Why Can't They Be Friends?

Here is a different ending to "This is What It Means to Say Pheonix, Arizona"
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Victor knew that Thomas would remain the crazy storyteller who talked to dogs and cats, who listened to the wind and pine trees. Victor knew that, despite the difficulty, he should become friends with Thomas. After all that happened, it was only right.

"I know how it is," Thomas said. "I know you ain't going to treat me any better than you did before. I know your friends would give you too much shit about it."

Thomas was ashamed of himself. The decision to become Thomas's friend was way more difficult than it should've been. Whatever happened to tribal ties, the sense of community? The only real thing he shared with anybody was a bottle and broken dreams. He owed it to Thomas.

"You know what?" responded Victor. "Screw my friends. I don't care if they give me shit about it. You're a great friend Thomas."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah I do." Victor paused. "Here. I want you to have this."

He handed Thomas the cardboard box that contained half of his father. Thomas took the ashes and smiled, closed his eyes and told this story: "I am going to travel to Spokane Falls one last time and toss these ashes into the water. And your father will rise like a salmon, leap over the bridge, over me, and find his way home. It will be beautiful. His teeth will shine like silver, like a rainbow. He will rise, Victor, he will rise."

Victor smiled. "I was planning on doing the same thing with my half," responded Victor. "You want to do it together?"

That offer caught Thomas off guard. He quickly hid the look of surprise on his face with a smile. "Yes. I would like that."

A few days later, Thomas and Victor started towards Spokane Falls. A few minutes in, Thomas turned to face Victor.

"You wanna hear a story?"
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After reading "This is What It Means to Say Pheonix, Arizona," I wasn't super satisfied. Although the ending is touching, with Victor agreeing to listen to Thomas's story, the part about how Victor can't treat Thomas any better still bothered me. To me, Victor has a real bond with Thomas. Not only do we see Victor and Thomas have moments of bonding throughout their journey, we also see that they've had a (mostly) friendly relationship much earlier in their lives. As a result, I was quite disappointed when both Victor and Thomas accepted that they couldn't become friends because they would get "too much shit."

An argument could be made that the original ending does suggest that they become friends. The story ends with Victor agreeing to listen to one of Thomas's stories. As we discussed in class, the act of listening is a much more meaningful display of friendship compared to having the title of "friends." Perhaps the author purposefully ended the story this way so the reader could use their own imagination and interpretation to determine the future of the pair. However, I believe that being friends with someone (or in this case, treating someone better), despite receiving hate from others is just as important of an act. Seeing that Thomas is an outcast, the act of proposing to be his friend is as equally powerful as listening to his stories. As a result, I created an ending quite similar to the old one, except that Victor is willing to treat Thomas better, despite getting "too much shit."