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Transformations

Sharon looked more closely at herself and picked up the mirror again to look at the back more closely.  It had been five days since Frank had administered her last shave, but that was not the problem.  The undercut simply was not noticeable.  It looked like a typical growing out bob on someone with medium thick hair, not Sharon’s thick mane which had been tamed by the high undercut.  Although the shallow angle that had defined the midpoint of her angled bob could still be discerned, it had lost its sharpness.  Even Frank had noted that it was getting a little long.

She decided that she had to persuade Gail that she should get her hair cut again. 
That summer had been a good one for the family.  Gail had gotten a substantial raise after her one year probation, and it had taken effect just last month, providing a welcome boost to the family’s finances.  Despite Gail’s strong penchant for frugality, Sharon thought she could persuade Gail to pay for the haircut if she could find just the right angle.

While these thought were going through her mind, Jen returned from her afternoon activities in the park.

“We won again, Sharon, and I got a home run” she announced with enthusiasm.  “And Billy said that I was going to let my hair grow out long.  I told him I wasn’t.  I don’t want it long.  Can I get a haircut.  It’s been a long time.  Can you tell Mom that I need to get a haircut?”  During this explosion of words Jen was getting out of her baseball uniform in order to take a shower, a ritual that Gail had given strict orders that she must follow after every game if she expected to be allowed to sit at the table with the rest of the family during dinner.  Jen thought it was an unreasonable requirement, but family pressure had finally won the day.
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Sharon, still deep in thought, almost didn’t register what Jen had said.  Finally it dawned on Sharon.  This was the justification she needed.  “How many home runs have you hit this summer?  It must be a lot.” 

“Four.  No, I thinks its five.”

“You must be the best on the team.  That’s great.  I’ll talk to Mom.  I think you do need a haircut.  Mom liked it a lot when you first got it and it is getting a little shaggy.  I think Mom will agree.  Take your shower and we’ll ask to her when she gets home.  Besides I’d like to get mine cut too.”

That evening at dinner, conversation was lively.  The twins had a lot to tell about their successes in the skateboard competition at the park.  Jen’s latest exploits on the baseball diamond received the attention due it.  Even Sharon’s enthusiasm about her discoveries concerning two colleges that she was interested in attending was greeted by an attentive audience. 

Neither Jen nor the twins could imagine not having Sharon at home.  The idea of her leaving was a strange idea, and not one that was welcomed.  In fact, these discussions were intended to help the family through the transition.

Finally, the conversation lagged and the boys were excused.  Uncharacteristically, Jen remained.  “Aren’t you going to ask her?”  Jen asked, finally breaking into a discussion between Gail and Sharon concerning what Sharon and Frank had in mind for the evening.

“Ok, Jen, I haven’t forgotten.” 

“Ask me about what Jen?”

“Getting her haircut Mom.  She and I both want to get haircuts.  Jen’s is really shaggy and you said that you really liked the way it looked when it was cut, and that you might want to have it cut that way for the fall.  Well Jen wants to keep it that way too.  And my cut is not looking right either.  I need to get it cut again.  So we both want to get haircuts, and I’m sure we can afford it.”

“Is that right Jen, you want to get you hair cut again the same way?

“Yeah, Mom.  I really liked it that way.  Billy said I’m beginning to look like a mophead, and that I was going to let it grow long.  Well, I’m not, and I want to keep it cut just like before.”

Gail cut off her sudden urge to laugh, coughed and cleared her throat.  Jen was taking notice of her young admirer, and his roundabout compliments.  “Well Jen, you are looking a little raggedly.  If Sharon is willing to take everyone in next week that will be OK.  I think the twins could use a haircut as well.”

“Alright.  Thanks Mom.  I think we can all go on Tuesday Morning.  You don’t have a game on Tuesday Morning do you Jen?”

“No, sometimes there is a soccer game thought.”

“Well you could miss that couldn’t you.”

“Sure.  We’re not really playing, just kicking the ball around.”

“That sound fine.  But this weekend, maybe Sunday afternoon, I would like to help you and Sharon do something about those eyebrows.  Sharon, you really need to do something about yours.  They are much too heavy for your face and that hairstyle.  I want to give you a much neater look.”

