David's Flattop Tale - part 3 by Wulf

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David’s Flattop Tale â€" part 3

(Written from David’s point of view)

The next year and a half was nonstop for me and the company. I was onsite at the building site most of the day and worked out of a small trailer there. I only really came to the office for meetings and stuff like that. With all of this going on, I promoted one of my top people to a VP position. His name was Seamus O’Malley. A true red headed Irishman. He was one of the first in the office to also go flattop. He can rock a flattop as good as I can and his father is the one opening up the Irish pub in the food court area of the shopping centre.

It was strange though. In that time I went from being the only guy at the building site with a flattop to seeing swarms of men with them. Most of the building crew now had flattops or buzzcuts and even many local men were now sporting them.

My wife worked in the office until she was in her 6th month of pregnancy when the doctors told her that she had to get off her feet. So we compromised, I got her a giant plush recliner and set her up her own custom home office. I also hired a housekeeper to take care of the house and see to her needs. I had everyone’s pc setup for skype so she could contact anyone instantly or video conference so she never missed a beat. At 38 weeks she went into labour. She gave birth to 2 boys we named Trent Maxwell and Edward Antonio.

When the boys were about 7 months old, she decided we needed a vacation. She said I was looking tired and worn out. I tried to beg off the vacation and she flat out told me, that was not a request and I was taking a weeklong vacation soon. She also suggested that since we knew where Ed setup his new shop at; that we should go to that town for our getaway. Her suggestion brightened up my mood. That was one of her best ideas yet. That night I did some looking and found an inn in the town thru booking.com and saw pictures of the place and noticed they even had a recently installed elevator, which would be good for getting the kids around in a stroller. So I booked us the best room they had in the place.

A few days later we set out on our vacation. It was early Saturday morning. It was the perfect weather and perfect drive to start a vacation. You could not have asked for a better journey and even the kids were quiet the whole trip. The only time we heard from them was when they wanted food or a diaper change.

We rolled up into Newtown in the early afternoon and we headed straight for the barbershop. My wife was smiling the whole time. I think she was just excited to meet the infamous Ed.

"Well dear, this looks to be the place - the only barbershop in this town. Let’s get the kids out and go in to see if we have the right place." I said as we got the kids out and into their stroller. As we walked up I saw who could only be Ed.

"This is the place, dear. This is going to be fun." I said as we approached the shop and I opened the door.

"How’s my favourite barber doing?" The look on his face was priceless. Ed hugged me so hard he popped my back, but it was so great to see him. I introduced him to the family. I think he was proud to see me still sporting my flattop, which I love so much. We took a few moments to get caught up and I was surprised to learn that I booked a room at Trent’s inn. Can we say "it’s a small world" or is that small town? I forget.

We said our goodbyes to Ed and headed to the inn to check in. We got the kids out of the car and headed into the pub, since the door to check-in was locked. At the bar was Trent and he was all smiles.

"David, is that you? Oh wow, this is awesome. What are you doing here?"

"The wife and I are on vacation for a week and we have reservations here."

"Well come on in. Let me grab Maria to tend the bar and I will get you guys checked in." He said as Maria came out and led us to the check-in area. "Now you guys have our best room in the place, but it is on the third floor. To make it easy with the kids it is best to use the elevator. It was put in a few months after I bought the place. Just follow me."

Trent took us to the elevator and we all went up to the top floor. He escorted us to our room and handed us the key. I opened the door and was stunned at how beautiful it was. A 4 poster bed with curtains hanging down and a fireplace as well. The room was adorned in hardwood and rich deep colours. This did not feel like some hotel room, this felt like an experience.

"Wow. Is this really our room?" I said

"Yes. After I bought the place, every room got remodelled. This is the best in the place; I call this room Enchanted"

"I love it. I cannot imagine a better place to enjoy a vacation." My wife said
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"Now how about you and the kids get settled and relax. I will grab your husband to go get your bags, so you all can get unpacked and start your vacation. Oh and dinner is at 6 at our place, just go to the bar and let them know Dad and I are expecting you." Trent said as he started walking out and I followed.

As we walked out and I closed the door, Trent and I started talking. "So is this place and the barbershop behind the reason Ed sold me his place? He actually caught me off guard that day. The last time I spoke to him about it, he almost punched me out. He was determined not to sell."

