The evolution of Shaun by P.J.

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The evolution of Shaun
Greetings folks. While this isn’t a story for you baldy and buzz cut lovers You might still find it of some interest. It’s not a typical haircut story, even for me. I apologize in advance if you took the time and found it falling short.
For those of you who are regular readers, this is a Pete’s Cuts story.

I got a phone call early in the week from a mom who needed her son’s hair cut. She informed me that her son was autistic and it had been more than a year since his last cut. Which had been a major debacle. That was the main reason for the long lapse until now. Could I cut his hair without clippers? He had severe sensory issues. Would I be willing to attempt this? Her son had a hard time sitting still. I said I’d be happy to try, but couldn’t promise anything. Could she come in at the end of the day on Friday? That way we’d have the shop to ourselves and there wouldn’t be as much distraction. She agreed and I booked her for the last appointment of the day.

I spent the next few days ruminating on the possibilities as to how this might play out. An Autistic kid. She didn’t say what age, and foolishly I forgot to ask. It had been more than a year since his last cut. That cut had been a disaster. I couldn’t use clippers. Would he even hold still for shears? Was his hair a snarled, balled up, greasy mess? Was that why she was finally doing something about it. I kept churning the possibilities over and over, all week.
Finally, Friday arrived. I found myself being nervous for the first time in years. I was glad Jack wasn’t around either. (Jack was my life partner.) I’d explained the situation to him and asked that he go directly upstairs today, instead of meeting me in the shop. The day progressed quickly as I was pretty well booked up.

I was just finishing the last appointment prior to hers when a woman walked into the shop, she had a young boy in tow. I couldn’t help stopping for just a moment and staring in wonder. This couldn’t possibly be my autistic boy appointment. This kid had a handsome mane of shoulder length straw blonde hair. Clearly properly maintained. He was a very handsome young lad. I caught the woman’s gaze and asked" Hi, do you have an appointment? I’m kind of booked up for the rest of the day today."

She smiled, a bit nervously, and said "Yes, I spoke to you earlier this week about my son. We have a 4:00 appointment."

I said "Ah, yes, of course. I’m just about finished here. You can have a seat and wait a few minutes of that’s O.K. or…if you want to wait in your car, I can come get you when I’m ready."

"Oh, I think we can sit, at least we’ll try. Would you like to sit for a minute Shaun, she said to the boy?" He was playing with a small belt of some sort. He stared her in the eye and they went and sat in the waiting area chairs.
I was pretty much finished with the current client. I just had to brush him down and let him inspect and approve my work. He was quite happy as usual. I uncapped him, we walked up front and he paid and left.

I walked over to the woman and the boy and introduced myself. She said her name was Deb, and this was her son Shaun. Shaun looked up at me with dazzling blue eyes. His mannerisms indicated that he was quite timid, almost afraid of me.
Deb asked if we could chat for a minute. She stood and walked to the end of the waiting area and indicated that I should follow her. I assumed so we would be more or less out of earshot of Shaun.

She proceeded to explain that Shaun was 9 years old. He was Autistic and nonverbal. She explained that the belt was a fidget belt. He handled it constantly to keep his hands occupied and keep himself calm. He was not mentally challenged and understood everything when spoken to. He just only responded with his eyes or an occasional head gesture. She said she didn’t expect me to understand this as it had taken her his entire life to understand what he meant with his eyes. Also, he does rock when sitting and move his head in a manner that would appear to be uncontrolled. He does this more when he gets agitated. He is learning to spell and communicate with a special tablet. He was just starting this and she hoped it would greatly improve his communication skills. The biggest hurdle was that he also had trouble controlling his fine motor skills to be able to type on the tablet.

He does better if you explain what you are going to do before you do it, including showing him any of the tools you’ll be using. The clippers are a no go though.

She went on to explain that it had taken months to get Shaun to agree to set foot in a barber shop again. He was afraid. The last time, the barber tried using clippers on him. Without even letting him know in advance what was going to happen. After she had expressly told him NOT to use them. She had asked that his hair be cut as short as possible and the barber naturally assumed clippers would be the fastest way, and also cut it as short as possible. He didn’t even get halfway up the back of Shaun’s head with the first pass and Shaun became extremely agitated. The barber had to finish what he’d started though. Deb ended up holding Shaun on her lap and trying to calm him while the barber worked as quickly as possible. Shaun finally couldn’t take it anymore and jumped up just as the barber was finishing. Needless to say, the cut looked horrible, it was a badly butchered buzz cut. Shaun was distraught, and has steadfastly refused to get his hair cut since. Deb had succeeded in trimming just his fringe once several months ago while her partner held Shaun. She said she clearly didn’t know how this was all going to play out but she’d be happy with whatever could be done. She did say that if Shaun did tolerate getting it cut, she’d like me to cut it as short as possible. She realized a true buzz cut was impossible but could I get as close as I could? Under other conditions she wouldn’t ask for the short cut but Shaun couldn’t maintain his own hair yet and not having to deal with the long locks would just be easier in the long run. She hated to chop it all off but it would be much easier to maintain.

I was in uncharted territory here. I’d never delt with anything like this. Sure, I’d done lots of cuts on fidgety kids but this was on a whole other level. The most frustrating thing is he doesn’t show any facial expression. He’d be a perfect poker player. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed off, happy, or terrified.

I decided to try and be direct with Shaun. Address him, and ask for help from Deb when/if I needed it.

