You sighed at the mirror once more before turning away in defeat. Carefully, you pulled a beanie down over your head and hoped when your boyfriend arrived he could offer some reassurance.

***

At first when he greeted you, your boyfriend took no notice of the hat. Soon however, he tried to lift it from your head.

“Don’t!” You snapped at him accidentally, grasping the knit fabric tightly to your head. He drew back his hand with the eyes enlarged in surprise. An awkward quiet moment passed before he peered cautiously into your eyes. “Let me see…it can’t be that bad.” You sighed, removing the hat and shaking out what was left after your unfortunate haircut. His small and careful smile turned almost immediately into one of uneasy discomfort. “Oh…I don’t think…that I like it very much.” You hung your head. It wasn’t that you expected him to love your hair, but you certainly didn’t expect as blunt a comment as he had offered.

“I know,” you whispered, not wanting to show how much his bluntness hurt. Defeated, he sighed. He didn’t intend for your feelings to end bruised, but didn’t want to lie about the state of your haircut either. You were startled from your dejected stupor when your boyfriend stood up suddenly and walked out of the room.

A few minutes passed before you followed him curiously to the kitchen. He nodded a few times and responded politely to the person on the phone before hanging up and turning to face you.

“Ready to go?” he asked, a newfound smile on his face. You stared at him confusion. Did he really think you wanted to leave the house looking as you did? If anything, you wanted to crawl deep beneath the covers of your bed and sleep until the world forgot who you were. The self-consciousness you had felt recently was magnified in the light of the unfortunate situation, and left you feeling unattractive and foolish. Your boyfriend smiled encouragingly, and took your hand to lead you out the door. Despite your protests, he managed to drag you to his car, with you giving up your struggle and deciding the day couldn’t become much worse.

The car soon pulled up to his entertainment company’s building. He refused to answer any of the questions you spouted in his direction, and lead you silently to a room down one of the many hallways. To your surprise, one of his stylists was waiting there in front of a shiny silver chair. She gestured for you to sit down, and almost instantly began to work on your hair. You sat for what felt like hours, but couldn’t stifle your excitement when she told you she had finished. Slowly, she turned the chair around so you would face the mirror.

You gasped, a bright smile breaking on your face. She hadn’t just fixed your hair; she had brought it to a new light. After thanking her profusely and returning home with your boyfriend, you attacked him with a forceful hug. He smiled, burying his face in your new haircut.

“You’re always beautiful to me. I want you to feel that way.”