Angelina's Garden

Slice of Life 2019: Day 23

Sometimes you get more than you paid for. That was certainly the case today at the Great Clips. I sent my boy in to begin the process of getting his hair cut while I parked the truck. The place was empty save another teen aged boy. As I walked up, I saw my boy already seated in a chair, a razor working the back of his neck. I strolled over and the hair dresser says, “I hear you had your youngest one at 40! Are you crazy?”

Granted, I have never met this woman in my life.

“Yeah,” she went on. “I had my youngest at 35 and then got my tubes tied. That wasn’t working out so well, so they cauterized the uterus the first year and then took it right out the second year.”

Now, this was TMI. Too much information! What does one say here? I thought. Hmmm! This woman needs to tell me these things. Meanwhile, she is shaving a perfect line at the back of Hunter’s neck. “Is this what you were wantin’, honey?” she asked as she turned his chair toward the mirror.

“Yes mam!” he said and looked at me with a kind of blank stare.

While she finished defining his hairline, she told me about each of her kids, their ages, status in life, her age at their birth, her marital situation and what she was going to do after work tonight. Then she stood up and walked over to the cash register and said, “If I make enough in tips, I’m going straight to the bar!”

I paused.

“Hunter, I’m going to run to the restroom. You take care of business with the credit card and I’ll see you in a second,” I said.

When I came out, the Great Clips was empty save the hair dresser.

“Where’d he go?” I asked. “I hope he paid and tipped you.”

“He did and then he went running off in that direction,” her finger pointed out and to the left.

“Thank you,” I smiled and went right out behind him.