Chapter Eleven
A couple of days after the big fire, Lara Kent received a call from a number she did not recognize while she was lounging at home after work. “Hello?”
“Hi, um, it’s Ken. Ken McCarthy. I hope you remember me.”
Lara’s heart beat faster, of course, she remembered him! “Hi! Yes, I remember you. I’m glad you called. How are you? How’s your leg?”
Ken’s deep voice flowed over Lara and made her tingle. “I’m good. The leg is good too. The doc says I’ll be able to go back to work in six weeks. Right now I’m just taking it easy.” After a short pause, Ken continued, “Would you like to meet me for coffee sometime?”
“Coffee sounds wonderful. Are you able to get around? Aren’t you on crutches?”
“I’ve got a walking cast now. It allows me to get around pretty well.” Ken asked, “Ummm, it’s not too late. Could we maybe… meet tonight?”
“Yes!” Lara exclaimed then she forced herself to calm down and said, “Ummm, sure. I’d love to meet up with you. Where do you live?”
“I live near the intersection of Carroll and Aberdeen.”
“I live near Washington and Carpenter so you’re very near me. Why don’t we meet at BomboBar on Randolph?”
“Perfect, I’ll meet you there in say… twenty minutes?”
**********
Lara walked into BomboBar exactly twenty minutes after she’d hung up. In preparation, she’d changed her clothes twelve times. She finally decided on a dark blue silk blouse with black twill pants. She wanted to look casual but classy, and she hoped this outfit projected that image. She saw Ken as soon as she entered the café at a table halfway down the main aisle. She made her way confidently to the table and Ken rose from his chair to greet her.
He hurried around the table and pulled out the chair for her. “Hi, Lara. I’m glad you could make it. You look great, by the way.” Lara sat down and allowed Ken to push her chair in, then he seated himself.
Lara perused the menu on the wall. “So Ken, what’s good here?”
“The hot chocolate is amazing according to reviews. You should try the bomboloni Italian donuts, they’re the best!”
“Sounds good. I think I’ll go with the hot chocolate and a strawberry-filled bomboloni.”
Ken signaled to the waitress. When she arrived, they gave her their food orders.
“I’m so glad you could meet me, Lara. Ever since we met at the hospital, I’ve wanted to talk to you, to get to know you. I hope you don’t think it’s weird, but there was something about you that I’ve never experienced before.”
Lara smiled back at him. “I know what you mean. I felt like there was something different about you when we met in the hospital too. I’ve never felt like that the first time I’ve met a guy before. It’s strange, but it’s something I want to explore.”
Just then their orders arrived. “Ummm, this is amazing!” Lara exclaimed after she’d taken a sip. “I’ve always thought my grandmother made the best hot chocolate, but this has hers beat. Sorry, Grandma!” Lara took another sip and licked her lips.
“Lara, the way you talk about your grandmother suggests that she’s a very important person in your life. Would you tell me about her?” Ken said. He gazed into her eyes; his smile warmed her.
“My grandmother is the most important woman in my life,” she said proudly.
Ken’s eyes grew wide. “Not your mother?”
“I never knew my mother growing up. Long story,” Lara replied. “I grew up in Kansas, on a farm in the town of Smallville.”
“Smallville? Never heard of it.”
“It was founded by Josiah Small in the early 1800s and is the county seat. It’s about an hour west from Wichita by car. I grew up on my grandparent’s farm. My dad moved there from Metropolis when I was born. He runs the local paper and the three of them raised me. They’re wonderful people, salt of the earth. My dad is the best dad anyone could ask for. But as I said, it was Grandma who was my female role model growing up. I owe her a lot.”
“She sounds like a wonderful woman. Maybe I can meet her someday.”
Lara smiled shyly. “I hope you do.”
“She may be a farmer’s wife, but she doesn’t fit that stereotype at all,” Lara said proudly. “She loves art and technology and is a big proponent of civil rights. She told me she and grandpa participated in some of the 60’s civil rights marches.
“She’s also a wonderful cook. She taught me everything I know and can still run rings around women half her age.”
“Tell me a little about your dad, if you would?”
“Dad’s a great guy. Besides running the local paper, he’s written several best-selling travel books about places he visited after college.”
Ken’s jaw dropped. “Kent? You don’t mean Clark Kent? He’s your dad?”