I asked Shaun to come sit in the big barber chair. He immediately looked to Deb for direction. She escorted him over, and we both talked to him about sitting in it. He finally sat and eventually allowed me to cape him. He immediately brought both hands and the belt out from under the cape. He also started rocking. I came around in front of him and quietly explained that he needed to sit as still as he could.

Deb assured me that she fully expected him to be covered in hair before we were done so not to worry. Even if he wanted the cape off.

I told him that his mom wanted his hair cut short and proceeded to show him the comb and shears. I made it a point of telling him that the shears were very sharp so that was why I needed him to hold as still as possible.

I gently started combing his hair out. It was amazing. Nice and thick and healthy, fully shoulder length on the sides, longer still in back. His fringe was down past his nose. Like a typical boy of his age, he had the Bieber head flick down pat, he also brushed the fringe off to the side with his hands once in awhile too. Normally I’d relish taking a fantastic head of hair like this down to the wood but strangely, I felt sorry for this little guy. I was going to rock his world, and I was pretty sure he’d not look great or be happy, when I was done either.

He let me comb his hair all out. We had several give and take touch moments with both the comb and shears. I decided to start in the back. I felt the best approach, considering I might only get one swipe at it, was to run my hand into the thick locks, against his head, fingers splayed, and cut off all the hair that stuck through my fingers. I knew it wouldn’t look as polished as my usual shear cuts but the goal here was to cut it as fast and short as I could, right? It sounded like a good plan, we’d have to see how it worked. I worked my hands all through Shaun’s mane, seeing how he’d react. He was pretty complacent, only shaking his head occasionally as if to get my fingers out of his hair. He still rocked, but I found I could keep my hand on his head and follow along with the shears. This was going to be quite a challenge. I could be quick with the shears, but cutting a moving head was something altogether different. I glanced at Deb and said" O.K. Here we go". I slid my hand up from his nape, in the center of the back, fingers slightly splayed, and quickly snipped off as much hair as I could cut. Sheaves of blonde locks were being severed. I tried to make sure it all fell on the floor at my feet. I didn’t know if Shaun would freak out seeing his plush mane decimated like this if it landed in his lap like I usually did it. Most normal boys would be at least crying quietly at this point. Shaun’s hands were flying back and forth on the belt, the intensity of his manipulations of the belt increasing, but over all that went well. I could feel him try and shake his head but gentle persuasion by me quelled the motions for the most part. I had to pause frequently to regrip but that was easy enough. I proceeded to remove pretty much all the hair on the back of Shaun’s head in this manner. We had frequent pauses for head shaking or rocking. I waited patiently and talked softly to him about holding still each time. Eventually I was able to even it up pretty good too. It looked like a grown-out buzz cut. It was probably not even and inch long now. Definitely not my best work, to be sure.

I proceeded to remove most of the hair on both sides this way too. We had to pause a few times as Shaun started rocking now and again. I patiently waited while I encouraged him to sit still when he could again. I tried to make as much eye contact as I could with him too. I was clueless as to what his eyes might be saying back to me though.

I decided to stand behind him and brush his fringe up to remove it. Hoping he wouldn’t see much fall in front of him. I even managed to keep the very front a smidge longer, kind of like a crew cut. I’d just finished with the shears, the last of the plush thick locks falling into the huge pile at my feet and was contemplating my next move to finish him up.

Just as I was finishing, Shaun’s hand reached back and brushed the side of his head. He gave Deb a panic-stricken look. He started rubbing his head all over, faster and faster, then trying to grab at the short nubbins of hair I’d left. He wasn’t facing the mirror, I’d left him facing Deb in an effort to keep him calm. He was frantically trying to turn himself to see himself in the mirror. He started tugging on the cape at this point too. Normally I’d take the peanut clippers and shave the neck fuzzies to finish off the cut, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I’d noticed that he had very feint downy fuzz on his neck so it didn’t look that bad. He wasn’t listening to me any longer. I looked at Deb and shrugged my shoulders. "I guess this is the best I can do."

I took the cape off before he could pull it off. He immediately stood up and almost fell off the foot rest of the chair. He was shaking his head back and forth rubbing it.

Deb came over and tried talking softly to him, telling him how handsome he looked with his new short haircut. I also tried to emphasize how good he now looked. (I’m a lousy liar though.) Shaun got even more agitated when he saw himself in the big mirror. Pawing at the short tufts left on his head.

Even though I’d managed to finish the basic cut I felt awful. Shaun looked like he had a month-old buzz cut. I’d chopped off better than six inches of gorgeous blonde hair that under normal circumstances a kid his age would have been at least crying dejectedly over it. I vowed then and there that I’d at least try to give Shaun a bit if a style if he ever came back.

Deb eventually calmed him a bit and we walked up to the front of the shop for her to pay me. Shaun still had that unreadable face. Ugh.

I explained that all in all I thought that all things considered, that went rather well. She was ecstatic and thanked me profusely. The look Shaun was giving her was clearly sending a different message though.

Shaun had walked over to the mirror again and was pawing at his short nubbins. I took the opportunity to tell her that I’d be happy to do this again but if she could bring him in in 3 or 4 months maybe we could attempt to give him a more stylish cut. I asked If I could talk directly to Shaun about this too. She nodded.