“OK, Mom, but can we talk about it later?  I have to get ready.   Frank is taking me to that free concert at the amphitheater.  You know, he really liked the way Jen looked and has been bugging me to do something with my eyebrows anyway.”

“He has?  I think I have a good idea.  Anyway we’ll talk about it late.  Go on and  have a good time.  I heard something about a jazz concert.  Is this it?”

“No, that’s next week.  This is a rock band.  I’ve never hear of them, but some of the kids say they’re good.  It going to be jammed.   We want to get there early.”

Later as they drove to the concert Sharon mentioned her success.  “Mom, said that she would pay for my haircut.  I’m taking Jen and the twins on Tuesday.”

“That’s great.  I’d go with you if I didn’t have to work.   How are you going to get it cut?  How about getting that style you showed me.”

“You mean a chilli bowl?  I don’t think so.  I’m not ready for that yet.  I’ve been happy with this style.  Maybe later.  It’s kind of wild.  I would like to try it sometime.  By the way, Mom wants to help me do something with my eyebrows.  She has something in mind for Jen too.  She thinks mine are too thick and dark for my face and this style.”

“She’s right.  You look like Groucho.”

“Hey!  Well you look like Harpo.”

“Who’s Harpo?”

“You know about Groucho but not Harpo?  He’s the one with a mop of curly hair who never speaks.”

“Yeah, I remember now.  I haven’t watched one of those old movies since I was 10.  I don’t think I’m quite that bad.”  He ran his hand through his unruly thatch of curly hair which he had neglected to get cut for the past month.

“Looks pretty bad to me.  Your barber will need those hedge trimmers you used to use for your Dad to get through it,” Sharon teased.

“It can’t be that bad.

“Well, you don’t really look like Harpo, but you could stand a haircut even more than me.”

“If you think I need it that bad, let’s make a deal.  You get a chilli bowl and I’ll get mine cut too.”

“Really?  How about a mohawk?  You could dye it dayglo orange”

“Come on, get real.”

“Alright, a nice short crewcut then.  It has to be a lot shorter than mine whatever it is.”
“Its a deal, you get a chilli and I’ll get a crewcut.”

“I haven’t agreed to any deal.  I think you would look good in a short crewcut.  I’ve told you that before.  Maybe a really close high and tight would do it.  I liked the way that looked on that kid at the barbershop.  If I ever get a chilli, then you get a high and tight like that.”

“I don’t know what ‘like that’ is.  I never saw it.”

“That’s OK, I’ll go with you and explain it to the barber.   That’s the deal.  If I get a chilli then I get to tell the barber exactly how to give you a high and tight.”

“I’ll buy that.  But I get to decide how high your chilli is cut!”

“No way, Jose!”  Sharon saw Frank’s grin telling her he wasn’t serious and was just trying to get her to react.  “You know the deal.  You have to take it or leave.  Anyway me getting a chilli is not on the schedule for Tuesday.”

“Since you’re not considering getting a chilli, I guess we don’t need to agree to a deal; but if you were, we would and  I would.” Frank tried to contain his laughter as Sharon worked to sort out the meaning of this statement.

“What?  Go through that again.  “We would and you would?  What’s going on in your brain?” Sharon giggled.  Frank enjoyed coming up with statements that were as obscure as he could make them.  This one was a mild example, and Sharon had figured it out about the time she had repeated it.  “I get it. You sort of agree to the deal.”

“Its simple.  There’s no reason for a deal yet.  If there were, we would make a deal and  I would accept your terms.”

“Well thanks for cluing me in.  So we do and we don’t have a deal.  Forget it.  Let’s go find a seat.”  They had arrived at the amphitheater and by luck Frank had found a parking spot on a nearby side street.  They headed hand in hand toward the entrance.  Sharon briefly reflected on this half in jest half serious conversation and realized that both she and Frank liked talking about getting their hair cut, and deciding how it should be done.  It seemed to run in the family.  Her final thought was ‘its fun’.

