Lori Wick Short Stories, Vol. 1 by Lori Wick

Author:Lori Wick
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736968409
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Weeks later the family left the state for their traditional summer vacation. Bobby smiled secretly to himself as his hand reached surreptitiously for the hair at the back of his head. In all the bustle and rush of vacation plans and packing, no one had taken time to get the younger boys to the barber for a late summer haircut. Bobby knew very well that the barber shop would be their first stop when they arrived back home, but in the meantime, he had more hair on his head than he’d had in a long time.

Bobby’s joy, however, was short-lived. After they’d settled their travel trailer into a campground in Georgia, Mother told Bobby’s older sister Jane to walk the boys into town for haircuts. Bobby was quiet as they ambled along, hoping in his heart that the town wouldn’t have a barber.

Once on the short city streets, some of Bobby’s chagrin deserted him. Fascinated, he took in the clapboard storefronts of an unfamiliar town. He saw a five-and-ten-cent store, a bank, two small grocery stores, a small hardware store, a clothing emporium, a real estate office—and a barber shop.

Bobby spotted this last establishment without much enthusiasm, but he marched obediently across the threshold when Jane held the door. The barber was friendly enough, and the change in shops was interesting, but Bobby still felt a bit cheated.

“Well, now,” the barber offered as he put down the weekly paper and stood. “What can I do for you today?”

“My brothers need haircuts,” Jane told him with calm efficiency.

“Well, who’ll be first?”

With that question, Bobby climbed into the chair and lifted his chin for the drape. He stared at himself in the mirror and just barely heard the conversation between the barber and his sister.

“Just a trim today?”

“The barber at home always gives them a butch.”

“A butch?” the barber asked with some confusion.

Jane’s hands gestured around her own head. “It’s just cut short all over.”

“With the clippers?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The barber nodded and switched the clippers on. His first sweep, straight back from the front of Bobby’s head, made Bobby’s little heart sink with dread. In the seconds that followed, a boy appeared in the mirror that Bobby had never seen before: He was nearly bald.

The contrast between his tan face and white scalp was startling. Bobby’s mind went back to a picture he’d seen once in National Geographic. The photo had accompanied a story covering the last world war and depicted a group of pathetic-looking refugees, their hair as short as his own.

It was a somber five-year-old who climbed down from the barber’s chair. Bobby knew he should thank the barber, but the words would not come. It didn’t help to look over at Jane and see her eyes wide with shock.

Within minutes Johnny looked as much like a war victim as Bobby, and after Jane paid the man, they went on their way. Bobby never would have believed that one-quarter of an inch could make such a difference, but he felt so bare that he was tempted to run all the way back to camp.

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