Chapter 49: No Lollipop Guild
Emily’s hand reached tentatively for the front door, Caitlin right behind her.
“Go ahead,” encouraged Clark, who was behind them. “Have a look.”
Emily paused. The fight with Tempus had left her wondering what they’d gotten themselves into. “I have this weird feeling, like the picture is going to change from black and white to color, and there’ll be odd little houses and a yellow brick road.”
Clark laughed. “Nothing like that, I promise.”
Emily unlatched the Kents’ front door and stepped timidly out onto the stoop, Caitlin hanging on her arm. They looked up and down Hyperion Avenue as Clark joined them.
It looked like a regular city street, with rows of brownstones on either side. Afternoon sunlight and shadow cast patterns over the buildings. It looked a bit like the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
There were parked cars, and a woman on the opposite sidewalk was pushing a baby stroller. On both sides of the street, kids of various ages were walking home from school.
A car drove up the street, too fast, and the woman with the stroller yelled something Emily couldn’t make out. Clark winced.
There were trees lining the street but they had no leaves. Emily couldn’t tell if it was because they were dead or had merely lost their foliage for the winter. The air was crisp. “What’s the date?”
“It’s Friday, October 28, around three in the afternoon.”
“So we’ve gone back in time by, umm… ?” asked Caitlin quietly.
“About eight weeks. In a way, yes, but it’ll be a different eight weeks here.” Suddenly Clark’s eyes lost focus.
“Hear something?” whispered Emily.
“Car accident, but nothing serious. I don’t need to go,” Clark whispered back.
The street was relatively quiet for a large city, but in the near distance Emily could hear traffic noises: cars in motion with the occasional horn, a truck changing gears, the distinctive sound of the pneumatic doors closing on a city bus. She heard the distant sound of a jet and looked up, but only the contrail was visible.
She heard the flutter of wings, and looked down to find a robin perched on the bare branch of a nearby tree. It looked back at her, its head cocked, and chirped. Then, it was gone again.
Her gaze wandered over the schoolchildren on their way home, as they laughed and chattered and horsed around. She smiled.
She’d only seen one street so far, but somehow, she felt everything was going to be OK.
• • •
“Oh, Centennial Park,” said Kara. “You can ride horses there, but you have to have your own horse. And there’s a bandshell and concerts. You can bring a picnic and eat while you’re listening. We went this summer.”
She turned the page. “Oh, this is North Street Seaport. They shoot off fireworks there on the Fourth of July. It’s really hard to get in to see it there, but we get to watch from the top of the Daily Planet building and get a pretty good view.”
Emily and Caitlin were getting an armchair tour of their new hometown via a large coffee table book titled
Above Metropolis. Kara was sitting with them and providing commentary as they flipped through it.
Caitlin was new to living in a large city, but Emily and her father had lived in Seattle for many years before moving to Wilmington. Seattle wasn’t as large as Metropolis, but she did have some experience with city living.
Of course, she didn’t have any experience living in a fictional city with a fictional superhero.
Except, flipping through the book, looking at all the neighborhoods and sights, the skyscrapers and airports and bridges and museums and stadiums, it was obvious the city was very real. The people she’d seen outside were very real. Kara and her family were very real. Even the Daily Planet building was very real.
The eleven million people who lived in this city weren’t extras in a Superman movie, twiddling their thumbs while they waited for their cues. They were living real lives in a real city, lives that just happened to include Superman.
Emily found it hard to keep both points of view in her head at the same time. Most of the time the Kents were new friends with whom she and Caitlin were staying while they got themselves situated in a new city. She loved Kara like her own child, and though Lois and Clark were older, they were turning out to be good friends. The city looked like a nice place to live and she was looking forward to getting to know it. All perfectly normal.
Then she would have the jarring realization that she was
living with Superman’s family in his house in Metropolis. Those occasions were less and less frequent. The solidity and depth of this place and these people simply pushed aside the fictional version of Superman.
Some time in her nine weeks with Kara, her view of Superman had gotten flipped. Instead of wondering how a comic book character had come to life, she was wondering how stories had arisen in her world of the real people in this one.
“Emily?” asked Kara, shaking her out of her reverie.
“What, sweetie?”
“Where do you think you’re going to live? Do you think you’ll live nearby? Uncle Jimmy and Grandma and Grandpa Lane live in Bakerline, and Uncle Perry and Aunt Alice live here in Queensland Park, but over in North Bridge. It would be awesome if you were closer.” Kara smiled at her.
Emily smiled back. “We’d love that too, honey, but I don’t know yet. A lot of things have to happen before Caitlin and I can find a place to live. Your dad has to get us identities here, and then I have to see if I can find a job. Once I know how much money I’ll be making Caitlin and I can start looking for a place. I have to worry about finding a good school for her, too.” She smiled. “Meanwhile, your parents say we’ll be living with you for at least a couple of weeks.”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“I’ll be in the guest room, and we thought we’d put Caitlin in your room, if that’s OK?”
