Even though her dad assured her the bicycle shop stayed open late in the summer, Amanda was relieved to drive by and see the Open sign in the window. She eased into the gravel parking lot and killed the engine. She put her phone in selfie mode and checked to make sure her hair looked okay, knowing full well her dad would give her shit if he was here to see it. Good thing he didn’t get close enough to notice she’d sprayed on a little perfume. She shoved her phone in her pocket and went inside.
Ben waved to her. Her smile back was involuntary. She couldn't recall ever having this sort of instantaneous attraction to a guy but she was aware there was no guarantee he felt the same way. Maybe he had a girlfriend. Maybe he thought she was a toad-faced gargoyle. Then came a wave of self-doubt that she struggled to pull out of.
"I'm back for the bike,” she burst out, anxious to distract herself from the downward spiral of her thoughts.
"I thought you would be,” Ben said. “I went over it today and checked it out. Everything is tightened, oiled, and inflated. You’ll have a good bike."
He reached under the counter and flipped through some paperwork, finding what he was looking for. He placed it on the counter and then punched some keys on the cash register. He gave Amanda the total of her remaining balance and while she was counting out the money he asked, “Do you have a helmet?”
"No, it's been a while. The last one I had was a Disney Princess helmet that matched my bike."
“I’m sure it looked cute on you,” Ben said. "I can throw in a helmet. We usually only do that with new bikes but I'll make an exception this time. Just remember us if you need something else down the road. We appreciate your business."
"Oh, I'll be back. You can be sure of that."
He looked up at her and smiled at her over-exuberance. She smiled back, realizing she was probably acting like a complete idiot. From the way Ben quickly looked back down at the cash register, she wondered if she’d accidentally given him one of those goofy serial killer smiles. She found she did that sometimes when she was nervous.
Amanda dropped some bills on the counter and slid them across to Ben. He made change, then gave her a receipt and some paperwork on the bike. They went to the helmets and he showed her what they had in available in basic, entry-level helmets. It was pretty simple. Black or pink. She chose black because she’d never been a pink kind of girl. Next, they went to the shop portion of the store where Ben removed her bike from a service rack. Since her hands were full, he pushed the bike out the back door for her.
"Which vehicle?"
"The Jeep."
"I have a Jeep," he said. "It's a good vehicle for this area. Do you like it?"
She shrugged "It's my dad's. This is only the second time I've driven it."
"Is he kind of possessive about it? Jeep people can be like that."
Amanda shook her head. "No, it’s not that. I was just living with my mom. I haven’t been down here long." She didn't want to get into any further detail. If she started talking and it turned into crying, it would just become awkward for both of them. That was the last thing she wanted.
He sensed her discomfort and changed the subject. She’d managed to say enough for him to sense they were headed into delicate territory. Fortunately, they reached the Jeep. He studied the vehicle.
"You don't have a bike rack," he said. "I'm not sure we can fit this in the back of your Wrangler."
The Wrangler was a two-door with a soft top. She wondered if they could unsnap the top and put the bike in the back seat but she’d never taken the top off before. She wasn't sure exactly what was involved. Then again, she probably needed a rack if she was going to transport the bike anywhere on a regular basis.
"I have a little money left. You don't have any used bike racks laying around here, do you?"
She meant it as a joke and was surprised when he replied they did indeed. He leaned the bike against the vehicle and walked back toward the store. She stared after him, unsure if she was supposed to follow or not.
"Will somebody steal my bike if we leave it here?"
Ben laughed. "Not here. I'm not sure where you're from but the people around here don't act like that."
She reluctantly left the bike behind and returned to the store. It was going to suck if someone stole the bike she’d just spent a big chunk of her personal money on.
Ben led her to a pile of tangled metal in the back corner of the shop area. "Some people upgrade their bike racks the same way they do their bikes. We’ll take a trade-in if the old rack is a decent one. I’ve got a couple of single bike racks that aren’t too expensive. I could sell you one for twenty-five dollars."
"I can do that," she said, doing a mental accounting of her remaining funds.
