Step By Step Ch. 04

"Girlfriend, if short is what you want then when I've finished with you you'll look fabulous. You've got great hair and it really does need more styling than this. I promise I won't let you down. Now, do you trust me?"

"Yes, yes I do trust you, and yes, I do want a new style. Bernard, I'm in your hands." With a sense of having crossed a Rubicon Helen lay back and let Bernard get to work.

"So, are you and Sam an item then?" Bernard asked as his scissors clipped away.

"Err... I guess so," Helen replied.

"You guess so? You don't sound very sure."

"It's just, I'm a bit new to all this, I've never been..." Helen said uncertainly.

"You've never been in a same sex relationship before? Hey, I can relate to that, we all can. Have you told anyone yet?"

"No, you're the first to know. Well, we met some friends down at the pub the other night and they might have guessed but, we hadn't exactly... Well, you're the first to know officially, as it were."

"Ooh, I'm honoured. Tell me all, all the goss; how did you two meet?"

As they chatted away Helen found that Bernard was really nice, really understanding and, behind a friendly and open demeanour, fiercely protective of his friends. Just a short while back Helen would have run a mile from anyone so openly gay and some of the preconceptions she had had previously now made her cringe with embarrassment. She was really glad to get to know Bernard and hoped that he would become part of their social circle. She was so deep in conversation that she hardly noticed as clump after clump of hair fell to the floor around her. Eventually Bernard declared himself satisfied and Helen looked at herself in the mirror.

A complete stranger stared back, this strange woman looked younger, more confident, stronger. The style was very short but still very feminine; she looked like something out of a magazine. Surely a simple haircut couldn't make that much difference but this was unbelievable.

"Wow! Bernard! You're fantastic!" Helen exclaimed. "I never knew I could look like this."

"I gather you like it then," Bernard replied.

"Oh, yes. Thank you, thank you so much." Helen jumped up out of the chair and kissed Bernard on the cheek.

"You're more than welcome. Now, remember what I said about Sam. She thinks she's a tough cookie, she looks like a tough cookie, but there's a little girl in there that needs love. Make her happy, she deserves it, and you'll never find a better friend." Bernard ruffled his fingers through the her hair. "Now, run along, she's waiting for you in the café next door."