Sunday arrived and Sharon and Gail both slept later than usual.  Jen got up early along with the twins.  She wanted to wash her uniform, clean her shoes and oil her glove the way her coach had taught them.  Gail had purchased a small bottle of mink oil for her with admonitions to go easy with it.  The twins were engrossed in the Sunday morning cartoon features on television.

Gail and Sharon had promised the others to make a special brunch and Sharon began the process of fixing a large fruit bowl for them.  Gail had promised to fix waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries.  Hot chocolate in August was debated and hot chocolate won out despite the heat.  That Sunday began auspiciously.  Even cleanup afterwards was accomplished without any urging.  David exited the kitchen with an unexpected “That was really good Mom.  Can we have it again pretty soon?”  The sentiment was echoed by Gary. Gail agreed to the idea “I don’t see why not.  In a couple of weeks maybe.”

“Well why don’t we go upstairs and take care of those eyebrows girls.”

“What are you going to do Mom?” from Jen who wanted to have the same haircut again, but didn’t have much idea about the finer points of other aspects of her appearance.  She had seen Gail pluck her eyebrows, but Gail’s brows had been shaped for so many years, that there was rarely more than a very small number of stray hairs to attend to.

“I really liked the way you looked after your last haircut, so I thought I would help you keep that look a lot longer.  It will only take a few seconds.”  Gail looked in the vanity drawer where they kept some first aid items and other miscellaneous tubes and sprays.  There was some antibiotic jelly, anti-itch cream, bug repellant, and what Gail was seeking, a strong pain deadening burn ointment.  There was also a tube of cortisone cream used to treat a case of poison ivy Jen had contracted when she and Billy had decided to pull up some vines growing up the fence surrounding the baseball diamond at the park.

“I need to put this on and let it stay for a few minutes.   You too Sharon.  What do you think about a nice neat arch, not quite as thin as mine but a lot less thick than they are now?  You really do need to open up you eyes, especially with that hairstyle.  Your bangs already form a nice frame for your eyes, so your thick brows are overdoing it.”

“You don’t have to convince me Mom, I agree.  I just never go around to doing it.  I was afraid I would mess up.  You know that British fashion magazine that Laura is always talking about?  There was a special section in it that used one model for all the clothes.  I can’t remember her name, but she had no eyebrows and her eyes looked huge.  Laura thought she was really cool.  I think that is what gave me the idea for Jen.  It was in the back of my mind.  Frank liked Jen’s a lot and has been trying to get me to do something to mine.  Last Thursday he claimed I looked like Groucho.

“He was just putting you on to see if you would react.  He’s a pretty neat guy, Sharon.”

 “ Besides he likes you a lot.”  Jen chimed in.

“I didn’t get mad.  I said he looked like Harpo.  We were just having fun.  He wants me to get a chilli bowl cut and I said he should get a high and tight.”

“A chilli bowl?  I think I’ve seen that once.  It’s cut evenly all the way around and shaved up to the line.  Where did I see that?  Don’t some of the basketball players we’ve watched have their hair cut like that?  Have you seen it on girls?”

“Once.  You remember that first concert that we went to in June.  Some girl there had one.  Frank was really excited about it.  He found some more on a web site and showed them to me.  Some of them were pretty extreme, but I liked the way some of them looked.   He showed me one on a woman about your age Mom.  She had the biggest smile, and that haircut looked so cool on her.  I think she really liked it.”

“If you’re hinting that I should get one, thanks but no thanks.  I don’t think my boss could handle it.  She has sort of hinted that she thinks that my hair is too short as it is.  But we get along fine and that’s not an issue.  I’ve gotten lots of positive comments anyway.  I’m certainly not going to let it grow.  But it sounds interesting.  Are you considering getting one this time?”

“You would look really funny with long hair Mom.  I like it short like it is,” Jen said.

“Well, so do I and I’m not changing it.  Here, let me wipe of that greasy stuff.  Its been on long enough.”
 
“I don’t think so.  I want to keep this style for a while.  I’m not ready for another big change.  Maybe I’ll change my mind and try it next summer.”

Gail had retrieved her little hair remover machine.  She used it on her legs and underarms and was very satisfied with the result.  It sure beat regular shavings.  After the first few uses she had found that the initial pain (discomfort had been the term used in the advertising brochure) had diminished and now its use caused her what could actually be called minor discomfort.  The little rotating discs seemed to work very efficiently.  Her need to use it had diminished in frequency to no more often than every six weeks.

