Josh was a nine-year-old little boy; he was supposed to enjoy birthday parties, at least that is what he big sister, Angie, said. She was the oldest. She knew everything. Josh was the youngest. And disabled. He did not know anything. At least that is what his big sister, Angie, said. His second oldest sister, Sarah, who was older than Josh by three years, so she was twelve said that Josh not liking birthday parties was okay. It was part of his disability, and he would have to live with. Though Sarah never called it a disability, just who he was, but Josh knew what she meant. Angie said that he said not try and decipher what people said. He was terrible at it and would end up messing everything up. Like he always did. Josh was scared that he would mess up the party by saying something wrong or bad without knowing it, so he played in the corner of the living room with a keyboard, but he did not turn it on to play it. This was Angie's birthday party; she was turning 15, and Josh should not try and steal away the spotlight from her by playing music or throwing a temper tantrum. At least that is what Angie said. She was the oldest. She knew everything.
Suddenly, Josh felt someone beside him, and Josh looked up to see a slightly younger looking boy with curly light brown hair and brown eyes. The younger boy was looking at him curiously as if trying to figure out what he was. More than used to the look, Josh looked back down at his keyboard slowly running his hands up and down the keys enjoying how they felt against his fingertips.
"Hi," the younger boy said. Josh knew that he was supposed to answer to that. It was polite. But Josh felt like he was near empty because everything was louder than normal around the house and nothing was going with the schedule that Josh had made up in his mind. Josh hated it. But it was his sister's birthday, and he knew his schedule was going to be missed up.
"Is the keyboard broken?" the boy asked. Usually, people would write Josh off as rude when he did not say hi back. But the younger boy did not seem normal. Josh could not decide if that were good or not.
"No, the keyboard is not broken," Josh answered the boy without looking up.
"Why don't you turn it on?" the boy asked.
"You'll ruin the party," Josh repeated the words that Angie said to him earlier.
"Who said that?" the boy asked, somehow able to understand what Josh was saying.
"Angie," Josh replied.
The boy gave an annoyed huff that Josh thought was directed toward him. Josh tried to hide his disappointment. He usually did not like talking to people because people were often mean to him and never understood whatever Josh was trying to say. But for some reason, Josh liked the younger boy even though he meant him 45 seconds ago. 45 seconds. That is all it took for Josh to annoy another kid enough so that he did not want to talk to him. Angie was right. Josh did mess everything up.
"Angie's my sister's friend," the boy said, "she's bossy."
Josh gave a small chuckle at that. The boy was right. Angie is bossy. And mean. But she was the oldest. And she knew everything.
"Turn it on," the boy told him, "I wanna play it. My mommy got me piano lessons, and I know how to play some songs."
"No," Josh shook he head.
"Why not?" the boy asked, not happy that the older boy told him no.
"Because," Josh said, not knowing how to verbalize what would happen if they played with the piano.
"Because why?" the boy asked, now becoming annoyed with Josh's one-word responses.
"Because why," Josh repeated before rambling out, "because Angie will get angry and yell. I don't like it when she yells. It's too loud and scary. No turning on the keyboard because it will make Angie angry and yell and I don't like it when she yells," Josh started to rock slightly as tears sprung into his eyes. He hated when Angie yelled and remembering it made him upset.
"Okay, okay, man," the boy said, sitting down next to the older boy, watching as Josh moved his fingers across the keys as if he was playing it and rocked back and forth slowly. Soon the younger boy became bored and said, "do you wanna play?"
Josh did not realize that the younger boy was talking to him and he jumped when the boy touched his shoulder, but he did not pull away. Josh looked down at the younger boy, not quite meeting his eyes, and the younger boy repeated, "do you wanna play?"
Josh looked down at his keyboard. He was playing. He was playing with the keyboard. Josh should tell the other boy that. "Am playing with keyboard," Josh told the younger boy.
The younger boy huffed in slight frustration that the older boy did not understand what he was saying, "play with me."
"Uh," Josh looked down. It was not normal that other kids asked if he wanted to play with them. Josh did not play right, so kids did not like to play with him. Why did the younger boy want to play with him?
