Cutting ties by Manny

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I found Jimmy collapsed on his bed, lethargic and in a mega-funk.

"She’s gone," Jimmy wept. "Walked out on me. And, she really told me off as she strode out the door. She said I was the biggest loser EVER."

He relapsed into muffled sobs, nursing his wounded pride.

I expected a scene like this, as Jimmy tended towards the dramatic.

Sitting beside him on the bed, I began to console him by tenderly stroking his mane of glistening brown locks streaked with natural golden highlights.

"You are NOT a loser," I said firmly. "In fact, you are a big WINNER with Beth’s departure. She was and is a toxic person. You are much better without her."

I continued manipulating Jimmy’s beautiful, long hair.

He turned to look at me and crack a small, hopeful smile through the tearful face.

"You’re such a friend, a true friend," he said, shyly. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

I pushed Jimmy’s voluminous forelock away from his crystal blue eyes.

"Promise me you are not going to pine away for Beth!" I said.

Jimmy hesitated a bit before say, "I promise. She’s in the past. Leaving the way she did is actually helping me get over the break-up. The way she bad-mouthed me, well, I wouldn’t have her back. I’ve cut her off, completely!"

Jimmy mustered up a convincing bravado. Maybe it was true, maybe it was just wishful thinking.

"Good! That’s healthy," I replied, encouragingly.

Jimmy sat up for the first time. His lovely hair danced around his shoulders. The soft waves and body made it look exquisite, like the sexy longhaired hero on the cover of a ladies’ romance novel.

Beth was a beautician, and during their three-year relationship had transformed Jimmy’s locks from a standard short-back-and-sides haircut to the lengthy tresses that were so striking.

"Cutting Beth off completely is the right thing to do. Delete her from your phone. Purge the photos of her too," I advised.

Then, I added, "Oh, and there’s something else that needs cutting off…all this hair!" I reached over again and pushed it away from Jimmy’s handsome face. "The way Beth transformed your locks needs immediate, dramatic reversing. Come on, get dressed. I’m taking you to the barber shop."

Jimmy sat frozen in place with a stupefied look on his face.

I could tell he had not been prepared for the suggestion.

He ran both of his hands through his hair, holding it back from his face, as if savoring the silken feel for a final time.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the barber," Jimmy said, in a slow and halting manner.

He continued pawing at his long hair, as if torn by the idea of cutting off what had been his trademark tresses for some time.

Eventually, he agreed with me.

"Yes, you’re right," Jimmy admitted. "This long hair is all Beth’s doing. She’s very fond of it…was fond of it, I guess I should say."

He got up and looked in the mirror; then he began brushing his hair. Slowly, feelingly…obviously still weighing its fate.

Finally, Jimmy said in a decisive tone, "Yes, take me to the barber shop…it needs to come off. The big chop. I’m ready for it…. I think I am, at least."

My groin surged with delight. To see Jimmy caped, head bowed and clippers sending his beautiful hair to the barber’s feet….that would be a real fantasy come true.

"You won’t regret it," I said, moving to stand directly behind him.

I pawed at the lush tresses that dangled past his shoulders. "All this long hair….shorn off, short. Very short! The fast-feed electric hair clippers moving tight, up the back."

Jimmy blinked blankly, forlornly, still staring at himself in the mirror.

Then, he turned around to face me.

Impulsively, I gave him a quick peck on the lips.

He stood passively, neither accepting nor rejecting my spontaneous advance.

I kissed his lips a second time, and this time Jimmy responded in an accepting, but tentative, manner.

"You’re so handsome," I murmured.

Jimmy blushed; there was no denying he drank in my praise.

Then, to my surprise, he asked me, "Are you still partial to flattops?"

My eyes flashed with delight.

His shy smile broadened.

"Oh, yes! Shaved sides and back - and a deep, plush top!" I exclaimed. "You have the perfect hair for a flattop!"

Jimmy played with his locks in a coy way, smiling at me, invitingly.

"Then, that’s how I want the barber to cut my hair," he replied. "A flattop just to please you! You will take me to the barber, and you will do all the talking. All this falling away in sheaves as I say my final farewell to Beth and her handiwork that was years in the making…."

It was Jimmy’s turned to take me into his embrace and kiss me passionately. I was like putty in his arms.

