The Johnson home was very elegant and spread, far different than the homes back east which were generally two stories with a basement.  Yet despite the larger lot, prices here were less.  The smooth walls of the adobe homes, or the stucco ones made to look like adobe, were like nothing she had seen before except on television shows.  It was much different to be surrounded, indeed immersed in the style.

Matt seemed different.  He was every bit as wonderful to her, but the past six months had made him grow up quite fast.  He was a businessman now, and seemed more serious.  He even looked a bit older.  Maybe it was his shorter haircut, which looked more professional.  Maybe it was his new lifestyle sapping away some of his spontaneity.

Although it was a cruel joke, she had expected a far different reaction to her arriving with short hair.  Although it was nothing but an illusion, he had totally believed it yet didn’t seem so stressed about it.  Was her hair not really that important to him?  Did he like her just as much, or more, with short hair?  Perhaps it was because he also had Jolene in his life, a woman with a mane far more magnificent that her own?  With Jolene around, did her long hair matter at all?

That morning at the dance studio really disturbed her.  She had no idea that Matt was such a fantastic dancer.  ‘Fantastic’ as in good enough to perform for a living.  It looked like he could have majored in dance quite easily.  Why would he ever want to dance with her, a beginner at best, when he could dance with someone like Jolene?  They obviously connected VERY well on the dance floor.  Too well?  It was hard to believe two people could dance like that and not be more than teacher and student.  Of course she was also a good friend, but was that all?  If there was more going on, how much more?  Could it be she was nothing more than a college fling, and now Matt was over her and moving on to something better?  Was his display of affection that day nothing but an illusion?

She finally slept face down in her pillow.  The case was moist with tear stains.

Matt Johnson fell asleep a happy, happy man.  The woman he loved was in his house.  Time and distance had done nothing but make his love for her grow.  So much so that when she showed up with a shoulder length flip it didn’t even phase him.  Her long hair would be missed, but his love for her was true.  When she later revealed it was just another one of her hair tricks, an illusion, he was grateful.  But he was even more grateful that he got the opportunity to learn what was truly important to him.

The next few days were spent with Matt doing his best to show Mandy around town.  When Matt was unavailable, Richard or Elaine took turns being tour guide.  On that Friday, when all were busy, Jolene asked if Mandy would accompany her as she went out shopping for new linens for her bedroom.  At first she was reluctant, but decided it would be an opportunity to get to know this woman, and figure out if she truly had anything to worry about or not.  She wore her hair up in an exotic version of a French Twist covered by numerous coils and tiny braids.  It was one that always got compliments any place she went.

She met Jolene at the Ramirez home, and her insecurities immediately came to life yet again.  Jolene greeted her in the front yard looking amazing.  Her casual clothes were dressy compared to Mandy, and her hair hung down long and straight and gorgeous.  Yet Jolene was so nice, absolutely enamored with the updo Mandy was wearing, and ever so polite. Her home was utterly astonishing.  It looked like it should have been featured on television.  Her bedroom was larger than some homes Mandy had been in.  She did have to admit it looked a little too pink and needed some different colors added in.

As the two visited some very exclusive, and expensive shops, Mandy found delight in the variety of choices as well as Jolene’s comment “Don’t worry about the price.” She also learned that Jolene was not a great shopper, and that most of her home had been done by professionals.  Mandy loved this kind of shopping, and soon Jolene was hanging on her every suggestion.  She also delighted in the fact that her updo received as many compliments from store clerks and patrons as did Jolene’s magnificent tresses.  At least almost as many.

The ladies shopped for the entire afternoon, getting to know each other all the time.  Mandy couldn’t find any reason to be suspicious of Jolene, despite being quite intimidated by her.  She was taller, more accomplished, more intelligent, better read, a better dresser, more culturally refined, more successful, wealthy, certainly a better dancer, and even had better hair.  Mandy even considered Jolene prettier.  Little did she know Jolene was also intimidated by Mandy.  She seemed much more comfortable around strangers, better able to handle spontaneity, a quicker learner, more creative, more optimistic, as well as being much more skilled with her hair.  Jolene even considered Mandy prettier.