“I think everything is ready Jen.  Close your eyes and hold still.  This might hurt a little.  But it’ll be over very quickly.”  Jen closed her eyes, and Gail carefully made her eyebrow area taut with one hand.  Maneuvering carefully, she applied the little machine to the eyebrow area, clearing a path from the outer edge to the bridge of Jen’s nose.  Jen pulled back with a yelp.

“Ow, that hurts Mom.  What are you doing.”

“I cleaning up you eyebrows for you.  They’ll look good for a couple of months at least.  It about half done already.  Can you stand it just a little more?  I know you’ve pretty tough the way you keep playing when you’ve been hit.  By the way aren’t some special games starting soon?

“Go ahead.  Yeah, we’re starting the championship games this week, but they’re all in the daytime.”

“Hold still.”  Gail proceeded to treat the other eyebrow like the first.  “Almost done.  Just a little bit more.”  She checked her work and made a second pass over both brows to remove the last few missed hairs.  “There, all done except for a little cream.  Are you playing on Friday.  I have a day off coming for that weekend that I worked extra last month.  Everything is under control and I could easily take the day off.”  Gail smoothed some of the cortisone cream over Jen’s brow area, now perfectly smooth and hair free.  Removing the excess white cream, she surveyed the result. 
“That looks really good don’t you think Sharon?”

“Its great Mom.  You look teriffic Jen.  You need to be sure that Mom does that for you every month.”

“She won’t need it that often Sharon.  We just wait and see.”

“If it hurts this much every time, I don’t want to do it.”

“It won’t honey.  Next time you won’t feel much at all” Gail promised.

“Let’s get started with you Sharon.  Are you satisfied with the plan?”

“Its fine Mom, you can make them as thin as you like.”

Gail examined Sharon’s eyebrows and decided that she could make a very nice thin arch by removing hairs on the underside from the inner edge of her eyebrow to about two thirds of the way out and then removing some of  the top hairs to help emphasize the arch.  She decided to define the overall length of the brow and the top of the arch before reducing the thickness of the brow.  That was the easy part.

“I’m going to define the overall shape first for both eyebrows so they will be symmetrical, then I’ll work on giving them the right weight.  This is going to take a while, so be patient.”

Gail began to remove some stray hairs near the bridge of Sharon’s nose and to create a well defined start for the brows and to start the line a little further out to give a more open look.  Satisfied she began the delicate job of tweezing to define the line of the arch.  As Gail proceeded, the outline took shape and she began to work more rapidly to Sharon’s distress.

“Mom, could we take a break.  Its starting to hurt.”

“Sorry, honey I forgot how much it can hurt the first time.  And there’s some much to do.  Anyway its beginning to take shape.  Want to take a look?  Here, use this mirror,” handing Sharon a small hand mirror.

“Humm, I don’t see much change yet.  Well, maybe I do.  They’re cleaner here” pointing to the start of each brow.  And the curve is more defined at least on the top.”

“That’s right.  But there is a lot more to do to make a clean thin arch line and some of it will probably be more difficult that what I’ve done so far.  We’ll take a break any time you need it.  Maybe we should use some more of that skin pain stuff.”

“I think I can stand it if we take a lot of breaks.  Does it hurt this much everytime you do yours?”

“I hardly feel anything now.  After the first few times the sensation begins to reduce.  In a few years there is almost no feeling at all.  There’s not nearly as much to do the next time either, so it will be easier.”

Gail began again, quickly removing hairs from underneath.  This time she concentrated on the left brow, pleased to observe that an elegant arch was beginning to emerge.  It was not as thin as she thought it should be but she decided to let Sharon decide.  Sharon’s discomfort told her is was time to call a temporary hald anyway.

“Time to rest give it a rest Sharon.  But we’re making progress.  Want to see?”

Sharon examined the newly emergent eyebrow trying not to see the other one. 

