Predicament - Part V by htflatnc

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This is a continuation of Predicament Parts I (id=1864), II (id=1869), III (id=1876), IV (id=1911) and utilizes characters from Fathers, sons, friends and deals (id=1781), Pine Ridge Barber Shop Parts I (id=1836), II (id=1845) and III (id=1866). Special thanks to Kaleb McKinley for allowing me to use his characters.

Predicament - Part V

"How do you like it," Aunt Bee asked with a smirk on her face. There was a sigh emanating from Ava indicating that she thought he looked dreamy.

"I thought I was going to get a flattop," Ryan said.

"We’re getting there. I just wanted you to know how good you could have looked if you’d taken Lennie’s advice and gotten a haircut sooner." Ava audibly sighed once again.

Aunt Bee was already standing there with flattop comb and Oster 76 clippers in hand and she wheeled Ryan back around to face his audience who were witnessing the gradual transformation of their future rugby star.

"I don’t think that’s true. I still have the longest hair, so would have undergone the same trial and results," Ryan contradicted in a matter-of-fact voice that betrayed not a hint of disrespect.

Nevertheless, when Aunt Bee heard those words from Ryan, she moved around to the front of the barber chair with a speed and agility that was surprising for someone of her girth and age. Lennie, who had only traces of shaving cream on his pate, had heard the conversation and now saw the look on his aunt’s face. Lennie began to snigger. He had caused his Aunt Bee to have that look on her face and he had never come out of it without at minimum being somewhat singed. Now it was Ryan that Aunt Bee was going to singe and Lennie was all smiles.

Aunt Bee didn’t say a word. She just glared at Ryan. Ryan knew something was wrong, but was unsure. Had his last remark been the cause of Aunt Bee’s glare. Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut. And then he said it, "I’m sorry for my last remark. I didn’t mean to contradict you and I meant no disrespect." Would these words have the desire effect on Aunt Bee?

The words caused Aunt Bee to move back around and take her place behind Ryan sitting in the barber chair. Lennie was unsure of what Ryan’s status was. Eva on the other hand was visibly relieved that Ryan would be able to exit the barber shop with his head still attached. She was smitten by copper blond rugby player sitting in the chair awaiting the fate her Aunt Bee was to deal him.

Quickly, the comb was placed parallel to the side of Ryan’s head, the clippers were started, and crafting a flattop out of the pompadour had begun. The comb moved from crown to front with Aunt Bee crafting first the left and then the right side of Ryan’s head. Then the oversized Oster 76 clippers were traded for a spray bottle as she combed back the top of Ryan’s pomp. Water ran down Ryan’s forehead as Aunt Bee attacked the top with scissors, cutting all the hair on top to about an inch in length. Then the barber put down the scissors and comb and picked up a brush and the hair dryer. The barber shop was bathed in the loud whir of hair dryer as Aunt Bee brought the copper blond hair to attention. After a few minutes of the din of the hair dryer, many of the onlookers looked visibly relieved that this stage was over. Aunt Bee put down the hair dryer and brush and picked up only the Oster 76 with a 00000-blade attached. Aunt Bee proceeded to shear a skin-tight flattop on the top of Ryan’s head. There was quite a contrast between the copper blond hair and the wide pale landing strip running down the middle of Ryan’s flattop. After only a few swipes of the clippers, it was evident to see the Aunt Bee was crafting one of her precisely-cut, skinned masterpieces that made the men who sat in her chair into men Ava could fall in love with all over again.

Lennie’s head shave had finished, but he continued to sit in the barber chair as it afforded an excellent view of everything transpiring. He was calculating how long it would be before his shaved head could grow out into a flattop that looked like Lennie’s. Four weeks? Six weeks?

