Her Decision by keepitshort

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It had been five months since I had made the promise to my wife that she could decide my hairstyle . Five months , for someone who loved to scratch their haircut fetish regularly five months had seemed like a lifetime , but not only had she forbidden me to get my haircut she had also removed all my shaving gear so here I was like grizzly Adams , my bushy beard almost Santa white and my salt and pepper locks covering my ears and over my collar. My heart leapt when she announced that I could do with a tidy up but we agreed she would be in sole charge so I merely agreed to her decision and hoped that she had something radical in mind. My face must have shown disappointment as she led us to her regular unisex salon and she gave me a little smile as we entered, however I was merely the spectator as she got her six weekly trim her jet black flowing locks gleaming from whatever treatment they had enjoyed as we left we must have resembled beauty and the beast.
She gave me directions to a small village about 30 miles from our home town and I parked outside an old fashioned shop with a simple ' BARBER' sign in faded paint above it. The interior of the shop was a dull mahogany which could do with a coat of varnish and there were two barbers chairs and an elderly well groomed barber sitting on the waiting bench, as we entered he looked up and his eyes widened as he smiled and welcomed my wife whom it was obvious he had met before. As he told us to make ourselves comfortable he approached the door pulled down the blind and secured the lock, he offered me the chair, as I sat and a white nylon cape was being securely fastened around my neck my wife spoke up.
"Firstly let's get the beard in shape , model it into a neat goatee and moustache , not too short but neat" she instructed.
I watched as the old barber combed my beard separating a line down each side of my mouth then taking his long pointed scissors and laying them flat against my cheek he snipped off my whiskers close to my skin. He then pointed his comb to my sideburns and looked to my wife for guidance , she indicated a point just below my earlobe stating ' Straight across' her words were barely out as his scissors created a guideline. He reached for a small set of clippers which gave out a high pitched buzz and as he held them flat to my jaw they sheared off my beard almost as close as a razor , both cheeks were soon reduced to five o clock stubble , and my sideburns had been sheared laser straight half an inch below my earlobes. Next he combed the hair around my mouth straight down and expertly snipped the length so that it just touched my lips , he looked to my wife and simply asked "thinner or shorter?" " thinner" came her reply and he proceeded to reduce the bulk from my newly shaped beard leaving me with a neat beard and moustache surrounding my mouth.
" what about his hair?" asked the barber running his comb through my locks
"Short back and sides , a high short back and sides. now I want it taken close to his scalp , the neckline taken straight across with your razor an inch above his collar ,continue this line up behind his ears and shave his sideburns square across as well, level with the top of his ears." was her confident reply.
I couldn' t believe what I was hearing and I saw the old barber raise an eyebrow then place his comb level with where my ears met my jawbone " here? " he said . I saw my wife raise her hand palm up and the barber moved his comb up a fraction. My wife approached the chair and pressed my right ear close to the side of my head , she then moved his comb up turned it until the steel edge was resting on the top of my ear and simply said to the barber " There!" The old barber shrugged, then nodded and slowly shook his head, he looked at me in the mirror and I slowly nodded my acceptance. As my wife retreated he got to work combing my flowing locks all around my head as he reached for his clippers and fitted a guard to them my wife suddenly rose from her seat shouting "WAIT ! Brush his hair straight back please" the barber let out a sigh but followed her instruction and I watched my locks being teased back off my forehead and ears the thick caterpillars of my sideburns snaking down my jaws and the neat goatee framing my mouth. My wife ran her fingers through my locks "you look like a bee-gee" she teased, then to the barber "can you leave the length , but shave around his neck and ears as I asked and of course clean shave his face leaving the goatee?"
My heart was thumping at this sudden change I was expecting to be shorn but this had taken me totally by surprise and , it was obvious it had the same effect on the barber who cleared his throat " Madam, please correct me if I' m wrong but you want me me shave bare your husbands neck, hairline behind his ears and take away over an inch of his natural hairline above his ears to form a new hairline, and to remove all semblance of hair from his face excepting around his mouth and chin" hearing what was to happen to me spelled out set my pulse racing and I could see from the smile on my wife's face that this was exactly what she wanted and she gushed " yes , oh I knew I had chosen the correct barbers. That is exactly what I , I mean we would like" the old barber bit his lip " Very well, please let me continue" and pointed to her seat.