“Oh, I like the way that looks.  Is that as thin as you’re going to go?  You can go thinner I think.”
The new look appealed to Sharon who had become intrigued by it after observing the positive improvement of the brow-less look on Jen, seeing it on various models in Laura’s magazine and seeing how Gail had used a very thin brow to call attention to her own large blue-green eyes.  Besides, she knew Frank would love it.

“Of course, I was hoping you might say that.  Do you think you would want them like mine?”  

Gail’s varied from barely an eighth of an inch to less than a sixteenth with a well-defined but not extreme arch.  She de-emphasized them further by applying a little gel and dusting them with powder.  She could then draw attention to her eyes with her judiciously applied eyeshadow.   Sharon looked more closely at Gail’s eyes.

“Will it look as good as you do.”

“You can’t help but look better than me.  I wouldn’t even try to compete with you.  You’re going to look super.”

“Oh, Mom you’re just saying that.  You’ve always looked the best.”

“No I’m not.  You and Jen are much better looking than most of the girls.  They have to do all sorts of things to try to make people think they are attractive.  You can do it without all that stuff.  I suppose an unusual haircut and different eyebrows does have an effect though.  Even if people do look at you because of those things, it’s what you actually do that really counts.  Look at Whoopie Goldberg.  Her appearance, that no brow look, got her some attention, but it was what she did that made her famous.  You can have fun with how you look and enjoy the way people like Frank respond to it, but what you’ve accomplished is what really counts.”

Gail was referring to the news from a local organization that they had awarded Sharon a small scholarship that would help when she entered college the following year.  Gail was extremely proud of Sharon’s accomplishments in high school.  Despite her early problems, Sharon had emerged as a determined and capable student.

“Anyway, let’s get this finished before Frank comes to pick you up.  I’ll make then nice and thin for you.  They will look even better after you get your hair cut”

Gail started on the other brow, intending to match them before reducing their thickness any further.  Sharon tried to remain stoic, but finally the discomfort got to her again and took another break, allowing Gail to apply the burn medicine again in the hope that it would reduce Sharon’s discomfort.  She looked at Sharon’s brows which appeared to be darker than her hair.  She wished she could make them lighter, but decided to leave the idea of bleaching them to another time. 

“It’s almost done.  I need to thin them just a little more.”    She began the final process carefully tweezing out hairs to reduce the line to a thickness similar to her own.  Finishing the left brow she examined it and was satisfied with the result.  Sharon’s brows were naturally fairly high above he eyes, and had a natural arch.  Gail was emphasizing both characteristics.  She had increased the space between Sharon’s brows by a significant amount, which raised the beginning point.  She had then removed hairs underneath to create a high and wide arch that tapered to a very fine line fading to nothing as it curved downward.  The center of the arch was near the outer edge of Sharon’s eye.  The brow ended at a higher point than it began.  The effect was to give an very open and faintly surprised look that had a pleasing effect.  She thought the look was a good one and that Sharon would be pleased.  She began the right brow, careful to match it to the left.  Finally finished, the cleaned the brow and applied a bit of the cortisone cream to help reduce the redness that was now apparent.  She looked at Sharon from several angles.

“It done, and its looks great.  It really emphasizes your eyes.  You’re going to like it.”  She handed Sharon the mirror.

Sharon examined the face that she saw in the mirror with its high and thin arched brows, and attention getting hazel eyes.  Her surprise at her transformation was obvious, but it quickly turned into approval.

“Oh, wow.  Is that really me?   I want to see it in the big mirror in the bathroom.”  She jumped up and headed to the hall bathroom that she shared with Jen and the twins.  It had a large window which provided good lighting during the day.  She looked at herself from as far back as she could get and then progressively closer.  Unable to turn hr head far enough to see how she looked in partial profile she grabbed a large hand mirror from a drawer.  Gail had followed her and smiled broadly at Sharon’s enthusiasm.

“I really love it Mom.  You should have got me to do it a long time ago.”  Gail had volunteered to help her two years earlier, but Sharon was still in her ‘I want it natural’ phase and Gail didn’t push it.

“I’ll put a little makeup on the area to hide the redness for tonight.  It may be a little swollen too.  It will look even better tomorrow.”