By the time the shops were closing the two ladies left with all they needed. They returned to put the new touches on the bedroom.  When done Jolene was thrilled with the effect the new pillow cases and comforters were giving the room.  She couldn’t imagine any high priced decorator could have done any better.  Mandy was quite proud of the results too.  The two ladies then raided the freezer of some chocolate ice cream, to which they added both hot fudge and whipped cream.  They didn’t care if it ruined their dinner.  They had earned this.

“I was wondering if you could give me some advice,” Jolene stated quietly, “on the best way to put my hair up if I want to put a wig over it.”
“I guess that would depend on the type and size of the wig,” Mandy said very casually, surrendering to the joy of her frozen treat. It was actually the first time, except for Jolene’s initial compliments on her updo, that either had talked about hair all day.
“I hadn’t even thought of that.  Actually, I don’t have the wig yet.  I can’t find one in any of the wig stores in Santa Fe or Albuquerque, and right now the only ones I’ve located on the internet seem really cheap and fake looking.  I was rather hoping to find a realistic looking one.”
“Maybe I can help.  What kind are you looking for?”

Jolene paused for a bit, seemingly embarrassed to let the cat out of the bag.  “It sounds kind of stupid actually.  Tony and I are invited to a costume party next week, one of those “Murder Mystery Party” get-togethers where everyone plays a part and comes dressed up as their character.  You’ve probably heard of them before.”
“Actually I haven’t, but it all sounds like a lot of fun.”
“I’ve been to one before and had a ball.  This one has a 1960’s theme.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard.  Bobby sox and a pony tail and you’re set.  Maybe a Poodle skirt.”
“Except my character’s name is Betty Beehive, so I kind of thought it would be fun to show up with my hair…  (She wasn’t sure she was wording things right, so she held her hands up above her head trying to show the huge dimensions she was hoping for.) ….well, to come in with a big beehive hairdo on my head.  Obviously I’d need a wig.”

Mandy giggled, unable to hide her love of costume parties.  It came as no surprise to her that something as outdated as a beehive wig wouldn’t be available at any local merchants.  It was probably only in demand for Halloween.  She helped Jolene search some more obscure internet sights that catered to movie and theatre prop departments.  These were much more realistic and pricey.  But then with Jolene price wasn’t an issue.

“That’s what I’m looking for, right there,” she giggled, pointing at a winding tower of hair that would probably rise a good foot above her head.  This one looked quite real though, and not a cheaply produced facsimile like the others they had seen.

Mandy was typing away on the internet sight finding out details.  “When is your party?”
“Next weekend.”
“Then I’m afraid you’re out of luck with this one.  It’s made in China and requires 6-8 weeks for delivery.”
“Any rush orders?”
“Only on ‘in stock’ items, and this isn’t one of them.”
“Damn!” she said quite loudly.  It was the first time Mandy had heard Jolene swear. “I really hoped I could do better than those cheap wigs.”
"Well, if you want I could arrange your hair into a Beehive,” Mandy said quite calmly.

Jolene was speechless for a second.  She even started to giggle a bit, thinking this was a subtle joke.  Then she stared at Mandy hard.  “You’re not serious?!”
“Sure!  It’s really very easy.  Well, kind of.  It’s hard for me to do on my own hair since I can’t really see the back of my head so well, but really quite easy to do on someone else.”
“But, like that?!”  Jolene pointed to the picture of the wig they had printed off the internet site.
“I’m not sure it would end up quite that high, but pretty close.  I did it for my sister one year for a costume party at her work.  Her hair was a bit longer than mine at the time.  Your extra length really wouldn’t be a problem.”
“But that would mean teasing my hair!  That would destroy it!”
“To get it big like that would require backcombing but it wouldn’t destroy it.  At least not if it’s done right.  The trick is to backcomb it correctly, and take it out correctly.  I ‘tease’ my hair quite often and it’s doing fine.”

Jolene was again at a loss for words.  It was strange for Mandy to see this woman who always seemed in total control quite confused.  She took her long hair in one hand as she studied the photo in the other.  She was trembling a bit.  “I really don’t think I could do that.”

Mandy didn’t push it. After all Jolene never even used hairspray too much until their timely introduction to each other.  She wasn’t a bit surprised about her fear of backcombing.  Then another idea crossed her mind.

