Surprise for Dad

My dad is a strict disciplinarian. I mean, he expects perfection at all times. That goes for my appearance as well, especially when it comes to hair. Dad is from the ‘old school’ when it comes to hair length - short. He thinks men should have short hair and women long hair. I never questioned his reasoning but just accepted it. We live near a MARINE base. Dad is a MARINE and is quite proud of it….as he should be. I am the only son. From time to time, dad is sent off for a special assignment. Sometimes he is gone for a week or so, but this time he was gone for almost a year.

He and mom talk every day. He can’t tell her where he is or what is doing. I do get to speak with dad from time to time. The first thing he asks after asking about me taking care of mom, is my studies and of course the hair. I have quite blonde hair. It is quite thick and straight. Dad would be happy if I shaved my head. He does let me have about a #2 on the top with the sides down to #000. Of course he keeps his head shaved. I must say he is quite striking in his dress uniform and that shiny head.

Since dad had been gone for such a long time, I pushed the limits when it came to hair length. My fellow classmates had quite long hair according to dad’s standards. One good thing is dad always lets us know when he will be coming home. After the last call from dad, mom told me that dad would be home Saturday. It will be good to have him home after being gone so long. Mom said, “Jim, you had better not get your father started. He will be tired and would really get bent out of shape if he saw you with that hair of yours. You know how he feels about hair and you. I told mom I would take care of it early Saturday morning so it would be nice and fresh for dad.

Saturday morning I went to see our barber, Bob. Bob knows how dad feels about hair on men. Bob sports a bald head so dad thinks Bob is the right person to come to for a good short haircut. I waited my turn. It wasn’t long before I was in the chair. Bob smiled and said, “Dad is coming home is he?” I smiled and said, “Yes! How did you know?” Bob told me I hadn’t been much in the past year so that means dad is away and now that you are here, dad is coming home. I told him he was right. He was coming in sometime today. Bob wanted to know how short I wanted to go. I told him I wanted to please dad so take it all off with a razor. I had wanted to go this route for some time and now that spring was just arriving, I thought it would be a good time to try it and besides it won’t hurt in the ‘point’ department with dad. It wasn’t long before the hair was falling. I loved the feel of the clippers against the skin, but I wasn’t expecting the thrill when the razor made its maiden voyage across the top of my head. What a sensation. Now I know why dad keeps shaving every day. The sensation was really WILD!

When Bob finished, he slowly turned me to the mirror and I loved what I saw. Bob was able to get a good shine on my head like dad likes. I must tell you here that Bob has an ornery streak in him. When I was paying Bob, he said, “Jim. Why not a surprise for your dad?” I said, “What do you mean? This shaved head is going to be a surprise enough.” Bob laughed and told me what he had in mind. He told me that two doors down from his shop was a ‘gag store.’ He told me I should go and get a fake Mohawk that you can’t tell from the real thing and it is colored. The height of the Mohawk is about 3 inches. He told me that all I had to do was to peel off the back and the hairpiece would stick really solidly on the head. He said it was easy to remove and if I was careful, I could put the backing back on and save it for another day.

Of course I would love to have done that, but I didn’t know if dad would like the joke. Bob assured me that he would and if you get into any trouble, tell you dad I wanted you to do it. I thought about it and decided to look into it. I thanked Bob and off I went. I found the store and the Mohawk Bob spoke of. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I did notice that the base of the hairs were blonde, so that would work out well. The strip itself was clear so it shouldn’t show. Just as I was looking at it again, a salesman came up to me from behind and asked me if I needed any help. I told him what I had planned and asked a few questions. The salesman stepped in front of me and I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was wearing the very Mohawk I was asking about. Even up close, it was extremely difficult to tell that it was a fake. I asked him how difficult it was to get off and he showed me. It peeled off really easy and he put it back on just as easy. He told me he had been coming to work for an entire week and putting it on.

Well! You guessed it. I bought one. I didn’t tell mom about it. When I got home, dad hadn’t arrived yet. Mom saw my freshly shaved head and her comment was, “Your dad is going to be so proud of you. He will love it. I must say I love it too.” I went to my room and began studying. I didn’t try the fake on until I heard dad arrive. I waited for a few minutes before putting on the wig. I found it quite easy to apply and to get it centered. I made sure that I ran the comb through the Mohawk and used a little hair spray on it to keep the hairs in place. I thought it was really cool. What a gag gift this would make.

