Saturday morning came and I thought no more of the previous night, though breakfast was somewhat quiet and after 14 years of marriage I should have realized something was up. Our usual routine for a Saturday morning varied little and I did my chauffeuring duty and took Val and our 10 year old daughter, Jamie, to the supermarket for the weekly shop. On the way back to home I was instructed in no uncertain terms that in the afternoon I was to take Jamie to her friends house where she was staying over and that then I was going to take Val shopping at Lakeside shopping center, which rather put pay to my plans of drinking the 8 pack I had just bought, whilst sitting watching TV.

At 12.00 we dropped Jamie at her friends and then battled our way through the traffic to Lakeside. The queue started at the wonderful sign telling me that there were over 8000 parking spaces and ended 30 minutes and 2 arguments later when I found a parking place. Off we went, round every shop to be seen, most of which we walked out of empty handed or with the comment "If I don't see anything I like better we'll come back here later". Then just before 3.00 I was told by Val that she was now going to the hairdressers and if I wanted I could take the bags back to the car and then go into the pub for a couple of beers, before coming back to collect her.

Now ladies hairdressing shops are not my usual haunt, all those limp wristed lads snipping away whilst gossiping with their clients, so I didn't bother to hurry but sat in the pubs garden and had a couple, as instructed. About 4.15 I thought enough time had gone and I hoped Val would be nearly ready, so I took a slow walk back through the shops and to Val’s hairdressers. The last time I had looked at the shop, which must have been some 6 months or so ago it was a typical arty farty trendy shop with "darlings" and "lovies" coming out of every crack, the type I really hate. I walked past the shop twice before I realized that it had now been totally stripped and was now an open bright hairdressers with both a men's and ladies departments. On entering I spoke to the receptionist and explained that I had come to collect my wife, but I was told she was not ready and I would need to wait. 

After a couple of minutes I looked up as a caped Val came over and stood in front of me "Well what do you think" she asked with a broad smile on her face, and I could only stare at her now blonde tresses hanging wetly down around her shoulders replacing her natural chestnut brown hair, "Ya, a bit different" was all I could reply. "Don't worry I'm having some low lights put into it now, then its going to be cut. Whilst your doing nothing why don't you go round to the men's side and get yourself a haircut, I'm sure Sally can find someone to do it", and without another word Val was off to see the receptionist and within a minute she was back telling me "If you go straight round you can be seen right away".

When it comes to haircuts I don't normally worry too much I just pop into the closest barbers and get it tided up, sometimes its all right and others it's horrible, but soon grows out, so I wasn't too bothered and for a quiet life I thought I might as well go and see what he could do. I walked round to the men's side and was immediately impressed by the layout, marble floors, wood paneling and large leather barber chairs. "Would you come over, please" said a sweet voice with just a hint of a Scottish accent, and instead of a barber I was confronted with a lady in her early 30’s dressed as all the other staff in a striped blue and white shirt and a dark blue short skirt. "I'm Tina, and you look as though you need a good haircut". At such a forthright approach as that I thought "what the hell" and sat in her chair saying "Go on then, if you can do any better than the last fella you can have me as a regular customer". Once she had started cutting my hair we entered into conversation and she explained how she had learnt her trade from her father who had been an Italian refugee and had settled in Scotland to continue the family business of barbering, with Tina working in the shop from the age of 10 starting with sweeping up and then progressing to lathering customers prior to a shave, and finally on leaving school to working full time in the shop. "Now I've come south and this is the first of my shops that will someday cover the country", she modestly added. All the time she was talking she never once let her concentration on my hair slip and with expert moves she transformed my unruly head of hair into a smart style. Near the end of the cut Tina asked, "Do you mind a girl using a razor on you"? I’d had a girl cut my hair before on a number of occasions but had never seen any use a razor but as she had impressed me with her work so far I felt quite safe and replied that I didn't mind. She then continued, "You'd be surprised at the amount of men afraid of me with this in my hand", showing me with glee a chromed cut throat razor which she then proceeded to hone on a belt fixed to the arm of my chair. I’d had this done many times in the barbers and never thought twice about it, but as I watched Tina I felt my heartbeat quicken and my stomach knot. Taking a tissue she tucked it into the collar of the cape and removed from the shelf a shaving brush and a stick of shaving soap, which she held briefly under the steaming water spray prior to mixing a lather. Turning towards me she spread a generous layer of the lather onto my neck and onto both sideburns. Taking the razor she gently eased my head to one side and having drawn my skin tight she drew the razor down besides my ear. She then did the same on the other side and then stepped behind me before drawing the razor lightly over my neck, "There, that wasn't that bad was it, next time you must try a full facial shave, I'm very good at those too". All too soon the haircut was over and with a final brushing down she said with a smile "Will I see you again then?" and I happily agreed that I would return.

