It was just before nine-thirty on a Wednesday morning in mid-March. Cat stood before Perry’s desk, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She and Clark had pushed through this investigation for the past five weeks, dodging the bad guys and following leads and working Jimmy and Jack to the bone running down financial information, travel histories, and phone records. Now her boss was reviewing the final copy prior to submitting it to Legal for review.
Perry finally put the sheets of paper on his desk and leaned back. He gave Cat a stern look, then asked, “Has Clark put his stamp of approval on this text?”
“Yes!” she burst out. Then in a calmer tone, she continued, “He gave a thumbs-up to every paragraph.”
Perry nodded. “Was it his idea to put your name first or was it yours?”
“His. He claimed he didn’t do as much work as I did.”
“That true?”
Cat frowned in thought. “Not really. I did most of the fieldwork and Clark did most of the info gathering and story organization, but we both wrote the text. We interviewed most of the people mentioned in the story together. Jimmy and Jack helped a lot, too, especially with the computer-based research.”
He nodded. “I assume that’s why their names are listed as ‘Also Contributing’.”
“Yes. Clark suggested it first, but I totally agree with him. They should get credit for what they contributed.”
“Hmm.” He looked through the pages again. “Did both of you interview this detective? Um, her name is Roberta Tracey.”
“No. Clark told me to take that one solo. Said he had some other items to chase down and there was no sense in two of us doing a one-person job.”
“Did Detective Tracey ask about Clark?”
“She said she’d expected him to come with me. Uh – she might have been a little disappointed, or she might have been relieved. I couldn’t quite tell.”
Perry tilted his head to one side. “Both of you interviewed the other subjects together, right?”
“Well, yeah, Chief, but most of those people were part of the story. Detective Tracey was an official police source, not a hostile witness, and not any kind of threat to either of us. I didn’t need him as backup with her. And Clark was with me on all four stakeouts, including the one where our cover was almost blown.”
“Good to know. Let’s call Clark in for a minute. Will you do the honors?”
She suppressed her smile as much as she could – which wasn’t much. She spun to the door and all but leaped through it and sprinted to Clark’s desk. “Clark! Come on! Perry wants to see us both about the story! I think he loves it!”
He nodded as he stood. “He should. You spent a lot of time on it.”
“So did you!” She grabbed his arm and yanked. “Come on! We’re burning printer’s ink here!”
She all but dragged him across the floor, ignoring the quiet giggles of their coworkers at the incongruous sight. She led him into Perry’s office and shoved him in front of the editor’s desk, then reached back and shut the door.
“Got him!” she crowed. “Tell him, Chief! Tell him!”
Perry’s mouth worked as if he were biting off a laugh. After a moment, he said, “Clark, Cat says you signed off on this story as is. That true?”
Clark nodded. “Yes. I know it’s a big story and a lot of people are going to be angry, but every point in there has been verified by at least two sources and legal documentation. This is the best work Cat has done since I’ve known her, and if Legal has any questions about it I’ll talk to them myself.”
Perry smiled. “That’s what I like to hear from my staff. Good job, you two. I don’t know if the nominating committee will agree with me, but I’d bet any Elvis reissue album that this will get a Kerth nomination next year.”
“Don’t forget Jimmy and Jack!” Cat interjected. “They helped a lot!”
“I won’t forget. Cat, I want you to take this copy and walk it up to Legal. And take a digital copy too. They can’t read our folders on the network any more than we can read theirs, and if they gripe at you about it just remind them that they’re the ones who insisted on that particular security restriction.”
“Got it, Chief!” Cat snatched the paper from Perry’s hand and all but ran through the door to her desk. She grabbed the thumb drive containing a copy of the story off her desk and leaped up the ramp to the elevator bank.
This was great, this was terrific, this was wonderful! She was sure now that the Planet would keep her. Her six-month review was a little late, but now it would include this story. She and Clark had worked well together, almost as well as he and Lois used to. Retirement vesting and permanent employment, here I come!
The elevator finally came and she whirled into the car and punched the button for the Legal department floor. As the doors closed, she saw both Perry and Clark grinning at her. In fact, Clark was almost laughing.