"Thanks for coming to cheer me up, friend," Jimmy said, toying with my fussy businesscut.

I was torn between wanting the passion of the moment to continue and wanting to hustle him straightaway to the barber shop.

"My sweet Jimmy, sitting in the big barber chair, all caped up and head bowed while the clippers start their work on these pretty tresses," I teased. "You will look fantastic with a flattop."

"Take me there, now!" Jimmy insisted, almost giddy with anticipation.

We jumped into the car and headed to the barber shop.

As I drove, Jimmy studied himself in the visor’s pulldown mirror.

"I hope you’re not getting cold feet," I remarked.

"It’ll be strange watching this all come off," Jimmy murmured, "and exciting. But, tonight, laying a practically bald head on the pillow instead of these comforting soft locks. I’ll feel naked…alone."

"You won’t be alone," I said with a twinkle in my eye.

Jimmy gave me one of those shy, alluring smiles. His eyes sparkled.

"I knew you’d say that," he laughed quietly as he reached over and stroked my leg.

We pulled up to Chester’s Barber Shop. It was a stand-alone building painted white and trimmed in navy blue. It had a simple, no-nonsense look that screamed out BARBER SHOP! THE PLACE WHERE REAL MEN GET SIMPLE, PRACTICAL HAIRCUTS FOR REASONABLE PRICES!

"So, this is it?" Jimmy commented with a bit of shakiness in his voice.

"Yep! The big chop is imminent, Buddy!" I exclaimed.

He sat, almost frozen in the car.

"Come on, let’s get this over with," I persisted.

Finally, and in silence he exited the car.

I led Jimmy into the place of execution, where girly hairstyles were dispatched to the dustbin.

"Hello, Cal!" I called out as we entered. "This is my friend Jimmy."

"I hope he’s here for a haircut," Cal replied, to the approving laughs of all the other men in the shop.

Jimmy blushed, fully embarrassed.

"Come on, Princess, over here," Cal called, patting the olive green upholstery of his big Koken barber chair. "This throne awaits you!"

Jimmy walked over quickly and eased into the comfy chair that was facing a broad mirrored span above a counter full of cutting devices and other barbering implements. He looked so out of place with his cultivated tresses.

"First time in a barber shop?" Cal asked as he snapped open the cape and cast it with dexterity.

The billowing white cotton floated down like a cloud, enveloping Jimmy.

"No, sir. But, it’s been a while," Jimmy replied eyeing the barber’s professional white tunic that buttoned at the shoulder.

Cal fumbled with the glossy tresses, as he worked to secure the cape in place with a big metal clip.

"That’s for sure! There’s a lot of growth up here," the barber commented.

Cal locked his eye on his prey. "So, what’ll it be?"

I could tell Jimmy was struggling to get the instruction out, but resisted stepping in to speed the transformation along.

"Well, uh…a, uh," he stammered, before blurting out, "a flattop!"

Cal smiled broadly. "Oh, so a BIG change. No one is going to be calling you princess when your stride out of here looking like a decorated marine! No, sir!"

"Shaved sides and back, but I want the top left plush," Jimmy clarified.

"Perhaps just a touch of a landing strip?" Cal countered.

"No, sir, a plush top, please," Jimmy insisted.

Cal did not reply, and I felt a bit antsy, fearing that Jimmy might end up with an unwanted strip on top and feeling bummed. Poor guy…he’d already been through so much.

"Where to start?" Cal commented, snapping a set of shears open and shut a few times.

Then, he thrust them into the nape and began whacking off the length in back.

Jimmy cringed a bit as the first six-inch clumps fell to the floor. A long, slender neck emerged as the locks fell away. It was amazing to see how much hair accumulated at the barber’s feet with just the first two or three snips!

"Shaved to zero, up the back?" the barber asked, confirming Jimmy’s instruction as he reached for the clippers. "Or lather shaved, for a smooth feel and shiny look?"

"Shaved, why not? But, the top, left plush," Jimmy replied, again emphasizing the point as the barber forcefully made him bow his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard the first time," Cal replied a bit caustically.

The barber seized a huge set of Oster balding clippers, and the shearing machine roared to life. Cal pushed Jimmy’s head forward, and the divestiture of Beth’s handiwork began in earnest.