“Yep, that’s him. Have you read his books?”
Ken smiled and nodded. “I love them. I don’t get to travel much, but I feel that I’ve been there when I read one of his books.”
“I’ll be sure to let him know you enjoyed them,” Lara said proudly. “I’ve told you enough about me. Now, what about you?”
“I grew up here in Illinois. My dad was a police officer. He worked for the Lake County Sheriff’s office for thirty years, and he retired a couple of years ago. He and my mom moved to Florida last year. My mom’s siblings live there so that’s why they moved there. The weather is also better for his health and the taxes are a lot less than Illinois!”
“And what did your mom do?” Lara asked.
Ken’s face showed his pride for his family. “She was a stay-at-home mom. It’s not an easy job raising three rambunctious boys. My brother Dave is two years older than me. My brother Ted is two years younger. Dave’s married to Amy and they live in Milwaukee and Ted is married to Audrey and they live in Davenport, Iowa. Do you have any siblings?”
“Nope, I’m an only child. I wish I’d had a brother or sister growing up, but dad never found a woman to love after my mom. I do have an aunt and two cousins on my mom’s side, but I only recently found them so I didn’t know them growing up.”
**********
Over the next hour, they had another hot chocolate and shared experiences from their childhoods. Ken told of summers spent at camp where he learned to swim, ride horses, and where he developed a love of nature. Lara told him of her life on the farm, her Girl Scout trips, and learning to cook with her grandmother. They were having so much fun that neither of them seemed to want the evening to end.
When there was a pause in the conversation Lara glanced at her watch and said, “I’m sorry, Ken but I really should be getting home. I’ve had a nice time.”
“Me too.” Lara and Ken walked slowly to the door and out onto the sidewalk.
Ken smiled shyly and said, “Uh, would you like to see a movie with me this weekend?”
“Sure! What day and time?”
“How about Friday night, at seven o’clock? We can grab a bite to eat then hit the movie after.”
“Perfect.” Lara reached into her purse and pulled out her business card, then wrote her address on the back. Ken took it and put it in his breast pocket.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up at 7:00.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
Lara smiled shyly. “See you Friday.” Then she turned south towards the “L” station.
**********
When she arrived home, Lara changed into her pajamas then walked into her kitchen. She took a mug down from her cabinet, took a tea bag from the canister, placed it into the cup, then filled it with water. A quick blast of heat vision had it boiling in no time. She took her tea into the living room, then set the cup on the coffee table to steep. While she waited, she sat and pondered her date with Ken.
Their casual date tonight proved that the feelings she’d experienced at the hospital were not a fluke. Every time their hands touched it was like electricity flowed through her. Every smile, every touch, every gesture affected her as no man had ever done before. Lara knew, without a doubt, that Ken McCarthy was someone special, though she didn’t know why.
She remembered how her dad had talked about his first meeting with Lois Lane. Her experience with Ken seemed to mirror that experience almost to a T. Over the years she’d met and dated some nice guys, but none of them had ever affected her the way Ken did. She took a sip of her tea and contemplated how things might progress. One thing was for sure, she knew that she wanted to see more of him. A lot more. She could hardly wait for Friday night.!
**********
Lara flew home to Smallville after work the next day, eager to share her news with her grandmother. Lara burst through the back door where the two women embraced enthusiastically.
“Grandma!”
“It’s so good to see you, sweetie,” Martha said as she studied Lara’s face. “Okay, out with it. You’ve got something on your mind.”
“There’s no fooling you, huh?” Lara said, her eyes sparkled with delight. “I’ve met a man, Grandma.”
“Oh, honey! That’s wonderful! What’s he like?”
“He’s a firefighter and he has two brothers.” Lara enthused. “His dad was a cop and his mom’s a homemaker., They live in Florida now. He’s 24, six feet two inches with dark curly hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes.”
Martha sat down and invited Lara to join her. “How did you meet?”
“I was helping out at a fire and one of the firemen went missing. When I searched the debris, I found him under some rubble. He had a broken leg, so I went to the hospital to interview him for the paper.”
“That was the fire you wrote about? He’s the firefighter you interviewed?”
“Yep. I’ve never met anyone like him, Grandma. I’ve never felt like this before.”
“That’s wonderful, dear but you’ve dated a lot of guys so what’s different about him?”
