What do dog clippers, a leaf blower, and our two granddaughters, Little One and sweet Caroline, have in common? More than you might think.
Sure, I told them they could do it. And yes, I recorded the entire event using my phone. But I wasn’t the one responsible. It was someone else. Unfortunately, this time, I don’t have my brothers to point to. The person responsible is The Wife. But don’t take my word for it. You be the judge.
A promise made: Before she left for work yesterday, The Wife asked me if I would get a haircut. I promised her that I would. She went to work, and I went over to my computer and made an online reservation with our local hair salon for 10 that morning.
I showed up at 10, and they said it would still be another hour wait. Seems they had not one but two “hair emergencies.” Not wanting to waste any more of their time, I decided to go another route to keep my promise to The Wife.
I smiled and replied, “That’s okay. I know of a hair salon where there’s always an empty chair, no waiting, and two of the prettiest little stylists you ever did see.”
Before heading back home, I decided a quick stop to the giant hardware store with the orange roof was in order. Once there, I ran in to get something I needed to for quick hair clean up, then it was off to my last shopping destination – the world’s largest pet supply company.
There, the nice lady at the checkout lane scanned my one item and remarked, “So what kind of dog do you have?” I said that we didn’t have any dogs at the house. The item was for me. Her confused look followed me out the door.
On the ride home after picking them up from school, the girls asked the same question they always do, “Papa, you have any snacks for us to eat?” Of course, I did. Snacks are essential on the ride home from school – especially if you don’t want to hear how hungry they are all the way home.
Once at the house, they went inside to play and I got our makeshift barbershop set up in the garage. I then called for the girls to come outside. They had something special to do — help me keep my promise to The Wife.
After running into the garage, they suddenly stopped, finding me sitting in one of their small blue plastic chair with a unicorn towel draped around my shoulders, the electric clippers and a big yellow leaf blower on the concrete floor next to my feet. They crept a little closer asking, “Papa, what are you doing?”
I answered bravely, “I’m not doing anything but sitting here. You girls are going to cut my hair.”
Wide-eyed Sweet Caroline picked up the yellow leaf blower and Little One picked up the electric clippers. “What are we going to do with these?”
I replied, “You’re going to use them cutting my hair.”
Still holding the electric clippers, Little One turned them over in her hands. She switched them on, and they started to hum and vibrate like a handful of bees. She laughed, “But, Papa, these are dog clippers.”
“And this is a leaf blower,” Sweet Caroline yelled over the roar of the blower.
After turning it back off, I showed both girls how to use the clippers. Slowly at first, they each took their turns cutting their Big Papa’s hair. By the end of the haircut, they had gotten rather good with the clippers and perhaps a little too fast.
Everything went well … right up to when Sweet Caroline picked up the yellow leaf blower again and switched it on to high. Reader’s Note: once airborne, hair will fly everywhere and will take you hours to clean up.
The Wife got home an hour later and, seeing me, said, “You got a haircut. Whoever did it did a good job.”
I smiled over at the girls and replied, “I went to a new place. Got two new stylists to cut my hair.” I took out my phone and started the haircutting video. “You’re not going to believe this one.”
Promise to get a haircut kept.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories since 2001. To read more of Rick’s stories, visit his blog: storiesbyrick.wordpress.com.]
