The Haircut

 Recently someone who’d not seen me in a long time remarked, “You have really long hair!”

He was right. My hair stretches far down my back. Exactly how far, I’m not sure because I can’t twist around far enough to see it in a mirror.

If I fancy myself to be a storyteller, there ought to be a story in why my hair has become so long. And there is.

On occasion, I have told false stories meant to explain it. “I’m going to keep growing it until the world becomes a better place” is one of those tall tales.

But the true story is actually about a friendship lost.

The last time I got a haircut was in October 2021, and a friend went with me on the outing. We’d researched the barber; his shop was right next door to a cafe in a nearby town where we were in the habit of going every week or so for coffee.

In retrospect, I’m not sure either of us knew why we we were hanging out that often. Maybe it was because neither of us wanted to feel as confined and isolated as Covid had forced us to be. We would spend hours together, talking and sharing our life stories.

Anyway, we decided to make this particular outing that October day an adventure, sort of a fantasy. 

My friend is a very beautiful woman. She has the bluest eyes, an easy smile, and a mind that travels along similar paths as mine.

Finding fellow travelers on that path is never easy for me. We’d once worked together long ago and had been reunited by mutual friends a few months back.

On this day she agreed to pretend we were a couple. To be fair, that was my idea, not hers.

The barber was a wise old black man with wonderful stories of his own. He came from the South and had a twinkle in his eye. “So you two are related?” he asked. “Yes,” she nodded but he could probably tell she was pretending.

Lying is not an easy thing for an honest person to do. But it can be fun when it is harmless.

At one point the barber asked me how short to cut the top and I deferred to my friend. “She’s in charge,” I said and the man smiled. She came over and ran her fingers gently through my hair. That was the only time she ever did that.

“About this long,” she said.

The barber liked us. It was easy to tell he was curious about our relationship but he didn’t ask any more questions. When he was finished, I paid him in cash including a large tip. 

I never have gone back to that place or had another haircut. And I’ve not seen that lovely friend in a long, long time, either. You could say we’ve since returned to going our very separate ways.

I’m not sure this makes any sense at all but that’s the true story of why I let my hair keep growing. You see, I’m still holding onto the memory of my very last haircut.

LINKS:

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