I went down stairs and acted like I was going to the kitchen to get a drink. Dad was still hugging mom so I didn’t want to interrupt things. I made sure that I said hi to dad as I quickly walked by. I wanted him to get a glimpse of it. A glimpse he got. I could hear him tell mom he would be right back. I could hear him coming. I made sure I had my back to him at the refrigerator. He came up to me and spun me around and I could see the ‘fire spitting out of his eyes.’ He said, “What the hell is the meaning of this and he flipped my Mohawk?” I told him I was having a little fun. Mom arrived when she heard dad raise his voice. Of course mom knew I had my head shaved, but she didn’t know a bout the fake wig. She was surprised but had a broad grin on her face. Again dad asked me what this was. I told him again I was having a little fun. He wanted to know who did this and I told him that Bob and I came up with this. “BOB! I might have known. You are so gullible. He can talk you into anything. Well! We are going to Bob’s right now and have a go around with him and then I will deal with you when we get home.

Mom tried to calm him down but he only got louder. I was thinking if I should let him take me to Bob’s or show him. I decided to take it off. While dad was gone to the bathroom, I took it off and put the backing back on it. When dad came out, he said, where is Jim. Mom said she thought I went out on the porch to wait for you. He came out and was about to yell at me some more and then he noticed I was completely shaved. Mom stood in the doorway and was laughing. Dad wanted to know what was going on. I told him I wanted to surprise you. It really was Bob’s idea of the Mohawk. I thought about it and thought I would give you two surprises.

What dad did next I did not expect. He came over to me and hugged me and while rubbing my bald head, said, “Son! This is a pleasant surprise. I am so proud of you. You look great with that shaved head. Thank you! I do so appreciate it. And by the way, I loved the other surprise - the Mohawk. He wanted to know where I got it and I told him. He wanted to know if they had plain blonde ones and I told him they did. By this time he was grinning from ear to ear, something I have never seen before. There was a devilish streak in him I hadn’t seen before. He turned to me and said, “Good one! I loved it. Boy! It sure does look real.” He wanted me to put it back on so he could take a closer look. When I did, he said, “Let’s go and get me a blonde one. I have a great idea!”

Off we went and dad bought a blonde Mohawk. He put it on and he walked down to Bob’s Barbershop. Bob was about ready to close up when dad walked in. Bob’s mouth dropped open like you wouldn’t believe. With the lighting as it was, you couldn’t tell but that it was real. Bob came to dad and shook his hand and said, “Bob! I know you have been gone for a long time, but this! Dad said he wanted Bob to spruce it up before he went home to see mom. Bob put the cape on him and turned around to get the tools he would need and while his back was to dad, dad removed the fake Mohawk. When Bob turned around, his mouth dropped open again. Dad was sitting there straight-faced. Bob wanted to know what is going on. Dad asked him what he was talking about. Bob mentioned the blonde Mohawk. Dad said, “Bob. You have been working too hard. I think you need a vacation - a long one. Bob scratched his head and then began rubbing dads’. I was watching this from outside and was having a good laugh.

I finally came in and then Bob figured it out. Bob began to laugh and before it was all over, we were all laughing. Bob said, “Sam, you got me GOOD!”

On our way home, dad told me he was going to use it at the base when he went back. I asked him if he wanted to borrow my colored one and he said, mine would be as effective as the plain one. The men he wanted to get wouldn’t go for the colored one, but the blonde one would be a winner.

From that day on, I had a new father. He was still strict but I knew he had a lighter side that came through from time to time. I have kept my head shaved and love it. It was fun and most interesting to see the skin get a beautiful tan. The tan sure made the shine even better. My best friend, Cory, liked my shaved head so much he eventually got one and his parents were glad to see the long hair go. One day I told dad, that I thought I was meant to be BALD! I am now a senior in college and I still shave the head each morning before going to class. I know that I will never grow hair again. I have met a beautiful and wonderful girl and she loves my head shaved. I did show her a picture of me with hair and she immediately told me I looked much, much better without it. So what started out as a surprise for dad has surprised me. I thought I would let it grow back but I know better now. As the saying goes, “I was born to be BALD!”