Jeff was watching intently and wondering whether he could craft the short precise flattop Aunt Bee was providing Lennie. He thought his roommate looked even better with this flattop than he did with the pompadour, and looking at the pompadour caused him to grow erect. He was glad he was holding the pinstripe barber cape. In the meanwhile, Jim walked up behind Jeff to make arrangements to get a short flattop like Ryan’s tomorrow evening after they got back to campus. Jack, even though he had won his case, decided that he might look good with the same type of flattop as Ryan was getting. When Jack overheard Jim making arrangements with Jeff, he decided he would like to add his name to the list of those getting flattops. Jeff was going to be busy tomorrow night.

In another three minutes, Aunt Bee had the top of Ryan’s flattop looking perfect. She swiveled the barber chair around to the mirror so that Ryan could look at himself in the mirror. Ryan tilted his head down to get a good view of the landing strip which he found fascinating because of the contrast of copper blond hair and the pale skin fully exposed with hardly a trace of hair. Ryan smiled because he very much liked the results. This flattop turned out to be a good idea. One he could live with.

While Ryan was admiring himself and his new flattop, Aunt Bee took a hot towel from the steamer and carefully draped Ryan’s head in a fluffy white towel that made Ryan audibly decompress with a sigh. After roughly a minute, Aunt Bee removed the towel and began lathering Ryan’s head with shaving cream with a badger brush from a small stainless steel bowl – back, front and the top. The copper blond hair on top was not completely drenched in shaving cream and stuck up through it. Ryan made comments that he liked the feel of the soft badger brush and the leather fragrant smell of the shaving cream. That put a smile – a wicked smile – on Aunt Bee’s face.

Aunt Bee grabbed another hot towel from the steamer and carefully enveloped Ryan’s head once again in another white fluffy towel. After roughly another minute of stropping a straight razor and prepping Ryan’s skin and hair, Aunt Bee removed the towel. With her left thumb, she removed the shaving cream from the right side of Ryan’s head and began stroking the razor over the sides with the hair sliding off like hot butter. Stroke after stroke was clearing away the back and sides as Ryan was getting one of Aunt Bee’s patented shaved high and tight horseshoe flattops. Or so it seemed.

When she had finished with the back and sides, she positioned the razor as though she was going to shave down through the middle of the landing strip, but her thumb on her left hand was stroking down from the front of Ryan’s hairline on his right side. She then repositioned the straight razor and removed all the glorious copper blond hair forming the right side of Ryan’s flattop. She said in a low voice to Ryan, "Contradict me, will you? In my own shop? In front of all these people? I’ll show you who’s boss." After the first stroke was through and before Ryan could react, she had his head in a vice-like grip with her left hand and she said in a low voice "Don’t move or the razor will cut you." She then released his head and made a second stroke with her thumb and the razor made a second pass removing the last of the copper blond flattop on Ryan’s right side. She said to Ryan "Lennie’s not going to be the only one with a clean shaved head now." And it became clear to the other rugby team members at this point what Aunt Bee was doing. At this point, there was also nothing anyone could do other than let Aunt Bee have her way with Ryan.

Ava was horrified and shouted to her Aunt Bee, "What are you doing?" But Aunt Bee ignored her.

The shock of what was going on had passed to some extent, allowing Aunt Bee to quickly denude Ryan’s head of the flattop with a clean shaved head to match Lennie’s. "See Lennie got his way in the end as he should have," Aunt Bee said.

When the shaving was finished, Aunt Bee applied a special aftershave without alcohol but with aloe and green tea. Some professionalism at least.

Ryan got out of the chair rubbing his head and there was mainly silence. This is not how the other club members had expected things to go and all except for Lennie felt bad for Ryan.

Ryan rode back with Jim and Jason in Jim’s truck. Jason and Jim told the story of how they had gotten to know each other in high school and had gotten their first flattop together. They were trying to cheer Ryan up and Ryan knew it and appreciated it. It also worked for the most part. Ryan kept rubbing his head and finally said to the two just about as the two upper classmen were about to drop him off, "Now I know why Lennie’s such a crazy bastard." And all three of them said, "Aunt Bee."

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