I decided I’d try again being direct with Shaun. "Shaun….I hope you like your new haircut buddy. Maybe if you let mom bring you in before it gets really long next time, we wouldn’t have to cut it as short. I’d really like it if you came back. YOU were a trooper. You did just as I instructed. I’d really like the chance to cut your hair again if you’ll let me O.K.?"

Shaun immediately went to Deb and they had a stare contest.

"Pete, I can’t promise anything but this went a million times better than the last time. I can’t thank you enough."

"Just call ahead and make an appointment for the last of the day again so we have the shop to ourselves. I hope he’s not too upset with me." With that, they left the shop.

For some reason what had just happened didn’t sit well with me. As I swept up all that gorgeous thick blonde hair, I tried to imagine what life must be like for Shaun. Thinking on it I almost cried. I’m sure Debs life as his mom must be torture. The struggle to communicate with a normal speaking child is sometimes more than enough for any parent, Debs situation was monumentally harder, to say the least. Not to mention all the other hurdles that parents normally face with healthy normal kids.

I had a long discussion with Jack that night. I was feeling helpless and frustrated. Communication was key to everything in the world. Especially my world. He eventually got me to calm down.

Time passed. I didn’t forget Shaun, but I didn’t dwell on his situation either. About 6 months had passed when I got a phone call from Deb. Could we try and trim Shaun’s hair sometime in the near future? She’d be happy to wait for an end of day appointment like last time. Was I willing to do it?

I told her I would be happy to do it, not to worry. We made an appointment for Friday end of day again.

The week went by quick. Before I knew it, she and Shaun were strolling in the door. Shaun’s hair had grown out a fair amount but was no where near as long as the first time.

Deb walked him to the chair and gave him instructions.

I stayed up front and motioned her to come talk with me. I asked what we were going to do today? She wanted me to do the same thing as last time. Cut off as much as possible. I’d done some investigating in the last 6 months and had a few questions. Was Shaun in school or some sort of learning program? Deb said he was attending elementary school but in a special program. He got lots of one-on-one time with paraprofessionals. It was tough going though. He was aware that he wasn’t with the other kids and it was always an issue for him. He desperately wanted to be mainstreamed with the other kids. That wasn’t possible though. He was painfully aware that he was different.

I also asked how it went after the last haircut. Deb frowned. "Not great, but not terrible either. He’d put a hat on when we got home. He wore it for quite a while actually. He wore hats every so often and I didn’t think much of it till my partner pointed out that he always put it on when he went to school. I don’t think he liked the short cut. He has a special tutoring session once a week where he’s learning to spell and use his special tablet. He’s still in the very early stages of being able to control his hands to hit the right letters or pictures though. After the haircut he spelled NO HAIR and hit the frowny face emoji so I know he didn’t like it."

I asked if it would be O.K. to cut his hair with a bit more style to it, still short, but maybe with a bit of fringe?"

She said" As long as it’s still very short. I have to do all the work to make it look good."

I nodded. "Well, let’s see what I can do."

I walked over to Shaun and capped him up. I showed him the shears and comb. This time I let him handle them too, with guidance of course. I picked up a brush and started brushing his hair this time instead of a comb. I’d turned him to face the mirror too. I pointed to the mirror, and ran the brush through his hair. On impulse I handed the brush to him and asked him to try. He put his belt in his lap. Taking the brush, he kind of brushed, kind of pawed at his hair. I picked up another brush and brushed his fringe down, then pointed at him. He was somewhat successful at imitating me, still very jerky motion but I knew he was trying.

I said I was going to start cutting his hair now. We went through all the instructions about holding still etc. He kept holding the brush and feeling it while I started cutting the back of his hair.

I made sure I had Debs attention when I asked "Shaun, I’d like to leave your hair in front a little longer this time but… You’ll have to take care of it and brush it, not your mom, O.K.?"

Deb had a raised brow incredulous look. "Pete, let’s not get too crazy, O.K." I nodded and winked at her.

It took awhile but I eventually got Shaun’s hair cut quite short again. I’d taken more time and it at least didn’t look so much like a quick hack job this time. I’d also given Shaun several other items to examine while I was cutting. A comb, hair clips, the dusting brush I used to brush guys down when I’d finished. He was fascinated with all these items. His examination of them distracted him and helped keep him still while I cut.

I’d left his fringe almost half way down his forehead. He looked so much better with it like this. I instructed him and showed him how to brush his hair, especially the fringe. I told him it would be up to him to take care of it and keep it brushed. If he didn’t, mom would bring him back in and I’d cut it off short like last time. Shaun locked eyes with me. It was very disconcerting. I felt like I was looking into his soul. I had no idea what he was trying to communicate though.

We wrapped things up and they went on their way. This 6-month cycle went on for a couple of years. Gradually Shaun’s hair was kept a bit longer with each cut. He’d gotten much better with the brush. It was still a simple boys cut but he showed me how he brushed it. I was impressed. I noticed he was getting better in general with his coordination too. He could hold still so I could do a much better job of actually layering his hair and giving him an actual style.

Deb had called and made the usual last thing Friday appointment. I found myself looking forward to their visits. They were always challenging but I felt I was making progress with him getting comfortable getting a haircut. That made me happy. He looked so much better than he had after his first cut too. I still felt bad about that one. He was developing a nice long aquiline neck line as he grew. I had been leaving at least some length in the back so he didn’t look like a bobble head. I was hoping to again leave it a little longer than the last cut. I wanted him to blend in with the other guys , not stand out with a horrible butch cut.

