“We’d better get out of this downpour,” Simon said to Clarence. They tucked their faces under their arms and walked closer to the buildings. The rain pounding on the wooden sidewalk was so loud that Simon shouted to be heard. “We can take cover inside the barber shop!”
“The river’s rough!” Clarence felt his heart race as he noticed the waves sloshing over the edge of the boardwalk. He gripped the handrail, so as not to fall in.
“And the water’s high!” Simon reached for the door of the barber shop. A loud brass bell on the door announced their arrival with a clang that bounced around the huge room.
Clarence stood with his hair and clothes dripping on a mat next to the door and looked down at the tiled floor. The golden hexagons reminded him of a beehive he’d seen back in Greenwich. As he gazed upward, he realized that Zip’s Barber Shop was more than a place for cutting hair. The high ceiling was painted with a colorful mural of birds and the rotating blades of five ceiling fans were painted and shaped like clouds. One wall of the shop was covered from corner to corner with a magazine and book rack. Never before, had he seen so many magazines with cars and motorcycles on the covers. Another wall held framed portraits and clever sayings. A man-sized robot resembling a barber stood motionless next to an empty barber’s chair in the corner, and a