He reached into a cupboard and pulled out an old white China cup and shaving brush, and turned on the hot water tap. Next he produced a straight razor and honed it on a leather strop hanging on the back of my chair. Then he was behind me and pushed my chin to my chest , I felt him lift the hair at the back of my head with his comb pushing it upwards, then combing down the hair immediately above my collar , I felt him take hold of the thick mass of hair and gently push my head further down, then the cold steel of his scissors was on my neck and three 'Shnicks' later he released his grip and I straightened my head . again he lifted the hair at my neck stating " that's an inch " I heard my wife say " a little higher please , maybe the same again?" The barber repeated his combing technique only this time instead of scissors on my neck it was the cold steel of manual clippers ' click - clack, click - clack' I felt them pull at my follicles and move up the back of my head, he worked methodically across my head then still holding the bulk of my hair out of the way he announced " I'll clean him up with the razor"
I saw the smile spread across my wife's face and then the barber was at my right side with the buzzing clippers in his right hand, pushing the bulk of my hair up to the top of my head while at the same time pushing my head towards my left shoulder. I saw him use his fingers to find the edge his manual clippers had left at my nape then he touched the buzzing teeth to that spot , turned the teeth so they bit into my scalp and expertly guided them up my hairline behind my ear removing about a quarter of an inch of my natural hairline, when he got to the top of my ear he stopped, then repeated the process on the other side. He then ran hot water into the mug and stirred the contents with the brush creating a thick white foam which he generously massaged into my cheeks and neck where his clippers had recently removed my facial hair. My eyes were fixed on the razor as I expected him to begin shaving me when he ran his fingers up my sideburn and gave a little grin mumbling to himself " straight across" he unhooked his large clippers ,dispensed with the guard and I gave a little jolt as they whirred into life. He used his left hand on my chin to straighten my head then with the skill of a surgeon he placed the teeth of the clippers hard against my skin a fraction of an inch above the tip of my ear and then moved them down a millimetre, when he took them away I was left with a tiny white line of skin running level with the middle of my forehead and across to the tip of my ear. I realised I had been holding my breath during this procedure and let out a sigh as he removed the machine. Moments later the giant machine was pressing against my temple on the other side and after he switched them off and reached for his razor i was looking at a white foamed face , salt and pepper beard and two white lines of scalp one above each ear. His left hand again was on top of my head pushing it towards my left shoulder and the razor gleamed in the light , the blade touched the white line then he deftly gave three short downward strokes and the thin white line was transformed into a smooth triangular patch of skin above my still full sideburn. Wetting the razor he continued clearing the hair behind my ear, across my neckline and up the other side .
He tipped the chair back and began shaving my face shifting my position so that the full width of the razor was in full contact with my skin and shaving me as close as i had ever been, after a few minutes he pulled the lever and again i was upright and looking at my new crazy reflection, a perfectly sculptured goatee beard, perfectly smooth jaws, two smooth triangles of skin around each ear and two crazy caterpillars marouding in front of my ears.
My wife was now behind me stroking the shaved ear area, she smiled at me in the mirror " fantastic ! I think that's enough for today don't you? " My mouth dropped open and my brain was racing but before i could answer she laughed " only joking, and then to the barber " shave them off ! " the barber gave a little nod wet his fingers and rubbed the warm water onto my right sideburn he then placed his left thumb on my recently shaved temple pulling the skin tight and with several short strokes downward clean shaved me smooth as silk. The other side soon followed razor first scraping down my cheek then traversing up to meet the white line and my sideburn was rolling down the cape.
Facing me now in the mirror was a neatly trimmed goatee beard , clean shaved jaws and sideburns and my long hair falling down over my ears under which were the two newly formed hairlines. My wife now instructed the barber to apply some oil to my hair and smooth it down brushing it straight back , as he did so the the shaved sides became fully exposed the dark slicked back hair contrasting with the smooth white scalp, as he finished off the back he held a mirror up to show me my thick locks stopping a full 2 inches above my shirt collar and a wide band of smooth skin which he had created with his razor. As I nodded my approval my wife was stroking my neckline and thanking the barber as he removed the cape, I stood up and immediately reached for the back of my neck feeling the smooth skin beneath my fingers. As I paid the barber my wife remarked " We'll be back next week to keep it looking tidy then you can advise on what would be the best style as he grows it back in" The barbers reply stunned as both
" I can answer you that just now madam, the gentleman would suit the smooth look all over"

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