“There is another option.  I could arrange your hair in kind of a mini beehive.  It’s basically the same procedure but with no teasing at all.  Just a fair amount of mousse and hairspray.”
“Really, no teasing?  And it still ends up looking like a beehive?”
“Not a huge one, but with your length it should still pass muster.  The longer the hair the easier it is actually.”
“How long does something like that take?”
“No more than 20-30 minutes.  As I said it’s really quite easy.”

Jolene wasn’t ready at all for such a response.  She figured she’d have to give up hours to be transformed into Betty Beehive.  Suddenly all her reasons for saying no we eliminated.  The only thing standing in her way now was her disbelief that it would actually look like what she wanted it to look like.

She shared this with Mandy, who just grinned a knowing grin.
“Tell you what.  When’s the next time you’re going to wash your hair.”
“Actually I was planning to do it tomorrow morning.  I had lunch with my boss yesterday and his pipe smoke is still very much present.”  She picked up a handful of her tresses and gave it a quick sniff.  Her puckered facial expression made it clear the odor was still there. (Jolene found it strange that the head of the Heart Department was a smoker.)
“Then let me just come over beforehand and do it real quick so you can see if it works for you.  That would give you time to look into other options if you don’t like it.
“I guess….that would be OK.”  Never had Jolene considered her own hair being styled so, much less the very next day.  “Will it take long to take down?”
“No longer than it takes to remove the pins.  Maybe 30 seconds.”
“All right then, but let me at least pay for the mousse.  Plus you better get some more spray too, I’m almost out.”
“I’ll get it on my way home.  Just pay me back tomorrow.”  The two set the ‘appointment’ for 9a.m., and out the door Mandy went before Jolene had time to change her mind.  She stared down at the picture of the beehive, and then at her own reflection in the mirror, trying to imagine how one could possibly end up looking like the other.  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said to herself.

Despite all the times Jolene had entrusted her hair to Mandy with her videos, and the fact that absolutely no harm had come to her hair, this session had Jolene’s nerves on end.  She needed Mandy’s reassurance that no teasing was involved, nor anything else potentially dangerous to her hair.  She was assured that besides ending up feeling quite stiff from the spray and mousse, which would all easily wash out, there were no ill effects at all.

Jolene sat on a high stool, both so not too much of her length dragged on the floor, and so she was tall enough to follow the procedure in the mirror.  Mandy was unwrapping her bag full of tools, including a new brush, the various hair products, and a bag full of 6 Super Jumbo plastic hair curlers.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to try and curl all this,” Jolene stated when she saw this last item.
“Not at all.  I just need one actually, but they come in packages of six.”
“What’s it for then.”
“You’ll just have to wait and find out.”

Jolene made the face of a disappointed spoiled child before breaking into a grin.  At that Mandy laughed.  “You must be terrible on Christmas Eve, all those packages and having to wait until morning.”

The procedure started with all of Jolene’s hair brushed out free of tangles.  Then a respectable amount of mousse was worked in until all the hair was slightly damp.  This helped control flyaways and make it all a bit more manageable. Then Mandy quickly made a smart, straight part on the left side and drew Jolene’s hair over across the top.  Jolene wondered what was happening since the picture had no part at all, just an endless mound of hair like a 12 inch high tornado.  She held her tongue though, intrigued to see if this might really work.

Once smoothed over, Mandy separated the very rear of the crown out and brushed it straight up.  Then she placed the mousse can by the roots and blasted a good sized wad of the product into the strand.  Her free hand worked this into the complete length.  It held together without the need for an elastic, and she then took one of the big rollers and placed it vertically on top of Jolene’s head, the strand of quickly stiffening hair threaded through the center of it.  Pins then held the roller in place so it was now standing upright with no ability to do otherwise.  Mandy then wound the long strand around the outside of the roller, masking it from view and making it look like a solid topknot of hair.  It was then pinned in place and sprayed thoroughly.
“So far so good,”  Mandy said.  Jolene smiled but had no idea how her current look could be transformed into anything even remotely resembling the picture.

Mandy again started combing the top part over, making sure it was fairly tight to the head, and then repeated this procedure using a fair amount of mousse.  Confident it was going no where, she stepped to Jolene’s left side, filled her hand with another sizeable wad of mousse, and separated out another section of hair, in essence making the part another inch lower than it initially was.  This section of hair was then smoothed, smothered with the mousse which was then combed through the entire length, and then drawn over the front and added to the left side.  The result was a bit more mass on the top, and the left part now looked an inch lower.

