The previous night, I had found my daughter standing barefoot in the middle of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLetty?\u201d I\u2019d knocked once on the bathroom door. \u201cHoney, can I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n
She was standing before the mirror with kitchen scissors in one hand and a ribbon-tied bundle of hair in the other. Her hair had been chopped to her shoulders, uneven and jagged, and her chin trembled.<\/p>\n
First, I looked down at the floor. Then I looked at her. \u201cLetty\u2026 what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
She lifted her shoulders as if preparing herself for a blow. \u201cDon\u2019t be mad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying very hard to start somewhere before mad.\u201d<\/p>\n
That pulled the smallest breath from her, but tears filled her eyes anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a girl in my class named Millie,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s in remission, but her hair still hasn\u2019t grown back right. Today the boys laughed at her in science. She cried in the bathroom, Mom. I heard her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Letty raised the ribboned hair. \u201cI looked it up. Real hair can go into wigs. And mine won\u2019t be enough by itself, but maybe it can help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBaby\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it looks awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike you fought hedge clippers and barely won,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She gave one small laugh, then wiped her face with the heel of her hand. \u201cWas it stupid?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan had lost his hair in clumps across a pillowcase. Letty had never forgotten. I had not forgotten either.<\/p>\n
I crossed the bathroom, took the scissors from her hand, and drew her into my arms. \u201cNo,\u201d I whispered. \u201cNo, sweetheart. Your dad would be so proud of you. I know I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
She cried against my shoulder for a while, then pulled back. \u201cCan we fix my hair? I look like a founding father.\u201d<\/p>\n
One hour later, we were sitting in Teresa\u2019s salon, Letty wrapped in a cape while Teresa examined the damage and released one quiet sigh.<\/p>\n
Teresa\u2019s husband, Luis, walked in halfway through and stopped short when he noticed the ponytail on the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Before I could explain, Letty said, \u201cA girl in my class needs a wig.\u201d<\/p>\n
He truly looked at her then, and smiled at me through the mirror. \u201cHi, Piper. That\u2019s Jonathan\u2019s girl, all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughter sat a little taller beneath the cape. \u201cYou knew my dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Luis nodded. \u201cYes, sweetie. I worked with him for eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n
She touched the blunt ends of her newly shortened hair. \u201cHe would\u2019ve liked this haircut?\u201d<\/p>\n
Teresa gave a snort. \u201cNo decent man would support a bathroom haircut, my girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMama,\u201d Letty whined.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d Teresa added, her voice gentler, \u201che would\u2019ve loved the reason for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luis rested against the station and looked at Letty. \u201cYour dad couldn\u2019t stand seeing people suffer alone. It drove him crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Letty lowered her eyes to her hands. \u201cMillie tried to act like she didn\u2019t care, but she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course she did, baby,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Teresa stayed past closing. Between repairing my daughter\u2019s hair and matching it with hair already saved for pediatric wigs, she managed to complete one by the next morning.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
Before school, Letty and I picked up the wig.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I look weird, Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like yourself,\u201d I said. \u201cJust with less maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n