Work Text:
Joe had only one wish for his birthday: a black skateboard. He knew it was expensive and that his mother might not have the money for it, because they had been alone ever since his father went to the pub and never came home again. When that happened, Joe for the first time in his life heard his mother swear out loud. It was there he promised himself never to do what his father had done to his mother.
"Joe," Sarah said. "It's time to get up."
"I can think of two things why it isn't time to get up," Joe muttered under the duvet. "One it's summer break and two I'm tired."
"Well if you look at it like that then I just return your birthday gift," Sarah said. "See you when you aren't tired any more."
Sarah had just left Joe's room when Joe came running.
"Not tired any more," Joe said as he took his mother's hand. "And I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry, Joe," Sarah said with a smile. "Then it's good I baked buns this morning."
Joe hugged his mother. She made the best food in the world. They sat down at the table to eat breakfast. After eating a bun, Sarah gave Joe his birthday gift. Joe couldn't believe his eyes when he unwrapped his birthday gift. It was a black skateboard but then he remembered something.
"Mom," Joe said. "Not that I'm not happy about my birthday gift, but are you sure you got the money for it?"
Sarah took Joe's tiny face between her hands and caressed his cheeks with a smile.
"I have been meaning to tell you. I got promoted last week. Better hours and better salary," Sarah said. "So yes, I got the money for your birthday gift."
Joe hugged his mother pouring all his happiness into it. He was so happy that his mother got the promotion she had talked about and his new skateboard.
"Thank you, mom," Joe said. "For my birthday gift."
"Glad you liked it," Sarah replied. "Now finish your breakfast so you can test out your new skateboard. Can't wait to see what tricks you can do on it."
After making sure that Joe wore all the safety gear before going skateboarding, Sarah told Joe to be home for dinner at 5 Pm. They were visiting his grandparents to celebrate his birthday.
Joe skated up and down the streets for hours, getting better and better at it. He only stopped for lunch when he got hungry. When he turned around the corner into an empty building lot, he heard someone laugh. It was a laughter he knew all too well. It belonged to a group of boys who bullied others. He decided to skateboard in that direction in case someone needed help with the group of boys. What Joe saw made him angry. The group of boys were laughing at another boy who was struggling with getting his dog to walk.
"Instead of laughing," Joe said. "You should help him."
"Where's the fun in that?" The older boy wanted to know. "Look he fell again."
"Get out of here," Joe said. "Now."
"And why should we do that?" The older boy wanted to know.
"Or else I tell to that police officer over there," Joe replied and pointed at the police car behind the boys.
The boys took one look at the police car and almost ran away. Then Joe walked over to the boy.
"Come on, Odie," The boy said. "I know it's hot but you can't lie here the entire day."
Looking at the boy's clothes, it was clear to Joe that he had tried to push his dog because he was covered in dust and dirt. Joe didn't know what kind of dog Odie was but Odie was bigger than the boy.
"Need a hand?" Joe offered.
The boy looked at Joe with a surprised look on his face. He hadn't expected anyone to help him.
"Only if you know how to get my dog going," The boy replied. "I think that Odie decided that he likes this spot in the sun and doesn't want to move."
"Well," Joe said. "Odie's best friend does like a sunbeam. Maybe that's why Odie isn't moving."
It made the boy laugh. It was the first time anyone had laughed over something Joe said. And it made Joe smile.
"I like you, you're funny," The boy said. "I'm Nicky and this is my dog Odie. I named Odie after Odie from Garfield because of the ears and because he is drooling most of the time. "
"Nice meeting you both," Joe replied. "I'm Joe and this is my brand new skateboard."
"Very cool," Nicky said. "I don't know how to skateboard or get my dog to walk."
Nicky looked down at Odie who rolled over on his back.
"Odie," Nicky said. "We have talked about this. You can't expect belly scratching all the time."
Joe laughed as he kneeled to scratch Odie's belly which made Odie wag his tail.
"He is cute," Joe said. "What kind of dog is he?"
"A mixture of everything," Nicky replied. "I got him for Christmas. The best Christmas gift ever."
"What I feel about my skateboard," Joe said. "Best birthday day gift ever."
Both boys looked at Odie, who was still lying on his back and wagging his tail.
"I got a feeling I won't get home for dinner today," Nicky sighed as he sat down next to Odie. "I'm having sandwiches because my mom is working late today. And you?"
"It's my birthday today. We always eat at my grandparents on that day," Joe replied as he sat down next to Nicky. "Did your dad also go to the pub and never come home again?"
"No, he left before I was born," Nicky replied. "Is just me and my mom. And I don't mind."
Joe ran his fingers through the sand. It was nice meeting someone who also didn't have a dad.
"Joe," Nicky said when he saw the sad look on Joe's face. "Are you missing your dad?"
"I don't know to be honest. He was only home whenever he needed to sleep," Joe replied. "I don't want to think about him on my birthday."
"I can understand that," Nicky replied. "Oh look, Odie is moving."
Odie crawled over to Joe and placed its head in Joe's lap and licked Joe's hand.
