I wrote previously on some very rich clients I have, and their hairless children.

Well, the story thickens.

In fact, it more than thickens. It congeals into a great big ball of super-weird.

As mentioned, I do some carpentry from time to time for some very well-to-do folks in San Francisco. The last time I worked for them I had discovered the (embarrassing?) fact that both of their children have no hair on their heads. Both wear wigs. In fact, they each have many different beautiful wigs. But too shy to bring it up, that was about all I was able to learn. Until today.

Today I was back doing more work — adjusting a wall-bed system which had started squeaking! Heavens forbid! –  and I was lucky enough to find myself alone in the flat with the housekeeper. She had always struck me as approachable, so today I struck up a conversation with her.

She was working int he laundry room so I asked her if she ever had to change the linens on the wall bed. It looked to me like it never really got used, which she soon confirmed. But apparently it is kept for that spare guest that may come some day. And besides, the children love it.

“Ah, the children!” I chimed in. “Such pretty kids. They seem very happy. But do you know why they both wear wigs?”

With this question, her face turned stone cold. She stopped what she was doing and shook her head, saying something in Spanish.

Afraid that I had crossed a line of loyalty, I apologized. But it wasn’t that. The maid looked up at me solemnly.

“Mrs. ——–  keeps her children that way,” she said. “They pay lot of money. They think beautiful.”

I wasn’t sure if I got what she was telling me.

“You mean their mother cuts their hair?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “The children. Very expensive. Medicine.”

It was then that we heard the lady of the house get home, and both,with the instinct of servitude, immediately fell back into our tasks like we had never spoken.

But now I am dying to know more. Was the maid smoking the good stuff? Or did she know of something more or less private and definitely odd. And is it odd? Or am I just out of the loop here? Maybe if I were super-rich, I would just understand.

As soon as I could I steered the conversation to the subject of the children, and specifically, their lack of hair. The answer I got back was unnerving.