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“True friendship is not being inseparable; it’s being separated and nothing changes.”
-- Unknown
August 2006
The grass was warm under Charlie’s bare feet, almost too warm, he might say. It was somewhere between just right and burning, and Charlie knew that if he continued to stand on it under the California summer sun, that his feet would definitely start to burn. But he liked it though – he enjoyed the warm, crisp air of summer, he almost revered the sun. He remembered telling his mom how much he loved the beauty of a sunset, the way it colored the world in so many different shades of orange.
Summer had always been his favorite season for that reason. It meant more sunlight, it meant no school and all the free time in the world. Charlie remembered smiling brightly when Alex’s parents let them go to the park on their own – some might’ve said that it was foolhardy, and maybe they were right – but he enjoyed it a lot. Whether they would play catch with the little ball, climb trees together, or even play fight with the little twigs that they’d find scattered all around the grass.
It made Charlie happy, who wished that summer would never end. And not just because Charlie enjoyed the summer heat, enjoyed being able to play games all day instead of learning his ABCs and singing nursery rhymes, but because this summer, in particular, would be the last one he would have together with Alex for a while.
Charlie remembered crying when he first heard that Alex was going to school. He remembered asking his mother, wide-eyed and innocently ‘mommy, what’s school?’ and she told him that it was a place to learn things, to make new friends and that you would spend hours a day there. He cried when he thought about that because it meant Alex would go away, and Charlie would have to wait one more year before he could be with his friend again.
Although Charlie was younger than Alex by one year, he was still the bigger and taller of the two. He could feel Alex humming a little singsong, into the back of his neck, a nursery rhyme – one he recognized as ‘the wheels on the bus.’ It made him giggle because he knew it too. Although Alex was older than him, he knew the song as well. Alex then shifted his weight over a little so that Charlie could carry him a little easier when they were piggybacking like this.
Charlie had joked before that Alex was too lazy to walk, and Alex just giggled back at him and didn’t say no – meaning he agreed and actually liked it when Charlie was carrying him like this. Charlie didn't mind it, of course, he loved being able to piggyback Alex around even if it was sometimes tiring. Finally, they reached their destination, which was the little playground in their shared neighborhood. It was kind of sad – there was only a single slide, a swing, and just a few ladders and railings to climb on. But still, the simplicities of childhood made them happy, and they would always come back here before going home.
“Alex,” Charlie whispered somberly while watching a few birds fly across the bluish, bright sky. “I’m sad you have to go to school…”
“Why are you sad?” Alex looked back at him, perplexed, and confused. “My mommy told me it would be fun! I would learn new things, and then after school, I could always come back and play with you and tell you about all the new things I learned.”
That did sound lovely – really. Charlie was always excited to learn about new things. Starry-eyed, wanting more, listening carefully whenever his mom or dad had the time to read him a bedtime story or explain to him why something happened the way it happened. Charlie remembered things such as hearing the ding from the toaster in the morning, and asking ‘mommy, why does the toaster make a sound like that?’ He remembered his mom said something like, ‘there’s a friend in the toaster that tells you when the toast is okay to eat!’
And Charlie, of course, would believe her.
It was a sweet, blind, youthful innocence, and although Charlie eventually learned that it wasn’t the reason why, he still enjoyed being with his mom a lot, and his dad whenever he had time to come home from business trips.
“Well, you’ll find more friends,” Charlie finally admitted, pouting. “And then you’ll forget all about me.”
Alex frowned back at him, twisting his mouth. “Don’t worry, Charlie, you’re my best friend, though. I won’t forget you.”
Charlie didn’t look too convinced by that, so when Alex saw that he was still sulking, he started poking Charlie in the side, which he knew was where Charlie was ticklish. In seconds, Charlie went from sulking to giggling happily, laughing as he tried to push Alex off of him, even to the point of losing his balance and falling on the playground sand.
It hurt a little, but he was having too much fun to care. “S-s-stop it, Alex,” he giggled, trying frantically to cover his sides so that Alex couldn’t poke him anymore, but it always felt like Alex was one step ahead of him, a little faster.
“I know you’re ticklish there,” Alex teases, before finally relenting and helping Charlie get up again, and helping him brush the sand off his clothes as they both giggle joyfully.
“Promise me we’ll always be friends, okay?” Charlie grinned. “Pinky promise?” he adds, holding out his small hand, pinky extended.
“I promise,” Alex said back, wrapping his own pinky around Charlie’s. They both shared a laugh at that, before hugging each other tightly. It caused them to lose balance again, due to their shorter legs, but they were able to hold on and not fall to the ground this time.
“We’ll be best friends forever,” Charlie nodded. “Even if school steals you from me.”
“Forever?” Alex raised an eyebrow.
“Forever and ever and ever.”
Their thoughts were cut short when they both heard Charlie’s mother call out to them. Turning around, they laid their eyes on a warm, caring woman. She had long brown hair and pristine blue eyes – just like Charlie’s. Her face was gentle, and she was such a kind-hearted soul that whenever Alex hung out with Charlie, went over at Charlie’s, he always felt like she was a second mother to him.
“Hi, Mrs. St. George!” Alex called, waving enthusiastically at her.
“Hey, boys!” She called back. “I made both of your favorite granola camp cookies! I made too many, though, so I was wondering if you’d like to help me finish them all!”
“Yay!!!” The boys cheered, running towards the house where Charlie’s mom welcomed them with open arms.
“Make sure you leave some for Carolyn and Bill too, Charlie,” she said when Charlie started biting into his first cookie. “They’re coming over for dinner tonight, you know!”
“Okay!” Charlie nodded before handing over a cookie to Alex cheerily.
Alex bit into the cookie, and his trademark smile immediately popped up. “These are so yummy, thank you, Mrs. St. George!”
She smiled warmly back at them.
“You’re very welcome, dear. Thank you for being Charlie’s friend; you mean a lot to us, Alex.”
“Mommy, he’s not my friend,” Charlie says, pouting as he takes another nibble into the cookie. “He’s my bestest friend in the whole wide world!” he says, wrapping his small arms around Alex’s even smaller body. Amidst mutual giggling and comfort, Charlie is confident that their friendship will indeed last a lifetime. School or not, he’s happy with this.