“I’ll bet Frank will love it.  Can you help me decide on my eyeshadow?”  Sharon used even less makeup than Gail, but now she realized she could greatly enhance her new look with a little help.

“Absolutely.  You’ll only need a little, just enough to draw attention to your eyes.  Your bangs are going to cover your brows, which is OK, but maybe for tonight we can give them a little lift and curl so Frank will be sure to notice your new look.  You know you might want to consider short bangs.  That way you new look will be noticeable.   Your eyes will get more attention.  Of course bangs to the top of your brows can do the same thing.”

They began this project, Gail giving a few well chosen bits of advice about colors, how much, extent,  and other aspects.  Sharon offered her own thoughts and preferences and Gail would agree but offer subtle variations that usually met with Sharon’s approval.  Gair used the same technique to lighten Sharon’s now greatly diminished brows that she used on her own.  The resulting much lighter brows and subtle makeup drew attention to her eyes, which now looked larger, far more noticeable, and much brighter. 

Finally finished, Sharon examined what had been done in amazed approval.  She could hardly believe the wide-eyed elfin look that had emerged.  With her too long bangs now curled so that they were above her new brows, she stared at the big eyed girl with the fascinating look that was somehow both innocent and a little exotic.  She would never have believed that her eyes could appear so expressive in her small angular face with its high cheek bones.

“Mom, how did you know how to do this so well?  I can’t believe how good it looks.  It’s really awesome.  Did you know it would turn out like this?”

Indeed the transformation was striking, even to Gail.  She had know there was a lot of potential, but could only guess about the final results.

“I had an idea it would be good, but it turned out even better than I had expected.  You look elegantly simple and simply elegant.  Its not just your brows, although that plays a big part, but some of the little touches are important too.  But even without any makeup except some lipstick you’re going to make an impression.   Your eyes appear large and bright, and they will seem even larger, more open and more noticible when you get your lashes trimmed.”

“I can’t wait until Frank sees it.  He’ll be blown away.”

She and Frank had agreed that since a new haircut was going to happen soon that they would skip Saturday Morning’s regular feature of Frank shaving Sharon’s undercut nape.  Feeling it, she was excited about the prospect of having it clippered and shaved and showing off her new look.  She had lost any trepidation about the trimming of her lashes requested by Gail.  She had no futher doubts about Gail’s judgement.  She knew the haircut would make the look even better, but had not decided how short to have Jimmy cut her bangs.  She would think about it later.  Now she just wanted to revel in her new look.  She headed downstairs and outside, where Jen and Billy were deeply engrossed in a game of Clue, their most recent passtime of choice when there was no major athletic event in progess.
“Hey Jen, we’re done.”

Jen, who had exhibited little interest in these proceedings, looked up to see what Sharon was talking about.

“You look different.”

“I know that!  How do you like it?”  Sharon’s exasperation at Jen’s indifference to anything having to do with makeup and fashion was exceeded only by her worry that Jen would begin to take an active interest in them.  Sharon was convinced that the tomboyish and athletic Jen was going to blossom into another Flojo, someone Jen had been fascinated by even when she was only 9 years old and was riveted to the TV when Jlojo was running in the Olympics.

Jen looked at her again.  “It’s like...” and she named a Star Trek character.  “It kind of neat.  I like it.”

Sharon couldn’t decide whether to be insulted or flattered.  “Well thanks, I guess.”

Billy, who had been concentrating on his next move looked up and inspected Sharon at some length.  “You look really cool.”

Sharon was mollified by this obviously sincere compliment.  “Thanks Billy.  I’m glade you like it.”

“Hey Sharon, Jen said you guys are going to the barbershop Tuesday.  Can I go with you?  I was going to get a haircut tomorrow, but I can wait and go with you guys.  Mother said I could get it shaved like Michael Jorden.  And anyway I want to see Jen get her haircut.”  Billy no longer referred to his Mother as ‘Mom”, having graduated to the more grown up sound of ‘Mother.’

“Sure Billy.  You’re really going to get it cut like that?”  Sharon thought that this was going to be quite an experience with 5 different haircuts being given.