“Sure it’s OK! Is Caitlin going to come to school with me?”
“Caitlin can’t go to school until we have papers, honey. Officially, neither of us exists here yet. That’s why Superman is paying a visit to Washington right now with that disk Mr. Douglas made for us.”
“I can’t go to school yet?” deadpanned Caitlin. “I’m heartbroken.”
“The longer it takes, the more you’ll have to catch up.”
Caitlin’s smirk disappeared. “Oh.”
• • •
“Kara! Kara!” shouted Laura as she shot through the front door and straight past her parents, who exchanged a smile.
“Laura!” shrieked Kara as she ran to meet her sister. The girls hugged tightly and jumped up and down, squealing.
“I was so scared!” said Laura. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” said Kara, giving her little sister another squeeze. “Did you have a good time with Grandma and Grandpa?”
“Uh-huh,” agreed Laura. “They didn’t even yell much.”
“Laura…” sighed their mother.
“Kara!” called Jordy from the doorway, his grandparents coming in behind him. He walked quickly to where his sisters were standing in the living room.
“Jordy!” Kara released Laura and accepted a hug from their big brother.
“You OK?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I’m so happy to see you guys again. I missed you so much…”
He said quietly in her ear, “I… heard what Dad told Grandma and Grandpa. We’ll talk later, OK?” She nodded into his shoulder.
“Don’t we get a hug too?” asked Ellen.
“Uh-huh!” Kara ran over to hug her Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Sam.
“I’m so glad you’re OK, sweetheart,” said Ellen.
“You’ve had quite the adventure, young lady,” said Sam, smiling.
“Yeah,” said Kara. “It definitely was.” She still missed her friends from Milford, but she meant every word when she added, “I’m really glad to be home, though.”
Laura noticed Emily and Caitlin, and drifted over to Lois, suddenly shy. “Mommy,” she whispered, “who are those people?”
The Lanes and Jordy already knew who Emily and Caitlin were from Lois’s and Clark’s phone call a couple of hours earlier, but for Laura’s benefit Lois introduced them. “Everyone, this is Emily Jordan and her sister Caitlin. They took care of Kara after she, uh, got away from the kidnapper.”
“Really?” exclaimed Laura. “Wow!”
“Yes, and they, um, lost their home protecting Kara from the people trying to hurt her, so they’re going to stay with us for a few weeks while they look for a new home in Metropolis.”
“Oh,” said Laura. “I’m sorry you lost your house.”
Emily smiled. “Thank you, Laura. And thank you for sharing yours.”
“You’re welcome,” responded Laura politely.
Sam came over to Emily and Caitlin, offering his hand; Emily shook it. “Miss, I want to thank you and your sister for what you did for our granddaughter. My wife and I both deeply appreciate the sacrifice you made. There’s no way we can repay that debt, but if there’s anything you need… Do I recall Clark mentioning you’re a physician?”
“Yes I am, though I’m still a resident, Mr. … Kent?”
Ellen laughed. “No, we’re Lois’s parents. I’m Ellen Lane, and this is my husband…”
“Sam. I’m a doctor myself, retired now. I mostly did bioengineering research, but I still have contacts in the medical community here in Metropolis. Once we get you, um,” he glanced at Laura, “licensed to practice here, I’ll help get you situated in a good hospital so you can finish your residency. And when you’re done with that I’ll help you find a position, or a fellowship if you like.”
“Th-thank you. That’s
very generous of you, Dr. Lane. I… I don’t know what to say…”
“Nonsense! It’s the least I can do. And call me Sam, please.”
“Thank you, Sam. And Ellen.”
“Um, yes, thank you,” added Caitlin.
“So… you’re Caitlin?” asked Jordy unnecessarily.
“Um, yeah. Jordan, right?”
“Yeah. You can call me Jordy. Um, Hi.”
“Hi,” replied Caitlin.
“Hey Jordy,” teased Laura. “If you married Caitlin and took her name you’d be Jordan Jordan.”
“Laura!”
• • •
“So Kara said we were in Queensland Park?” asked Emily, drawing her borrowed jacket a little tighter. She was going to have to go clothes shopping, and soon: she and Caitlin had brought almost nothing with them. Of course, that meant borrowing money, since she didn’t have an identity yet much less a job. She hated to do that, but they had no choice. Lois had promised to take them shopping over the weekend, and Clark had repeatedly told her not to worry about paying for it until they were settled on their own.
They were out for a short walk before the daylight faded completely. Kara had wanted to see familiar sights, to reassure herself that she was really back. Emily and Caitlin had wanted to get out of the house, having had enough of feeling like prisoners in their own home. Just the opportunity to walk the streets without the Secret Service was exhilarating.
