Taylor Made Owens by R.D. Power

before pretending to die.
    She laughed and hit him on the shoulder. Feeling particularly close to him and optimistic that he listened to her demand to get rid of the stereo, she decided to take the risk of declaring her feelings for him. “Where do we stand? Am I just a friend to you? What can I do to draw you closer?”
    “I’m getting closer to you all the time.”
    “Come off it, Robert. Continents drift faster.”
    “Are you saying a boy and a girl can’t be best friends?”
    “Of course not. I’m saying I can’t be just best friends with you.”
    “Why?”
    Her heart now his ineluctable captive, she declared, “Because … I love you! There I said it. I love you.” She was looking deep into his eyes, hoping against hope he would admit same, but he didn’t. Not knowing what to say, he stepped up to her and hugged her. “Don’t you have anything to say?” she asked.
    “I, I … Taylor, this is hard for me. I have strong feelings for you. But love? At seventeen? It scares me.”
    “Well, I’m sorry to scare you,” said the distraught young lady with a big pout. He tried hugging her again. “I just wish I knew whether you’re afraid to love anyone or simply incapable of it,” she added. “Are we still friends or did I make an unforgivable mistake admitting my feelings for you?”
    “Of course not,” he said. “I really like you, Kristen. I want to see you as often as you can.” She kissed him on the cheek and left, still dismayed at his refusal to say he loved her.

Chapter Nine
The Yanks are Coming
    A ny parent knows teenagers go through money faster than a spendthrift government. Fortunately, they can’t borrow money from their children and grandchildren to pay for everything they want. Robert’s one hundred-dollar stipend sufficed to keep him poorly clothed, and to pay for baseball fees and equipment, but that was about it. He was ready and willing to work to earn spending money, though opportunities were limited in the immediate area. He managed to get a part-time job, his first, at an Italian restaurant in London. As hitchhiking proved unreliable, he needed a method of transportation, so he found an unguarded bike in downtown London and absconded with it.
    Kristen, who was preparing for another summer at the cottage, came by to say goodbye. With the garage door open and his new acquisition in clear view, the anxious boy walked down the driveway to meet her and stood so she’d have to look away from the garage to talk to him. She stepped up to kiss him goodbye for a few weeks. When she turned her head, she glimpsed his new mountain bike in the garage.
    “Whose bike is that? My brother wanted one of those, but my parents said no because they cost almost a thousand dollars,” stated the surprised young lady. He could never lie to Kristen for some reason. He just looked down, and she knew what happened. “Robert Owens! Not this again. I don’t understand you. I know you know right from wrong. What possessed you to steal someone’s property like that?”
    “I needed a bike to get to my job, but I had no money yet.”
    “So borrow some money from me until you get your first paycheck. There is never a good excuse to steal. Just think how bad the boy must feel whose bike you stole. Return it, Robert.”
    “I wouldn’t know where. I took it from the front of a store.”
    “Let me take it to my father. He’ll return it to the rightful owner. I’ll lend you some money to buy a new one. Pay me back when you can.” He nodded. “Listen, Bobby, I’m not interested in a criminal. Do you understand?” He again nodded submissively. “Stop breaking the law. You’re much better than that. Do this again, and we’re through.” With that she left, taking the bicycle. She returned later with two hundred dollars and a kiss. “See you in a few weeks, and be good,” she warned. Later that day, she went up north for the summer.
    Robert bought a new bike and worked two or three days a week at the