Shaun had gotten used to just coming in and sitting in the chair by now. Deb stopped me to talk before I walked over to the chair. "Pete, we’ve been working diligently with his tablet. I have to tell you, I’m frustrated. When I ask if we can get his haircut, he always answers NO. I feel I’m dragging him in here." I was watching Shaun as we were talking. He was playing with his hair. Twirling the short locks on the side of his head between his fingers. Deb continued" I’ve asked if it’s because he doesn’t like you, or doesn’t like getting it cut." His response was NO LIKE HIM, NO HAIR, FEEL BAD.

I was crushed. Deb quickly said" don’t feel bad, he often doesn’t like me or my partner either. We’re working hard to understand him better as he gets better with the tablet. It’s been a godsend that he’s finally getting the hang of it. I’m wondering if, since he’s more comfortable coming here at least, could we increase the frequency, maybe every 3 months, and leave his hair a little longer? He’s trying very hard at brushing it at home. We still have to help him, but its progress."

I was glad to hear that he’d kept at it. I also asked if she thought he’d started using his hair as a new fidget object. She smiled and said yes, I think so, sometimes at least. But that’s O.K. with us.

I looked at Shaun, then at Deb. "How long do you want me to leave it?"

She said" Can we reduce the length to half as long as it is now? Would you be able to manage that with all the interruptions we have with him?"

I smiled and said sure but I have an idea. "Let’s try something. It might be fun for him to help pick a style. It can’t hurt to try , at least." My shop has lots of pictures hanging that show hairstyles through the ages. It’s part of the nostalgic décor. I went over and took several pictures down, walked to the shelf behind Shaun and set them down.

"Hey Shaun, If I were to show you pictures of guys, could you point to the one with the haircut you’d like me to give you? He made eye contact with me and gave me that penetrating stare.

I picked up the first picture and put it in his lap. It was of older, very conservative styles. Crew cuts, flat tops, and the like. He didn’t point to anything.

Deb was intrigued and watched Shaun intently.

I swapped out pictures. This one was a bit more up to date. Short back and sides, pomp, slick back, etc. Still no movement from Shaun.

The next picture depicted still longer styles. Side swept fringe, center parted fringe, ears partially covered, more well-groomed longer styles. Still nothing.

I had a picture of the Beatles with their many styles through the years. Occasionally I had a guy pick one of these styles so I’d left it up on the wall. Deb chuckled as I placed it in Shaun’s lap. Shaun pointed to Paul’s long overgrown bowl type cut. I smiled and chuckled now too. Deb looked at me and shook her head in the negative.

The last picture I had was of various male celebrities with long hair, some recent, some older. Shaun interestingly pointed to Shaun Cassidy. The pic was of him when he had his long shoulder length side part with the long fringe. I quickly flashed back to the first time Shaun had come into the shop. His hair hadn’t looked much different from this pic. Interesting. He’d look stunning with it cut that way. I was pretty sure there was no way he’d be able to maintain it though.
Deb said, "Maybe some day Shaun. For now, Pete is going to trim your hair and leave it a little longer than we have been. O.K.?" She and Shaun locked eyes. Shaun was twirling his fingers through the hair hanging over his ear. It was about 3 inches long, give or take.

I knew then what I was going to at least try and give him for a cut today. I took the pics and put them back on the walls.

I caped Shaun and brushed him out. I also had a little flip book of before and after pics that I’d taken of clients, mostly transformation type before and after shots. I put that in his lap and asked him to look through it while I cut his hair.

I was able to decently layer his hair in back, taking half the length off. I’d let the cut locks fall into his lap this time too. It didn’t seem to distract him from flipping pages in the book.

I’d been able to section off the top and fringe, using a clip I’d shown Shaun. He looked at himself in the mirror for a few minutes after I did that. He reached up and touched the clip. Almost as if to confirm what he was seeing in the mirror. I thought I saw a hint of a smile cross his face. Then he went back to thumbing the pages in the book.

I was able to layer the sides, leaving his ears half covered. If he wanted something to fidget with, let’s leave him something and see how he does, I thought.

I unclipped the top and fringe, and combed it down straight. I didn’t reduce the fringe by half though. I trimmed it above his brows about a half inch. It would probably get long enough before he came back in that it would hang in his eyes. This was all an experiment. Let’s see what he’d do. I left the top long, it was nice and thick, the longest hair on his head. He was starting to look like the typical kid his age. It was more typically the type of cut that was asked for on kids his age when they couldn’t keep it longer.

I brushed him down, gently took the book from him, and took the cape off. He checked himself out in the big mirror. He turned and gave me the stare. God, I wish I knew what he was thinking.

I smiled, "Now Shaun, your mom agreed to let you keep it a little longer. This will mean you’ll have to brush it more often to keep it nice and neat, or she’ll bring you back in and have me cut it short again. I really like how you look so I’d like you to try really hard to keep it brushed O.K.?" I told Deb, lets try and bring him in around 3 months from now, O.K.? She nodded and smiled.

3 months later, Deb called and made the appointment. In they walked at 4:00 Friday afternoon. Last appointment of the day.

Shaun had a nice thick fringe, brushed to the side. His ears were mostly covered too. He stood with Deb as she addressed me." Pete, Shaun’s been working diligently on keeping his hair brushed. He’s even taken over shampooing and conditioning it. Shaun cracked a quick tiny smile and stared into Debs eyes.

