The Wonder Wig

Brooke’s Identity Crisis

Once upon a time, there was a country family that lived in Arkansas; a man named Craig Bell, his wife named Barb, and their only child, a little girl named Brooke. Craig and Barb worked outside of the house all the time. Craig worked as a construction worker, and Barb at her hair salon called, That Look, and they would only have quality time together, and with their daughter, mostly on weekends. So many times, starting at the age of seven, Brooke’s yellow bus would drop her off at the home of her father’s parents until her mother would pick her up later in the evening, after 7:00 p.m., to take her home. Brooke’s grandmother’s name was Lucy, and her grandfather, Dale. She loved her grandparents dearly because, they gave her the time and care she always longed for from her parents. She also liked being at their home because, she felt safe and she would see her aunt Pam and her cousin Jill, who was just two years older than her, and they would have fun playing with their grandmother Lucy’s makeup glam on her vanity dresser in her powder room. So Brooke never felt lonely around them. However, when she would be at home with her parents, after breakfast, lunch, dinner, and short family time, Brooke often felt lonely because many times her parents would be so tired from their workplaces, and although their family time together was fun, it was short, and Brooke resented that about her parents. She was the only child, and had no sister or brother to talk to or play toy dolls and trucks with together. This made her very sad. Sometimes Brooke’s mother would try to accommodate her loneliness, by taking her on a shopping spree to buy Brooke pretty dresses and fashion jewelry.This made Brooke happy for a while, but she still felt discontent because, her parents were hardly together for family time and she had no siblings. There would be times when her grandmother Lucy would give Brooke and her parents a surprise visit, and would bring Brooke some of the most beautiful Barbie dolls of all races, with long extravagant hair, and Brooke adored her Barbie dolls and always felt more special when her grandmother Lucy was around her. Because she always treated Brooke like a little princess. Brooke would oftentimes compare the perm hair on her head, with her Barbie dolls. Her hair was so short compared with her dolls, and she didn’t understand why she always had short black hair, and why her hair wasn’t long and pretty like her Barbie dolls, or like her grandmother Lucy’s. Brooke pondered this in her heart at a young age. Something Brooke also noticed was, her mom also had short hair, but she always saw her mom wear different beautiful wigs she simply adored and thought were stunning. But, Brooke knew she was too young to wear them. One day, at the age of ten, Brooke wanted to impress a boy she liked at school, so she sneaked one of her mom’s wigs to school. This wig was a dazzling shoulder-length wavy brownish-red hair. Mostly everybody in school was staring at Brooke and admiring her hair, even the young boy Brooke liked in school. Then suddenly, when Brooke dropped one of her school notebooks, her wig fell off her head, and a lot of the students in her school began to laugh at her. Brooke felt so ashamed. She tried to hold back her tears, and she noticed the boy she liked was looking at her, but he politely picked up her notebook, handed it to her, and walked away. Brooke began to cry. She ran in the school hallway, furious, disappearing into the girls’ bathroom, hiding for one hour. Then she fixed her wig, wiped her tears, while sniffling on a Kleenex from the bathroom counter. When she finally heard the school bell ring for the end of the school day, she quickly ran out of the bathroom, and as she was walking toward the school door to catch her school bus, her teacher Ms. Wright said, “Brooke, darling, where were you? What’s wrong?” Brooke shamefully looked at her teacher and said, “I am sorry, Ms. Wright, I wasn’t feeling well.” Ms. Wright replied with empathy and said, “I hope you feel better, we will talk hopefully tomorrow, and I am going to give your parents a call this evening.” Brooke shook her head and said, “No, Ms. Wright, I am fine!” Then Brooke ran toward the school doors to catch her bus. Afterward, Ms. Wright did use her cell phone and called Brooke’s Mom at the hair