Loyalty

my father's name is Bernie
my mother's hairdresser's name is Bernie too
he has been doing her hair for thirty years

I never knew the name of the barber
who cut my father's hair
Bernie cuts it now
it's easier for my mother
to bring my father along with her
on one of her weekly visits to the beauty shop

my parents were invited to Bernie's son's bar mitzvah
and his daughter's wedding
they attended his wife's funeral
he came to my graduation party
and their fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration

through it all
my mother's hair style
has stayed the same