Cat didn’t care. She was a real reporter. She held the proof in her hands and no one could take this away from her. This article was the best work she’d ever done. Even if she moved to another media outlet someday, she could lay this down in front of any interviewer and impress him or her.
No one would ever again accuse her of being just a gossip girl masquerading as an investigator. She’d shown them. She’d shown everyone.
*****
Clark watched Cat bounce into the elevator. She was almost hopping with anticipation, and it made him smile.
Her enthusiasm was contagious, too. “Chief, unless you need me to focus on something else, I’m going to touch base with the DA’s office and try to line up some follow-up articles.”
Perry nodded. “Good. But sit down for a minute, will ya? I want to ask you something.”
Clark sat. “What is it?”
“It’s about one of the interviews in the story.”
Clark frowned. “Which one? Is there a problem with one of them?”
“No, no problem. I was just wondering why you let Cat interview Bobbie Tracey by herself.”
Clark felt his face go blank. He tried to reset it to something more attentive, but he knew Perry had seen it. “Uh – I knew Cat would do a good job, and I wanted to chase down some additional verification for a couple of the more sensitive items we had.” Perry looked at him with what looked like skepticism. “Honest, Perry, that was the reason.”
“Uh-huh. You sure there wasn’t something personal about that decision?”
Clark’s mouth opened but nothing came out. He didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to admit that he still couldn’t face Bobbie. Their breakup had wounded him more than he’d thought it would.
And he didn’t know how to tell his boss – his friend – how much it still hurt.
He sighed. “Okay, the reason I didn’t go with Cat was a little bit personal. But I really did know that she’d ask all the right questions and follow up on anything new that Bobbie might say. I would have been there with her if I’d thought I really needed to be.”
Perry nodded again. “It’s been, what, about two months since you two broke up, right?” Clark nodded back. “Have you talked with Bobbie lately?”
Clark turned his face toward the window. “No. I haven’t seen her since we called it off.”
“I see. It still bothers you, doesn’t it?”
Clark turned back to him and almost snapped at his boss, then remembered that Perry cared about the lives of his employees, not just their written output. “Yes. It bothers me. Mostly because I wish I’d handled it better.”
Perry pursed his lips and Clark wondered what personal question he’d ask next. Instead, he smiled and said, “Good work with Cat. I know you coached her, and you did a great job. She’ll handle her next big assignment with less guidance and more confidence, and it’ll be just as thorough.”
“Thanks. Uh, can I get back to work now?”
“Go ahead. Bring me some more headlines!”
Relieved, Clark stood and walked back to his desk. He just thought he’d gotten away with not seeing Bobbie. Leave it to Perry to call him on it. At least he didn’t insist that Clark and Bobbie meet and talk about it. That was surely the last thing she needed.
He didn’t need the pain it would bring him either.
*****
Perry watched his star reporter carry that weight again. He’d thought that Clark had gotten past the bulk of his grief over losing Lois and had begun to build something with Bobbie Tracey, but all the young man had done was pile a new agony onto the first. Perry didn’t know who’d made the call to end it, but he didn’t think Clark had or he wouldn’t be hurting so much now.
Well, it was up to the old editor to do something. After all, he’d all but pushed Clark into the relationship with Bobbie to begin with, so it behooved him to try to fix it.
It would have to start with a lunch with Bill Henderson.
*****
Perry met Bill at Mike’s Diner just after eleven the next morning. They sat down and ordered their meals, then Bill nodded to the two men in his security detail to sit and eat. The two men chose tables on opposite sides of the inspector and the editor, one angled to watch behind Bill and the other to watch behind Perry. There were plenty of bad guys who’d love to strike at both men at the same time.
Bill nodded to Perry. “How’s the news business?”
“Oh, it’s just fine. You see our banner this morning?”
“The one about the corruption in the city manager’s office? Yeah, that was a doozie. The DA’s office is gonna be busy for months.”