"His fine motor skills are improving more every day. So is his spelling." She said. She’d brought his tablet with him too.

She asked him. ‘Are you still mad at Pete?" Shaun slowly typed NO. He also typed WHY HERE and then NO HAIRCUT…TO SOON.

I laughed. You weren’t getting anything by this kid. He certainly could remember things.

Deb told him "Yes, just a small trim this time, O.K.? It’s getting messy."

He looked perfectly fine but it wasn’t my place to point that out.

Deb said "Pete, can you trim at his ears and neck? He really doesn’t want his fringe cut short. I guess I’m O.K. with trying to leave it like it is if you can instruct him on what to do with it."

I told Shaun to go hop into the big barber chair, we’d just do a small trim. "is that what you really want me to do Deb? "I quietly asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. He is doing really well keeping it brushed, I have to admit. It doesn’t always look super neat, he doesn’t understand the concept of parting it yet either."

"Ah, I’ll see what I can do to help that." I replied, walking over to Shaun.

I caped him up and brushed him out. "Deb, remind me how old Shaun is now?"

"He’s going to be 13 soon. He has one more year in his current school, then it’s on to high school." She replied sighing. "He’s really starting to sprout. I’m starting to feel short. He’s also becoming more self-aware every day. He’s noticing what his peers say, and do, what they wear, and how they look. He wants to fit in. It’s frustrating him that he’s in a special class within the school. He hasn’t made any friends either.

He did look like the typical 12-year-old with a nice mop of blonde locks. I decided to do what I could to make sure he at least looked the part of a typical 12-year-old boy.

I combed and snipped my way across the back, layering the bottom a little as I went along. He was remarkably calm, watching my every move in the big mirror this time. The only distraction was his ever-present fidget belt.

I moved to the sides, deciding to leave his ears half covered this time. All it took was a few snips to even them up.

I came around and stood in front of him ruffling his fringe and top locks with my fingers. He gave me that intent stare but didn’t fuss. When I removed my hand, he gave his head the Bieber flip and his fringe moved to the side. He was developing a nice thick side bang at this point too. I decided to do just a bit of careful layering through the top, leaving the fringe alone.

When I finished, I stood aside so he could see himself in the mirror. He stared at his reflection. Then I saw a small smile. He turned to me and the smile got a tiny bit bigger. He ran his hands through the fringe, pushing it off to the side. He looked great.

"Shaun, you’ve been so good today. I’d like to leave your hair like this instead of cutting it short. You have to do something for me though. He stared at me hard. I want you to keep it washed, conditioned, and brushed so it’s neat. I know it’s hard for you but if you want to keep it longer, you have to work at it, O.K. ? Otherwise, mom will have to bring you back in and I’ll cut it short again. I really don’t want to do that so try really hard, O.K? There is one other thing I’d like to try today. I reached over to the clippers hanging off their hooks below the shelf. I pointed to my peanut clippers, taking them off their hook. I uses these on the older boys to make them look nice and neat. I don’t use them on kids though. You’re an older boy now, I’d like to show you how they work."

"Shaun, these are what I call peanut clippers. I use these to remove the fluffy hair below your nape, and to square off your side burns. Doing that finishes off your haircut nice and neat. They won’t hurt you. I won’t cut up into this nice-looking hair either. I touched his nape and sideburns areas with my free hand. Let me turn them on and I’ll show you how they work on my arm." I flicked the switch and Shaun flinched. I quickly laid the clippers on my arm. They made a low humming sound. I dragged them down the inside of my wrist. "Here, you try it," I said handing them to Shaun. It took him some time but he finally reached for them. "Go ahead and touch your arm like I did, see how they feel. It’s O.K. they won’t hurt. They kind of tickle actually."

He hesitated for a bit, then touched his wrist. He gave that small smile again and stared at me hard. "Can I use them back here, I said, touching his neck, I promise I won’t hurt you, or cut your actual hair.

He handed them back to me and I took that as a yes. I gently slid the short shank of blonde locks out of the way, touched his neck with the clippers, upside down, of course, and gently scraped downward.

Shaun flinched, but don’t pull away. He let me finish back there. I thought he looked much better. He was getting older, and the fuzzies were becoming more obvious, he looked great with them removed.

I explained again what we would do in front of his ears, then tried it. I got one swipe in on each side before he started wiggling his head. "There! All done Shaun "I declared.

I brushed him down and removed the cape. He stood and went right up to the mirror, touching his sideburn. Then touching his hair all over. "Remember now, shampoo, condition, only once a day though, and keep it neatly brushed, O.K." He was furiously manipulating his belt.

"Pete, I’m stunned." Deb said. He’s come so far with you. And come a long way in general. His fine motor skills, and his ability to control his rocking are constantly improving. I’m sure he’ll feel comfortable with this cut too. It’s a bit long, but let’s see how he does.

We chatted a bit more, she paid me and they left. I felt invigorated. That went so much better than I expected. As I cleaned up, I thought to myself, I hope I won’t see them in here for a few months. Shaun was showing great progress.

I hadn’t seen or heard from Deb in more than 3 months, I didn’t realize it that in fact it had been almost 6 months when she called one day.

She said that things had been going very well since their last visit. Shaun was working diligently to keep his hair washed and brushed. His dexterity was improving little by little. His ability to communicate with his special tablet was also improving by leaps and bounds. Shaun has actually asked to see you. He has not asked for a haircut per se, he’s stated NEED TO SEE PETE. You are the only Pete we know so would I be able to come in with him this Friday at closing, like usual. I’m assuming he wants his hair cut. I said Friday 4:00 worked, so see you then. I’ll add here that it was December, just before the holidays.

