Fiction by John A. Ward

Friends
by John A. Ward

"Two heads are better than none," said Cabezas.

"Bull crap!" said Bellyface. "You're only saying that because you have two."

"You could have had two if you got in line when I told you."

"I could have had one if people like you didn't take more than your share."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know they'd run out. There seemed to be so many heads. I thought they would never end."

"They should have given you a pig's head."

"I'll share with you."

"How? We'd need surgery."

"I'll have surgery. You're my friend."

"We may not be compatible."

"We're compatible. We're friends."

"I mean immunologically compatible. My white cells may reject you."

"We could be tested. We could find out."

"Why? You don't like me because my face is on my belly?"

"No, I like you, but you were whining about it.”

"I don't whine. I bitch.”

"You bitch,” said Cabezas.

"Don't call me a bitch,” said Bellyface.

"I didn't. You did. You started it."

"It's all right for me to call myself a bitch. It's not all right for you."

"You're bellyaching again."

"Of course I am. What else can I do?"

"You could try to be nice."

"I am what I am."

"I am the one with two heads. I'll be logical. You can go with your gut feelings."

"I hate your logic. You are so pluperfect."

"That's a tense."

"I'm tense. If you don't want tense, find someone else."

"No, I like you because you're different."

"I tolerate you because you're better than nothing."

"I'm glad we had this little talk."


Author bio:

John A. Ward was born on Staten Island, attended Wagner College in the early 60's, sold his first poem to Leatherneck magazine for $10, and became a biomedical scientist. He is now in San Antonio running, writing and living with his dance partner. He has published in Doorknobs & Bodypaint, Toasted Cheese, Green Tricycle, Apollo’s Lyre, Alighted Ezine, Cenotaph Pocket Edition, The San Antonio Express-News, Antithesis Common, Wild Child, Clockwise Cat, Sentence, Sun Poetic Times, Byline, Quirk, ken*again, R-KV-R-Y, Cautionary Tale, The Smoking Poet and Long Story Short. Links to his work can be found at http://www.geocities.com/jaward04@sbcglobal.net/dancfool.htm.