This procedure was repeated again, making the part another inch lower so now it was starting to run at an angle from temple to crown, and then coating this new section with product before taking it over the front and blending it in with the rest.  Jolene grinned as she started to figure out that the top was getting a little more substantial and the front now was looking like the photo in that there was no real part showing.

Mandy repeated this process time and time again, until she had worked clear around to the back of Jolene’s head.  Once done she separated out the large mass which was now falling over the right side of Jolene’s head into a kind of makeshift ponytail and had Jolene hold it while Mandy dealt with the hair on the right side of her head which had yet to be coated in mousse and made to take a lap around the hidden roller topknot.  In only a minute or so that was completed, and Mandy took the mass out of Jolene’s hand and made sure it was all smooth.  The remaining length still fell well past her waist, but almost two feet was already wound to form the base of the ‘hive’.

Mandy sectioned the remaining length into three parts, and combed through each section again with additional mousse before wrapping it around Jolene’s head another time.  She did this with each section, and now Jolene could see the mass on top really starting to take shape, and noticed that now at her hairline there seemed to be no real part or starting place.  It was definitely starting to look like a tornado of hair, albeit much slicker and smaller than the picture.  The remaining hair was barely to Jolene’s waist now.

Mandy repeated the process yet again.  All the mousse made the hair very manageable and holding fast.  After this lap the remaining length fell barely to midback.  This was then wound around the topknot, fattening it up so it was definitely taking a hive shape.  It went quite quickly, and then a series of 6 small but strong pins locked it all in place.  A few adjustments with the sharp end of a styling comb, a long layer of spray, and the style was done.

“What do you think?”  Mandy asked in excitement.

Jolene couldn’t believe it.  Her knee length hair was now in a ‘beehive’.  A smallish one perhaps, but a beehive never the less.  It had been done quite quickly, quite easily, and with absolutely no teasing.  What she had thought impossible only 30 minutes ago had become reality.  She used her hand mirror to study it from all sides.  It actually looked good on her, not anything like she expected.  But there was no denying it was an old fashioned beehive.  And also, to anyone looking at it, there was no denying it was no wig.  It had been accomplished with her own hair.

“I….like it.  I can’t believe I’m saying that but I actually like it.  This is amazing!”  She kept touching it, both taken aback at the stiff texture and amazed at its sleekness and even by its comfort. . The wrapping effect made it look like it had no clear starting point.  No part or such.  Just a swirl of hair that went round and round, rising as it did. This was definitely not the reaction she anticipated having.  She had expected it to look quite gaudy instead of rather…regal.  Perhaps it just wasn’t high enough to be gaudy.  For some reason she had to know even more.

“So when you backcomb it you do it the same way?”
“Basically, except the ratting gives you more volume so you can get a lot more height and width.”

Jolene winced at the word ‘ratting.’  What a horrible thought.  But still she was intrigued at the possibilities.  “Enough to make much of a difference?”
“Put it this way.  If I was to backcomb yours, I would need to attach two jumbo curlers, one on top of the other, because of how high it would end up.  Excuse me real quick, I need to use the restroom.”

Jolene just stared at her odd reflection, dumbfounded that she didn’t find it repulsive at all.  It was so very comfortable and stable too.  In many ways far more comfortable than a bun or French Twist.  For some reason she then picked up another roller and held it above the top of her ‘do.  It truly would end up much higher.  She looked at the picture of the oversized wig.  At first she thought she was imagining it but her reflection didn’t lie.  If she were to get the teased version, it would end up every bit as high as the wig, perhaps even higher.  If she wanted to look gaudy for the party, that was truly the way to go.

As she heard Mandy returning she hurriedly replaced the roller, hoping that Mandy didn’t notice.
“So do you think we’ve discovered the real Betty Beehive?” Mandy asked.
“Perhaps…..  I mean, yes.  This will work.”
“In that case let me take it down for you so you can see how easy this all is to deconstruct.”  Jolene sat obediently though for some reason was almost not ready to see this strange reflection disappear quite yet.  Was really liking how she looked!?  She had no choice though, as in a matter of about 15 seconds it was all being unwound and again dragging on the floor.  Except for all the product in her hair, it was unscathed.  The shower that followed ridded any fears.  The style did no damage and worked.  Jolene could easily become Betty Beehive any time she wanted to!  She booked a time the next Saturday for a repeat performance by Mandy prior to the party.  She didn’t want a peep to go out to Tony or Matt.  This was to be their little secret.