By the time I had returned to see how Val was getting on I found that the coloring had been completed, and after the first shock I must admit it did look a great color, mid blonde with darker low lights, and the stylist was about to start the cutting. Now after 14 years of seeing my wife with the same straight mid back length hair I expected no more than just a tidy up to be done, so when I saw the stylist pick out the center section of her hair and with the scissors chop a good 7 or 8 inches out of it I sat there speechless. "Don't say a word," Val said looking at me through the mirror with a mischievous smile on her face. All I could do was sit and watch as cut after cut produced more covering for the floor and less for my wife's head. The length of her hair was reduced to collar length and then I heard her stylist ask, "Are you sure about the back?" to which Val simply replied yes. To my horror the stylist then removed a pair of hair clippers and plugged them in, and with a snap of the switch the room was filled with their buzzing. She eased Val’s head forward and plunged the clippers into her hair high up the nape of her neck, the tone of the buzzing changed for a second and then a clump of hair fell to the floor leaving a bare patch of neck some 2 inches wide. I stared now in fascination as the girl worked her way to the left and the right each time exposing more of the neck. Once the neck was suitably denuded she worked the clipper around either side of the head and worked the hair into what Val later explained to me was called a "bob cut". After some 20 minutes of further trimming the stylist disappeared to the rear of the shop and when she returned it was with Tina the owner, who was carrying a tray. Tina smiled at me, "Won't be much longer now and then you can have your new wife", and turning to Val said "Sorry about this but Michelle is not confident enough to complete your cut and has asked me to tidy up your neck for her". Tina put down the tray and I saw that it held a shaving mug, brush and cut throat razor. She wrapped a towel around Val’s shoulders and then took up the shaving brush with which she mixed a lather, then turning to Val she said "I’ll just lather your neck a little then clean off the loose hairs from your neck". At this point I felt myself sitting forward to watch, as Tina was about to perform the same operation on my wife as she had done on me only a short while before. Taking the shaving brush she layered the lather over the back of Val’s neck and after opening the razor eased Val’s head forward to a better position before running the razor gently down, leaving her neck bare. After this Val’s cut was soon over and with just a quick blow dry I left the shop with a totally different wife.

That night was the best we had for a very long time, I couldn't keep my hands off of Val, and simply loved running my fingers through her hair and onto her bare neck. The following Friday, once Jamie was in bed Val said to me with the old look in her eyes, "If you're not too tired tonight I've a present for you" and handed me a small brown cardboard box, and somewhat puzzled, as Val seldom bought me any presents I opened it, "I went back and saw Tina the other day and bought these for us both". In the box were a shaving mug, a shaving brush, a cut throat razor, and a barber's cape. "Don't be worried, when I explained to Tina she thought it was sweet and also gave me a couple of lessons, you should have seen the expressions of the men I practiced on in her shop" Val teased as she laid out the equipment. "Sit down, it's your turn first" and as I sat in the offered chair Val shook the cape around me and took a towel which she wrapped around my shoulders. 

Having filled the shaving mug with hot water she turned to me grinning and said, "Now watch carefully, it's your turn next". Val then proceeded to lather and then shave my neck as well as any barber, finishing up with a series of light kisses and licks over the smoothed area. "Guess whose turn it is now" Val said, almost pulling me out of the chair. By this time I was as aroused as Val was and I didn't need much encouragement to cape her up and start lathering. At the sight of the razor in my hand Val gave an audible moan and picked up a hand mirror so as to watch my every move. The feeling whilst standing over her with the razor positioned just above he neck felt wonderful and when I drew it down her neck I don't know who groaned the loudest.

Our Friday nights are not the same anymore and I'm never tired, maybe every other night but never Fridays and my regular cuts by Tina still continue, though last time she did hint that Val had inquired if she could teach her how to do a face shave, so maybe Tuesdays might be a good day soon as well.