"Odie knows when people are sad," Nicky said. "The boys from before. They pushed me one day and when I got home, Odie did the same thing to me. It helped."
"It does help," Joe replied as he ran his fingers through Odie's fur. "Thanks, Odie."
Joe and Nicky shared a smile.
"I might got an idea how you can get Odie home," Joe said. "It's a crazy idea."
"I like crazy ideas. They are often the best," Nicky replied. "Please tell me."
"We could put Odie on my skateboard," Joe said. "And push him."
"That's not a crazy idea," Nicky said. "That's a brilliant idea."
Both boys got up and after some struggling, Odie was lying on the skateboard.
"My mom says," Joe said. "You can only skateboard if you got a helmet on."
Joe put his helmet on Odie's head. It made both boys laugh.
"We are not laughing at you, Odie," Nicky said. "We are laughing with you."
Both boys started to push Odie and it took some time, because of the sand on the building lot, but they ended up on the main street, where it was easier to push Odie.
"By the look on Odie's face," Nicky said. "I think he like skateboarding."
"I think you're right," Joe replied. "Look at that smile."
It did indeed look like Odie was smiling. They turned a corner and ended up in a parking lot.
"Joe?" A voice shouted.
Joe turned around and saw his grandmother coming towards them.
"Nicky, this is my granny Latifah," Joe said. "Granny, this is Nicky and his skateboarding loving dog Odie. My new best friends."
It made Nicky smile. He liked being friends with Joe and he was sure that Odie felt the same.
"Nice meeting you, granny Latifah," Nicky said as he reached out his hand. It was something his mother had thought him. She said it was being polite and showing respect for someone older than him. "I'm Nicolò di Genova and that is my dog Odie. Odie say hi to the nice lady."
Odie barked.
"Wow," Joe said. "I didn't know you had such a beautiful name. Why are you calling yourself Nicky with that name?"
"Because no one can say my name correctly," Nicky replied. "I have gotten used to it by now."
"Nice meeting you, Nicky," Latifah said as she shook Nicky's hand. "Why haven't you invited your new friends to your birthday?"
"Haven't asked yet," Joe replied. "Will you and Odie come to my birthday?"
"I wish I could," Nicky replied. "But I promised my mom to be home when she gets home from work. So we can eat the sandwiches."
Joe nodded. He understood that.
"Nicky," Latifah said. "When is your mom home from work?"
"7 PM," Nicky replied. "Why?"
"We can wait with eating until 8 PM," Latifah replied. "It should give you time to ask your mother. And you can bring her and Odie if you want."
"Please say yes," Joe begged. "Granny Latifah makes the best food in the world."
"Ok, I will ask," Nicky replied. "We better get home then so that we can get ready."
It didn't take long before they reached Nicky's home. It was a small house.
"Promise to call me if you can come or not," Joe said. "And if you can't come, then we will meet tomorrow. I will pick you both up. So, we can take Odie skateboarding."
"I promise, Joe," Nicky replied. "And Odie can't wait to go skateboarding again."
When Joe skateboarded home, he hoped that Nicky would come to his birthday party. Getting new friends was one of the best birthday gifts ever.
When Nicky finally got Odie inside he looked at the clock. It was 4.22 PM so he decided to use the time until his mother got home to get ready in case he was allowed to go to Joe's birthday.
"Odie," Nicky said as he looked at his dog. "If you ever want to skateboard again, you better take a shower."
Nicky looked surprised when Odie walked into the bathroom without any problems. Nicky expected that Odie would run when he turned on the water, but instead, Odie let Nicky wash him and dry him. Then Nicky took a shower before getting dressed.
"We can't go to a birthday party without a gift," Nicky said and looked at Odie, who still was rolling around on the floor. "Got any suggestions?"
Nicky looked through his toy when Odie dropped a tennis ball next to Nicky.
"That is a pretty good birthday gift," Nicky said with a smile. "I know what to give Joe."
While waiting for his mother to get home, Nicky found a dress and placed it on her bed together with towels in case she wanted to go with him. Then he sat down on the sofa and waited the last 12 minutes until it was 7 PM.
"Nicolò," Emilia asked. "Are you home?"
Nicky walked out into the hallway and started to shift on his feet while biting his lip. He so hoped his mother would let him go to Joe's birthday.
"Tell me," Emilia said when she kneeled next to Nicky. "What is it?"
Nicky told his mother about his day and the invitation from his new best friend.
"They also invited you," Nicky said. "I have picked a dress for you. The blue one with flowers."
"I think it sounds like a fun evening," Emilia said. "Let me take a shower and then we go."
"Really?" Nicky asked as he hugged his mom. "Thank you. You will like Joe. He is fun."
Joe hadn't moved from the window facing the street for the last hour. Nicky had called and said he was coming, but Joe needed to see it with his own eyes.
"Joe?" Sarah said. "Can you help me for a moment?"
Joe looked out of the window one more time before he helped his mom with the plates.
"Tell me about your new friend," Sarah said. "And how you met."
