1930, New York City, USA 

Edwin looks at the boy in front of him: short, fat-cheeked, and radiant. He’s small but beautiful in spirit.  

Joseph holds a ball out in front of his chest with both hands, towards Edwin. It’s an offering. It’s a gift. 

“Hi, I’m Joseph.” 

It’s an innocent start. 

“Wanna play with me?” Joseph asks. 

His voice is much smaller than Edwin’s. Edwin laughs and raises his chin. 

“Sure,” Edwin says. He looks at the little boy, assessing the challenge. “But be prepared to lose. I’m going to win. Obviously.” 

Joseph grins. “Okay.” 

The bright sun beats down on them, but they are children. They don’t care about the heat. To his surprise, Edwin enjoys the game. Everyone he has played with before has been boring. The game would always die down to simply passing the ball back and forth. It would become tedious. Nothing at all like a real game. 

Joseph immediately admires Edwin. He is different than the other boys. Edwin never loses his energy. He never slumps his shoulders like Tom did yesterday. He never says that he’s tired after fifteen minutes like Dick. He never sits down for a break like Stanley. They play for hours. Children come and go on the field. Joseph never loses his breath. He gives the game everything he’s got. 

Joseph has never been so challenged before. It’s exhilarating. He loves every second of it. 

They kick the ball back and forth. Although there are no rules, Edwin claims victory. He takes three steps back. Looks Joseph in the eye. Then runs forward with all of his might and sends the ball flying. 

Joseph watches the ball soar over his head. 

“I won!” Edwin shouts, arms flung over his head. The sun glows between his fingers. The setting sun illuminates his hair. 

Joseph, on the other end of the field, smiles and claps. He watches Edwin’s chest heave up and down. Edwin is strong. He is brave and powerful. Smart and victorious. 

Walking forward, he says, “My name is Edwin, by the way,” between huffs of breath. 

Edwin is like no one Joseph has seen before. Edwin’s words pull at Joseph’s heart like a stray thread on a sweater. The sweater unravels and unravels and unravels. It’s a soft, warm feeling. It’s unfamiliar—it’s the first time Joseph has ever felt it. Years later, he will know that at five years old, he felt the beginnings of love. 

Edwin demands, “Well? What’s your name?” 

“Joseph,” he says. “I already told you.” 

Edwin shrugs. Their ball is in the trees, far ahead. They walk towards it slowly, in silence. In the comfortable quiet, Joseph looks at Edwin and sees someone worth noticing. 

“You’re really good at playing ball,” says Joseph. 

Edwin says, “Of course I am. I’m good at everything.” 

Joseph can’t find reason to object. He believes it. He can’t imagine Edwin failing at anything. 

“You’re not too bad either, though,” Edwin allows. He links his arm through Joseph’s. “We’re going to play together a lot more now.” 

“Really?” 

Edwin nods once; quick, determined. 

Nearing the ball, Edwin sprints forward to get to it first. He grabs it, holds it out to Joseph, and grins. 

Joseph smiles. “Thanks.” 

The sun has set, but the dim light settles around them. Joseph can see the planes of Edwin’s face if he looks hard enough. He doesn’t want to say goodbye. 

“Do you go to elementary school, too?” Edwin asks suddenly. 

Joseph responds, “Yeah.” The word floats above their heads. “I’m five years old.” 

Edwin scoffs. “I’m six,” he brags. 

Joseph looks at him in awe. “Cool,” he breathes. He wonders if he will be like Edwin when he is six; amazing and tall.  

Joseph hears his mom calling for him. Time to go home. 

Edwin turns to Joseph and purses his lips. Joseph looks down because he doesn’t want to say goodbye.  

Joseph’s mom calls again. This time they hear a voice calling for Edwin, too. 

Begrudgingly, Edwin says, “Bye, Joseph.”  

A few steps ahead, Edwin turns and looks at Joseph. Then he turns back around and runs to his mom. 

“Bye,” Joseph says absently. 

His mom walks home with him. She says things, but Joseph doesn’t really listen. His mind is buzzing. He replays the hours with Edwin. Joseph has been swept off his feet. He smiles, sighs happily, and daydreams.  

