The door of the Barber shop closes behind Franklin, hitting the small bell above him once again. The shop smells of talc and tonics.
"Frankie, good to see you," Bill says.
"You too, Bill. Can I get a shave?"
"Come to see the wizard again, huh?" Bill wipes the red leather with his hand. "Have a seat."
There's something behind Bill's eyes. An irritation.
Franklin sits down and begins to rethink telling Bill about his moving out of town.
"How's business?"
Bill has his soap mug in hand, is frothing up suds with a bristle brush. "Oh, Frank. Lemme tell ya, it'd be a lot better if those new shops would stop popping up. Colored's 'r takin' my clients."
That's because the world's a changin', Bill, Frank thinks. Maybe that's why your wife prefers me lately, and maybe that's we we're going far, far away from this place.
Instead, he says: "shame it is, Bill."
The barber begins running his blade along the strop. "You know, Frank. We used to practice on balloons in barber school. You're lucky you ain't one of the early ones from my pup days. Yer head'd pop open and all your blood'd be on the floor," he chuckles.
Every time he's here, Franklin can't help but notice the vicious looking fox that's been taxidermized and stuck up on the wall. A thing of the past, he thinks. Hopefully the barbers two towns over are less barbaric.
The bell above the front door jangles. It's Jules. Frank looks at her. She's carrying a small gift bag.
"Mornin' Doll," Bill says.
"Oh Bill. I need to speak with you right away."
Jules' eyes contact Franklin's for a millisecond.
"I'm in the middle of somethin'. Can't it wait, doll?"
Jules puts her hand to her mouth and runs to the corner of the room in a panic. She wretches into the wastebasket.
"S'cuse me a sec," Bill joins his wife on the other side of the room. They sit down and she speaks surreptitiously.
Bills taken the straight razor with him. He's grasping at it as his wife tells her secrets.
Franklin's forehead drips with sweat as Bill returns. Jules moves past him in a hurry, and before she exits the shop, looks up at him and mouths the words "I'm sorry".
Beads of sweat roll from Franklin's forehead. What in the hell did she tell him? He wonders. "Hot in here, huh Bill?" He pulls at his collar.
Bill reclines Franklin's chair with force. His neck feels more exposed than ever. There's a puzzled look on Bill's face. He pulls a mug out of the gift bag and sets it on his counter.
"You'll never believe what Jules just told me, Frank." Bill says, his knuckles white with anticipation around the handle of the razor.
Franklin swallows a stone.
"My Jules. She's... well, she's pregnant, Franklin."
Bill is gleaming with pride.
The stone drops down into Franklin's guts.
The message on the mug is revealed: Father of the Year