As the week wore on Jolene kept thinking of her reflection in the mirror, and how amazingly good she actually looked, and also found herself unable to throw out the picture of the huge beehive wig.  What an impact she’d have made in hair that high.  She’d still make quite an entrance, especially when it was learned she wasn’t wearing a wig.  But it could be a definite show-stopper if she was willing to…..’tease’ her hair.  But the very notion, despite Mandy’s reassurance, was frightening.

Still, Mandy had stated she teased her hair quite often, and Jolene was quite sure many of the styles she had seen her with necessitated at least some degree of backcombing though she had never asked about it.  Perhaps, just this once, it would be worth the risk.

By Wednesday she was still wavering, by Thursday totally unsure of herself, but on Friday she made up her mind.

Just before Jolene was to call Mandy, the phone rang.  It was Mandy calling her.
“Can we move the session up tomorrow a few hours? Matt wants to take me out to dinner at the Summit House.”
“That will be fun.  You haven’t rode the tram yet have you?”
(Sandia Peak Tramway takes passengers from Albuquerque [one mile in elevation] to the top of Sandia Peak [two miles in elevation] including one portion which is the longest unsupported span in the world.)
“No, and I’m looking forward to it.  We have reservations so we see the sunset on top of the mountain and then return at night.”
“That is the best way to do it.  So what time should we plan on?”
“How about 3 pm?”
“That will work.  I was just about to call you anyway.”
“Really?  What’s up?”
There was a few moments of silence.
“You promise me that teasing my hair won’t harm it?  Because I’ve done some calling around and everyone says I’d be crazy to do something like that, and that it would absolutely destroy my hair.”

She smiled a knowing grin.  If done wrong, or taken out wrong, it would be quite easy to ‘destroy’ Jolene’s hair.  So much so she would have little choice but to cut it.  But Mandy also knew how to do it right with absolutely no risk.
“No it won’t harm your hair.  Why do you ask?”
“Because the more I think about it, the more fun I think it would be to have the bigger version of a beehive.  I’m just scared.”
“I’m not going to harm it.”
“Actually I’m more worried about harming it myself.  I will have to brush it out later that night.”
“Just leave it up until Sunday, then I’ll take it down for you and show you how to restore it.”
“It will hold that long!?”
“With enough spray it could hold all week.”

Jolene tried to hold back a chuckle but couldn’t.  Then she bit her lip.  “Then let’s do the full version for the party tomorrow, if that’s OK with you.”
“It only takes about 5 minutes longer, so you can change your mind at the last minute if you want.”
“Only about an extra five minutes?  Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“Right!  Have a good night Betty.  Don’t lose any sleep over it.”
“Betty?!  Betty who?  Oh yeah, right.  Goodnight Mandy.”

The next morning Mandy was still deliberating on how she would wear her own hair that evening.  She was alone at the house and a bit bored, so she turned on the television.  A tape was in the VCR to she pushed play.  It turned out to be one of Matt and Jolene’s practice videos. She sat quietly for the next hour watching the two of them practice.  The session was filled with laughter, filled with the two of them very close doing extremely suggestive moves.  Often their hands ran up and down the body of the other (Matt’s hands even cupped her breasts more than once) and their lips nearly met on countless occasions, though they never did.  Sometimes when they messed up they just held on to each other a bit too long for her liking before returning to try the move over again. One section they spent a great deal of time on, although it looked quite polished and in no way in need of the numerous repetitions, was so blatantly sexy she could swear she saw Jolene flushed several times.
“Oh God, that felt so good,” were Jolene’s last words on the tape as Matt walked over, grinning, to shut off the recorder. Then the screen went blank.

Mandy was numb. This didn’t look like ‘just dancing’ to her.  How could she not consider Jolene a threat?

