WHAT’S MEANT TO BE
“Well I’m glad you gave up trying to fix that bicycle,” Jennifer Taylor told her
son as he came in through the kitchen door. “That’s no job for a seven-year old.
Your dad will look at it when he gets home …”
“But it is fixed, Mom,” the blond youngster told her proudly. “It only needed a
couple of things tightened and …”
“Just don’t ride it till your father looks at it, Justin,” Jennifer warned him.
“You might think it’s fixed and fall off - and get really hurt. You can do
without that bike for a couple of hours.”
“I already rode it, Mom,” Justin replied. “It’s fine – you’ll see. Dad won’t
find anything the matter with it. I’m sure of that.”
“Well I never pictured my Justin as a mechanic, Honey,” Jennifer smiled at him.
“But you are a strange one, Justin – full of surprises. I guess I’ll never
understand you… Why don’t you just draw some pictures till your dad comes home?
I know you’re good at that. I’d rather you stayed off the bike right now – even
if you did fix it yourself.”
“I didn’t really fix it myself, Mom,” Justin decided to confess. “I was working
on it in the driveway and these two big guys came riding by on their bicycles
and they stopped …”
“Did you know them, Justin?” Jennifer wanted to know. “You know you’re not
allowed to talk to strangers. They tell you that at school and we’ve told you
that at home …”
“And I don’t talk to strangers either – and well I didn’t really know them,
Mom,” Justin explained, “But it seemed like I did know them … They don’t live
around here. One of them’s mother works in a restaurant and they were delivering
some special lemon bars to some guy up in the next block. He usually gets them
at the restaurant but this time he couldn’t and so they brought them over ….”
“Justin …” Jennifer tried to interrupt.
“They were both real nice,” Justin wouldn’t be interrupted, “But the one guy –
the one I liked best – he’s the one who decided to stop - he said he worked part
time in a motorcycle repair shop – and he took a look and said he could fix my
bike real easy – and he did.”
“What made them stop, Justin?” Jennifer asked. “Maybe just being nice?”
“I don’t think so, Mom,” Justin told her. “The other guy – his name was Mikey –
he said the guy who fixed my bike was not famous for helping people – but the
guy who fixed it said he just decided that he wanted to stop and help me – so I
must be somebody real special …”
“Well you are certainly somebody special, Justin Taylor,” Jennifer admitted,
“But I’m not sure I want some older strangers to know how special you are… I’ve
told you not to talk to adults you don’t know, Justin …”
“These guys just graduated from high school this spring, Mom,” Justin said, “So
maybe they don’t count as adults …”
”Yes they do, Justin,” Jennifer held her ground. “And if they should happen to
come by again, I want to know …”
“I don’t think they will,” Justin said, “I asked them if they would be around
again and they said they didn’t think so. This delivery was just a special
thing. But I know they were meant to be over here to help me with my bicycle –
cause I don’t think I could have fixed it myself … and I liked them a lot.”
What was the boy’s name who fixed your bicycle?” Jen asked him. “Mikey was the
other one …”
“He wouldn’t tell me his name,” Justin said. “He said he didn’t want word to get
out that he did something nice for somebody – and Mikey said that would surely
ruin his reputation if it got out. I said I bet he’d do something nice for me
again if I needed him - and he said maybe he would … Mikey said that really made
me somebody special.”
“Well I guess the whole thing was innocent enough,” Jennifer concluded. “And
since they’re not coming back this way …”
“Well I wish they were coming back,” Justin admitted. “I asked them to come back
– but the guy who fixed my bike – he said they probably wouldn’t – but that
maybe we would meet again when I grew up. I asked him how we could meet then if
I didn’t even know his name – and he didn’t know mine …”
“What did he say to that, Justin?” Jennifer wanted to know.
“He said that it wouldn’t make any difference,” Justin remembered. “He told me
that if it was meant to be, I’d find him – or he’d find me – and I hope that
happens, Mom. I bet it is meant to be.”
“OK, Justin,” Jennifer concluded the discussion. “Go get your sketch pad and
draw some stuff. I’ve got things to do here in the kitchen.”
Justin complied more willingly than usual. He actually wanted to get to his
sketch pad – while his memory of the two strangers was still fresh.
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