Page 7 of Power Plays & Proposals

"Mom, you said I could dye my hair."

The mom sighed and waved me away. "Give us a moment could you."

I nodded and backed away to my station. Situations like this were part of why so many stylists hated doing kid cuts. Often the kid wanted something a parent didn't approve of, and the stylist ended up caught in the middle. Instead of one client to please, there were two and it was a delicate balance to please both when they had opposing ideas.

In a harsh hushed tone, the mom spoke to Penelope and while I couldn't tell exactly what was being said over the elevator music playing over the speaker, I could see the girl's shoulders slump, and her chin lower until she stared at her sneakers. She nodded, defeated, and her mother waved me back over.

"A straight bob, chin length in front. No color."

"Are you sure?" I asked Penelope, "A bob is a pretty drastic change. We could do?—"

The mom cut me off. "If I wanted your opinion I'd ask."

"I completely understand that. How about I show Penelope a few pictures to help her find a style she likes."

Rolling her eyes, she sighed, "Fine. But I have somewhere to be in an hour, and you better not make me late."

"Penelope, follow me so we can get started. I'd hate to ruin any of you and your mom's plans."

With a wave of her hand, she dismissed both me and her daughter while she looked at something on her phone.

"Okay..." I said to myself as I led Penelope to my station, her mom huffed and sat on the couch before picking up the magazine with Mr. Hockey on it.

I hated this, and as I wrapped the drape around Penelope, I hated myself too. I couldn't do a cut when I knew she didn't want it, but I also couldn't afford not to. I really hoped that I'd find a solution that would satisfy both of them.

"Are you sure you want this?" I asked her.

Her shoulders folded inwards, "I don't want to cause problems."

"Sweetie, my job is to give the client what they want, and it doesn't seem like you want this. It's only a problem if you don't say what you want."

"What if what I want makes my mom mad?"

"Let me show you some pictures, and you can tell me what you like," I offered. "We can go from there."

A small smile of hope graced Penelope's lips. "I'd like that."

I walked the few steps to where Charlotte had four different magazines on her station and picked them all up to take back to Penelope. The first magazine had a picture of a popular pop star on tour. She had long straight black hair and bangs that fell just above her eyes covered in a dark smokey eye.

"A lot of people have been asking for this style," I said pointing to the picture before flipping to a page near the middle of an older photo. "But she also had her hair short for her last tour. A classic shoulder-length cut with no bangs."

"It's okay I guess," Penelope said.

"Just okay? What's the first feeling you get looking at it?"

"Boring."

I set the magazine to the side and picked up the next one with an actress staring in an upcoming movie about the girl next door falling for the rock star. She had hair that reached her shoulder blades only with layers that added a fun bounce to it when flipped out. "How about something you can flip?"

Penelope shook her head without hesitation. "My mom would hate it. She hates that actress."

"Maybe a grown-out pixie?" I pointed to another picture of a celebrity at a red carpet charity event raising money for cancer research. The hair was short on the sides and back, but the longer hair on top was long enough to reach her chin. It was similar to a bob in length.

"Mom hates her too. Says she's untalented and overrated."

"Moving on." I set it aside and picked up the next one where the cast of a popular TV show was posing together on a couch. "Do any of these look good to you?"

She took the magazine from me and flipped through the pages. After a minute she pointed to a picture where a girl had her hair in beach waves that framed her face. "I like this one."

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