The waiter chose that moment to bring their drinks and a small basket of biscuits. As he walked away, Bill picked one biscuit and held it up in front of Perry. “It looks like—” he pulled his glasses off with his other hand and examined the basket closely, then slid the glasses back on “—they put the biscuits in the basket.”
Perry returned a brief moan and took a biscuit of his own. “Save it for your on-air audition tape, Bill. Besides, you’re conflating two TV tropes there.”
Bill shrugged and took a bite, then washed it down with a sip of tea. “Thanks for the advice. Do you want to get to the actual reason for our meeting or should we trade quips for a while longer?”
Perry’s eyes flicked to one of Bill’s protection team. “These guys solid?”
“Lamont and Ferguson might as well be wooden Indians in front of a cigar store. To my knowledge, they’ve never admitted to hearing anything I’ve said in front of them.”
“Good. In that case, what are we going to do about Clark Kent?”
Bill’s eyebrows lifted. “What you mean ‘we,’ paleface? He’s your employee.”
“Didn’t you say that Detective Tracey was still moping too?”
“It’s not impeding her work, but yeah, she’s not happy. I don’t think she’s smiled since she won that poker game and lost everything else.”
“Has she told you anything about what happened?”
Bill’s eyes narrowed. “This is a quid pro quo, right? I tell you about Tracey, you tell me about Kent?”
“Yes. I’ll start if you want me to.” Bill nodded. “That boy’s carrying a lot of weight these days,” Perry said. “He thinks it was his fault they split up, that he pushed her too far and put too much pressure on her.”
Bill’s eyes opened wider. “Really? That’s news to me. Bobbie thinks the whole breakup thing was her fault, that she assumed more than was true and that she pushed him too fast.”
Perry almost smiled. “Sounds like a lot of dumb being spread around to me.”
“I agree. Seems to me they’re both worried that the other wasn’t ready to make that move forward.”
“Anything we can do about it?”
“Depends. What did you have in mind?”
“Something that will put them together and get them talking. And it needs to be something they both think is urgent.”
Bill leaned back and crossed his arms. “I have an idea that might work. I think our meals are coming, so let’s toss it back and forth while we chow down.”
“Sounds good to me. Are you and Paula Dolan still an item?”
Bill lifted both eyebrows in apparent surprise. “You’re keeping up with us, too?”
The waiter presented two plates to the men, then placed them on the table. Perry picked up a fork and said, “Alice and I are planning a third honeymoon next year.”
“Tit for tat?”
Perry’s mouth was full so he shrugged.
Bill sighed. “Yes. She wants to get married. I like the idea too. All we have to figure out is where we’ll live and who drives what vehicle.”
Perry smiled, then swallowed. “Good for you. Now, about your idea. I hope we’re both involved.”
Without speaking, Bill narrowed his eyes and nodded.
The benign conspiracy was active once again.
*****
Bobbie’s desk phone rang the following Tuesday just before lunch. “Detective Tracey, ninth precinct.”
“Detective Tracey? Good. This is Perry White of the Daily Planet. I need to speak with you.”
“Sure, Mr. White. It’s your dime.”
“Why are you treating Clark so badly?”
Her eyes popped open as wide as they could. “Wh-what? Me? Treating Clark badly? What are you talking about?”
“I just got through arguing with him over this. He’s demanding an assignment as an overseas combat correspondent embedded with a platoon in a live-fire zone. And I don’t want to lose one of the best reporters I’ve ever met!”
“He – he what?”
“You heard me. He wants to report on a war. And the hotter the better.”
“But – but why?”
“He said it was because of you. He can’t stand being in the same city with you anymore. Says he’s got to get away from you no matter what.”
“He – that’s insane!” She leaped to her feet and pounded her desk. “I haven’t seen him or spoken to him in – in months!”
“I know, and he says that’s the problem. He says he can’t stay here and not see you.”
“But – he – that’s – ooh! Idiot! That total idiot!”
“Yep, that’s Clark all right.”
“Where – no – when is he leaving?”
“This afternoon. He said he plans to visit Lois one more time, then fly to Smallville for a few days before joining the unit he’ll be with. Why?”
