Chapter Thirteen
When she returned home, Lara waited until 8 o’clock before she dialed Ken’s number. “Good morning! Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No, as a matter of fact, I just got out of bed.”
“Do you want to have breakfast with me? I need to talk to you.”
“Of course. I’d love to have breakfast with you.” Ken sounded concerned. “It’s nothing serious, is it?”
“There’s something I want to tell you in person. How soon can you get here?”
“I need to shower, shave, and dress… how about 45 minutes?”
“Great. See you then!”
**********
Lara opened the door at eight-forty-two when Ken knocked. “Hi! I’m glad you could make it so quickly.”
He stepped in and hung up his windbreaker. “You sounded serious, so yeah, I got here quick.”
“Come on. Breakfast is almost ready.”
She led him into her kitchen where she put two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast on the table and poured two cups of coffee.
Between mouthfuls, Ken said, “Ummm… these eggs are really good.”
“I’m glad you like them. Grandma taught me almost everything I know about cooking.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Dad’s a pretty good cook too so between them I learned a lot. I think I’m a pretty good cook too if I say so myself.”
“If these eggs are an example of your talents, I think you’re a great cook!”
“Why thank you, kind sir.”
“You know you’ve told me quite a bit about your grandmother,” Ken said in between bites of his eggs. “When am I going to meet this wonderful woman and the rest of your family?”
“Soon, probably,” Lara replied enigmatically.
Ken caught her eyes with his and held them for a long moment. “Now you have my curiosity piqued.”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad.”
“Okay. So what’s on the agenda for today? I was thinking we could drive out to the Botanic Gardens then hit P.F. Chang’s for dinner.”
“Sounds like fun,” Lara said.
After they finished their meal a few minutes later Lara took the empty plates and utensils and put them in her dishwasher. Then she took Ken by the hand and led him into her living room where she took a seat on the couch next to him and grasped his hand.
“Ken, I love you, but there is something you need to know about me before we can move forward in this relationship.” Lara took a deep cleansing breath. “Our family has a secret. A secret very few people outside my immediate family know and that’s what I want to share with you.”
Ken looked at her with disbelief. “A secret? What kind of secret could a farm girl from Kansas have?”
Calmly, Lara said, “I’m Superwoman.”
Ken was quiet for a moment. His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide.
“Superwoman?! You’re kidding, right?”
Lara’s only response was a slight shake of her head.
“You’re not kidding?” Ken’s voice rose, his emotions were high. “You can’t be Superwoman. She rescued me. I’d know!”
Lara released his hand, stood up, and walked to the middle of the room. One moment Lara Kent stood there, then, with a quick spin, Superwoman stood there in all her superhero glory, a bright blue S on her chest. With another spin, Lara Kent reappeared and seated herself beside her boyfriend and she grasped his hand once more.
“So what do you think?”
“What do I think? What do I think!” Ken stood up and began to pace frantically. “I don’t know what to think, Lara. I saw what you did and I still can’t believe it! How did you do that anyway?” Before Lara could reply Ken continued, his arms waving along with his pacing. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. The fact that you could do it is unbelievable. You seem so… normal, Lara.”
Lara stood up and stepped in front of him to halt his pacing, her eyes flashing. “I am normal, Ken! I’m as normal as you are. I just have a few extras, that’s all.”
“A few extras? Is that what you call being able to fly, a few extras?” Ken’s eyes met hers, his expression was hard to read.
“Yes,” she said. She grabbed his hands and held them tight. “That’s exactly what I mean. I’m the same woman you met and fell in love with. I’m a daughter, a reporter, and I hope… your girlfriend. You do want me to be your girlfriend, right?” Lara looked into his eyes, her expression hopeful.
Ken paused, his eyes bore into hers and he smiled. “Yes. I do want you to be my girlfriend.” He raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers. “I’m sorry, Lara. I never meant to make you think I don’t love you, all of you. You have to admit that telling me that you’re Superwoman was the farthest thing from my mind when you invited me over for breakfast.”