She decided she was going to be an absolute knock out that evening for Matt.  She would not go down without a fight.  There was a new dress in her closet she had splurged on when the first of her hair CD money started coming in that Matt knew nothing about yet.  Tonight he would find out.  She also decided it was a good time to curl her hair, a lot.  After a quick bite to eat, she disappeared into her bathroom and spent the next hour doing a very precise job of setting her long mane on rollers.  These special rollers were only a bit larger than perm rods, plus she made two layers of them, so it took quite a while.  They would also have to stay there for quite some time to get the desired effect.  She watched the tape again, killing time before she went over to do Jolene’s hair.  It was hard to hold back tears watching the two of them entwined on camera.

Jolene greeted Mandy at the door, stunned that she would have her hair set in curlers, and a lot of them at that.
“Do those really do anything?”
“What, the curlers?  Sure?  Why?”
“It’s just I’ve tried curling my hair before and it never did more than produce some waves at the very end that would be gone in minutes, even with hairspray.”

“Well there are some tricks involved, plus your hair is a very different texture than mine.  It might not be able to hold a curl.”  It almost felt good to say that, even though she wasn’t sure it was true.  It could be true, though Mandy had never run into a head of hair that couldn’t be coaxed to hold a respectable curl.

Jolene seemed a little disappointed at such news, and the two walked to her dressing room without saying a word.  It was obvious Jolene was still having second and third thoughts about risking her hair.  She sat fidgeting while Mandy brushed it out.  It was at this point a decision had to be made.  It was time to add the mousse, or pick up a teasing comb.
“So what’s it going to be, mini version or the full blown version?” she asked calmly, knowing that Jolene was still wavering.
“I think the big version would be so much fun, but asking you to tease my hair goes against everything I’ve learned about having long hair.”

“I know, and of course there’s no wrong choice here.  You know I can do it like last week without backcombing (she was careful not to use the words ‘teasing or ratting’) if you want.”
“I remember.”  She looked at herself.  She was already wearing an adorable pink poodle skirt with bobby sox.  With the right makeup, a piece of chewing gum, attitude, and the right hair and she would be perfect.  She looked at the photo sitting on the countertop.  She really wanted to be the star of the party.

“Oh God, just go ahead and tease it.”

Mandy held her hand and smiled a big smile.  “It will be fun, I promise.”  First she took some hairpins and connected two of the big rollers, end to end, to each other.   Then she started parting her hair on the left side, bringing the top over to the right.  Then she separated the back section that would run up through and then cover the rollers.  Unlike last time, she didn’t smother this in mousse.  Instead she made it into a high ponytail at the very top of the crown.  Then the rollers were positioned and pinned in place, looking ludicrously high. Jolene couldn’t imagine this was actually going to work.
“We’re going to need to move this session to your bedroom,” Mandy said.
“How come?  Is something wrong? ”  Jolene was clearly quite concerned.
“Well, believe it or not, your hair is so long I’m going to need to have you sit on your bed so I can then stand on it to reach as high as I need to.” Mandy was telling the truth too, though it didn’t bother her any that she would be able to get Jolene away from watching in the mirror and stressing as her hair was being teased.  Especially since Mandy planned on doing a great deal of teasing.
“Well, I guess so, if that’s what you need to do.”  Jolene immediately recognized this meant she couldn’t watch what was going on, which was frustrating.  The couple made a quick transition to the bedroom.

Once settled,  Mandy then picked up a teasing comb and, before Jolene had a chance to change her mind, intensely ratted the entire length of the section running through the two rollers.  Jolene whimpered a bit at first, then grimaced as the section was smoothed a bit, fearing her hair was being tugged and torn.  Despite the two linked rollers, all her length easily covered both and the giant creation took a quick and definite start to it.  An incredibly thick layer of spray locked it in place.  “So far so good?” Jolene stated (coughing through the fumes) remembering Mandy’s words the week before at this point.

Mandy knew the next part, severely teasing the entire top and front right side, would be the toughest part for Jolene to endure, and was grateful for the fact she was away from all mirrors.  It took her only a few minutes to do this backcombing, followed by a thick layer of spray.  The worst part was over.

“Can we move back to the dressing area now?,” Jolene asked.  In reality they could, but Mandy didn’t want Jolene watching as she ratted her hair, and her higher perch really did make it easier, so she told her no.  Thus Jolene never really got to see her hair a big tangled mess.  And it was.  It truly was.  But Mandy knew how to deal with it so she wasn’t concerned.  No reason to have Jolene worrying about it either.

