Page 45 of Sending Love Letters to Animals

“Sure, man,” I said. “Did your mom forget you?”

He managed to sputter out a laugh.

“No,” he replied, getting his breathing under control. “She said she’d be late, but now she’s really late, and she just texted to tell me it’ll be another fifteen minutes. I’m ready to go!”

“Moms,” I said, throwing my hands in the air dramatically. “Can’t trust them for anything!”

He laughed and retrieved his phone from his pocket to text her so she’d know he had gotten a ride. A minute later, he’d gone around to the passenger side and hopped into the seat. I folded up his chair and stowed it in the trunk, and then I was sliding in beside him. It took forever for the heat to warm up in the car, but I didn’t wait for it to do so before I drove out of the lot.

For the first minute or two, we listened to songs on my playlist as I drove us out to the edge of town where Davud lived. His family had a nice one-story brick home on a few acres going out towards Asbury. It was a nice place, but removed enough from town so that it felt like the country.

“Oh, hey,” I said, turning the volume down on my radio, “we’re all going to Low-Key Café tonight. Jules, Elijah, Daniel, Liam, and Aubrey. Wanna come with?

“I don’t know…”

“I can give you a ride there and back home after,” I said, hoping that Davud would actually say ‘yes’ to LKC for once.

“Can I ask you a question?” Davud asked softly, his head turning so he could look out the window at the scenery.

“Of course,” I said and turned the music off.

Davud sighed.

“Do you always invite me to hang out with your friends because you feel bad for me?”

“What?” I laughed.

“Like…you don’t…pity me? Do you?” He asked.

There it was. Davud wasn’t only concerned about the logistics of being disabled and dealing with places that made things more difficult on him. He was worried that his friends felt an obligation.

“Davud,” I said, “I want you to come because you’re my friend.”

He didn’t respond.

“Though, when you’re a big ole sourpuss, I want to kick you in the ass.”

Davud chuckled lightly, but didn’t turn to look at me.

“Man,” I said, “I don’t really know the best way to speak about this, and I don’t know how it feels to be you, but you’re my friend. I like spending time with you. Even when you are a sourpuss. I invite you to go places because it’ll be more fun with you. That’s all.”

“I feel like a burden sometimes,” Davud said. “And that people only want me around because they feel obligated.”

“That’s not true! You’re awesome.”

“Look,” Davud said, finally turning to look at me, “This isn’t about me thinking I suck or anything. I know I’m a decent guy. I know my worth. But I’m not always certain that everyone else sees it. I feel like it’s not Davud they’re inviting, but the cripple kid they feel sorry for, you know?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, I guess. Yeah.”

“I always want to go to LKC,” he said. “It looks like a lot of fun. My dance moves aren’t great or anything, but I like music and stuff, so, I want to go. But thinking about people there looking at me like…poor cripple kid. We should be extra super duper nice to him. I can’t deal with that shit anymore. You know?”

Davud sighed and looked out the window. For several moments, we rode in silence. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like to be Davud. Disability aside, the worst part about being Davud was probably the way people treated him. He was just as capable as anyone else, given time to figure out how best to adapt—and maybe with a little help—but a lot of people probably treated him like he was incapable of even the simplest of things. Simply because he used a wheelchair.

“Well,” I said, finally, “I can’t guarantee that people won’t be dicks. People are kind of notorious for that, right? But I want you to come. Because you’re my friend. If anyone is rude to you or…whatever…I’ve got your back. Okay? And I’m sure your dance moves are amazing.”

Davud turned to look at me again. He looked like he was on the verge of agreeing, but the corner of his mouth was turned up in thought.

“I’ll buy you a Boba Tea?” I offered.