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Friday, February 13, 2021

"Mom, can Daddy take me to get my hair cut tomorrow?" asked ten-year-old Laura the moment she stepped off of the school bus.

Pam laughed and grabbed her daughter for a hug. "How was your day, honey?"

"Good. Can he?" Laura shrugged off her mother's hug and started toward their house.

Pam laughed again. "I don't know, Laura, probably. We don't have anything else going on tomorrow."

Laura loved this time of day. Her brother Joey didn't get home from kindergarten for another half-hour, so she had her mom's full attention - her dad teasingly called it their "girl time." Laura went ahead of her mother, walking backwards. "It's Valentine's Day, though. Don't we have any plans for it?"

"Daddy and I are going out to dinner, but there's nothing we have to do during the day. But why do you want a haircut? You told me last week you were never going to cut your hair ‘in a million zillion years.'" They reached the front door; Pam held it open and gestured for Laura to go through.

"Mom! That was last week!" Laura shrugged off her backpack, took off her boots, and went to hang up her coat. "Besides, Heike said that I could get a free haircut."

"I see." Pam heard ‘Heike said' many times a week. She wondered briefly if ‘Laura said' was as constant a refrain at Heike's house. At least this time, Heike was a help and not a hindrance -- Pam had been trying to get Laura to agree to a haircut for months. Lately, her long hair was always one big tangle of snarls. "So, why is it free?"

"Because it's for Locks of Love, and they give you a free haircut if you do it. That's how Heike gets all her haircuts, because then it's a really good value. Her sisters do it, too."

Pam imagined Heike's mother marching three little blond girls into the salon, demanding free haircuts. "Heike's mom does appreciate a good value," Pam laughed. "What's this Locks of Love? Is it a Valentine's thing?"

"No, it's any time of the year. They make wigs for cancer kids. You have to have at least ten inches of hair to donate, like me," Laura twirled to show off her long, wavy hair, "and then places give you a haircut for free."

"That sounds like a good cause." Pam laughed inwardly at her daughter's attitude. Laura had no interest in a haircut until it was ‘free' -- Pam would have to figure out how to make that work for her in the future.

"Yeah, and it's free, so can he take me?"

Pam feigned a quizzical look at her daughter, "Hey, this wouldn't be free, would it?"

"Mom!" Laura didn't seem to appreciate her mother's humor at her expense.

"Why don't we just go this afternoon? It's probably not as busy." Pam reached for the phone. "I'll call for an appointment."

"No, please, Mom! I want Daddy to take me!" said Laura. "And can you make it before lunch tomorrow?"

"Okay, but why Daddy, and why before lunch?"

"Because, Mommy! If you take me, we'll just go and get a haircut, and then come home!"

"Right..." Pam cocked her head and looked at her daughter.

"But if Daddy takes me, after that we'll get something to eat, and he'll take me to the mall, and buy me a Valentine's present, and..."

"Okay," Pam interrupted, laughing. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of ‘Daddy-spoiling time.' I'll make the appointment, and you can tell Daddy when he gets home. I know he'll love it."

"I need to call Heike to tell her what time, too." Laura started pulling some food out of the fridge for a snack.

"Why would you need to do that?" Pam asked, starting to dial a nearby hair salon.

"She's going to try to get her dad to take her, too, and we can all go together."

"What?" Pam hung up the phone immediately and looked at her daughter. "Laura, I'm sure Daddy would love to spend the day with you tomorrow. But I don't think he's going to want to include Heike Schrute and her dad."

"Oh!" Laura looked sheepish and then thought for a minute. "But I really wanted to see Heike tomorrow! Can't I ask Daddy?"

"I'll talk to Angela and arrange for something next week. She's been asking us to come see the new pet graveyard at the farm." Pam shook her head, hardly believing she was doing this voluntarily. "If we go right after Joey gets home from school, Daddy will still be at work so he won't have to come."

"That's perfect, mom!"

It is perfect, Pam thought. Perfect for Jim. And suddenly she knew she had just found the perfect Valentine's Day gift for him this year -- the absence of Dwight Schrute from his day.

Chapter End Notes:

Thanks to Azlin for the beta!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.



Too Late Kev is the author of 22 other stories.
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This story is part of the series, Holiday: Just One Day Out Of Life. The previous story in the series is Ash Wednesday. The next story in the series is President's Day.

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