1988 - The Bicycle
Pamela had to construct a thorough and systematic logical argument for Lionel as to why Alexander should be allowed—no, not simply allowed, but commanded, as that was the Luthor way—to learn how to ride a bike. For her, there was only one argument that she needed to convince her, and only one worth considering: the boy wanted to learn.
Once convinced, Lionel purchased the best and safest children's bicycle on the market. It was silver and black, and she could see a hint of disappointment in Alexander's eyes that it wasn't red like the ones he'd been looking at in the catalog. He knew nothing about quality. It could have been a years-old hand-me-down and he wouldn't have cared, as long as it was that bright, shiny red. But it was only a momentary flicker in his eyes, before he grinned and threw his arms around his father and mother and ran outside to meet Pamela, who was holding up the bike by the handlebars, ready to supervise his first wobbly attempts.
Alexander had no interest in training wheels, insisting they were for babies and none of his friends were using them anymore at age eight. He would hear no arguments about how his friends had been riding since they were four, and he refused her help. But he couldn't quite bring his feet up to the pedals to get started, so he scooted himself along with his feet. She could see him trying to smile, but after a half an hour or so, he gave in and called, "Pamela, can you help me?"
She stood next to the bike and grabbed onto the handlebars. "Get your feet up on the pedals."
He did, and the bike wobbled, but she held firm.
"The bike will only stay up if you're riding a little faster. Go ahead and start pedaling, build up a little speed."
He started pedaling. She walked along with him, then ran, and when she couldn't keep up, she let go.
He kept pedaling, and steered himself around a fountain to return to her. His eyes were lit up, his smile brighter than she'd seen in a long time. "Pamela! Look at me!"
"I'm watching." Her throat choked up, and her cheeks hurt from smiling.
"Look! I'm doing it!"
"I see you, sweetheart. You're doing so good."
He brought himself to a jolted stop, scrambled off the bike, and ran into her arms. "I did it!"
She picked him up and spun him. "I'm so proud of you, Alexander."
As quickly as he had jumped into her arms, he pulled away. "I'm going to do it again!" he cried, running back to the bike.
"Do you need help getting up again?"
"Nope!" He picked up the bike from where it had fallen and jumped onto it, wobbling only a little as he sped away.
Heart swelling, she went to sit on a bench beside the fountain to watch him.