“Is he there now? The cemetery, I mean!”
“I think so. His flight’s not till four-thirty. Why?”
“Never mind!”
She slammed down the phone and grabbed her jacket. She turned to the detective at the next desk and growled, “Tell the lieutenant I’m gone for the day to bust somebody’s head!”
*****
Cat fidgeted in her chair. She wanted this undercover gig. She could almost taste it. And it would be yet another huge feather in her cap when she brought in the story.
But Clark didn’t like it.
Clark tapped his pencil against the conference room table. “I don’t know, Cat. I still say it sounds really dangerous.”
“No more dangerous than any other undercover assignment. I can pull this off, I know it. And I’ll get the goods on this guy.”
He frowned across the table at her. “I know he’s not a gangster, but he probably is an embezzler, and if he thinks his new office temp is spying on him he might get scared enough to do something stupid. And I don’t want you to get hurt chasing a story we could cover more safely from the outside.”
Before Cat could answer, Jack stuck his head in and said, “Clark, call for you on line two.”
“We’re kinda busy, Jack. Can you take a message?”
“It’s Inspector Henderson. He says he needs to talk to you right now.”
“Fine.” Clark flipped on the speakerphone and punched the button for line two. “Clark Kent here.”
“Kent! What are you doing to my detective?”
He frowned again. “Could you be a little more specific, Inspector?”
“I mean Bobbie Tracey! What are you doing to her?”
Clark sat back and made a face at Cat, who shrugged. Apparently bewildered, he asked, “Bill, what are you talking about?”
“Bobbie Tracey! She says it’s because of you!”
“What’s because of me?”
“Her transfer!”
Clark blinked at Cat and lifted his hands to either side. Cat said, “Inspector, this is Catharine Grant. You’re on speakerphone in our conference room, and Clark doesn’t have any inkling of what you’re talking about. And neither do I.”
Bill snorted through the phone. “Fine! Detective Roberta Tracey came to me first thing this morning to request a transfer to narcotics! She wants to go on a long-term out-of-town deep undercover assignment!”
Clark’s eyes bulged out and his jaw dropped. “What? Why?”
“That’s what I asked her! She said it was because of you!”
“Me? What did I do?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Kent! She said she can’t stay in the same city with you, can’t risk seeing you or talking to you! Says she has to get away!”
“But—”
“I want to know what you did!”
Clark stood abruptly. “I didn’t do anything! I haven’t seen her for weeks! Why would—” he broke off and started again. “Narcotics? Deep undercover? Does she not know how dangerous that is?!”
“Of course she knows! She said she didn’t care about that, she just had to get away!”
“When is she leaving?”
“Tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. Said she needed to say goodbye to Glen first.”
“You mean now?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to lose her, Kent. She’s one of my best.”
“I know. Gotta go.”
“Wait a min—”
Clark slapped the speakerphone off and turned to Cat. “Tell Perry I’m gone for the day to go beat some sense into someone’s head.”
And he was gone.
Cat watched him zip to the stairway door and disappear through it. Then she grinned. It looked like Clark and Bobbie weren’t through with their own personal life waltz after all.
She stood to tell Perry that her undercover assignment was a go. Perry didn’t have to know about Clark’s reservations.
As she crossed the newsroom, the thought that her decision was so like what Lois would have done made her smile wider.
*****
Bobbie rounded the corner of the Starways where she and Clark had spent so many pleasant Saturday mornings talking and aimed for the cemetery entrance. The idiot! The complete, utter, moronic dolt! How dare he dive into a war zone and blame her! She’d knock some smarts back into his—
“Bobbie!”
The shout from her left startled her and she spun to face the threat. She was astonished to see Clark coming around the opposite end of the Starways at high speed.
He looked mad. Fine. She could do mad too. They each stopped at the same time about five feet apart and she opened her mouth to yell at him as he opened his and they tried to shout over each other.