“I guess. It was important to tell you everything about me before we go much further in our relationship. If you couldn’t deal with me being Superwoman I would be devastated. Using my abilities to help is a huge part of who I am. Ever since I was nine and I found out Dad was Superman I’ve wanted to be like him. Since I’ve become Superwoman, I’ve helped so many people and I plan to keep on doing that. You understand, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Ken replied. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her into his embrace. “Being able to help is why I became a firefighter. How could I not understand when you’re doing the same thing I do but on a much larger scale.”
“So we’re okay?”
“Yes. We’re more than okay. I love you, Lara Kent. I think it’s great and I’m honored that you shared this with me.”
Ken lifted his right hand and cupped Lara’s cheek, then he drew her in for a kiss. They melted into the kiss so that when it ended Lara found herself wrapped snuggly in Ken’s strong arms.
Ken placed kisses on top of her head. “I love you, Lara, so very much.”
Lara lifted her head so that they were face to face. “Ken, how do you feel about meeting my family today?”
“I’d love to. Was that why you said I might be meeting them soon?”
“Yes. Now that you know about me there’s no time like the present to introduce you to my family!”
Ken’s mouth opened with surprise. “Your father… he’s Superman!”
Lara giggled. “Well, yeah. I thought that was kind of obvious.”
“What if he doesn’t like me? I could be a pile of ash on the floor!”
Lara looked shocked. “Ken, you know Superman doesn’t kill.”
Ken relaxed a bit. “Whew, that’s a relief.”
Lara smiled back and winked. “However, with me, you can never be sure.”
Ken smiled in return. “I’ll try to remember that.”
Lara stood up, grabbed Ken’s hand, and led him to her balcony. She spun into her Suit and smiled at him expectantly.
Ken stood next to her. “So how do we do this?”
“Why don’t you wrap your arm around my shoulders and I’ll hold you around the waist?”
Ken did as she directed and smiled. “Ready!”
“Hold on tight, I’m gonna take off pretty fast so we won’t be seen.”
Lara shot straight up until they were at about 20,000 feet. “I’m going to hover here for a bit so you can get your bearings. That wasn’t too fast for you was it?”
“No… ummm, no, I’m just surprised. How can you fly that fast and not hurt me?”
“My aura protects you. It’s like a field of energy that protects anything I touch.”
“That is so cool!” Ken said as he looked around. “It’s beautiful up here. It looks like I can see forever.”
With an excited grin, Lara asked, “Are you ready?”
Ken returned the smile. “Ready!”
Lara turned southwest towards Smallville. She flew a little slower than she usually would while carrying a passenger to allow Ken to enjoy the view.
“This is amazing! I can tell we’re flying at a terrific speed but, not only am I comfortable, we can talk to each other. That aura of yours is something else!”
Less than five minutes from the time they took off, they slowed down to land on the Kent property. They touched down softly behind the barn where Lara spun back into her civilian clothes. They made their way to the house, and with a quick knock on the back door, Lara opened it and ushered Ken into the cozy kitchen.
Lara called out, “Dad? Grandma? Grandpa? Anybody home?”
**********
Clark entered the kitchen followed by his parents. He rushed over to Lara and drew her in for a hug. “Hey, Pumpkin, back so soon?”
Lara stepped away from her father and extended her hand towards the nervous-looking man behind her.
“Dad, this is my boyfriend, Ken McCarthy.” Ken stepped forward, his hand extended.
Clark grasped his hand and said, “Hi Ken, I’m Clark Kent.”
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, sir,” Ken replied.
Clark smiled in welcome. “I’m pleased to meet you as well, Ken.”
Jonathan and Martha stepped forward looking pleased.
“Grandpa, Grandma, this is Ken, my boyfriend.”
“Welcome to our home, Ken,” Martha said. When Ken went to shake her hand, she embraced him quickly instead. “I hope you don’t mind but we like to hug.”
