ByJosé Dominguez, February 6, 2020 — Every time my wife decided my hair was too large she used to tell me, “Pepito, your head has grown to unacceptable dimensions, and you know what to do, do you?” Well, it meant I had to go to Toño, my barber, for a haircut. So, one of those days I went [to] Toño and told him, “Toño, please I want to recover my head size,” and immediately he started his work. In those precise moments, the “Doctorcito” who was the drugstore owner arrived, entering and saluting us. We appreciated him because of his good character, but we knew in the neighborhood that he was selling pills to drug addicts. He asked for an appointment and Toño gave him a time during the day.
“You know gentleman, that I just arrived from Las Vegas,” [the Doctorcito said].
“And what did you do there, are you a gambler?”
“No, no,” the Doctorcito answered, “I prefer girls, and I found lots of them. Oh, they were gorgeous, beautiful, and very professional. I have enjoyed girls that you don’t have the opportunity to see in these surroundings. Well, I have to go.” And he left smiling, very proud of his experiences in the USA.
I noticed that Toño was not saying anything and he was not smiling. And I asked, “Hey Toño, what happened with you?”
Toño and I were close and usually interchanged gossip and jokes, so he answered me with no hesitation, but he was very serious.
“You know Mr. Dominguez, I respect all my clients who happen to also be my neighbors, and we know as everybody knows that the Doctorcito has cash and we know how he earns it. But let me tell you I’m poor, short, fat, ugly as you want to define me, but I’m very proud of the ladies I have loved. I do my part. I take them to dance, to hear music, to eat. I try in the poverty of my budget to make them feel happy. Well, If they agree we can arrange for a private room in a low cost hotel. And I have to tell you I’m very proud of that because I know that they go with me [because of] my personality but not for my money. The Doctorcito is as ugly as I, as short as I, but he has cash so he can pick the girl of his dreams. But I tell you it’s very different to pay to be accepted.”
And he continued his work of diminishing my head.