"Well yes and no. He was my barber for 15 years, ever since I moved to the town. I had enough of the non-stop city crap and the daily grind, so I sold off everything to pursue my dream â€" to own a pub in a small town. I told him my plans when I went in to get a haircut after I left my job and started down this path. He did a small part to help me and that night he adopted me as his son. No one here knows or seems to care that we are not biological. In fact few do know, but to me it feels right â€" all of this. I have my pub, my dad, my husband, and a life I would not trade for the world and all in a small town here in Vermont." Trent said as he looked at me sincerely.

"Before this I was an accountant at a major firm in the city, but I wasn’t happy. Yes, I had money to spend and a good life, but was I happy â€" HELL NO. I got the idea for all of this because I saw a movie and instead of stepping out of my comfort zone, I slammed thru it like the Kool-Aid man. In one day I decided to follow my dream and that was the best thing I ever did." Trent continued.

After he said that we both fell silent and walked down to my BMW to get our bags. He gave me a lot to think about in a few moments of time. We grabbed the luggage and headed back to the room. Trent was all smiles and joy when we returned. My wife was tending to the little ones when we returned. Trent was kind and helped me set up the portable cribs for them. He told me dinner would be ready at 6 and left with a smile.

My wife came up to me and kissed me as she rubbed my flattop. "Good choice on the room, dear. I love it. It makes me want something like this in our home."

"They really did a wonderful job with this place from what I have seen so far. Be careful rubbing my flattop, you do know where that usually leads and we don’t have much time before dinner."

"I am just priming the pump for later." My wife said with a mischievous grin.

We quickly got the kids settled and unpacked. At 6, Trent came up to get us for dinner. He led us to the family quarters, where Ed and Greg were waiting for us. It was warm and cosy with lots of wood and rich, deep colours. We had an excellent meal and after dinner, while we were all chatting, my wife dropped the new baby bomb on me.

"Hey dear, before I forget, why don’t you go get that thing you brought." My wife said to me with a quick wink.

"Oh that is a good idea love. I will go run and grab it from our room." I said as I took off to our room to grab the present I had for Ed. It only took me a few minutes to grab it and return.

"Ed, I have a special present just for you. This is my way of thanking you for everything." I said as I handed him a plainly wrapped package.

Ed looked at me curiously as he slowly unwrapped his gift â€" the framed piece of sign from his old shop. When he saw what it was he broke down crying and immediately got up and gave me a big hug.

"Thank you, son. This is the nicest present I have ever received." Ed said as he hugged me.

"It was my pleasure, Dad. It is a little piece of the past to go with your present and future."

"I know right where it will go. I am going to put it in the shop right above my station for all to see. You just made your Dad’s day."

The next week was wonderful. Instead of waking at 6, the wife and I would sleep until 8 or 9 and then go out and do all sorts of things. We had a great time, even if it was just wandering around town. The day before we left to go home, I went back to Ed’s shop to get my flattop freshened up. It was a Saturday morning and there was already a large line of people waiting to get their haircut. It was always fun to see Ed doing his magic with men’s hair.

"So why are you here? It doesn’t look like you need a haircut." said the guy next to me.

"Actually I do. It has been 2 weeks since I got my flattop done and wanted to have Ed do it before I left town. Besides my wife would get pissed if I don’t keep it looking good. It turns her on something fierce. It is because of this flattop that we even have kids. First night I got it led to us having twins and now we are expecting our next one." I said and noticed that several other guys were listening as well.

"I have never gotten a haircut that would do that to my wife."

I then heard several "me neither" coming from the other guys waiting. I had a sneaky feeling that I just started something. Right after I spoke about my flattop, the next guy to get in Ed’s chair asked for a haircut like mine and the ball started rolling. Every guy that got in a chair asked for a flattop. Ed and Greg were both all smiles as they sheared the guys to give them what they wanted. Every guy that got one was thrilled and even left the chair with a bulge.

That night at dinner, Ed was telling us about their day at the shop.

"You opened Pandora’s Box today, son."

"Why is that Dad?" I asked.

"Well, because today Greg and I did a total of 15 flattops. As it is on Monday we have to go into the city to stock up on flattop combs and hair wax, because we sold out. I also think this is just the start of it." Dad said as he shook his head and laughed.

"Well I would much rather see a bunch of flattops running around than some of those pansy looking haircuts some people get these days." I said and we all agreed.
 

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