It was 2am and it'd just finished raining
Her feet were killing her
Seven blocks
Seven blocks to meet him
To meet the man with seven arms
She passed the drive-by marriage boutique
Right there on the strip
Where you can make all the bad decisions you like
Her mother used to say
That her father never met a bad decision he didn't like
But she didn't like to hear that
About her father
There was a young man and woman
Standing outside the boutique
Putting whatever they could find in their pockets
On each other's heads
His wallet
Her purse
His car keys
Her bouquet
Gina got to the house ten minutes later
She opened the door and went inside
Wondered if the seven arms were tattoos
If they're code for something
If it's because he dipped his fingers
In all the honey pots he could find
What she didn't expect is what she was promised
A man with seven arms
Shaved head and bad teeth
Photos of himself on a boardwalk
Hung on all the walls
Gina wondered if he was in the circus
And who hangs pictures on walls anymore
Knowing eventually they're going to come down
And then you wind up with holes everywhere
Where there used to be only memories
She took off her jacket
And proceeded to kiss him
But he stopped her
'Just let me hold you,' he said.
So she let him
Because it's his two hundred bucks
And because she was curious
The arms wrapped around her
The first one felt safe
Like her father
When he'd wrap her up in a blanket
And carry her upstairs
The stairs creaking
Under his sturdy weight
And the light way
He'd set her down
Like he was putting her in a pool
Rather than in a bed
Covered with Mickey Mouse
The second arm felt like her brother's
Coarse and hairless
Spots all over it
That couldn't be explained
A sickly looking arm
Joe would sunburn so easily
He'd barely ever go outside
And when she moved to Vegas
She saw how much it hurt him
Knowing he couldn't ever follow after her
But that was the point
The third arm was blue
And Gina couldn't tell what to make of it
It looked like the arm of a Hindu god
There was a pulse underneath it
That didn't match the other pulses
This one had a rhythm
It was faster
It was going so strong
She pushed it against her chest
So that it could go into her heart
To see if she could speed herself up
The fourth arm was broken
It was in a sling
So she was careful not to touch it
The man with the seven arms let his fingers
Delicately slide out of the sling
And go across her cheek
The fifth arm was like her old boyfriend's
A big bicep that stayed big
Even when he wasn't trying to make it that way
There was a name on the arm--
'Julie'
--But Gina didn't ask
It wasn't her job to ask
Her old boyfriend used to ride motorcycles
He'd fix them too
Seemed to like fixing them
More than riding them
And he was sweet
He'd been a sweet guy
Looked like a guy who'd hit a woman
Which just went to show you
It's the guys who smile
That you gotta watch out for
She left him when she moved
And he seemed to understand
But it's cold in Vegas
When you crank up the air conditioner high enough
Like Gina liked to do
She lived in a shithole
But she still had an air conditioner
And as long as she had one
She was damn well gonna use it
And use it well
Anyway
She missed those arms
Those arms and those biceps
That could fix something
Then ride it away
The sixth arm had no hand at the end of it
And that was fair, wasn't it?
Gina was never promised a hand
He wasn't the man with seven hands
Just arms, that was what was promised
And she had seven arms around her
Didn't she?
The war took the hand
She could tell from the wound
It looked like her grandfather's wound
Same damn thing he had
What were the odds?
The man with the seven arms
Was trying to hide that particular arm
But Gina took it anyway
And put it by her waist
As if to say--
'It's okay. What do you have to be embarrassed about?'
The seventh arm was small
The smallest arm she'd ever seen
Like a kid's arm
And she'd took the hand at the end of it
And held it
Like she would a kid crossing a street
It had freckles
Not spots like the second arm
But just freckles
And it was slightly pink
A great little arm
It was silly
But she almost wanted to ask
Where this guy had gotten that arm from
Because she'd seen it somewhere before
But she couldn't think where
. . . . .
A few hours later
She left the man with seven arms
He'd fallen asleep holding her
And she'd extricated herself from him
Taking the two hundred with her
And closing the door quietly
As she stepped into the hallway
As she passed the boutique
On her way home
She saw the bride
Sitting on the curb
Eyes newly dried
Holding her purse
And her bouquet
Nothing on her head
The groom was nowhere in sight
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