Mirror Image by Louie

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I had spent most of my life living near New York City. I enjoyed the city and was given the opportunity of attending many social functions including Broadway plays. As a youngster I remember going to see Annie . For some reason I became fascinated by Daddy Warbuck s completely bald head. I wondered at that time if some day I would become bald, I surely hoped so.

In my early twenties I married a wonderful girl by the name of Diane. It wasn t long before we had three lively young boys. I had started an Internet company that was doing somewhat well that I ran from our home.

As the boys were beginning to enter their teens we decided it would be best for the family if we moved to a more rural area. I wanted the boys to have more freedom and less pear pressure that they would have in the city. Also from an economic point of view it seemed the best thing do since the cost of living is so high around the City. We began searching for us a new place for us to move to. We found a great place in a small town outside Lancaster, PA. It was great that it was a rural area, but still close enough to the City, for those special weekend dates Diane and I liked to take.

I was in my mid thirties when we moved to PA. The boys had just finished their school year. Through all these years I had never lost my desire to be bald, but it didn t look like genetics was going to bless me with this wonderful attribute. I still had a full head of hair. Wanting to be bald was a secret that I had always kept to myself, though I spent many an hour contemplating the matter.

We really liked our new home and the rural atmosphere. For the first month we were very busy getting things set up. One day at dinner my wife wanted to know why I didn t wave to her as she passed me on the highway earlier in the day. I told her that I hadn t been on the highway earlier so it must have been someone else. She said whoever it was had a car just like ours and the person driving resembled me. I told her they always say we have some that looks like us in the this world. The subject was dropped and nothing else seemed to matter.

Due to moving and such it had been a while since I had cut my hair. I normally just had it in a businessman s cut. The town barbershop always seemed to be busy when I walked by, I mentally noted the hours that it was open and would go on my way. My wife normally didn t say too much about my hair, but she told me it was time for a cut. She also said now would be the time to change my style if I ever wanted to since no one except our immediate family knew me this way. I asked her if she had something in mind, she said only that she d like to see what I looked like with it shorter. She said a lot of men had short hair these days (like I hadn t noticed). My boys had also been after me to let them get their hair cut short like their new friends were going to. I told them I would need to think about it.

Anyway that was on a Monday. I decided I would be at the shop on Thursday morning as it opened so I wouldn t need to wait in line. In and out real fast.

On Thursday morning, I was at the shop as planned. I opened the door, the barber told me to have a seat. He then asked how Diane and the boys were doing? This caught me totally off guard. How did he know my wife s name and that I had boys? I just replied, fine, thank you for asking . He then placed a tissue around my neck and then covered me with his blue striped cape. He then asked when the boys were going to be in for their haircuts. I said probably a little later. This seemed really weird. Next, he said are you ready for the haircut? I thought, of course I was ready for a haircut, that s why I was there. I politely responded yes. I thought it was strange he wasn t asking me how I wanted it cut. I was confused by the situation so didn t think of telling him how to cut it. At that point he turned the chair away from the mirror. I heard the clippers start. All of a sudden I felt them go over the top of my head. I jumped and asked him what in hell are you doing? He said, Craig Anderson, I

I told him that I had never called him and that my name was not Craig, but Greg Andersen. I told him that we had just moved into town and that I had never been in his shop before. The barber at this point looked as confused as I was. The barber was about my age and had a great looking shaved head. At this point he kept running his hand back and forth across that shiny cranium. He then said that there is someone that looked identical to me that lived on the outskirts of town.

About this time, the door opened and in walked a man about my age with three boys about my son s ages. I looked at him and he looked at me. The barber was trying to figure this out and the boys were totally confused. This man and myself looked identical, it was like looking in a mirror except for the bald stripe down the middle of my head. It was like being in a twilight zone.

Finally the barber spoke up. Craig, I want you to meet Greg, your look alike. The barber told him about how the bald stripe got down the middle of my head. Craig started laughing, at that point so did I. We not only looked alike but had the same laugh. I told the barber to finish doing the job. He proceeded to take the clippers without an attachment over my head until all I had left was stubble. I told the barber that he had full filled a life long ambition of mine to be bald. The barber proceeded to put shaving cream on my head and scraped my noggin until it was smooth. He asked if I wanted a goatee. I told him to go for it. When he was finished he turned me to the mirror. I liked what I saw. I saw Craig through the mirror looking at me. I compared my look to how he looked and how I looked when I began that day. I liked the new look much better, but wondered what my wife would say. She did mention me getting a shorter haircut.

