‘I have to earn a living too, don't I?’
‘It’s already late when I contentedly close the door of the attic room behind me. A laundry basket with wet towels stands next to the stairs. They need to go in the washing machine and dryer because I need them again tomorrow for my clients. The last client just left happily, and that always gives me a good feeling. For a few months now, I’ve had a hair salon at home, and I’ve been quite busy since the beginning. It’s a dream I’ve had for a long time, and when the salon where I worked for years had to close due to all the corona measures, I decided to go for it.
My boyfriend is fortunately very handy, so we converted the attic room into a hair salon ourselves. With two real barber chairs, large mirrors, a professional sink, and of course all the hairdressing supplies like styling products and hair dryers. A significant investment, but fortunately, it’s going well. My old clients are finding me again through Facebook, and since I often work in the evenings and on weekends, I’m busier than expected. Luckily, because although I had some savings, I borrowed money from my parents to set up my salon. And I don’t want to ask my clients too much for a haircut because these are expensive times for everyone.
As I walk downstairs, I feel my phone in my pocket buzzing with a message. Curious, I look, but it’s like I get slapped in the face. I see a payment request from Anouk, my best friend. It says: Would you pay me €3.80 for a cappuccino at De Laat? You can pay via any bank. My happy feeling is instantly gone, and I feel a huge irritation rising. Yesterday, I had coffee with Anouk at De Laat, a grand café here in the city. We don’t see each other that often, and she asked if I wanted to catch up there. When we left, she paid, something I didn’t think much about. Because I assumed she just wanted to treat me.
Now, it’s not that I don’t want to pay her back €3.80. But I just find it very strange that she asks for money while I’ve been cutting her hair for free for years. A favor, because I find it odd to ask her for money. I’ve been cutting her hair since I was in hairdressing school; she was my model for practice. And occasionally, she would come to the place where I worked at the time. When that became too expensive for her, I just cut her hair at her home in the evenings, and I’ve continued to do that even after I started my own business.
She has never asked if she should pay for a haircut, and after all these years, I didn’t want to ask her anymore. Especially now that she’s having a bit of a harder time financially after her divorce. In itself, that one free haircut doesn’t bother me much; I’ll earn those few tens back with my clientele. But that Anouk suddenly sends me a Tikkie for a cup of coffee really rubs me the wrong way. That you now ask me for money while I’ve been doing you a favor for years, you just don’t do that, do you? I also have to earn my bread, right?’
