Deal or no deal ?

He looked very apprehensive, as though he had the weight of the world on his entire shoulders.
His eyes spoke volumes, he’d been negotiating and he had compromised. They were misty.
He was very carefully observing the surroundings, he had to be sure.
He had clutched, a new red colored car in one hand, and a box of chocolates in the other.

So he walked in, with baby steps, to this salon where I was getting served, ever so nicely and he chose a seat not too far away from me. He must have been not more than 3 years in age, and was one of those toddlers, you often get to bump into when you visit a barber shop. I’m pretty sure, the instruments in the room must have scared him. He looked uneasy.

I remembered, when I was young, I had to be tricked, bribed or simply forced against my wishes to get a haircut. I also remember, that it would either be my mother, or my grandmother that would go with me. I so hated the place. Although the feelings I had for the place were strong, they were probably (I’m not so sure) due to an incident that must have happened when I was younger. I must have gotten a nick from that huge thing of a razor the barber shop has.

I’ve been afraid of that razor ever since. As a matter of fact, till last year, when ever I would go and get a hair cut, I’d tell the person “please do not use the razor, use the trimming machine instead” . Now, somehow I have convinced myself that razor is not so bad, and in fact, it is pretty much essential for cleaning up nicely.

So this toddler reminded me so much of my self, that I could not help but smile at him. Although I do not know why, but that seemed to have a more of unsettling effect on him. Well, come to think of it, it figures. Here he is, in this hostile environment, and I’m grinning at him. What was I thinking?

Soon enough, his father and his mother marched right in, and stood next to him, and started to distract him by telling him nice stories. The routine I was so familiar with.

“We will chat up the kid, while you graze his hair off” . My mom/grand mom did this all the time.

But something happened in that room, which struck the deal off.  I was reminiscing about my barber shop tendencies, and getting comfortable at the place, the attendant was giving me a head massage, and the kid staring at the entire process (yep, his life pretty much depended on it).

But there was this maneuver that the attendant did in his routine. It involved him holding me by neck, and giving it some violent twists which I guess  make you feel relaxed and fuzzy. He did those to perfection, I must add … I felt really relaxed.

But the toddler got scared. He had decided now. And his face was now of resolve and determination. In fact, he started wailing. He let go of his car and chocolates, and looked helplessly at his mom, till she swooped him off the chair, and carried him out of the shop. His dad had desperately tried to pacify him by making funny sounds, and strange faces, but to no avail.

That was the last I saw of him.