Love Through the Years
Part 2 - 1988
By Ro & Hannah

1988
A toddler with white blonde hair and tear-rimmed blue eyes wandered the women's department of the store clutching a ragged teddy bear to his chest. He was lost. Somehow he lost his mother in this large place. His tiny voice was barely heard through all the other voices of the shoppers.

"Mom?" he cried, sniffing and hugging his teddy bear Gus closer to his chest.

A nearby teenager with his friend saw the crying child so he dragged the dark haired teen with him over to the boy.

"You okay, Kid?" The hazel eyed teen asked.

"I wost my mom." The child sniffed, looking up at the teen hopefully.

"How long ago did you lose her?" The teen asked, crouching down to get eye level with the toddler.

"I dunno." The child shrugged.

"Well then, what's your mom's name?" The hazel eyed teen's friend asked.

"Mommy." The child said softly.

"Mommy what?" The dark haired teen asked.

"Mommy Taywor." The child answered.

"C'mon." The hazel eyed teen said, picking the child up in his arms. "Let's go find your mom."

"She was lookin' over dere." The child said, pointing towards the women's lingerie department.

The two teens paled and looked to each other.

"Oh God." The hazel eyed teen said, looking to his dark haired friend. "Should we try looking for her or have a clerk page her?"

"We better go look for her." The dark haired one said.

They both took a breath and headed for the lingerie department. As they approached, the child looked around as best he could, searching for his mother.

"Do you see her?" The dark haired one asked.

The child sniffed and shook his head no.

"Justin?!" A panicked woman's voice cried out.

The two turned to see a very beautiful blonde haired woman running towards them, panic in her blue eyes. The panic fled as she saw her child safe in the arms of the taller boy with the hazel eyes. When she reached them, she held her arms out and gratefully took her son from the teenager.

"Oh, Honey." She said, hugging the boy close. "Don't wander off like that." She looked to the hazel eyed teen and his friend. "Thank you so much for finding him."

"Are you Mrs. Taylor?" The hazel eyed teen asked.

"Yes, I am." Jennifer smiled.

"We were looking for you, weren't we Champ?" The dark haired teen asked Justin.

They all chuckled when Justin blushed and hid his face against his mother's shoulder.

"Thank you so much again." Jennifer said to the two.

She walked away and joined a tall, blond haired man who was obviously her husband, the boy's father. The two teens watched them leave the store. The hazel eyed teen turned to the dark haired one.

"It's a good thing we found him. He's really a cute kid and some pervert could've taken him or something" He said to his dark haired friend. “The mother looks awfully familiar.” He said shaking his head.

To Be Continued…