Page 89 of Halo

As he disappears down the hallway, Grady twists toward me, eyes wide. “You’re gonna fix my hair?”

“I think I can help,” I say with a smile.

Nick returns with a toolkit containing an electric clipper, a handful of guard attachments, and a pair of scissors.

I spend the next several minutes trying to blend the worst of the bald patches into the longer pieces.

Trying is the keyword.

I lean back and sigh. “Well … it’s better.”

Nick tips his head, studying Grady from different angles. “That’s … a generous assessment.”

I chuckle humorlessly, combing my fingers through his short hair. “Yeah, buddy, I think we might be past saving your hair.”

“You can’t save it?” Grady’s face crumples again, his hands covering his head.

I set the clippers down on the counter before taking a knee. “Can I tell you a story?”

A single eye peeks between his fingers as he nods.

“I got really sick a few years ago, and the medicine that helped me get better made all my hair fall out.”

He sits up, his eyes wide. “All of it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Were you sad?”

“I was very sad … but it grew back. See?” I model my pinned up hair. “It just takes a little patience.”

Grady studies himself in the mirror before looking back at me. “And it will grow back?”

I nod. “It will.”

He reaches up, rubbing the jagged patch above his ear. “You promise?”

Before I can say anything else, Nick reaches for the clippers. “Watch this, partner.” He snaps on a guard and without a second thought, runs the clippers straight through the front of his thick blond hair.

“Nick!” I blurt.

One pass of the clippers sends a thick swath of golden hair into the sink.

Grady’s mouth drops open before falling into a fit of surprised giggles. “Nick, that’s so silly! Why’d you do that?”

Nick smiles. “Because some things aren’t as scary when somebody does them with you. I didn’t want you to be scared by yourself.” He makes another pass through his hair, a cascade of strands floating down into a pile. With a big grin on his face, he rubs the buzzed areas. “Wanna feel it, partner?” He bends down, letting his son touch the peach fuzz.

“It tickles!” Grady giggles.

“Do you want to try?”

Grady eagerly nods, reaching for the clippers.

“Now listen—“ Nick holds the tool out of reach—”we do not cut our own hair ever again. Do you understand?”

Grady agrees.

Nick wraps Grady’s little hand around the clippers before covering it with his own. “You get the first swipe.”