“It’s hard to explain, Grandma. When I walked into the Emergency Room and I saw him for the first time it felt like I knew he was the man for me. My legs got weak and I could hardly breathe. When we shook hands it was as if I’d been struck by lightning.”
“You didn’t feel that way when you rescued him?”
“No. He was all decked out in his firefighting gear. I couldn’t even see his face very well. Besides, he was in pain and my only thought was to get him to the ambulance.”
“That makes sense. Do you think he feels the same way?”
“Oh yes. We met at a little place for hot chocolate and Italian donuts and we talked for a couple of hours. He kissed me on the cheek and asked me out for this Friday.”
“He sounds like a very nice man. Why don’t you help me get supper ready? Your dad should be here soon and we can talk some more.”
Martha and Lara set the table and had the food waiting on the table when Jonathan and Clark walked into the kitchen ten minutes later.
“Lara! It’s good to see you, Pumpkin.” Clark said. He hugged his daughter then sat down. “I didn’t know you were stopping by tonight, not that we don’t love having you here.”
“I just decided to drop in, Dad. I’ve got some news.”
Martha said, “Why don’t we sit down and eat, then Lara can tell us her news.”
While everyone filled their plates, Clark looked over to his daughter. Between bites of meatloaf, Clark asked, “So, Pumpkin, what’s your big news?”
“I’ve met a man, Dad,” Lara said with a smile.
Clark put down his fork and sighed quietly. “That’s wonderful, Pumpkin!” Clark said —though his smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. “Tell us all about him.”
Lara repeated what she’d told her grandmother earlier. She grew more and more excited with the retelling. When she finished, she looked at her father. Lara said carefully, “Dad, I’ve met and dated some great guys, but I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. Is that how you felt about Lois?”
“Sounds like it, honey. I knew when she walked into my interview that she was the woman for me. Maybe it’s a Kryptonian thing. I don’t know, but it could be. I wish I knew for sure.”
“Do you think the globe might know?”
“Maybe. I’ve never tried to ask it a question before. I always thought it played only prerecorded messages, but it couldn’t hurt to try. How about we give it a shot after dinner?” Lara nodded her assent and returned to her meal.
After dinner, they went into the den and Clark took the globe off the shelf and out of its box.
“How do you think we should do this, Dad?”
“Well, it played separate messages when we touched it individually. Why don’t we both hold it and see what happens?”
They sat on the couch and laid their hands on the globe. Clark put his hands on top and bottom and Lara put hers on each side and the globe slowly began to glow. It grew brighter and brighter until a hologram of Jor-El and Lara appeared in front of them. Clark and Lara grinned at each other.
“What is your wish, my son?” Jor-El and Lara stood in front of them and smiled benevolently.
“Can you tell us how Kryptonians choose a mate?” Clark asked.
Jor-El replied, “Birth marriages are the norm for the noble houses. The reasons are many. To strengthen a smaller house by allying with a larger one. For business relationships, and, of course, to strengthen their power base. You Kal-El, as the future First Lord, were bound at birth to the House of Ra.”
Lara looked at the hologram of her grandmother and asked tremulously, “Don’t Kryptonians marry for love?”
“Yes, granddaughter, they do.” Grandmother Lara replied. “A birth marriage can be rendered null when one or both of the participants has found his or her soulmate. Kryptonians bind for life, so when someone finds a soulmate it is a rare and wonderful thing.”
Lara asked, “How do you know when you’ve found your soulmate?”
Grandmother Lara smiled benignly. “When a person finds their soulmate the couple feels attraction stronger to each other than to any other. It is as if you have met the person who is the other half of your being.”
Lara asked, “Do soulmates always get together?”
“No.” Grandmother Lara replied sadly. “Unfortunately, the soulmate bond only means that the path to happiness is smoother if the couple accepts it. Numerous factors can affect the bond. It can be resisted if other goals are more important to that person or if soulmates never meet.”
“Ummm, were you and Jor-El soulmates?”
“Yes, granddaughter, we were.” Grandmother Lara replied. “Our binding was a glorious joining that we treasured our whole life.”
Clark and Lara grinned happily at that news.
Lara thought of something else that she wondered about. “What is the extent of the knowledge the globe contains?”
