Andy Roberts dangled his legs over the treehouse platform in the old oak behind his parent's garage. He nudged his best friend Joey beside him.
"Here comes that new kid Dalton." He pointed to a blond boy just entering the alley from a backyard gate three houses up the block. From their perch, Andy and Joey had a bird's-eye view of the neighborhood. "Dalton! What a geeky name!"
"I don't know. I heard his mom tell my mom how glad she was they moved here because where they lived before there weren't any other 10-year-old boys to play with." Joey leaned forward a little and peered at the boy, "He looks OK to me."
Andy felt a little stab of jealousy. Joey was his best, his very best friend. What if they played with this new kid, and it turned out that Joey liked him better? He leaned forward too. "He's got glasses! What a nerd—"
"Ssshh!"
By this time the new kid was nearly underneath them. He was so interested in what he carried in his hand that he hadn't even noticed the two boys in the treehouse.
"What's that he's got?" Joey whispered. Andy shook his head. The boy below held some sort of box with a thin wire antenna wiggling out of one corner.
"Let's ask." Before Andy could disagree, Joey spoke up.
"Hey, kid!"
The boy jumped and looked around him.
"Up here," Joey said.
The boy tilted his head backward until he located Andy and Joey on their platform. He smiled.
"Hi. My name's Dalton. Who are you?"
"I'm Joey." After a few seconds Joey poked Andy in the ribs.
"I'm Andy." But he didn't say it very nicely. He would have been perfectly happy just to spy on this new kid, but Joey had to go and spoil it.
"What do you have?" Joey asked.
"Watch." Dalton pointed up the alley toward the open gate he had come out of. He pressed a button on the box in his hand, and it began to make a whiny, buzzing noise.
"I don't see anything," Andy grumbled.
"It's a remote-control car!" Joey was already scrambling down the tree trunk.
The remote-control car zoomed down the alley toward the boys, its oversized wheels kicking up little spurts of gravel and dust. Bright sunlight flashed off the cherry-red paint.
"Boys, that's neat!" Joey said excitedly. "Come on, Andy! Come down and look!"
Andy climbed down the tree in slow motion. Just what he had been afraid of. This new kid probably had all kinds of neat stuff, and now Joey would never play with him again.
He jumped to the ground and strolled over to the other boys. "Neat," he said. He looked toward Dalton, then raised his eyebrows. "Hey, what's that thing in your ear?" Andy asked, hoping to distract Joey from the car.
Dalton blushed and pushed at a rock embedded in the ground with the toe of his sneaker." A hearing aid. I don't hear very well," he said in a low voice.
"Hey, Dalton, where did you get this?" Joey asked, pointing to the car.
"I made it."
Joey's mouth dropped open. "You made it?"
"Yeah, I found the body and stuff at a thrift
store; then I just kept scrounging parts until I had enough to put it together. I haven't really had a chance to try it out. I was going to run it around in the apartment parking lot down the street. Want to come?"
"Sure!" Joey stood and brushed off his pants. "You coming, Andy?"
Andy shook his head.
Dalton picked up the car, and he and Joey started down the street. After they had gone a few steps, Joey turned again.
"You sure? he called.
Andy nodded his head, glad that at least they couldn't see the tears burning his eyes; and he walked slowly into his house..
The next few days were unhappy ones for Andy.
"Joey doesn't want to play with me anymore," he told his mother when she asked what was troubling him. "He's too busy with that new kid, Dalton."
"Why don't you all play together?"
"Oh, Mom, Dalton's a geek. He's got glasses, and he can't hear—he has to wear this thing in his ear. He's a nerd."
"Andy!" Mother's voice sounded shocked, and Andy blushed. "What an ugly thing to say!"
Inside, Andy knew that what he had said was cruel, but the strong feelings welled up inside him. "Well, I don't care. It's true," Andy insisted. "Joey's supposed to be my friend, not Dalton's. It's not fair."
Mother sat on the couch and patted the cushion next to her. "Come here and sit with me for a minute."
Andy dragged his feet across the carpet and flopped down next to her. Mother put her arm around him and gave him a little squeeze. "You feel angry with Dalton because it seems he took your best friend from you."
His mother's squeeze felt good. Dalton scuffed at the carpet with his foot and muttered, "Yes, and I'm angry with Joey, too, for going with him. He's all excited about the radio-controlled car that Dalton built. He's forgotten all about our plans for the treehouse."
Mother pulled him closer. "It really hurt when your special friendship with Joey got interrupted by Dalton."
His mom seemed to know exactly what was going on inside him.
"Honey, we all feel that way sometimes, but Joey's not some toy that you can keep all to yourself and not share with anyone else. He has a perfect right to be friends with anyone he wants to."
"But he was my friend first." He still felt jealous inside.
Mother went right on, "And, meanwhile, you're missing out on a lot. You know, things are more fun to have when you share them with other people. And it's the same with friends. Not only are you missing Joey, you're missing out on the fun of getting to know Dalton and having him as a friend."
Andy's strong feelings bubbled up again. He interrupted his mother and blurted out, "I don't want him as a friend. Everybody at school laughs at him because he can't throw a ball and he can't make a basket. Mom, if his glasses fall off, he can't even walk without falling all over stuff! Who wants a friend like that?"
It was hard for mother to hear Andy say such harsh things about another child. "It makes me very sad to hear things like that, Andy." He could feel Mother's sadness. "Because, whether we think so or not, I'm sure Dalton is very special to his parents, just as you are to Dad and me."
. She went on, "He is very special to Jesus also. And I believe Jesus will help us love each other. Love isn't something you put into a measuring cup and give Joey half and me some and Daddy some, and when it's all gone you can't love anyone else. It works just the opposite. The more love you give, the more Jesus gives you, so there's plenty for everyone. Love isn't selfish."
After that Mother and Andy sat quietly beside each other on the couch for a while, with Mother's arm snuggled around him. Neither of them said anything. Then suddenly she tickled Andy, and he giggled. "Now, I think you should see if Joey and Dalton want to play."
Andy skipped into the room he shared with his little brother Sam. Maybe Mother was right. He picked his baseball glove off his dresser and grabbed his bat from behind the door. Maybe it would be more fun with three. At least they would have an extra person to help chase the ball. He went off to find Joey and Dalton.

Adapted from "Dalton Moves In" and "Andy Hurts Dalton's Feelings" by Melinda Monaghan, Primary Treasure, February 27 and March 6, 1993.