David’s Change by Into My Own Hands - Part 1

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Into My Own Hands - Part 1

Tonight was the night that my buddy David was going to come over. We graduated about 2 months ago from college and I had missed seeing him every day since he went away for summer work.

David was always a funny guy. Didn’t really fit in with our friend group, but always the nicest, sweetest guy; anyone would attest.

He was a little bit country despite the fact that he went to a liberal arts school and majored in theatre. He’s a great dancer and actor too. Just kind of an odd combo to be the country, guy-next-door and major in the arts.

There was a knock at the door and as I peeped through the peep hole, I saw David standing there with a 6 pack in his hand. We had planned to catch up and drink a little. I hadn’t seen the guy for 2 months, but it felt like a lifetime.

"David! I’m so glad you’re finally back home!"
"Me too. They really had me working out there."
"Was it bad?"
"Not too bad, but not my favorite experience either."
We both chuckled as I led him into my apartment.

His brown hair was beginning to touch the back of his shoulders. His beautiful flowy hair was perfectly tousled atop his head. Every strand, per usual, looks effortless. I knew he literally would wake up, run a brush through his hair, and get out the door when we were in school. He always had beautiful hair and could rock a beard too. It was a bit fuller now. He had clearly let his beard and hair grow since I last saw him.

He made himself right at home per usual. He put the drinks in the kitchen and kicked his shoes off.
"Catch!" he said as he tossed me a beer. I caught it just in time. I laid on one couch and he laid on the other, our typical spots, as I turned on some background noise TV while we caught up and drank our beers.

After a few episodes of our favorite show later, we had almost gone through 2 six packs of beer. We had been chatting the whole time, not even watching the show. I’m glad that he’s still the same guy he was.

"Okay and you and this girl met how again?" I asked him.
"Tinder"
"And y’all have been dating for how long?"
"Almost 3 months."
"So you started dating her before you left and didn’t tell any of us?" I said referring to our theatre friend group.
"No. It’s just that…I knew you guys probably wouldn’t like her."
"Why not?"
He laughed and pulled up her social media pages.

Christian. Girl. Autumn.
She was one of those girls who was so basic who glamorized the southern lifestyle. The kind of girls who look like they’d grow up to be Karen’s.
Her profile picture was of the two of them. David was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, while she wore tall brown boots, a big sweater meticulously styled, and skinny jeans. She was 100% a christian girl autumn type of girl. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just funny to see them. It’s even funnier to imagine David dating one of them.

"Ohhh…she’s one of those girls…" I said taking a sip of my beer and handing his phone back to him.
"It’s not that bad. When it’s just the two of us, she’s the nicest girl I’ve ever been with. She’s kind, funny, honest, and she’s just so right for me."
"I completely understand you. I tease with you, but if she makes you happy then I’m really happy y’all found each other." I said and smiled at him.
"So tell me about y’all’s relationship."
"Well she actually loves our favorite show too. We have kept in touch all this summer while I’ve been away. She’s very communicative with me. That’s a big one because you know about my last girlfriend…" he said and winced at the thought of her.
His last girlfriend was one of those girls who would say that nothing’s wrong, when in reality everything was wrong. He deserved a girl who was better at communicating with him.

I gave him a look, then asked "Are you getting more than what you wanted?"
"Yeah…a little bit."
"Alright, well tell me about it."
"She’s just very vocal about her opinions and it’s her way or the highway a lot of the time."
"Give me an example."
"Just the other day, she said she loved my hair, but wishes I’d buzz it off."
"Oh? And why don’t you? I’ve never known you to really care about your hair."
"It’s not about that. It’s about the principle of it all. Her decision isn’t always the right one. If I want to buzz my head, that should be up to me, not her."
"Well it’s not like she’s offered to take you to get it cut or anything-"
"Oh, she has. She’s offered to cut it herself and to take me to the barbershop."
"Dang man. I’m sorry to hear about that aspect of it, but she sounds great overall despite that."
"Thanks man. Any advice?"
"I think you just need to show her that you’re in control of your life. You appreciate her input but not on things that deal with changing you unless it’s an actual issue. Your hair is such a superficial thing…Sorry, I’m rambling. You’ve just gotta take control."

He shook his head up and down and took a sip of his beer.

We both turned our head to watch the tv show for a minute. When I snuck a look at him, I could tell that he was thinking hard about what I had said.

The silence between us sat for a while. Finally, he broke it.

"I have to meet her halfway if I want to be able to actually talk with her about this. If I give a little, then I can take a little too. I need you to cut my hair."

I sat up excitedly. My eyes widened at the thought of this. I had hoped for years that David would let me trim his hair one day.

"And I want it to be a buzzcut. And maybe the beard too. Hell, I don’t know. We’ll figure it out together." he said.

I could have sworn my jaw was on the floor. This was the day I had hoped for. He knew I had a home barber’s kit that I used to keep my hair up. And now that kit would be used on some different locks. Locks that cascades down the back of his head and had a slight wave to them. Waves that would soon be laying on my floor. I realized that I had just been looking at him for a minute, so I responded "Absolutely. I’d love to. Let’s get set up."

Part 2 coming soon!
Follow me on Instagram:@haircuttery205

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