“Clark, you idiot! A combat zone? You better not—”
“Narcotics, Bobbie? Are you crazy or—”
“—leave and blame me for—”
“—just stupid? And telling—”
“—driving you away like a coward—”
“—your boss that it’s my fault is—”
“—who has to get his dead girlfriend’s—”
“—moronic and you’re just running away because—”
“—permission to act like a brain-dead—”
“—you’re scared that your dead boyfriend doesn’t care—”
“—fool who—”
“—if you—”
Bobbie watched a stunned expression snap into place on Clark’s face and he shut up. A startling thought slapped her brain and she stopped yelling at the same moment. She tried to review what she’d heard and it didn’t make sense. It sounded like Clark thought she was—
No.
He thought she was planning to do something dangerous and stupid.
She thought he was about to do something stupid and dangerous.
He thought she was running away from him.
She thought he was running away from her.
Neither of them had any such plans. They’d been suckered, both of them. They’d both been fed false narratives designed to make them go nuts over the thought that the other was putting his or her life in deadly danger.
Clark recovered his voice first. “Did – did my boss call you?”
She nodded. “Yes. And my boss called you, didn’t he?”
He lifted his hands and held his breath for a moment, then dropped his arms to the side and exhaled sharply. “We’ve been played.”
She nodded again. “By a couple of masters.”
“Why do you think they’d do something like that?”
A moment passed as she looked into his face. Whatever was there told her to tell him the truth. “Maybe – maybe because they think we’ve been stupid lately.”
Clark nodded this time. “I guess I’ve given Perry reasons to think that.”
Bobbie looked at her shoes. “And Bill has his reasons too.”
It was silent for a few seconds, then Clark hesitantly said, “Bobbie? Do you think we’ve been stupid?”
She stuck her hands in her jacket pockets and looked off to one side, away from the cemetery. “Maybe. How about you?”
He chuckled.
She looked back at him, astounded. He thought this was funny? That this was – was – some kind of joke? This wasn’t Gotham City! He didn’t have green hair and a white face! She didn’t run around in split-colored tights with bells on her pigtails! How could he think—
Then it clicked. He wasn’t laughing at her. He was laughing at their situation.
They had been stupid. They were even being stupid about being stupid.
And it was time for both of them to get smart.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “I guess it’s a little funny.”
He didn’t move, but she suddenly felt closer to him. His voice was velvet when he spoke. “Why don’t we tell each other about that phone call, the one where neither of us was honest with the other? You tell me what you really meant and I’ll do the same.”
She sighed and nodded. “Okay, here goes.” She took a deep breath and began. “I was calling you to offer you an out because I was afraid I’d pushed you into that kiss. I didn’t think you’d have touched me if I hadn’t all but thrown myself at you, and I didn’t want you to feel like I’d pushed Lois aside and trapped you. I was afraid you weren’t ready to move on yet.”
He shook his head and smiled. “I was calling you because I was worried that I’d led you on and that you weren’t ready. I just knew you were having second and third and fourth thoughts and you were sitting on your couch comparing me to Glen and I was losing badly in every category. I didn’t want to push you into something you weren’t ready for.”
This time she chuckled. “So we’ve spent the last two months or so being so noble to each other that we wasted all that time? I bet Glen and Lois are sitting on a cloud together just laughing their wings off right now. Probably dropped their harps on each other’s toes, too.”
He laughed and held his hand out to her. “You’re probably right. Can we try again?”
She slowly reached out and laced her fingers with his. “I’d really like that. Maybe we can go visit Glen and Lois together?”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
They turned and ambled toward the cemetery entrance together. Then Bobbie stopped them. “Hey, what did Bill tell you about me?”
Clark grinned. “Bill said you were transferring to Narcotics and going deep undercover. I guess he couldn’t think of anything more dangerous for you to do.”
She lifted one eyebrow. “Oh, I think your boss won that round. He told me you were joining a platoon in a live fire combat zone as an embedded war correspondent.”
“Wow.” Clark shook his head. “Those two sure are creative.”
“Yeah. If only we could convince them to defect from the Dark Side.”
He laughed and she joined him. It felt good.
