Got a haircut today. IRL by Jim

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I went one day running errands with a plan to get a haircut. Having just moved to a new city so I was a bit nervous finding a new barber. I looked around on Yelp but had a hard time making a decision earlier in the week. Leaving Home Depot I made a right and noticed a barber pole outside a pretty normal looking strip mall and decided I would give it a try. I usually keep my hair pretty short with a 3 on the back and sides parted to the right with scissor cut on top to an inch and a half. I had been a bit neglectful with the recent move and it had been about 6-7 weeks since my last haircut.

I turned in the parking lot and found a spot in front of the shop which I hope made it likely I would not have much of a wait. I entered the shop as a bell chimed and three barbers greeted me warmly to have a seat. I took my seat in a row of chairs next to a pair of women who appeared to be waiting for their sons to get haircuts . There were two boys and a older man in 3 of the 4 chairs. I picked up a magazine and begin thumbing through as a woman approached asking if I was next. I replied yes ma'am as I stood instantly noticing how attractive she was. She showed me to the chair and asked me to have a seat. She quickly caped me and began brushing my hair with a comb as she remarked that it must have been awhile since my last haircut. Something about her put me at ease. She commented that I would look nice with a good short haircut and asked if how short I would like to go. I explained my usual cut as pretty short but I guessed I could go pretty short if she thought it would look good. She smiled simply replying "Great, let's get you cleaned up." I was facing the mirror as I heard her clippers start buzzing. She quickly began high on my right side moving to the back and left with small strokes. I quickly noticed this was unusual and I had never had anyone start a haircut like this. She quickly went to another small grey clipper and began at my right sideburn moving quickly up my side as a clump of hair slid down the cape. I realized instantly I was getting a much shorter cut than I had anticipated. I stammered "That seems pretty short." to which she replied "Oh yeah, we are doing a bald fade. You will love it!" She continued with the clippers feeling the cool air on my scalp revealed as she moved from right to left. "I gave you goose bumps!" she quipped. She then used another pair of clippers and began on the top with a comb and then a plastic guard. After she buzzed the top of my head she began fading in the sides. She spent quite a bit of time doing this portion. When she was done she said "You certainly look smart now."

She handed me a mirror offering me to take a look. My mouth fell open as I could see my bare scalp all the way up the sides and in the mirror behind me I couldn't recognize the bald back of my head. "Too short she asked?" I admitted it was much shorter than I expected as I reached with my free hand realizing an amazing new sensation of my stubbled head. I rubbed it briskly admitting that it does feel good. She dusted me off removing the cape as we walked up front to pay. As I was leaving she commented "You need to get cut every 2-3 weeks to keep that style up. See you then?" she winked. "Yes ma'am." as I walked out feeling a bit exposed.

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