They went back to the cash register and rang up the transaction. After she paid him, they carried the rack out to the parking lot and he installed the rack on the Jeep, explaining the process to her. After, he showed her how to put the bike on the rack and securely fasten it.
"I appreciate the help. I guess you can see I don't have a lot of experience with adult bikes."
"That's okay. We sell to beginners every day. Everyone starts somewhere. The important thing is just starting. I think you’re going to love it."
“Can we get a selfie?” she asked. “I want to post a pic of my new bike.”
Ben grinned. “Of course.” He was the same age, lived in the same world where if it wasn’t posted to social media, it didn’t happen.
They spent a minute or so finding a pose that allowed both of them to be in the picture while including the bike on the rack. Amanda made a goofy face and Ben mugged for the camera. She took a couple and found one she liked.
“That one cool?” she asked, showing him the screen.
He gave her a thumbs-up. “Perfect.”
She hammered out a quick description: New bike. Ben the Bike Dude hooked me up. #mynewlife #westernNC #newbike #santacruzbikes
“Alright, cool, glad you’re happy with the bike. I need to be getting back inside. The shuttles are done for the day but I’ll have rentals being returned right up until closing.”
Amanda didn't want the conversation to be over. Talking with Ben made her feel normal again. She didn't feel so displaced and so injured inside. Until she met this guy, she hadn’t realized just how much she missed both being a teenager and being around other teenagers. After weeks as “the poor kid whose mother died” she was ready to get through that and move on. She was ready to be someone else. Even the thought caused her a sharp pang of guilt, like she was trying to push her mother out of her mind, like she was ungrateful.
Like she didn’t love her.
Amanda didn’t want to leave with those thoughts spiraling in her head. "Listen, I don’t have to be anywhere. Do you suppose if I came back in you could tell me some places to ride?"
"I can definitely do that," Ben said. "There’s a big map on the wall and I even have some brochures I can give you."
They reentered the shop and found two customers waiting to return rentals. Amanda wandered around looking at bikes and the other items in the shop while Ben checked the rentals back in.
After those customers, there was a small wave of people returning rental bikes. In between, Ben talked about the different types of trails available in their area. She told him she wanted to start on something easy, a beginner route without much climbing.
“There are several parks with extensive trail systems that would be perfect for that.” He explained the rating system that distinguished the level of difficulty of the various trails, just like on ski slopes.
“There are some trails where you can grab a quick ride after work or school and others where you’re in the woods all day,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll go on a short one after school with a couple of friends as long as the light holds out. That is, if I don’t have to work. Once winter hits you can still ride but it needs to be a weekend or holiday so you get enough daylight. I’ve ridden a few trails by headlights but you have to be careful. It’s easy to misjudge the trail when you’re using a headlight.”
Amanda took it all in, overwhelmed by the options. "Well, if I don’t have to work with my dad this weekend, I might try to get out and hit one of these trails."
"Where do you work?" he asked.
"My dad is a contractor and I’m working with him right now on one of his houses."
"I always thought that was a cool job. You get to be outside all the time. You're not trapped at a desk."
She shrugged. "I guess it's not too bad. It's hard work. Right now I’m just their gopher and I wouldn’t want to spend my entire life doing that. It's definitely the bottom rung of the ladder."
"Thinking of following in his footsteps and becoming a contractor one day?"
She laughed. “I only have a couple of days on the job. I think it's a little soon for me to be planning on it as a career."
“Sometimes a group of us goes riding on the weekends,” Ben said. “I don’t know if anyone has anything planned right now but you’re welcome to come if we do.”
“That would be great.”
Ben pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “If you give me your number I’ll message you if we plan something."
She gave him her number and he immediately sent a text so that she would have his. She added his name to the contact. That was when she noticed the time displayed on the screen. "I guess I better be getting out of here. I didn't realize I’d been here this long."
“Well, if we go for a ride, I hope you can come.”
Amanda smiled. “I hope so too.”
She left the store with a smile on her face. She had a new bike and a new friend.