Joe told his mom about his day and was almost done when he heard a car stop outside. He ran over to the window and saw Nicky.
"Nicky," Joe shouted as he ran out and hugged Nicky. "I'm glad you made it."
Joe realized he was hugging Nicky.
"Sorry," Joe said. "I like to hug people."
"That's ok," Nicky replied. "I like your hugs."
Nicky looked at his mom.
"This is mom Emilia," Nicky said. "And this is Joe."
"Nice meeting you Mrs Di Genova," Joe said and did what Nicky had done. He reached out his hand. "I'm Yusuf Al-Kaysani."
"That is also a beautiful name," Nicky said. "I'm going to call you Yusuf."
"Only if I can call you Nicolò," Joe replied and Nicky nodded. "Come inside."
"Can you walk Odie?" Joe asked. "Or should I get my skateboard?"
"I don't think it's a problem right now," Nicky replied. "He can smell chicken."
Joe showed them inside and they all greeted each other.
"This one is from Odie," Nicky said as he handed the birthday gifts to Joe. "And this one is from me."
"Wow, thanks," Joe replied as he took the birthday gifts. "To you both."
Joe unwrapped the birthday gift from Odie first.
"Thank you, Odie," Joe said as he hugged Odie. "For the nice tennis ball."
Odie licked Joe on the face.
"And now your birthday gift," Joe said. "Do you know what it's, Odie?"
"Odie won't tell," Nicky replied. "He promised."
Nicky bite his lip and rubbed his hands nervously while Joe unwrapped his birthday gift. Joe smiled when he saw the necklace with the pendant.
"I made it at school," Nicky said. "Not the biggest artist. I was trying..."
Joe hugged Nicky.
"I will always cherish your birthday gift, Nicolò," Joe said which made Odie huff. "Yours too, Odie."
Both boys laughed before hugging Odie. Joe put the necklace on and ran a finger over the pendant.
"Is ok if you don't want to wear it outside," Nicky said. "I won't be mad."
"I promise you this, I will never take the necklace off. It was a birthday gift from my best friend," Joe said. "And your birthday gift will get a special place on my night table, Odie because you're also my new best friend."
Sarah said it was time for dinner. During dinner, Joe and Nicky were more busy talking than eating, and when dinner was over they took Odie with them out into the garden.
"You know," Emilia said. "Nicky never found it easy to find friends. And seeing him with Joe makes me happy."
"I know what you mean," Sarah replied. "Joe also struggled with finding friends, but seeing them play together. It's like they always have done that."
Both women smiled over the boys kicking the football while Odie tried to catch the football.
"There are still three weeks left of the school break," Sarah said. "Shall we let them catch up on what they have missed out on of sleepovers and other fun things?"
"I like that thought," Emilia replied. "Let them find all the joys in having a best friend."
Sarah and Emilia came up with a plan, that gave Joe and Nicky the first of many great summers together. When the summer was over it was decided, that Nicky should change school so he could be together with Joe every day. That decision only made the friendship between Joe and Nicky grow even stronger.
Every morning, Joe would show up and help Nicky walk Odie before school and again after school. They did homework together while eating cakes and drinking mint tea.
When Joe trained football or played a match, Nicky and Odie would cheer the loudest and whenever Joe lost a match, Nicky knew what it would take to make his best friend smile again. He simply gave Odie Joe's football shoes on and said that not even Odie could have done it better. Nicky also made football shirts for him and Odie to show Joe more support. Joe loved Nicky for it.
When Nicky entered a debate competition, Joe smuggled Odie into the venue so they could cheer Nicky on. Joe whistled and shouted that was his best friend who just won a round over another kid. Joe kept on doing it throughout the debate competition and when Nicky won, Joe ran up on stage to hug his best friend with Odie after him. The rest of the school year Joe kept on telling everyone that his best friend was the cleverest in the world. Nicky loved Joe for it.
One summer, Joe and his mom invited Nicky and his mom to Tunis, while the year after Nicky and his mom invited Joe and his mom to Italy. Odie was left with Joe's grandparents who were going to their summer house. Every day, Joe and Nicky would call and check on Odie and tell stories about what they had seen that day, while Joe's grandparents would show Joe and Nicky photos of what Odie had done of fun things that day. When Joe and Nicky returned home the first thing they did was take Odie skateboarding.
Nicky also tried out skateboarding once but said it wasn't for him. Joe respected it. Instead, whenever Joe skateboarded, Nicky would ride his bike. Sometimes they would make a small competition to see who could get to the ice cream shop first and the loser should give the first ice cream. Most of the time they didn't leave each other side because they got so much to talk about.
Before they knew it, they had spent ten summers together. Nicky had been gone for a week with his mom to attend a funeral, while Joe looked after Odie who couldn't walk as fast anymore but he still loved belly scratching and being pushed around on the skateboard. When Joe and Nicky met again, they both knew something had changed in their friendship, but they knew they had the summer to figure it out. And Odie would be the first one to witness when they did a couple of weeks later. But that is a story for another time.