Jolene was visibly stressing as she felt the teasing comb bite in on each additional section.  She got a slight glance at one section being worked on from a small mirror on her dresser and was then glad she wasn’t watching the rest.  It seemed strange that Mandy should be smiling so as she seemingly viciously ratted it all up.  Jolene had to admit it was fascinating feeling her ‘hive’ being created, and started believing that the ludicrous height of the two rollers was actually going to be accomplished.

Eventually the entire backcombing portion was done, (in fact Mandy doubted she could have teased it any more than she had) which meant all that was left was patient smoothing, pinning, and a great deal of hairspray. These last stages of creation went quickly, and by the time she was done Mandy had not only created a Beehive like the photo, but it was probably a bit taller and fuller.  It was truly amazing.  It didn’t look good, but rather quite gaudy on Jolene, dwarfing all her other stunning features.  But gaudy was what she asked for tonight, and Mandy couldn’t help but grin as the numerous last heavy layers of spray were caked on.  She used a blowdryer with a diffuser to help the spray dry quickly, and then Betty Beehive was ready to see her new ‘do.

Jolene stood up and looked at her reflection wide eyed.  Her hair now looked every bit like the photo if not bigger.  She noticed her Beehive made her a good 6 ½ feet tall, making her glad the party was just next door and she wouldn’t have to try and manipulate this ‘do in the car.  That was a factor she hadn’t considered.  She cautiously touched it, repelled by the plastic texture it now had.  It felt far worse than she had ever imagined.  Some of Mandy’s updos she wore for dancing required quite a bit of spray, but nothing that made her hair feel like this.   She forced herself to touch it again, insuring herself it wouldn’t fall over or break off, and then gave it a few good shakes making sure she wouldn’t have to worry about it for the evening.
“So what do you think?  Big enough?”
 “Oh heavens yes!  I can’t believe this isn’t somehow bad for it?”
Mandy said nothing.

Jolene continued to inspect her style, using a hand mirror to study the back.  Finally she put it down and looked at Mandy.  “Well, thank you.  At least I think.  I hope it wasn’t asking too much of you?”
“Not at all.  In fact believe it or not it was really fun for me. Have a great time tonight.  I need to get home and finish my own hair now.”
“I have no doubt it will look stunning, whatever you do with it.”
“Just give me a buzz in the morning when you get up and I’ll come over and get your hair back to normal.”
“You absolutely will be getting that call,” Jolene said as she winced touching the huge dimensions and stiff texture of her usually luxurious tresses, “because I wouldn’t have the slightest idea of where to start.”

As Mandy left all Jolene could do is stand there and stare at herself, in this outrageous costume with her hair defying gravity.  It was quite a picture, both laughable yet perfect for her part.  She was almost unrecognizable.  She touched her hair again, grimacing at how foreign it felt from the numerous layers of spray.  But she had to admit to herself this was the look she wanted.  The smallish version she wore very briefly the week before would have done the job, but really didn’t scream 60’s like what she was now sporting.  In fact, she still was thinking the style the week before would actually be perfect for an elegant night out or such.  Maybe she would get the nerve to ask Mandy to do if for her again sometime.  Maybe…

She sat down and started the long make-up process.  She would need a lot of it to do justice to her hair and outfit.
 
Tony Ramirez could only laugh when he looked at himself in the full length hall mirror.  His character, named Sleazy Rider, was supposedly leader of a motorcycle gang in the 1960’s.  The image staring back at him was very much along those lines.  The black leather jacket with padded shoulders made Tony look less like the Investment Banker he was and more like a man of formidable size.  Tony was in great shape from regular workouts, but never pulled off an air of intimidation like this before.  Under that jacket was a white T-shirt which went perfect with his faded, torn blue jeans (very cheap at the Goodwill store) and an old pair of combat boots from the Salvation Army.  An Elvis pompadour wig mixed with big dark sunglasses and he was set.  Tony had always enjoyed Halloween more than he ever admitted to anyone, and was looking forward to this summer evening costume party.  He struck a few ‘macho’ poses in the mirror, only to hear a giggle.
“Hey tough guy, looking good!”
 It was Mandy, just coming down the stairs on her way home.  He had forgotten she was here helping his wife with her hair for the evening.  He wondered what creation she had come up with this time.  All week he had tried to pry some information out of Jolene, but couldn’t even get out of her the name of her character.
“Hello Mandy.  So is Jolene all ready to go?”
“Most definitely!  You two both look so good.  Make sure you take some pictures before the evening ends.”
“Got my camera in my pocket already.”