He loves Edwin’s pretty brown hair. He loves Edwin’s strong legs, how they fling kickballs high into the air. He loves Edwin’s eyes and his voice and his lips, how they form words Joseph hasn’t heard before. 

He stays awake at night, thinking about Edwin. He will think about Edwin until the sun rises again. To say Joseph spends his childhood in awe of Edwin would be untrue. 

He spends his life in awe.   

1937, Middle School 

“Joseph!” 

Edwin jogs to catch up with his best friend. They are fourteen and thirteen years old, walking through the school hallways. Neither of them is very fond of learning. But they do like to accompany one another through the process. Despite their small age difference, they’re in the same grade at school. 

Hearing Edwin call his name, Joseph slows down. Edwin grabs his arm. 

“Hey,” Edwin says. His voice is tender yet bold. He grins. “Happy birthday!” 

“Thanks.” Joseph’s heart swells under the attention.  

Edwin is a head taller than Joseph, but Joseph finds it comforting. As they walk, Joseph pays attention to the way Edwin’s hair curls by his shoulders. He’s talking about sports and games and Superman comics. Things Joseph loves, too.  

Joseph can’t explain the way his face flushes when Edwin smiles at him. It is like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. It is like summer rain. It is like revisiting a favorite novel. Warm. Familiar. And Joseph wishes each time that the feeling won’t fade. 

Edwin nudges his shoulder. “We still on for tonight, or do you have special birthday plans?” 

Joseph says, “My parents are out of town until tomorrow, so I don’t have plans. The radio show will be on, so we’re definitely still on.” 

“Awesome!” Edwin grabs Joseph where his neck meets his shoulder and pulls him closer. “I mean, who better to spend your birthday with than me?” he jokes. 

Who better, indeed?  

They both think about the night to come. It’s a frequent thing they do, going to one another’s house to listen their favorite radio show. Joseph thinks that radios are incredible. Since their family got one a few years ago, he’s wanted to do nothing but sit and listen to it. He loves the radio, and he loves to share it with Edwin. 

Joseph listens to Edwin talk. He often wishes that Edwin would never stop speaking. Quite thankfully, Edwin rarely does stop. Some find it tedious. Some find it obnoxious. Joseph finds it lovely. It’s like the radio, or like music. He loves Edwin’s company, and he loves Edwin’s voice. 

What does Joseph like about Edwin? He’s asked this by a lot of people. Joseph doesn’t have a very clear answer. Edwin is a person that Joseph admires. He is brave and strong in spirit. He is bold in voice and unyielding in nature. Joseph is enchanted by him. Joseph ponders this as he watches Edwin’s lips form word after word. The noise around them turns to static. 

As they walk, Joseph realizes Edwin has passed his classroom. He interrupts Edwin’s ramblings. “Don’t you have Mr. Jones this period?” 

“I’m just walking you to your class first.” 

“You’ll be late,” Joseph worries. 

Edwin shrugs. “I don’t care.” 

Warmth blooms in Joseph’s chest. It’s a feeling he has started experiencing more often. Joseph can’t quite understand it. Edwin can say the simplest thing, smile in the slightest way, and Joseph’s cheeks will flush. His hands sweat and his heart bursts.  

It's incredible how Edwin treats Joseph. He is gentler and kinder with him than with other people. Edwin is the type of kid everyone watches from a distance. Edwin is brutish, impatient, and quick to anger. He’s a bully, but Joseph overlooks that.  

Edwin halts in front of the classroom. “Bye, Joseph.”  

Joseph smiles, and the feeling comes back. He waves and turns around just as the last bell rings.  

* * * 

“Boys and girls: your attention please! The Blank Corporation presents a brand-new radio program featuring the thrilling adventures of an amazing and incredible personality! Faster than an airplane! More powerful than a locomotive! Impervious to bullets! Up in the sky! Look! It is a bird? Is it an airplane? It’s Superman!” 

Edwin bursts into applause as Joseph enters the living room. Joseph squeezes into the small sofa beside Edwin and hands him a Tootsie Pop. They make eye contact for a moment, then laugh as the radio show continues. The rest of the house is empty.  

They are pleasantly snug on the little sofa. There are two seats across from them, but they’ve always sat on the sofa together. Joseph’s mom and dad take the other seats. For Edwin to come over for the radio program and then choose a different seat—it would feel wrong. 

