🚀 go-pugleaf

She turned her gaze to watch a waiter across the room. "I thought
I had noticed something like that, yes."

I grinned with fingers. "Ah, so you saw them. I was afraid I'd have
to bring it to your attention." I wiggled three middle hands.

"I suppose this explains the legs," she said.

My legs had been sacrificed during gestation, along with my neck
and ears. One limb happily remained unmerged. With all these arms,
you'd think it would have been easy to hold someone. 

She looked down at her half-eaten slice of chocolate cake. 
I couldn't watch the corners of her eyes, but I knew they 
counted me. Did she count me her friend?

All pretense past, I rested all seven elbows on the table, and my
palm's face in the six lesser palms. "Tell me what you would need
with seven hands," I said. Inside, I was all muscle.

All seven of her heads turned up to meet my gaze. She said, "To be 
held completely. And maybe on darker nights, the shoulders. Shoulders
have been few and too far between."

bill                    bill         @          wetware.                    com