salon, telling her, Brooke was missing for a while from class, saying she didn’t feel well. Brooke’s mom was worried and not happy about the phone call, but she had clients’ hair to style, and could not think about Brooke at the time. Barb definitely was determined to find out what happened with her daughter later. Meanwhile, Brooke got to her grandparents’ house, and her grandmother Lucy was astonished to see the wig Brooke was wearing, as she walked up to her house door from her school bus. Brooke knew her grandmother was staring at her. She gave her grandmother Lucy a half grin walking in her house. Brooke could smell some good ole fried chicken, and buttered rice cooking on her grandmother Lucy’s stove. As Brooke put her book bag on her grandmother Lucy’s living room floor, at the corner, Brooke walked to her grandmother, hugged her, and said sorrowfully, “Granny Lu, I had a bad day today at school.” Brooke’s grandmother looked at her sympathetically, rubbed her face cheek, and said, “Sit down baby, tell me what happened, something wrong with your hair?” Brooke sat down with her grandmother on her gray leather sofa. Brooke then said tearfully, “I took one of Mom’s wigs from home to wear to school today so I can look prettier, and my wig fell off in front of my class friends and other students, and I was so embarrassed, I ran to the girls’ bathroom and cried. until I heard the school bell ring. Then I left the school bathroom, and my teacher Ms. Wright saw me, and was wondering why I was missing in class, and I told her I was sick, and she said she was going to call Mom, and I feel terrible.” Brooke then laid her face on her grandmother’s shoulders and weeped. Grandma Lucy held her granddaughter with compassion, wiping her tears with a Kleenex from her glass table, and she said, “Baby, it will be okay, you stop that crying.” Then she asked, “Why did you feel you needed to wear a wig to look beautiful?” Brooke sniffed and wiped her nose with her Kleenex and said, “I just wanted to look beautiful, Granny Lu, and Mom has so many wigs, I thought I would try on one to look more pretty for school, because my hair is so short, and not pretty like the other girls in school.” “I see,” Grandma Lucy said, smiling with a gazed look. Then Grandma Lucy said, “Brooke, you are very beautiful, and a wig cannot make you more beautiful than you were born to be.” Brooke looked into her grandmother’s eyes, listening with sincerity to her words, and Brooke’s eyes swelled again with tears. Brooke said, “But my hair is so short and not pretty like yours, Granny Lu.” “Stop that!” Grandmother Lucy said with firmness. Brooke continued to say, “Then when my wig fell off at school, some of the students laughed at me, and I was so embarrassed when William handed me my notebook, and he walked away like he felt sorry for me. I just wanted to die, Granny.” “William—is he a boy crush you have?” Brooke looked away from her grandmother, smirking as she sniffled. Her grandmother Lucy said, grinning, “Aha, so this is why you wore the wig, hmmm, young lady?” Brooke looked up slowly at her grandmother and said slowly, “Yes. He’s cute, Granny Lu, and I wanted to look pretty for him, and now I don’t know if he thinks I am the worst girl in the world, or if he will ever want to be my friend.” Brooke began to weep again, mumbling to her grandmother about feeling bad about her day. Her grandmother Lucy replied, “Brooke, look at me, I understand you wanted to look nice for yourself and for this boy William, but you have to be happy with how God made you first, and you are already beautiful, whether you have short or long hair, wig or no wig. Also, if you did not ask your mother to wear her wig darling, that means you stole it, and that was wrong baby, and you will need to explain to your mother and apologize to her later. Do you understand?” Brooke looked at her grandmother with respect and said, “Yes, Granny Lu.” Then her grandmother said to Brooke, “You remember to always love who you are first, before you expect anyone else to like and love you. You are a sweet little girl and someday, will be a fine young woman. Don’t ever let your hair define who you are. It is who you are as a person, your morals of behaving right, and being kind to others, that make you a special and beautiful person. Also remember, you are loved by your parents, and Papa and