I asked Craig, what his wife s name was. He responded Diane, same as mine. Now it all made sense, except us looking alike.

I asked Craig if he cared if I hung around while he got his hair cut so I could talk to him. He said, I think we have a lot to talk about. I tried to pay the barber, but he wouldn t accept any pay and again apologized for the mistake.

I got down from the chair and Craig took my place. The barber asked Craig if he still wanted his and the boys heads shaved bald. Craig looked at me and said, yeah, I need to look just like my twin. Twin, I thought??? I looked over at Craig s boys. They were still confused why we looked so much alike. I thought I could see some resemblance to my boys in them. Was this coincidental or something more?

It wasn t long before Craig was a chromedome just like me. Two baldies with goatee, mirror images of each other.

Craig, sat down beside me as his oldest son got in the chair. As his hair was being pealed off, Craig said that we needed to talk. He asked if I had been adopted as a baby. I told him yes, but didn t know anything of my birth parents. He asked if I had been born on such a date and in such a location. I told him yes. He told me that he too had been adopted and was born on the same date and in the same place. Craig told me he had recently been trying to find out about his birth parents. He said he found out that his parents had been in an auto accident, that his father was pronounced dead at the scene, but the medical people had kept his mother alive long enough for their twins to be born. Craig said, Greg you are my identical twin brother. We looked at each other momentarily, hugged each other and began to cry. The barber had to quit cutting his sons hair until his own emotions got back in check.

We continued to talk until the barber finished shaving Craig s last son s head smooth. The barber had a digital camera and took several pictures of our reunion and our bald heads. The three boys left the shop.

Craig and I were just about ready to leave when the door opened. It was my three sons. My boys were completely shocked. I told them to sit down so I could explain it to them. Once they got over the shock of their Dad and another man looking identical, they wanted to know if they could have their heads shaved bald since I had shaved mine. I told them why not. In a few minutes Craig s boys returned. Come to find out these were the friends who said they were going to get their heads shaved and why my boys wanted to be like them.

We all sat down and waited for three more bald heads to join our ranks. Again, the barber took pictures of all of us. Craig and I gave our boys some money and told them to go swimming for a while so we could talk to our wives. The boys went on their way all rubbing each others smooth heads. A few moments ago friends, but now cousins.

We thought about playing jokes on our wives, but decided differently. When we walked out of the barbershop to our cars I discovered that Craig had a car identical to mine. It was Craig that my wife had seen that day on the highway and it was not wonder he didn t respond since he didn t know her.

I walked in the front door of our home and called my wife. When she appeared, she gasped when she saw my bald head. I asked her if this was short enough for her. She came over and rubbed it and looked at me again. She then stood back and told me that she loved it. I told her that I had let the boys get their heads shaved bald as well. She said she couldn t wait to see her bald boys.

I then explained the day s events and what had transpired. It was all so much to happen so fast. I told her that Craig had invited us over to his home for a barbeque that evening so that we could get acquainted.

It was really strange all the coincidences that had happened in our lives. Craig s last name was Anderson and mine was Andersen. We both had the same common interests including our fascination for wanting to be bald.

When I asked Craig why he decided to get his head shaved bald he told me that he had seen the King and I as a small boy and since that time wanted to be like Yul Brynner. I told him about me seeing Annie and wanting to be like Daddy Warbucks. We both laughed. Craig said his wife had seen a couple of guys with their heads shaved just before school let out. He said she wondered what Craig would look like with his head shaved. He said he mentioned to her that their boys had been after him to shave their heads for them. He said they decided to go to the barber and have them all done.

The boys loved being bald and asked if they could keep their baldies. After a week we went over to Craig s where he shaved us all smooth again and then I shaved my twin bald so we would keep looking alike.

Several years have passed since that blessed day and yes we are all still chromedomes. Craig is not only my brother, but had become my best buddy.

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