Friday rolled around and right on time, in walked Shaun and Deb.

I was pleasantly shocked to see the change in Shaun. His blonde locks were quite long, possibly longer than the very first time he came to see me. He’d also grown almost a half a foot taller. He was taller than Deb now. Definitely a budding adolescent, and a vary handsome one at that.

Deb smiled and said I’d like to let Shaun communicate with you. He’ll be using his tablet. We’ve been trying to get him to directly communicate with people so he gets used to more one on one situations.

Shaun went right over and sat in the big barber chair. He smiled at me warmly. Wow, that was quite a smile I thought to myself. Good for him.

Shaun began slowly hunting and pecking on the tablet, then looked up at me. I walked over and stood next to him. I read WANT CUT LITTLE. I smiled back and nodded. "Are you having problems with it?" he typed HARD 2 BRUSH.

"Ah, I replied. I gently ran my hand into the thick plush bulk on the back of his head. Oh my. This is divine I thought. Part of me immediately thought about how it would feel if I were to plunge the Osters into it with a #1 guard and plow it all off. The rest of me thought, no, he clearly loves it longer, it does need to be trimmed, and I’ll do some layering to help with the bulkiness. "How about if I cut this much off all over to start?" I held up 2 fingers a half inch apart. "I’ll layer it a bit so its not so bulky too. I can always cut more off if it’s still to long for you, I can’t put it back on though." I ran my hand into the thick locks and ruffled them a bit. OMG, that felt so good. Shaun nodded his head up and down slightly, and smiled. He still gave me that intense stare too.

I caped him up. "Deb, are you good with all this "I asked as I was brushing Shaun’s mop out.

"Yes, sure. I know you’ll do a great job." Deb replied.

I set to work taking a small amount off all over Shaun’s head, layering it a bit in back to reduce the bulk. His fringe needed to be shortened too. It was almost to his chin. "Shaun, your fringe needs to be trimmed a little shorter, I’d like to cut it to about here." I indicated his nose tip. The tablet came out from under the cape. He hit a button that immediately typed O.K.

I held the cape up for him to slide the tablet back under. I combed this thick fringe down over his face. It looked amazing. I slid the shears in at the tip of his nose and snipped from one side to the other at a slight angle. The chin length portion slid away. Shaun started rocking a little. I paused and let him rock, then settle again. "Ready for me to finish" I said. He nodded his head slightly.

I quickly layered the blunt fringe and brushed it over to the side. We went through our routine with handling the peanut clippers and he let me shave his neck and sideburns. I gave him a good look with the big mirror and the hand mirror, and I asked if it was short enough.

The tablet came out again. YES, he also had used a thumbs up emoji. I was impressed.

I took the cape off and looked at him. My God, what boy wouldn’t be happy leaving the barber shop with this plush mop. He looked great. The fringe stayed mostly off to the side, the sides were just at the bottom of his ears, and the back was hanging at the base of his neck. He was developing that nice long neck line too. WOW.

As we walked up front for Deb to pay me, she said "Thank you Pete. I’ll be sure to bring him in by late May if not before. He’ll be attending graduation in June and turning 14. He’ll be going to high school next year. Still in a Special ED class though. He’s also stopped commenting about wanting to look like the other boys. I’m assuming its because now he does look like them.

As I cleaned up, I reflected on how much Shaun had changed in a relatively short period of time. Puberty was an amazing thing. He was growing into a very handsome young man.

The months flew by and I got a call from Deb in late May. She made the usual Friday 4:00 appointment.

Friday arrived and at 4:00 in walked Deb and Shaun. Shaun, had grown a couple more inches taller in the last 5 months, I was pretty sure. And his gorgeous blonde locks had grown at least 3 inches, they were just about to his shoulders. Oh, My I thought to myself. If only he’d let me use the clippers.

I could sense something was off today though. Shaun promptly sat in a waiting area chair and was furiously working his fidget belt. Deb had his tablet. Deb said" O.K. Shaun, let’s go sit in the barber chair." Shaun didn’t move. Then he started rocking. Deb looked at me in exasperation. "Shaun doesn’t want a haircut, Pete. He’s graduating next month and my partner and I want him to get his hair cut short, kind of like the first time you cut it for us, so he looks handsome for graduation pictures. Shaun started shaking his head vigorously from side to side now as well as rocking and mauling his belt. "I don’t think this is going to work today" Deb said quietly. You won’t be able to get near him with shears when he’s like this. Let’s try for 4:00 next Tuesday if you have an open time slot.

I said "I don’t book cuts after 4:00 except on Fridays. How about if you bring him in any day next week around 4:30. I should be done or just about done with any client by that time. This way if he suddenly decides to cooperate, you won’t miss the opportunity." I motioned for her to follow me as I walked to the front of the shop. "Deb, I see this all the time. This is more of what I’d call normal teen behavior. Most boys don’t want to get short cuts these days. I’ve seen lots of parents strong arm them into short haircuts. It's not a pretty sight for any of us involved usually. Forgive me for saying it this way but you can strong arm a ‘normal teen boy’ to sit still. I’m not sure you’ll ever be able to do that with Shaun. How about I just give him a good trim. You and I both know he’s a very handsome lad, even with longer hair. If he’s in a mood to cooperate with me you know I can make him look good with it long."