The older boy took to long to answer, so the younger grabbed his hand and forced him to stand up. Josh looked slightly uncomfortable that the younger boy took his hand but did not try and take his hand back and willingly followed the younger boy until he realized that he wanted to go outside. Josh pulled on the younger boy's hand to get him to stop walking.
"What?" the younger boy asked.
"Have to ask Mom before you go outside," Josh said, repeating a rule that he has heard multiple times in his lifetime.
"C'mon then," the younger boy pulled on Josh's arm to move him toward his mother, "ask your mom."
"Mama," Josh said once he got close enough for his mom to hear him.
"Yes, Josh," Corlynn looked down at her son, surprised that Josh was holding hands with a younger boy. Not that Josh did not like touch, Corlynn could not count the number of times that Josh had hugged her, or his father, or Sarah that day. Josh never liked to be around other children unless it was Sarah and even then he would get tired of it and want to go off on his own and play all by himself. Corlynn had done anything that she could think of to try and get her youngest out of his shell, but the only thing that seemed to work was group music classes and basketball, and even with that the positive effect was minimal, but Corlynn would take any improvement from Josh socially.
"Can I go outside with him?" Josh asked lifting up the younger boy's hand slightly looking at his mother's forehead.
"What's his name?" Corlynn asked, not surprised that Josh did not think to introduce himself and find out the younger boy's name.
Josh shrugged.
"Introduce yourself," Corlynn said.
"Josh," Josh said then when he saw the look on his mother's face he knew he did it wrong. You have to speak in full sentences. You have to introduce yourself. You have to introduce yourself in a full sentence. "My name J... My name is Josh," Josh said looking down at the younger boy.
"My name's Matt," Matt introduced himself to Josh.
"Can I go outside with Matt," Josh said, repeating his earlier question.
"What do you have to put on before you go outside?" Corlynn asked her son.
Josh rocked back on his heels and said, "you have to put on... you have to put on... a coat. You have to put on a coat before you go outside," Josh answered.
Usually, Corlynn would have asked Josh to say to that sentences in his own words, but she was too proud that Josh wanted to play with a kid that was not Sarah that she let him slide. "Go put on a coat then you boys can go outside."
"Thanks, Mama," Josh said as Matt rushed over to where their coats were dragging Josh with him. Corlynn chuckled as Josh said, "You walk in the house. You run outside."
"We're going outside, Joshy," Matt told him.
"Know," Josh told him, "still have to walk in the house, Matt. Name's Josh."
Matt ignored the older boy and took his hand once again and ran to the door to go outside once they got their coats on. Josh pulled on Matt's arm on lightly again to get him to stop running and repeated himself, "You walk in the house, Matt," in a slightly louder than necessary voice.
"Josh!" Angie shouted at him, as soon as Josh heard Angie's voice he lifted his one free hand to cover his ear, "stop whining!"
"Stop whining!" Josh said back at the same volume and tone, "Not whining!"
"Angie, stop yelling at your brother," Miles told his daughter.
"I wish he weren't my brother," Angie whispered under her breath so that her father did not hear her.
But Josh heard her. Josh heard her. Josh heard her and felt sad. Josh felt sad because his sister said that she wished that Josh was not her brother. Josh knew that Angie did not like him, but it still hurt to hear her say it out loud.
"Come on Josh," Matt said in a low tone so that he did not upset the older boy further by talking loud, "let's go outside. I'll walk, promise," Matt crossed his heart.
Josh did not respond but did not protest when Matt started to walk toward the back door to go outside. Once outside Matt ran toward the playset and pulling Josh with him. Once they were to the playset, Matt dropped the older boy's hand and climbed the climbing wall. Josh did not move from where Matt lift him. Matt noticed that Josh did not follow him. The younger boy looked down a shouted-
"Come get me, Joshy! Come get me!"
"Name's Josh," Josh told him climbing up the wall to get Matt.
"Monkey bars, Josh," Matt told him, running to get to the monkey bars first. Josh ran after the slightly shorter boy and swigging on the monkey bars after the boy. Suddenly Matt stopped, and Josh let go after a few seconds and looked up at the younger boy.
"Matt?" Josh asked, "what's wrong? Jump"
"Can't Joshy! I'm stuck," Matt told the older boy. He was not expecting the monkey bar to be this high and now he was scared.