They make comments and tell jokes. They make up narration when the static of the radio becomes overbearing. Some moments they are quiet as they listen. Some moments they are loud and silly. Every moment they are happy. 

The night drags on. The sun leaves the sky. Joseph is stricken with sudden nostalgia from when they first met. His heart is weighed down. His skin prickles. He looks over to Edwin. The sound of the radio fades until it’s nothing but white noise. Edwin stands up to stretch. It’s nearing the end of their time together. 

Joseph feels alive when he’s with Edwin. He wants nothing more than to relive this night for the rest of his life. He prays the sun won’t rise. He prays Edwin won’t leave. 

Joseph sits there, watching as Edwin’s muscles shift under his clothes. His throat feels tight. He doesn’t understand his own body’s reactions. He wants to say something, but he can’t.  

Edwin bids him goodbye and walks out the door. Just like he does every Saturday night. And every Saturday night, Joseph prevents himself from asking Edwin to stay.  

The static of the radio is deafening, or maybe it’s Joseph’s heart. The warm, tingly feeling is back. Joseph goes to sleep feeling like that.  

* * * 

Late at night, Joseph’s mom and dad get home. The door to Joseph’s bedroom opens. His mother walks in to say goodnight. Gentle and kind, she brushes the hair from his face.  

His mom steps away, and the door closes again. Joseph hears soft whispers outside the door. He hears feet shuffling as his parents embrace each other. Edwin’s dad places a kiss on his mother’s temple. They stay like that, outside Joseph’s bedroom door.  

Soon, they go to bed. Joseph smiles in his sleep. He thinks of Edwin and decides that one day he wants to hold Edwin like his parents hold each other. He wants to whisper “I love you” while their children sleep soundly in their beds. 

Academically, Edwin is not the best. But that doesn’t matter because Edwin is the best at everything else. 

Edwin loves that Joseph is his friend. It’s a strange relationship. Joseph praises Edwin often. He sees Edwin as better than anyone else. But Joseph can also berate Edwin when he does something wrong, like littering or insulting someone. If anyone else were to criticize Edwin, Edwin would probably punch them. But when Joseph does it, it’s alright. Edwin doesn’t question it. 

Edwin is especially awful at algebra. So when Edwin gets his latest test back, covered in red marker, he isn’t surprised when Joseph lets out an astonished and somewhat disappointed, “What?” 

Joseph turns to Edwin, snatching up the test. “Edwin, what is this?” 

Part of Edwin wants to say something like, “Who are you, my mom?” But he doesn’t. Instead, he shrugs. School doesn’t really matter to him. He’s just getting through it for his parents. Then he wants to enlist in the army. The honor, the bravery, the greatness of it all. 

Edwin knows that Joseph’s father fought in the Great War. Joseph doesn’t talk about it, but Edwin can’t figure out why. If Edwin knew someone who fought in a war, he would never stop talking about it. 

“You need to get tutoring,” Joseph says. 

“You can just help me.” 

Joseph, startled, doesn’t say anything at first. He doesn’t know algebra. He can’t tutor Edwin in something he doesn’t understand. But he doesn’t say that because Edwin looks at him like this is one thing Joseph can do for him. Joseph wants to do everything for Edwin. 

Edwin, though, thinks Joseph is smart because of how he speaks, how he carries himself, and how he can argue with passion and win. He can accomplish anything. Joseph is smarter than Edwin. He thinks things through and considers logic before making a decision.  

Despite knowing this could go wrong, Joseph agrees to tutor Edwin.  

The day before their next algebra test, they study together. Joseph and Edwin sit side by side. Their eyes meet every other second and then dart away. Joseph’s lips curl in a small smile. Edwin smiles too. 

Joseph takes note of everything he loves about Edwin. The color of Edwin’s hair and how it falls over his shoulders. The curve of Edwin’s lips, and the point of his nose. He loves Edwin’s broad shoulders, the blemishes in his skin, the scattered freckles.  

Edwin moves closer. Their shoulders brush. They share another glance, and Joseph’s eyes lose focus on his textbook. 

They stay like that, dangerously close. Though they both fail the exam, they have fond memories of the study session.