Ken’s face lit up. “No. I don’t mind, Mrs. Kent.”
“Call me Martha, please. And this is my husband, Jonathan.” Jonathan shook Ken’s hand in greeting.
“I’m pleased to meet you too, Jonathan,” Ken said. Lara leaned into Ken’s side and grasped his hand.
Martha gestured towards the living room and said, “Why don’t we all go sit down and get better acquainted.”
**********
When everyone was seated Martha looked at the young couple and smiled. “So how are you doing, Ken?” Martha asked. “You must have questions?”
“I’m doing pretty well, considering. It’s not every day you find out that your girlfriend is Superwoman and get to fly with her too!” Ken exclaimed and shook his head. “I do have questions but those can wait. Lara has told me so much about you that I feel like I already know all of you. Especially you, Martha!”
Lara blushed when Ken glanced her way and kissed her on the cheek. “What can I say? I’m proud of my family!”
“That’s our girl!” Jonathan said.
“So Ken, can you tell us a little about yourself?” Clark asked.
“As you probably know I’m a firefighter. Been one for two years now and I love it. I have two brothers, Dave, and Ted. Dave is two years older and lives with his wife Amy in Milwaukee. Ted is two years younger and lives in Davenport, Iowa with his wife Audrey. Neither of them have kids yet but they both want them.
“My dad, Charles, and my mom, Lydia live in Ft. Meyers, Florida now but for the past thirty years, he was a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy. Mom was a homemaker but with three rambunctious boys that was a tough job, I’ll tell you.
“My grandparents on my dad’s side retired to Arizona so we don’t get to see them often. Mom’s parents died when I was little in some kind of accident.”
“That’s so sad,” Martha said. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to know them, Ken.”
“Thanks, Martha. Mom told us about them a lot when we were growing up but I still miss them. Dad is an only child but Mom has a brother and a sister. They live in Ft. Meyers too so she sees them a lot. That’s about all I can think of for now.”
“It sounds like you have a wonderful family,” Martha said. “Hopefully, we can get together some time.”
Martha watched the interplay between the young couple. It was obvious to her that there was real love between them.
**********
“Lara, do you think Ken would like to see the globe?” Clark asked during a lull in the conversation.
“That’s a great idea, Dad,” Lara exclaimed. “Can we do it now?”
Clark stood up and led the way to the den.
Ken leaned down and whispered in Lara’s ear. “What is this globe?”
“It’s something that came with my father’s ship. It’s amazing, you just wait.”
Clark took the globe out of its box and held it in his hand. The globe floated up and began to glow then the hologram of Jor-El appeared. The five messages showed the fear Jor-El and Lara felt when they realized their planet was doomed and their desperation as they worked to send Kal-El to Earth. The hologram ended with the explosion of the planet then it returned to Clark’s hand and went dark.
“My God, that was amazing!” Ken said. “It’s so sad that they couldn’t save themselves. Thank you so much for sharing that with me.”
Lara took the globe from her father’s hand. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Once again, the globe began to glow. This time the hologram was of Lara, the message from Grandmother Lara explained her hopes for her son and how pleased she was that he had found a mate played then the globe returned to Lara’s hand and went dark.
“I can hardly believe it! The technology is so far beyond anything here on Earth!” Ken asked, “Can it do anything else?”
Clark returned the globe to its box and said, “It contains the navigational computer that got my ship to Earth and it is also a repository for a portion of the Kryptonian knowledge base, but we haven’t explored it very much. Lara and I just figured out how to access it yesterday.”
Clark led the couple back into the living room and took a seat in a chair across from the couch where Lara and Ken sat.
Lara glanced around at her family then asked no one in particular, “Would anyone mind if I showed Ken around the farm?”
“Sure, go ahead.” Martha said, “Take your time. Lunch won’t be ready for a few hours yet.”
**********
Continued in Chapter Fourteen