Deb sighed. "I guess. He’s growing up so fast. He looked so cute with it all cut off short. With it long, he looks like a teenager, ugh."

I laughed." Deb…news flash for ya, he is a teenager."

She smiled grimly. "Well, nothing’s going to happen today that’s for sure" we both looked back at Shaun who was still rocking and shaking his head.

"O.K. Shaun, no haircut today. Let’s go for a walk." Deb said smiling at him.

Shaun got up and walked towards us. I stared at him for a quick minute. Yes, he’d look great when I was finished with him, I thought to myself. We just had to get him in the chair. "Shaun, I can cut your hair next week. Mom will bring you in. I won’t cut it short either O.K.? I said smiling. "You’ll look fantastic for graduation. Maybe if you let me, I’ll even wash your hair before I cut it like some of the other boys have done when I cut their hair." Shaun gave me the hard stare for a full minute.

We said our goodbyes and they left. As I cleaned up for the day I reflected back on that first haircut for him. He looked pretty bad. I think it was the combination of my inability to really give him a thorough going over, and short hair just looked out of place on him. He had such a long neck, he looked like a bobblehead. I pretty much decided right then what type of cut I’d give him. If… Deb could get him back in here.

Deb appeared Wed. at 4:00 with a much calmer Shaun in tow. She smiled and they went and sat in the waiting chairs as I finished up my last customer of the day. Fortunately, he was one of my regulars and was only getting a trim. I was pretty sure if Shaun witnessed an induction cut, especially on a longer haired guy, I’d never see him in here again. This guy had a nice thick center parted style, Kind of reminiscent of the feathered styles of the 80’s. I finished him up, cashed him out, and closed the shade and locked the door. I walked over to Shaun and Deb and greeted them warmly. "Well, Shaun, I guess you’ve decided to take me up on the trim I promised you. Is that why you’re here?"

Deb smiled, "Pete, Shaun is very curious today. I think he wants you to wash his hair, then trim it. Is that what you want Shaun?" she said, turning to address him.

Shaun started typing on his tablet. ‘Wash…cut’. Was what I saw him type. He then gave me the hard stare.

"I can do that for you if you want, sure. How about if you walk over and sit in that chair for me then?" I said, pointing to the wash station chair.

I was excited for him to experience something new, eager to see his reaction. "You understand that we will be trimming your hair after we wash it, right Shaun?" I asked as he sat down. "I want you to look handsome for graduation, O.K.?" I wasn’t going to let him get out without a good trimming today if I could help it.

Shaun typed ‘long hair!’ in big bold letters with an exclamation point after them.

I sighed "Yes, O.K. we’ll leave it long, but it has to be trimmed, O.K.?"

Shaun hit the thumbs up icon.

I carefully walked him through all the steps that we were going to do for washing his hair, confirming with him that he was O.K. with all of it. He nodded yes. I didn’t want him jumping up with a wet mop and bobbing and weaving all around the shop.

"O.K., lean back and rest your neck back here and we’ll get started." I indicated the neck rest as I positioned his head and pulled all that luscious hair hanging off his nape so it was in the sink.

I talked first telling him step by step what he was going to experience as I adjusted the water temp.

Shaun sighed, closing his eyes as I started wetting his baby mane. I worked a dollop of shampoo into the lush locks. I sighed too. I loved the touch time on a lush thick mop like this. I always took a moment to fantasize whet it would be like, sitting the client back in the chair, blow drying his mop to perfection, then taking the clippers to it and giving him a surprise #1 butch. (We barbers have fantasies too ya know)

Since he was totally relaxed, I double conditioned him just to prolong the touch time. I loved the feel of the long locks slipping through my fingers as I gently massaged his head. Wow. I could tell he liked it to. I got several low moans from him.

Deb, quietly spoke words of encouragement to him the whole time too. I could see she was surprised, and pleased, at how he was acting.

I got a towel around his head and leaned him back up after the rinse off. I gently towel dried him as best as I could. Shaun smiled as he walked back to the big barber chair and sat down.

I caped him up, finished with the towel, and brushed the lush mop out. Oh, my. Now just damp, it was solidly on his shoulders on the sides, a bit longer in back, and bangs down to his chin.

I pushed his fringe to the side a bit so he could at least see me out of one eye. "O.K. Shaun, here’s what I’m going to do.

"I know you want it long. I’m going to trim the fringe a bit so it isn’t hanging in your mouth, cut the sides to the bottom of your ears, and leave the back a little longer than the sides. Sound O.K.?" I asked.

Deb had switched the tablet out for his fidget belt since he had the cape on. He immediately started working the belt furiously, and squirming a bit. I touched his shoulder. It’ll still be long, just neatly trimmed, don’t worry. Deb was talking softly reassuring him it would still be long also.

I turned him away from the mirror to face Deb. I’d decided to start in back, trimming the fringe last, in case he got too worked up about the shorter length.

I snipped my way across the back lopping off better than 3 inches of thick bulk. I wanted it still decently long to balance out his long neck line. I did a bit of careful layering, then quickly shaved the neck fuzzies with the peanut clippers. So far, so good. He’d only wiggled a couple of times for that. Good thing he couldn’t see the small pile of thick locks now at my feet.