The first drive up the back was unforgiving. Mounds of hair cascaded to the checked linoleum floor of the barber shop in a seemingly endless torrent.

"How you doing, Buddy?" I asked from the waiting area.

"No turning back now," Jimmy replied, forcing a small laugh while still staring into the expansive white cloth covering his lap.

Cal quickly cleared the back of hair and had Jimmy sit up straight.

The back of his head looked so odd….the virgin white scalp in back, framed on each side with a flow of shimmering mahogany.

Cal combed the long locks forward, so that they completely covered Jimmy’s face.

He swapped the clippers for the scissors once again.

"Let’s get rid of this heavy curtain," the barber quipped, bringing the eager shears toward the massive flow.

The sound of the shears being primed filled the room, and all the men’s eyes were locked on Jimmy’s forelock.

"Nice and short," the barber said, as he thrust the shears into the veil of hair and brought them high up, VERY high up, near the hairline.

SNIP, SNIP, SNIP!!!

Long shanks of mahogany fell, uncovering Jimmy’s face. The pristine white cape was almost instantly covered in cut hair. They veil of hair was GONE!

Jimmy gasped, as the brutal takedown of his forelock unfolded.

He was left with very truncated, stubby bangs.

"Oh, Jimmy!" I exclaimed. "How about leaving it just like that?!"

The shop roared with laughter at my poor friend’s expense.

"We could," Cal commented, joining in the fun. "Bald in back, tresses over the ears and very short ‘little boy bangs’ in front. A bit of everything!"

Jimmy reached from under the cape and seized a prime lock that lay forlorn and quite intact in his lap.

Then, with a bit of a dramatic flourish, he hurled it to the floor and ordered the barber, "Keep cutting! A flattop or bust, for me!"

"Changed your mind about the landing strip yet?" Cal teased. "You can’t look like a marine with a plush pretty boy flattop."

"Hmmmmm, I’m warming to the idea," Jimmy commented casually.

It was hard to tell whether he was serious or teasing.

Jimmy continued, "Ask me again, later."

Cal resumed with the clippers and quickly stripped both sides of Jimmy’s head.

His ears, which had been covered for years, were now on prominent display, sticking out rather awkwardly.

"You’ll hear better without those ear muffs on," Cal joked as he tidied around them, making sure everything had been shaved down to the scalp.

Only a patch of length remained on top. The white cape had all but disappeared under the mounds of cut hair.

"I’m going to give you that plush top you asked for," Cal said. "Then, you can decide if you want me to take it down...and down…and down…till you end up with a spiffy landing strip."

With the comb and clippers, Cal began removing the growth from and then flattening Jimmy’s top.

Even though his remaining hair was now very short, it still appeared thick and glossy. The length did not diminish the beauty of Jimmy’s hair one bit.

Jimmy squirmed in the chair, causing the barber to admonish him, "Sit still!"

Cal added, to emphasize the point, "Sit still or you’ll end up with a landing strip whether you wanted one or not!"

Jimmy watched the barber intently in the mirror as the leveling of his top went on at great length. In fact, it seemed like Cal was taking more time with the remaining 5% of Jimmy’s hair than he’d taken sending the 95% to the floor.

"How are you liking my new look?" Jimmy asked me.

"So manly! Such a stud," I replied, making him smile in the glow of praise.

Cal took a duster and whisked about, adding to Jimmy’s smiles and blushes.

"Very handsome! So much better than the princess look," the barber crowed, admiring the flattop he’d crafted.

I got up so that I could examine Jimmy’s new look more closely.

The inch and a quarter plush top glistened with health and shimmered with beauty.

"This is quite a top," I said, casually stroking the soft but erect strands.

"What do you say, pretty boy? Shall I complete your transformation?" the barber asked, itching to take the top down toward the wood.

"Well, I like it the way it is," Jimmy replied, a bit defensively.

Then Jimmy asked me, "What do you think?"

As much as I liked Jimmy’s new look, I was itching to see him stripped of the plush pelt that glistened like a Hollywood marquis.

"Perhaps a tad shorter?" I suggested.

The barber beamed. He snapped on the clippers as if the decision had already been made.