Billy shared the warm brown skin and curley hair of his Mother and the blond hair of his Father.  He was the product of a “blended” family.  Brenda, his calm and self-assured Mother was liked by everyone, and his friendly and warmhearted father seemed always to be helping someone in the neighborhood fix something.  Billy mirrored them in many ways. He was unassuming, easy-going and very capable.  He had lobbied long and hard to be able to emulate his basketball idol, and finally Brenda had given in, when, in a phone conversation with Gail in which she had mentioned Billy’s desire to get a ‘Michael Jordan’, Gail had said “Why not Brenda?  Lots of kids his age do.  I think it’s kind of cute.  Besides it’s summer and it’ll grow out in no time.”  So Brenda had given in.

“We’ll be going about 9:30.  Can you get her            e by then?”

“No sweat.  I always get up early anyway.”
“Ok, see you guys later.” 

Frank would be there in half an hour to pick her up.  There was a summer festival underway and they had wanted to see what was going on.  There were supposed to be some interesting bands from all over performing and some interesting exhibits.  There were going to a small Greek restarant afterwards.  Frank’s grandmother was Greek and she had served some interesting foods which Frank wanted to share with Sharon.  Sharon was looking forward to the afternoon and evening.  But first and foremost she wanted to savor Frank’s reaction to her new look.

She checked herself in the mirror for the fifteenth time in the past hour. 

She had changed to black jeans and then to a miniskirt with black tights, and finally settled on something a little less flamboyant.  She didn’t want her clothes to be the focal point.  She had finally decided on her dark gray slacks with her shimmery grey green silky blouse (actually polyester, but it was very soft and silky.)  She choose large silver hoops for her ears and for the second set, the white gold cubic zirconia set that she had received on her 15th birthday.  They had been an expensive item for Gail at the time.  They remained Sharon’s favorite.   She had gotten a cartilage piercing at the top of her ear earlier in the summer and she thought about changing it to the pale green stud that she had purchased for that purpose, but hesitated.  She had changed that earing only once and experienced a lot of trouble getting the new earring in.  Deciding not to chance another episode like that, she concluded that the small gold hoop that she had installed then would have to do.

She heard Frank’s car drive up and checked herself one more time.  She decided that she wanted to answer the door herself and ran down the stairs in order to be able to do so.  Sharon’s moment of truth arrived as the door bell chimed its double note.

Opening the door with “hi, Frank” she deposited a quick kiss, stepped back with a big smile and simply stood there in expectation.

Looking at her Frank’s expression went from mildly surprised, Sharon had never greeted him that way before, to bafflement, to tongue-tied astonishment. 

“Oh my gawd, Sharon.  What did... Who..?  Oh shit, you look fantastic!”

“I knew you would love it.  I couldn’t believe it myself at first.  Mom, did it.  I’m going to get my bangs cut shorter to show it off better. And I’ll get my lashes trimmed because Mom said that would make my eyes would look even better.  And she showed me how to do my eyebrows and eyeshadow to make my eyes look even bigger.  Don’t you love the way she did my eyebrows?  Now tell me I look like Groucho.  You still look like Harpo though.”

Sharon’s enthusiasm and excitement at Frank’s positive reaction had her going non-stop.  Frank simply stood there with a grin on his face looking at her.  Having run out of breath, she paused.

“I don’t know what your Mom did, maybe you can explain it to me later.  Whatever it was it’s great.  I always liked the way you looked.  But this is something else.  I think you look like a fairy princess.  Where is you Mom anyway?  Can we go see her before we leave.”

“Jen said I looked like that Star Trek character, sort of like an elf.  She’s out back probably.  She was going to work on the flower pots.   Why do you want to see her?”

“Wait, you’ll see.  Actually Jen was right.  That character is really attractive even though she is different looking.  Maybe that’s why she seems so interesting.”

They rounded the corner where Gail was on her hands and knees reviving several of her hanging flower pots that were beginning to suffer from too much heat and too much sun.

“Hi Ms Brown.  I have a question for you.”

“Hello Frank.  What’s your question.”

“Well, I wanted to know if it would be OK if I took out your daughter here?”

Slightly perplexed, Gail looked at him and responded “Of course Frank, why did you think you have to ask.  You’re not going to stay out past midnight are you?”