I gave him a deep horse shoe parting, and clipped his bangs together out of the way, but not up on top of his head. I started snipping on his right side, a bit below his hear. I wanted it solidly covering his ear by the time I finished layering, and it was fully dry. I didn’t want to get caught lying to the poor kid. I knew I had to work quick, I still had the other side to do. I tried to take the cut locks and drop most of them back over his shoulders towards me. I only let a few small snipping’s fall in his lap.

After moving to his left side, and finishing that, I did a bit of careful blending of the sides into the longer back. Hmm, this was turning out great so far. It was mostly dry now and looked amazing, nice and thick, but well layered so that it lay perfectly. God, he was a handsome kid! And man, could he grow hair, wow.

Now for the tough part, I wanted to trim the fringe to about the tip of his nose, that would require snipping off 3 to 4 inches of the fringe. I unclipped it, and combed it all down straight. God, I hated to cut into it. I had a momentary flash of how good he might look with a nice thick shoulder length bob. His hair texture was perfect for one. He’d never be able to maintain one though. Oh, well.

I quickly snipped across just below his nose. 3 plus solid inches of bulk thudding into his lap. If he was going to freak, it would be now I thought. Shaun started madly manipulating his belt, slowly rocking, giving a slight moan.
I waited a couple of minutes for him to settle down. Combing his fringe a couple of different ways, telling him how nice and long it still was.

When he’d settled a bit, I quickly did a bit of layering to remove the bluntness.

I was pretty much done now, I just wanted to nip his fuzzy sideburns to square them up and give him an overall nice finish. I used the peanut clippers again for this. Shaun cringed a bit and giggled softly but stopped squirming when I finished.

I turned him to face the mirror. "Now, I’m going to show you how to brush this so it looks fantastic on you, O.K.?" I said, pushing his thick fringe to the side so he could see himself.

I showed him how to part it, and then I brushed the top over to the side, starting back near his crown.

Then, after the fringe had been brushed over to the side, I brushed the sides back just a bit. This revealed just the tip of his ears. I got out my favorite crème, taking a dab and warming it in my palms, I worked it into his fringe. I brushed everything again. His fringe stayed back, just above his right eye.

"There Shaun, you are one handsome looking dude." I spoke. "And it’s still nice and long" I fluffed my hand into the plush locks hanging off his nape. "Just like you wanted. Do you like it?" He paused with the figit belt for a few seconds. Studying himself in the big mirror. He started tugging at the cape.

"Wait, wait, Shaun, I chirped. I just have one more little thing to finish. I have to square off the sideburns. You don’t want to look shaggy, do you?" I quickly used the peanut clippers on those.

I handed him my soft bristle brush that I use to brush everything down when I’m finished. He massaged it and touched every surface of it carefully. All we have to do is brush the tiny hairs off you with that and we’re done. Can I use the brush on you?"

He gingerly handed it to me. I carefully brushed him down all over. He shook his head and that thick fringe fell away perfectly. I gave him a lesson in brushing it, showing Deb too. "Now Shaun, if you can’t keep it brushed and neat, Mom is going to bring you back in for a short summer cut. I know you’ll do you best though. You like it like this don’t you?"

Shaun looked in the big mirror again and cracked a small smile. I’d come to know that the slight smile was Shaun’s best effort when he liked something. That was all the gratification I needed. I turned the chair to face Deb as I uncapped him.

"Well Mom, what do you think?" Shaun gave his mom that soul piercing stare. Their silent language at work.

Deb didn’t say anything. Finally, she stood and walked over to the chair. They were still lock eyed.

Oh, honey, you look amazing. Do you like it?" I noticed her eyes getting a bit moist. "My baby boy is growing up Pete."

"Yes, yes he is" I murmured. "He’s growing into a VERY handsome young man."

I smiled, "Does this meet with your approval then? It’s still quite a bit longer than the short cut I gave him way back when." I chuckled, gently finger combing the plush thick locks on the back of his head.

Deb smiled. "I guess we can try it. He’ll have to keep it brushed and neat though." She replied. Staring intently at Shaun.

"O.K. Shaun, my man. We’re done. "I patted him on the shoulder. You’re all set for graduation. If you have trouble styling it, come on back in on graduation day and I’ll help you. I want you to look perfect." I said smiling warmly at him. He stood, carefully climbing off the chair. Running his fingers into the thick locks in back. The slight smiled appeared for a few seconds again. God he was a handsome kid. He could model if they wanted him to. He was going to be a big broad shouldered strapping man someday.

As Shaun walked past me up to the front, Deb sighed, wiping a tear away. "He looks so much like his dad right now it hurts, Pete."

‘You should share that thought with him. I bet he’d like to know that." I replied quietly.

‘Yes, I think will. Thank you, Pete. I love it when he leaves here happy."

"My pleasure Deb." I replied. "And this ones on the house. Consider it a graduation gift, of sorts. And I mean it, bring him in on that day if you need to."

"Thank you so much." She said smiling and holding the door for Shaun. He was shaking his head, no doubt getting the feeling of his shorter locks. Hands furiously working his figit belt.

As the door closed, I sighed. Thinking back over the last hour, I pondered what might have happened if they’d been using a different barber. Would he have complied with Debs original request of shearing Shaun down sinfully short? I was glad I was his barber. Shaun’s life was monumentally difficult enough. The least I could do was make sure he liked how he looked. I kind of liked that he had a bit of a challenge, keeping it brushed and neat, and could at least look like the rest of the teenage boys he so desperately wanted to befriend.

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