“Regina! Oh, darling, it’s so good to see you,” Enrico called out as she walked through the large, glass doors into the beautifully decorated room. He was tall, with his hair trimmed at the sides with the longer hair on top swept up and back. Over the navy t-shirt and dark jeans he wore, his light blue silk shirt was open, the sides flapping out as he rushed to her. He air-kissed her cheeks with dramatic flair, before pulling her into a hug.

She laughed, hugging him in return, feeling the extra tightness of his arms around her. As she leaned back to peer at him, he blinked rapidly to quell the tears threatening to fall. “Now, now, none of that. Not today,” she warned, shooting him a pretend glare. She knew this appointment was going to be hard enough as it was without his dramatics. Shaking her head, she chastised herself. He’s not being dramatic…as a friend, he feels this deeply too.

She had glanced at her reflection in the storefront windows as she walked along the downtown street, on her way to his establishment. Not a vain woman, she nonetheless noted her long hair swinging about her shoulders and down her back. As a child, she had kept her hair long as much as she could, her mother letting her keep it waist-length most of the time. In college, she did the same, often with the front pulled back with a clip, the thick waves falling down her back. Eventually, she had cut it a little shorter when she graduated, now keeping it where it hung at her bra strap, the color and fullness still eye catching. As she had peered at her reflection, she caught a few men walking by, turning to keep her in their vision, knowing it was her hair that usually caught their attention first.

Giving a mental shake to clear her mind, she settled in the salon chair, allowing Enrico to wrap the large, black cape around her body, fastening it at the neck.

“It’s not too tight, is it?”

“Enrico, I’m not going to break. It’s fine.”

His eyes met hers in the mirror and she gave a firm nod. Answering with a nod of his own, he began to brush her clean, long, reddish-gold tresses into a thick pony-tail. Once it was fastened at the back of her head with a tight rubber band, he continued to wrap rubber bands along the length, every four inches, until a long, stiff ponytail hung in the back.

She noticed several patrons and stylists were eyeing the two of them, but she forced her gaze to the mirror in front. Licking her dry lips, she took a deep cleansing breath. He came around to the front of her and bent until his face was right in front of hers.

“I want you to be sure, Regina. It’s not too late to back out.”

“Enrico, nothing’s changed. This has to happen. You know that. I know that. The only choice we need to make, is what to do with what we have.”

He leaned further to kiss her cheek, this time his lips landing on the smooth surface, his voice shaky. “Okay, my dear, let’s do this.”

He moved behind her and, brandishing his scissors, held her ponytail in one hand while making quick work of cutting it off just above the top rubber band with his other. Within a few seconds, he held up almost twelve inches of silky hair. An assistant appeared from the side, taking the severed ponytail and placing it in a plastic bag and sealing it up.

She had assumed she would cry, but with the weight of her long hair gone, her head felt much lighter. Staring at her reflection, she recognized this moment represented so much more than her cut locks. It was a pivotal moment…a defining moment between her life before and what was to come. Lifting her gaze to his in the mirror, she gave a little smile.

He fluffed her remaining hair, curling in a bob above her shoulders. “You want me to shape this up and keep most of this length?”

His eyes held hope, but she shook her head. “You know the score, Enrico. You promised, when I called, to do what I asked. I’m sticking to the plan. It will make this easier. I need a new me.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave a little squeeze. “All right, darling.” With renewed vigor, his scissors began snipping at the locks once more.

When he finished cutting, highlighting, washing, and styling, he looked at her and smiled. “You are beautiful, Regina Nunzel, my dear. With your color, your bone structure…you can carry this off to perfection.”

She stared at her reflection in the mirror with reverence. The new me. Her hair had been trimmed pixie-short all over, with a few more golden highlights in the natural red. Nodding, she smiled, both at herself and then at him.

With a flourish, he whipped the cape from her shoulders and she glanced down at the last of her old hair on the floor. An instant of sadness passed through her, but she pushed it away. Allowing him to pull her into a hug, she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He whispered into her ear, “Thank you for allowing me to be the one to assist you with this journey.”

“I couldn’t have done this without you,” she whispered back.

The assistant came back over, saying, “It looks beautiful, Ms. Nunzel.” She held out the envelope with the bag of hair safely tucked inside. “I have the correct address on the envelope but wanted to make sure of the instructions that are to go with it.”

“I have a change to make,” she said, drawing a sharp look from Enrico.

“A change?” he asked, his brow lowered in concern.

“Change the delivery name and address. Use this one instead.” She handed a piece of paper to the assistant.

“Cindy Clauson? Richmond’s Children’s Hospital?”

Smiling, she was proud that she remembered seeing Cindy’s name on the white board in her hospital room. “Yes. This hair is for her. When you send it to the company, make sure to have that on the order form.”

The assistant smiled and walked away to take care of the assignment, but Enrico whirled around. “What are you doing, Regina? What is this? I thought—”

Kissing his cheek, she said, “Sometimes, plans change. Sometimes, it’s better to just love, even when there’s no chance to have love in return.”

Enrico stood, stunned, and watched Regina walk out of the salon, her head held high. His heart ached for the special client who had made more than one sacrifice that day.

Walking up to her townhouse, Regina was surprised to hear her name called. Turning around, she grinned as a handsome man jogged up the stairs behind her. Wearing a navy suit, with a crisp white shirt, he had loosened the tie at his neck. He was tall, but with lean muscles, not like—nope, not going there. His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, but now, they were staring in wide-eyed shock.

“Hey, Robert. I didn’t expect to see you this soon. You’re off work early.”

“I swear, I almost didn’t recognize you,” he said, his gaze fixated on the top of her head at her new hairstyle.

Giving her head a shake before realizing that the short hair was not long enough to swing back and forth, she asked, “What do you think of it?”

He replied with a smile, “Honestly? It’s different. Not at all you…yet, somehow, it is.”

“I know what you mean. I felt the same when I saw my reflection also.”

“And, while it’ll take some getting used to, you’re just as beautiful as always,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“Coming in?” she asked.

Nodding, he took the key from her and with his hand on her waist, led her into her home. Tossing her keys to the table by the door, he walked to the kitchen and, opening the cabinet, pulled down her teacups. Putting the kettle on, he turned and watched her settle onto one of the stools.

“I could have fixed my own tea, you know?” she said, a smile on her lips.

He winked before answering, “I know that, sweetie, but you look ready to drop. Tired?”

Nodding, she replied, “Yeah…what else is new?”

His gaze shifted to the top of her head, the super short hair standing on end. “You okay…about that?”

Chuckling, she said, “You can call it my hair…well, what’s left of it.”

“Why did you cut it now?”

She dropped her chin, staring at the tea cup he had set in front of her. “The timing seemed right. Less hassle—”

“Less hassle? You loved your long hair.”

Lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug, she shook her head. “I needed a change and the time seemed right.” Taking a sip, she stared into his eyes, seeing concern in their depths. “It’ll be fine, Robert.”

He walked around the corner of the counter and, with his hand behind her neck, bent to kiss her forehead. “I hope so, sweetheart. I really hope so.”