One thing Mandy really envied about this couple was how well they had kept record of their time together with photographs.  Their home had photos adorning the walls of every room, and not just traditional studio shots either.  Many, like a series of white water rafting pictures, were just of fun and random events in their lives.  She had no doubt a photo from tonight would be gracing the walls in the not-too-distant future.  But where would they put a picture like this?  That was the real question.
“What’s with all the curlers?”
“Matt and I are dining at the Summit House tonight.  So I thought I’d do something special with my hair.”
“That will be nice.”  It was obvious talking about hair with anyone but his wife was quite unusual for Tony.  “Do those things….  I mean, well…… does all your hair actually curl?”
“Yeah it does.  Very well too.”

Tony seemed to sigh a bit.  “I’ve never seen Jolene with her hair curled.  She tried to for our wedding day but it was all straight before she walked down the isle.  She tried a few times since then with no better luck.”

Mandy smiled inside a smile of satisfaction.  “Well, I’m sure you’ve never seen her with her hair the way it is now either.  Have fun tonight!”

As Mandy started her car out the driveway, she wished she could see the look on Tony’s face when he got his first look at Betty Beehive.

The couple just stood, about 10 feet from each other, doubled over in laughter.  Neither had imagined the other would go to the extremes that they had.
“So who are you supposed to be again?”
“Sleazy Rider at your cervix.  And then who might you be?”
“Betty Beehive of course.”  Jolene blew a giant bubble with the huge wad of pink bubble gum she was chomping on.

Tony couldn’t help but stare at the huge mound of hair on his wife’s head.  “Nice wig.  It almost looks real.”
“It’s not a wig.”
“You’re kidding!”  He stepped closer to touch it and inspect it closer.  His hand recoiled upon first touch.  He expected it to be very thick in hairspray, but nothing prepared him for the way it felt. Still, it was an amazing creation, and he silently wished he had been there to witness it’s construction.   “I knew Mandy was good, but not this good.”
“Do you like it?”
He laughed.  “Not at all really, but for tonight it is perfect.”
“Better get used to it, because it’s staying this way until she comes over tomorrow to take it down.”
“You mean you have to sleep with it like that?!  Good luck!”
“Good luck to you.  If you get too close it might smother you.”

The two just stared at each other, both getting into character a bit.  Then they smiled a knowing smile at one another. Tony broke the silence.
“Well, we have about an hour to kill before we need to head over.”
“Got any idea of how to fill that time,” she asked as she blew a big bubble and let it pop very close to his face.
“Yeah, but you’re going to have to get rid of that gum.”
“Well, why don’t you just come over here and take it out of my mouth, with your tongue.”

Tony Ramirez swept his wife into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.  “I might mess up your makeup a bit.”
“Just don’t mess up the hair.”

Tony touched the stiff concoction, which for some reason also made him totally stiff.  “I don’t think I could mess this thing up if I wanted to.”

Jolene touched it too and then laughed.  “You’re probably right.”

The hour passed very quickly as the two experienced some of the most intense sexual desire either could recall for a long time.  Jolene was on top so she didn’t risk her hair, and it was a very different experience indeed for Tony to look up at her in the huge bouffant.  It also strangely filled him with desire.  They were soon spent.  Absolutely exhilarated, but still spent.  Since it took a bit of time to put their looks back together, they feared they might actually be running late.  But quite soon they were ready again to go out in public.  The couple left arm in arm, grinning all the way, for the short stroll down the street to the home of Teresa and Mark Antonio.

Mandy slowly removed each roller, making sure not to ruin the perfect curls as they unraveled.  Tonight she would make sure Matt could think of no one but her.  She planned on it being a very late evening.  Then in the morning, when she got the call, she would take care of Jolene.

So how did I do?  Please send me any comments, criticisms, ideas for the plot of part 8 or any other story ideas you might have.  Thank you to all who have written in the past.  Send any ideas for this or any other story to