"Not stuck!" Josh told him, confused, "jump, Matt, jump," Josh jumped as if he had to demonstrate for Matt.
"Can't," Matt whined.
Josh remember once where he was scared to jump off of the monkey bars when he was Matt's age, and his mom told him that she would catch him when he jumped, "Matt jump, I'll catch you," Josh lifted his arms out.
"I'll drop me," Matt said.
"No, I won't drop you," Josh promised, "I catch you."
Matt closed his eyes and let go. Josh caught Matt, but he underestimated how much the younger boy weighted and fell backward, and Matt landed on top of the older boy, breaking his fall. Josh giggled, the fall not hurting him at all, "caught you, Matt. Not drop you."
"You fell," Matt said, looking down at the older boy, "are you okay?"
"Are you okay?" Josh repeated, "I'm okay," Josh answered, then squirmed, Matt's weight becoming hard to bare as the younger boy placed his most of his weight on his tummy, "off, Matt, please."
"Sorry," Matt apologized, rolling off of the older boy, holding his hand out to help the boy up. Josh looked at the hand as if he did not know what to do with it, "take it Joshy, I'll help you up."
"Name's Josh," Josh told him, taking his hand so that Matt can help him up.
"Slide, Joshy," Matt said, pulling Josh back over to the climbing wall so that they could get to the slide.
"Names Josh," Josh told him.
The boy climbed after Matt and the boys' sild down the slide a few more times until Josh became bored with that and ran toward the trampoline without Matt.
"Josh!" Matt yelled running after the older boy. Josh stopped and looked over toward Matt, "Where are you going?"
"Trampoline," Josh said, pointing toward it, then smiled "Matt come," Josh took Matt's hand and ran toward the trampoline. Josh liked playing with Matt and wanted to jump with Matt. Josh let go of Matt's hand and sat down to take off his shoes.
"You take off your shoe to jump on the trampoline," Josh told Matt, who followed suit. Josh jumped onto the trampoline the boy jumped and laughed, flapping his hands. Matt joined the boy and jumped too, giggling, Josh's excitement was contagious.
"Joshy!" Matt shouted to get the older boy's attention; Josh stopped jumping to look toward the younger boy, not bothering to correct him when it came with his name, "gimme your hands," Matt demanded holding out his hands for Josh to take. Josh took the younger boy's hands and jumped with the younger boy. Both boys giggled. After a few minutes, Josh let go of Matt's hands so that he could lay down. The younger boy continued to jump around Josh, causing the older boy to bounce up. Josh giggled and flapped his hands.
Matt fell and landed on top of Josh's stomach, causing Josh to grunt. Josh giggled again, "Matt," the older giggled and flapped his hands, almost hitting Matt in the head.
"What?" Matt asked, looking down at the older boy.
"What," Josh parroted, "Matt funny!" Josh answered with a broad smile.
"Josh, Matt!" Josh's mom shouted to get the boy's attention, "time for lunch. Get your shoes on and come into to house."
"Time for lunch, Matt," Josh told Matt, getting off the trampoline to put on his shoes, Matt following. Matt took Josh's hand once again and ran inside the house, walking once he got inside the house so that Josh did not get upset.
"You have to wash your hands for lunch," Josh told Matt, pulling Matt toward the sink.
"C'mon, Joshy," Matt whined to his new friend.
"Name's Josh," Josh corrected, still walking toward the sink.
The boys washed their hands and walked toward the kitchen table to eat with the rest of the party guests.
After lunch, the boys kept playing for the next couple hours, and his mother, father, and second oldest sister were happily surprised that Josh did not abandon Matt to go off to play by himself, but they were also happily surprised that Matt did not reject Josh for all of his odd behaviors and his way of speaking.
"Gotta go, Joshy," Matt said with a sad look on his face.
"Name's Josh," Josh whined with a pout on his face, not wanting Matt to leave.
"I know," Matt said, hugging the older boy around the middle, Josh hugged the younger boy tightly after a few seconds.
"Bey-bey," Josh said, "tomorrow?"
"I'll talk to my Mommy."
"Talk to your Mommy," Josh repeated.