ENSHROUDED

Jimmy

When Jim “Jimmy” Tagle entered to work at ALK Barber Shop, he became the subject of his co-workers’ gay jokes.

“Wow! Bongga your hair!” Ben, the funny barber, would say referring to Jimmy’s long blond hair.

“Girlaloo girlaloo girlaloo laloo laloo…” Voltaire would hum along seeing Jimmy arriving at the shop.

“You’re sexier than my damn wife!” Bong, the newest barber, would comment Jimmy’s thin body.

“Oh my…you move more feminine than I am,” Chit, the receptionist-cashier-janitress, once said seeing Jimmy cleaning his cutting area.

“Jimmy! Want a free blo*w-job?” Cesar, the muscular barber, would give the grossiest insult.

The only one who never teased him was Ferdinand, the barber who was old enough to say such jokes.

Jimmy didn’t take his colleagues’ jokes seriously. If that was how they would befriend him, then let them be. Jimmy knew for himself that he wasn’t gay. I’m damn straight! Who could blame the other barbers teasing him? He had an overall package of that of a faggot. He was as slim as Mother Ricky Reyes and his hair was heavily dyed like that of Tim Yap.

He would only disagree when people in ALK would call him ‘Jimmy’ while his real name was plainly ‘Jim’. It was only in ALK that he had been called such. I got a short name and they’re complicating things adding up another syllable. Argh! But as time passed by, he was used to it. ‘Jimmy’ was better than ‘Jim Jim’, a name that a customer once called him.

Jimmy grew up in a squatters’ area in Brgy. Bata. He had never seen his parents and he grew up never wanting to see them. His grandmother raised him. All he knew about his parents, as told by his Lola Maring, was that they separated when he was just an infant and they explored the whole wide world in search of themselves.

Lola Maring owned a sari-sari store. Every afternoon, people would swarm at the store to drink tuba or play pusoy dos. Jimmy, as a young boy, would help his grandma look after the store. It was there that he adapted neatness. He arranged the de latas, chichiryas, noodles, and other dry goods very well such that people would be attracted to buy.

He was not malnourished. The reason why he was thin all his life was Lola Maring’s tuberculosis. With the populated area where they lived, the disease was common. If only he had a mother who was responsible enough to bring him to the health center when he was a baby and have his BCG vaccine. It was too late. He was already exposed to the bacilli and was treated with Kid’s Kit.

The mycobacterium finally killed Lola Maring when Jimmy was in high school. Since then, Jimmy was alone and continued his grandma’s mini-business. He couldn’t afford college education. He was a bum after graduating high school.

As a sideline, he tried to cut his neighbor’s hair and earned 10 pesos per head. He had no experience in cutting hair. He did it out of desperation to add something for his weekly budget. His first works were horrible and he catered only kids. But as he mastered the craft, he began having adult customers. He even had women.

It was an uncle of one of his customers in the squatters’ area, who invited him to work at ALK Barber Shop in Brgy. Villamonte. That man was a regular suki of ALK that time. With his expertise, Jimmy was immediately hired by Mr. Gonzaga, the owner of the barber shop.

Lola Maring’s Sari-Sari Store was closed. Jimmy sold the house in Bata since he was tired of the sqatter’s life. He rented a small apartment in Villamonte.

Maybe, one reason why his fellow barbers kept on making fun of him was that, many costumers liked Jimmy and he always got larger tips.