat looked uneasy as she reached for her scissors and comb. "Head all the way forward for me now, sweetie," Pat said softly.

SANDY THOMAS ADV. -9

"Mother, may I see the picture again?" I asked. Mother handed it to me. I stared at the girl. She was hot!

"OK," Pat said in a doubting voice as she combed at my forehead and sectioned out some hair. She combed through it a few times while examining the length. On the final stroke she brought her fingers to shoulder level. The section above her fingers was 12 inches long and hanging over my face. She raised the scissors to the section, cutting about an inch off the back.

I looked down at the girl model in shock. "At least it's not going to be a crew cut!" said Pat as she slid the scissors into the hair. Snip, snip, and snip! Wet pieces dropped onto my lap.

"It's going to look so good!" Pat said as she sectioned off more hair. Cutting first one side then the next, more thick fuzzy ends fell onto the cape and onto my lap.

Pat continued sectioning off hair down the center of my head from front to back and blunt cutting it even with my back. With each click of the scissors, I felt the weight of my hair moving from the back forward. A good-sized pile of hair had formed in my lap, but it didn't look that much shorter on the sides.

Pat gave the chair a pump then combed it all out looking for stragglers.

She took a water bottle and wet it down again, running a comb through it to work in the water as she sectioned off a long lock at my forehead. To my shock, she took a good chunk of hair and sniped it off sending it to the floor.

"Bangs!" she announced as she proceeded sectioning and sniping. She asked my mother, "Sweep that hair out from under her feet. . .oops, I mean HIS feet. Sorry, I usually work with women."

Mother grabbed a little broom against the wall and began to sweep the piles of hair away from the base of the chair while Pat kept checking for mavericks.

"Oh my," Mother said, "It certainly has a style now!" Pat brushed her hand over the freshly cut hair on top of my head. She went to the station drawer and removed a pair of clippers. Flipping the clippers on, she skillfully removed all signs of sideburns that I had tried so hard to grow. I moaned as tiny tufts of fuzz fell lightly to the floor. "Trust me," she said, "They look out of place now. Some-