Open Water

On the phone, the protagonist’s lover asks if he’s going to cut his hair before she returns to London. She wants him to look nice and feel confident. It turns out that he is already heading to the barbershop. As he enters, his barber, Leon, is combing a crying child’s kinky (afro-textured) hair. Leon begins to use his fingers gently instead of a harsh comb and the child quiets.

As Leon starts to cut the narrator’s hair, he thinks of how significant barbershops are as hubs for Black communities. Few places make the narrator feel safe, and this place of ritualized self-care is one of them. He and Leon discuss Leon’s recent trip to Ghana and how much happier the barber felt while there. Leon mentions not having “to worry about looking like us when you’re out there” (126) and says that London winters are hard on him­—in part because he still doesn’t feel welcome despite many years in the UK. Leon asks if the narrator has a partner and advises the young man to leave London with his lover to find a home where they can be free.

After the haircut, the two men share a joint in front of the barbershop.