Jimmy gave me a sort of pouty look, but eked out, "Okay, just a bit."

Off came another quarter of an inch! That doesn’t sound like much, but at such a short length, it made a dramatic impact. One fifth of the length came off!

Jimmy’s eyes were wide with a sort of horrified excitement. I could see that he was grasping the arms of the barber chair tightly, to steady himself, beneath the cape.

"More?" the barber asked me, considering me to be the ultimate decision maker.

"I think so," I answered. "Yes, go for it!"

In a flash, he plowed the clippers back into the top, this time taking it down by another half inch!

Jimmy was beginning to look positively military-like. The plush pretty boy top was a thing of the past.

There was a pause in the cutting as we admired Jimmy’s new fierce look.

Then, my caped friend who was covered in cut hair, cleared his throat and announced, "Well, since I’ve come this far…drum roll…give me a landing strip!"

"You’re the boss!" Cal exclaimed.

The clippers were unleashed. As they grazed the top of Jimmy’s hair, he jolted in the chair.

"That felt awesome!" Jimmy yelped.

"Here, let me give you that thrill again," the barber replied, enlarging the width of the landing strip to double the original size with another swipe of the Osters.

Jimmy shivered with delight at the vibration of the naked metal teeth on his exposed, virgin scalp.

"It’s so dramatic!" I exclaimed, admiring the wide landing strip. "I love it!"

Unexpectedly, Cal turned to me and said, "Then, you’re next under the cape! It’s time to man-up like Jimmy here!"

My groin surged into high alert! My fussy little businesscut threatened!!

I looked at myself in the mirror and my anxiety level soared. It had been a lifelong fantasy…to give up my conventional, dreary look and go flat.

"Do it!" Jimmy piled on.

My heart pounded quickly. I so desperately wanted to say yes….

"Okay," I gulped.

That one word sent my stomach into churning anxiety and excitement.

I returned to the waiting area to stew, worry, fantasize, scheme and stress over my commitment to go flat for the first time ever.

It seemed like it took Cal forever to lather up the sides and scrape Jimmy clean. He prepped the area with warm, moist towels and then worked in copious amounts of steamy lather.

Jimmy groaned with delight as the razor was dragged over his virgin scalp.

"How about I razor your top, as well?" he suggested.

Jimmy nodded eagerly in agreement.

Finally, the cape came off. Mounds of cut hair were added to the piles already on the floor which surrounded the big enamel base of the barber chair.

Jimmy looked down in disbelief and murmured, "All that came off my head…."

"Just a few minutes ago you were prancing around like a little fairy with princess hair. Now look at you!" Cal exclaimed.

Jimmy turned to the mirror and smiled broadly while he felt his smoothly shaven back.

"Oh, this feels wonderful! So soft and satin-like," he said as he ran his hand up and down the naked scalp.

"And, this up here looks wonderful!" he added as he examined his strip.

Then Jimmy came over to me and almost pulled me out of the waiting area to the barber chair.

"Your turn," he chirped.

"I’m not sure about this," I stammered.

"You’ll love getting a flattop as much as I did," Jimmy replied, encouraging me. "And, you’ll love the result too!"

I needed to change my attitude. It was going to happen, and it was better that I enjoy it. Jimmy had set a good example, and the truth was that he had a lot more hair on the chopping block than I.

"If that’s the case, I want the full works! Just like Jimmy’s!" I declared boldly as I took a seat in Cal’s chair. "Landing strip, shaved sides and back, the full works."

"Awesome! Two transformations in one day," the barber chortled. "No more Mr. Boring Businesscut!"

The white cape billowed through the air; Cal secured it snuggly with his trusty metal clip.

My breathing felt constrained as he adjusted the cape even more tightly around my neck.

Cal brushed my fussy little businesscut into place. Then, he imitated my usual instruction, with an effected tone, "Just a trim today, Cal. I’ve got an important briefing to give tomorrow."

He snatched the shears and combed down my forelock. The four inches were the longest part of my hair and just covered my ears.

"No trim for you today! No sir," the barber mocked as he snapped the shears open and shut menacingly. "You’re getting a real man’s haircut!"

"Can I do the honors?" Jimmy piped up from the sidelines.

"What honors?" asked Cal.