I love you dearly, and that is what matters.” Brooke nodded, to acknowledge she was listening to her grandmother. Suddenly, Brooke’s grandpa Dale walked in the living room. He was carrying a newspaper and going to his favorite black leather recliner chair, looking at Brooke wiping her eyes, and her grandfather said, “What’s wrong with Grandpa’s baby?” Grandma Lucy raised Brooke’s head from her shoulder as Brooke sniffled and dried her eyes with Kleenex. Brooke smiled, as she fixed her wig and looked at her grandpa and said, “Hi Papa, I am okay.” Grandma Lucy says to her husband Grandpa Dale, “She’s fine, honey.” Grandpa Dale says to Brooke, “Give your old grandpa a hug.” Brooke grinned, and ran to her grandpa and gave him a tight hug. He touches her wig and said with amusement, “What’s this?” Brooke said, chuckling and shrugging, “A new experiment.” Both her grandparents laughed with joy. Then Grandpa Dale handed Brooke a piece of peppermint candy. Brooke took the candy and kissed her grandpa Dale on his face cheek and said, “Thanks Papa.” Grandma Lucy smiled, and said to Brooke, “Go wash your hands in the bathroom and come in the kitchen with me so we can get dinner ready, baby.” Brooke said, “Okay, Grandma Lu.” After Brooke had spent a nice time having dinner with her grandparents, and watching a game show on television, of matching store items with right prices, Brooke realized it was almost time for her mom to arrive to pick her up from her grandparents. Then Brooke tried to remove the wig in front of her grandma Lu after dinner, but her grandma Lu insisted she keep the wig on, until Brooke’s mom arrived to pick her up to take her home. Finally, Brooke’s mother arrived after 7:00 p.m. to pick up Brooke from her grandmother’s house. As Brooke’s mother, Barb, walked into the living room of Brooke’s grandmother, she looked at Brooke, shocked, recognizing her wig on her daughter. Barb was surprised and upset because, Brooke’s teacher called her on the phone, and it did not make sense, until she saw Brooke wearing her wig. “Hi Grandma Lucy,” Barb said respectfully, as she hugged her. Then Barb said hello to Grandpa Dale, and he replied, “Hi darling.” Grandmother Lucy replied to Barb, “Hey baby, how was work?” “It was okay, busy as usual,” said Barb. Brooke was looking hesitantly at her mom, as her mom gave her a puzzled stare. Grandma Lucy noticed both of them looking at each other, anticipating; Brooke feeling ashamed. Barb walked over to Brooke and touched her wig and said, “So young lady, what is this, my wig? Your teacher called me today and said you were sick, but it doesn’t look like it to me.” “Mom, I’m sorry, I can explain,” Brooke said sadly. Grandma Lucy said to Barb, “Don’t be too rough on her Barb.” Barb smiled sarcastically at Grandma Lucy and said, “I appreciate you and Papa taking care of her while me and her dad are at work, but I must teach her not to steal.” Brooke looked at her mom sadly, and really dreaded leaving her grandparents’ house. After Brooke hugged her grandfather and grandmother, she and her mom said their goodbyes for the day, and walked to Barb’s gold Chevy truck. There was silence in Brooke’s mother truck, as they were traveling home. Once they got home in fifteen minutes, it was just Brooke and her mom at home, because Brooke’s dad would not get home from work until after 8:00 p.m. So Brooke’s Mom said to Brooke, “You put your book bag away in your room, take off my wig, bring it to me, and let’s talk about today, before you do your homework.” Brooke replied, “I did my homework at Granny Lu’s house.” After Brooke walked into her home’s dining room where her mom was sitting, drinking a cup of tea, Brooke’s mom looked at her with disappointment, as Brooke handed her mom the wig that belonged to her. Then Brooke sat at one of her mom’s dining room chairs, looking apprehensive at her mom. Her mom looking serious, asked, “Now what is the meaning of you taking my wig to wear to school today and missing class?” Brooke, with eyes looking ashamed at the dining room table, said, “Mom, I don’t like my hair, it’s too short, and you always wear wigs to look prettier, and I wanted to look prettier today at school, and your wig fell off my head, and kids laughed at me, so I sat in the school bathroom the last hour of school because I was embarrassed.” Brooke’s eyes began to show her tears.