“Oh, no, that’s not the problem.  I just wanted to be sure it was OK to take out this one.  I’ve been taking out Sharon, and I like her a lot, but this one looks really special.  If she’s as gook and nice as Sharon I think I’ll want to stick with her.”

By the end of this speech, Sharon was punching him on the arm, and Gail was laughing.

“Oh I’m sure Sharon won’t mind.   I think if you close your eyes you won’t be able to tell them apart.  Maybe by the time you get home the two of them will sort of merge in your mind and you’ll think of them as the same person.  Thank you Frank for telling us you like how Sharon looks.  But especially that you like Sharon for who she is and not how she looks.”

“Is that what you meant?”  Sharon, who was still thinking about her new look, had just caught  on to what Frank was saying.

“That’s right.  I think you look unbelievably good, but I’ve always liked who you are more than anything else.  I just wanted to be sure that you knew that.”

Sharon hugged him.  She was laughing and about to cry at the same time.  Finally getting control of herself, she hugged Gail.  “Thanks Mom, you’re really special.  Let’s go before this gets too ridiculous Frank.”

“OK, we’re out of here.  See you Mr B.”

“Bye kids, have a good time.”  Gail blinked back a tear herself as she turned to her flower pot.  She had no idea if their relationship would survive highschool, college and beyond, few highschool relationships did, but she knew that Frank was a special young man and that he and Sharon were a fortunate pair - truly kindred spirits.

Monday evening during dinner Gail observed, “Gary you and David are getting rather shaggy.  How about going with Sharon and getting haircuts.  Do you have anything special happening in the morning?”

Gary looked at David the usual spokesman for the two.  “Gary wants to get a mohawk, but I don’t.  We were going skateboarding in the park.” 

“A mohawk, Gary?   I don’t think so.  That’s what you really want?”

“Its cool Mom.  Why not.”

“Its too wild.  How about something not so drastic.  Besides it would have to grow out before school starts and that’s only 4 or five weeks from now.”

Sharon remembered a conversation with Jimmy in which she had asked him about various styles for guys.  He had mentioned that the flattop was still popular especially when combined with ‘high and tight’ sides and back.  He said that some people assumed that a ‘high and tight’ meant a flattop.  She though the twins would like that if they were talking about mohawks.

“I have an idea.  How about flattops you guys.  I think that’s a cool look.  Maybe even a ‘high and tight’.”

“Is it really flat on top?”  Gary sounded interested in the idea.

“Well, I’m not getting a mohawk even if Gary does.”

“You don’t have to get a mohawk David. I think I could go with Sharon’s idea.  It sounds better than a mohawk.”

“I saw Jimmy give one to a boy about 10 or 11 when we went in last time.  He looked neat.  I’ve been trying to get Frank to get on.  I think he would look really good.  You guys would look just like one of those soldiers in that movie.  You know, the one about those tiny soldiers”

“I like that idea Sharon.  What do you think guys?  Maybe next summer if you still want a mohawk you can get one.”  Gail had realized that if she was standing up for Billy’s desire to get a ‘Michael Jordon’ she could hardly object too much if her boys wanted mohawks for the summer.

“You promise Mom?  Next summer for sure.”

Gail laughed at this sudden burst of enthusiasm.  “OK, I promise, next summer for sure.  That is if you haven’t changed your mind.    What about you Jen.  You still want the same cut again?  I think it looked great.?

“Year.  Everybody said it was neat, really cool.  Billy said it was the best.  Anyway I like it.  Can I get it cut again before school starts?  I don’t want to let it to get as long as it is now.  Billy called me a mop head.  I was going to punch him but he said he didn’t mean it.  It does look funny doesn’t it?”

“You’re right Jen.  It is too long to look good the way it did.  And you can get it cut again before school starts if you want.”

Gail had told Sharon that she liked Jen’s cut so well that she was considering getting her to keep it that way, even during the school year.  Now it appeared that Jen had made that decision for herself.  Like Sharon, Gail suspected that in a few years Jen was going to transform into a stunning young woman whose impressive good looks, athletic figure, and self assured individual style would turn heads. 

Tomorrow would be a big day at the barbershop.

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