Jor-El turned to face Lara and replied, “This globe contains the majority of the Kryptonian knowledge base limited only by the amount of storage available. It contains information on Science, Law, Philosophy, Literature, Music, Medicine, and many other subjects. These subjects we felt would be useful on Kal-El’s new planet and would give him information on his Kryptonian heritage.”
Clark asked, “How do we access the knowledge base?”
“When you hold the globe as you are now it activates query mode. If Kal-El holds the globe, my hologram will appear. If you, granddaughter hold the globe then my wife’s hologram will appear. Is this satisfactory?”
“Yes, thank you,” Lara replied.
“You are most welcome.”
Lara and Clark removed their hands from the globe and the hologram disappeared, then the globe slowly went dark. Clark placed it in the velvet-lined wooden box and put it on the shelf. Father and daughter went back to the living room where Martha and Jonathan awaited them.
Martha asked, “Were you able to get your questions answered?”
“Yes, we did,” Lara replied. “The globe said that Kryptonians mate for life, and they know when they meet their soulmate.”
“I always wondered why I felt the way I did about Lois, and now I know. It’s part of my Kryptonian heritage. The globe also told me that I have a birth wife from the House of Ra.” Clark chuckled. “It’s a good thing there are no other Kryptonians around! I’m not ready to get married.”
Lara said sadly, “What’s amazing is that you had to travel across the galaxy to a different planet to find your soulmate. It saddens me to think that if Krypton hadn’t exploded, you’d be married to a woman you most likely wouldn’t love.”
“I don’t think that’s the way to look at it, Lara,” Clark said. “As the globe said, the soulmates’ bond is very rare. I don’t know how many people lived on Krypton, but I would guess at least millions if not billions. There had to be millions of married couples, so do you think that all of those marriages were unhappy?”
Lara thought for a moment. “When you put it that way, no.”
“I think that being part of a birth marriage, I probably would have grown up with this woman, and over time I would have come to love her. While that love would be nothing compared with the way I feel about Lois, I must believe that our love could have been satisfying.
“What if Earth’s yellow sun didn’t affect Kryptonians the way it does? What if I’d grown up without powers? I know when I was a teen my lack of relationships was due to my differences. I had to hide parts of myself which made it difficult to have a healthy relationship. If those differences hadn’t existed, I believe that I might have been receptive to some of the girls’ advances back then.
“I took Rachel Harris to the prom and I liked her very much. It’s possible if my powers weren’t a factor, I might have fallen in love with her. Or maybe a woman I met at college or on my world travels could have caught my eye. Come to think of it, would I have even gone on my world travels? The reason for going wouldn’t have existed. I wouldn’t have been looking for others like me, that’s for sure.
“Your grandparents aren’t rich, and even though I worked, would I have had enough money to travel? If I did travel, I wouldn’t have made people suspicious of me by performing rescues so maybe I’d have stayed in one place longer. I might have gotten to know some of the women I met better and maybe fall in love with one of them.
“I’d hate to think that if I hadn’t met Lois, I’d be alone, never falling in love. Of course, now that I have met her, no other woman measures up. It’s the same for you, Lara. I’d hate to think that if you’d never met Ken, you’d never meet a nice man and get to know him and slowly over time fall in love with him. Do you see what I mean?” Clark said.
“Yeah. Thanks, Dad, I never thought about it that way,” Lara said. “It makes me feel even luckier for having met Ken.”
“You certainly are, dear,” Martha said. “So did you learn anything else?”
“Yes.” Clark replied, “The globe contains a huge amount of Kryptonian knowledge, things my birth parents thought would be useful to me here on Earth. I don’t know if I’ll ever need it but it’s nice to know it’s there.”
**********
Lara flew home later that evening and landed silently on her balcony. She entered her bedroom, spun into her pajamas, then padded barefoot into her kitchen. She grabbed two cookies and poured herself a large glass of milk. She plopped herself on the couch to ponder the information she’d garnered from the globe that evening.
She chewed on her cookie without really tasting it. Kryptonians mated for life! What a wonderful concept, she thought. It seemed that even half-Kryptonians knew when they met their soulmate, which pleased Lara greatly. Every time she thought of Ken McCarthy, a warm feeling descended over her and her body reacted excitedly. With the knowledge she’d gained, she could hardly wait for their date Friday night.
**********
Continued in Chapter Twelve