Lois’s parents had begged off, eager to return to their own home after a week away. The rest of them had set off as a group.
“That’s right; this part is called Newtown,” explained Clark. “You can look it up online when we get back. Lois and I lived closer to work when we were single, but New Troy Island is really expensive and we liked this townhouse a lot.”
They strolled down Hyperion Avenue for a couple of blocks, then turned onto a cross street. Soon there were shops and cafes; there were very few chain stores to be found. It looked like a nice, well-kept, livable neighborhood. There were apartment buildings as well as brownstones, and Emily wondered if she’d be able to afford to live around here, and whether it would be convenient to her work.
As they walked, no one pointed at her or Caitlin, or shouted their names. There were no camera flashes, no reporters hounding them.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled. She and Caitlin were no longer celebrities; she loved it.
She spent some time watching the Kents, too. Laura had grabbed Kara’s hand and was not letting go; she was chattering nonstop about the time she’d spent with her Grandma and Grandpa. Emily was reminded again that Kara’s nine weeks with her had only taken a bit over a week here — it was Friday and Kara had only been kidnapped the previous Wednesday, at least as far as everyone here knew.
One more secret to keep.Of course, keeping the world’s biggest secret made that one seem insignificant. Without doubt the strangest thing about living here was that
no one knew Superman was Clark Kent. She and Caitlin knew personally just how important keeping that secret was.
Jordy was in quiet, earnest conversation with his parents about something; she tried not to eavesdrop. She looked over to Caitlin, who was taking in all the sights just as she was. She looked truly relaxed for the first time in weeks. Emily started to feel more confident that getting Caitlin away from the circus their lives had become was the right decision — even if it meant relocating to another dimension. She reached over and gave her little sister a one-armed hug.
“What was that for?”
Emily shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. Just because.” Caitlin smiled back. They kept their arms around each other.
As they passed a shop with a sign reading “Ramunajan — Greengrocer,” an older Indian man hailed them, speaking with a thick accent. “Well, well, who is this I see? Is one of my favorite customers home, safe and sound?”
Kara smiled shyly. “Hi, Mr. R.”
“I’m so glad you’re safe, child.” He turned to Lois and Clark. “We’ve all been worried since we heard the news. When did she come home?”
“Just today,” said Lois. “Superman helped find her, and rescued her.”
“Thank goodness for Superman! What would we do without him? Well, congratulations! It’s a happy day, yes?”
Lois and Clark smiled warmly. “
Very happy, Mr. R,” responded Clark.
Mr. Ramunajan looked Kara over again. “And now you’re wearing glasses too, eh? Your eyes take after your big brother and your father?”
Kara’s eyes twinkled. “I guess.”
He turned to Laura. “And what do you think of all this?”
Laura smiled big, showing dimples. “I’m really, really happy she’s back!”
Just then a customer standing in the doorway with a large bunch of leeks cleared his throat. The greengrocer turned to him and held up a finger. “I’ll be right with you, my friend.” He turned back to the Kents. “Do you need anything for dinner?”
“No thank you, Mr. R,” said Kara politely. “We’re getting takeout tonight.”
“Well then, enjoy your evening! I’ll see you again soon, yes?” He waved them off.
Many of the neighbors and shopkeepers they passed expressed similar sentiments; they were stopped every hundred feet or so to accept congratulations. Emily liked the sense of community in the neighborhood.
Eventually they turned back towards the Kents’ townhouse. The streets, buildings, shops, and people had dispelled more of Emily’s uncertainty about coming here. As they walked back, her only disquiet was the feeling of being displaced that anyone moving to a new city would feel. She and Caitlin smiled at each other, communicating without words.
Just then something started playing “Blue Suede Shoes.” Clark pulled his smartphone from his pocket and answered it. “Hello, Perry… no, not yet. We were just out for a walk.” He listened a while longer. “Of course you’d be welcome to stop by and see her! … No, we were going to do takeout. There’re seven of us and it was too late to make something… No, not Lois’s parents — they’re houseguests… well, it’d be easier to explain in person.” He listened some more. “You’d be welcome to join us… Oh… Well, in that case, maybe eight-thirty? You’re sure Alice won’t mind?… I see. OK, we’ll see you then.” He hung up.
“Perry is coming by?” asked Lois.
“Yay! Uncle Perry!” exclaimed Laura. Kara didn’t say anything, but she smiled.
“Jim too. I told them they were welcome to join us for dinner but they already have dinner plans.”
“Yay! Uncle Jimmy!” added Laura.
Of course, learning that Perry White and Jimmy Olsen were coming to visit reminded Emily that it wasn’t just any new city.
• • •