"Whack off that forelock!" he replied.

Cal didn’t even consult me. He handed Jimmy the barber shears.

"Go ahead! Chop away at it," Cal said lightly, sounding quite amused.

Jimmy grasped my forelock, pulled it away from my eyes and held it possessively.

I blinked nervously.

Then he took the shears right to the hairline and in an instant sawed through the mass of captive hair. The shears clamped shut, and Jimmy took the forelock off very near the scalp!

"Whoa! You didn’t leave me much to work with, Buddy," the barber noted in a worried tone.

My stomach churned as I surveyed the damage of Jimmy’s assault with the shears.

"Looks like you’ll be getting a high ‘n tight. And, VERY tight, that is," the barber told me.

Jimmy sniggered and tossed my severed forelock onto the cape. I looked at it nostalgically.

Then, I forced myself to say, "I’ve always wanted an H ‘n T. Just was worried how it would go over in the office."

Cal snapped on the Osters and shoved my head forward.

"Well, you’ll find out soon enough," he laughed.

I felt the metal teeth of the balding clippers being driven tightly up the back of my head.

"Bye-bye businesscut," Jimmy laughed.

A cold blast of air-conditioning hit the newly exposed scalp, sending a shiver down my spine.

Cal was quick, stripping off all the growth from the back and the sides.

"I’ll want to hear about how the office reacts to your new look, pal," Cal said. "I hope you kick ass with your new, mean look. No mamby-pamby focus groups or listening sessions or you asking how you can improve the workplace. With an H ‘n T you’ll be a real boss -- a ‘get to work, or you’re fired’ attitude! You’ll get the office into real shape."

I sniggered at Cal’s musing. He was so right. It was time for me to reclaim the authority of the boss and make the worker-bees do what they were being paid to do - - work, produce!

"Your friend took the forelock off very short. It’s going to really limit what’s possible," Cal said apologetically, as he began taking the top down.

Shorter and shorter and shorter he took it. And, then, he hit the wood!

"Oh!" I gasped.

"Crazy fun! Right?" asked Jimmy from the waiting area.

"For sure," I said, suppressing a giggle from the tickles the naked teeth on the top of my head made.

As Cal kept clipping, I stared in the mirror, unable to recognize the new me. I smiled, thinking how the employees would react if I slapped some harsh production standards on them. ‘Get to work or get lost!’ I could hear myself bellowing out amid the frightened glances.

"You know, there’s almost nothing left up here," Cal began, "So I was thinking why not give you a shoe? Everything shaved clean except a trace of hair like a tiara, you know, in the shape of a horseshoe. It’s my favorite look for macho men."

"A shoe?!" I stammered.

"Say the word, and it’s as good as done," Cal replied.

I gripped the arms of the chair.

"Well, then, SHOE me!" I ordered him.

OMG - what was I doing? All because sweet little Jimmy put the pressure on me and then sabotaged my forelock.

"Why not go all the way? CHROMEDOME! I’d love to see you clean as a whistle. Bald!" Jimmy piped up from the waiting area,

"Really?" I asked, my heart pounding.

"Really! Just do it," Jimmy urged.

"Okay, then. BALD!" I announced.

"Shaved smooth," Cal confirmed. "A hairless wonder."

He reach for the moist, warm towels and began to prep my scalp for the straight razor.

I groaned with delight as he massaged in the lather. But, the real sensorial thrill came as he scraped my whole head clean, 100% free of hair. Each time Cal dragged the razor over my head, I shivered with delight.

"Usually, it’s guys with thinning hair and receding hairlines that adopt this look," Cal commented as he stroked my glistening scalp. "But, you had a full head of healthy, nice hair. It makes the bald-by-choice option extra-special, in my humble opinion. I admire men like that."

I smiled as I surveyed my new "style" (if one could call it that).

"Hair free," I murmured. "Cueball clean!"

Cal unfastened the big metal clip and carefully withdrew the cape.

"I never thought I’d see this day. You, BALD!" he laughed, pointing at my naked head. "And, Princess there, now looking like Prince Charming."

I handed Cal a $50 bill. "Keep the change, Buddy. You did great work today."

Jimmy crowed with delight as he stroked my clean head outside the shop. We were headed for so many new adventures with our new looks!

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