She felt like singing, except she knew her fingernails-on-a-blackboard voice would drive him far, far away. So she tilted her head toward the cemetery and said, “Come on, turkey. Let’s go make a couple of long-distance calls.”
“Turkey? Who are you calling a turkey, beanpole?”
“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that, Inkster! Just you wait!”
“Hey! You be nice or I’ll tattle to Glen on you!”
“Oh, that’s a dire threat! I’ll tell Lois on you!”
Instead of snarking back, Clark laughed and increased their speed. Bobbie picked up the pace and trotted next to him, laughing with him.
She didn’t know how they could have been so stupid for so long. She promised herself it would never happen again.
*****
Kendra Powell stood in the doorway to Starways and smiled. She hadn’t seen her favorite customers for quite a while, but it looked like they were okay now.
It hadn’t started off that way. She’d almost called 911 before they’d stopped yelling and started talking. First they’d both been angry, really angry. Then they’d both acted embarrassed. Finally they’d held hands and laughed and almost skipped toward the cemetery like a couple of pre-teens, which was kinda weird given their ages and where they were headed, but Kendra supposed it worked for them.
If the day’s customer traffic followed its usual pattern, the weekday lunch rush would be winding down by the time they came over for their coffees and pastries. And maybe soon they’d be more than coffee friends.
If that happened, she’d have to see the ring and ooh and ahh over it. Maybe Bobbie would hug her, and maybe she could hug Clark too. And she’d give them a lifetime discount card, good for as long as she worked there and as long as they stayed together.
She was up for a management position this quarter. Maybe she could get this store. It would be nice to watch them build a life together.
*****
Clark slowed their pace as they approached Lois’ grave. He turned to Bobbie. “Mind if I go first?”
She startled him when she said, “Yes. I mind a great deal. I have something to say to Lois.”
“Oh.” He thought for a moment, then said, “Okay, I guess I’ll go over and talk to Glen while you—”
“No.”
He looked at her face. She wasn’t laughing now. In fact, her face had paled slightly.
She squeezed his hand for a moment, then let it go. “I have something to say to her and I want you to hear it.”
He nodded. “Do you want me to stand back here?”
She licked her lips and glanced at Lois’ headstone, then shook her head. “I’d rather you kneel beside me. I – I might need the support.”
He nodded as Bobbie moved to Lois’ headstone and knelt. He joined her as she wrapped one hand in his and put her other hand on the stone.
Bobbie took a deep breath and let it out, then began.
“Hi, Lois, my name’s Bobbie Tracey. I’m a cop. Detective, actually. I work with Bill Henderson. I know you and he knew each other, because he sure thought highly of you. Told me you drove him nuts, but he respected you and knew you only wanted truth and justice so he really didn’t mind so much. He sent me here a little over a year ago to keep Clark from joining you. And – I think he wanted Clark to keep me from joining Glen.
“Glen’s my late partner. He was – was killed at a traffic stop we both worked. That was just a couple of days after he’d asked me to marry him. I was going to tell him I would but he – I didn’t get the chance. Clark and I – well, we understood each other, at least as far as why we visited these graves regularly. We kept each other alive at first, but – then things changed.
“I don’t know exactly when they changed, but I know I came to care deeply about Clark. I wanted him in my life as a friend. I wanted to know him better. I enjoyed the time we spent talking about you and about Glen, the times we shared laughter and tears, sometimes at the same time. And I – I learned a lot about myself. I learned that my life wasn’t over, that I still had things and people to live for.
“And – somewhere along the line I fell in love with Clark Kent.” She paused, then added, “I hope you don’t think I’m chumpy because of that.”
She stopped and wiped her eyes without looking at him. Clark chuckled softly, then squeezed her hand for assurance and acknowledgement that he’d heard her. “I know you and he were all but engaged. I understand, believe me. It’s hard, desperately hard, to lose the person you’d expected to spend the rest of your life with. And it’s almost impossible to find someone else who’s just as kind, just as loving, just as – as good as the one you lost. I don’t know if Clark thinks he’s found that person, but I’m pretty sure I have.
“I’m so very blessed to have him in my life. I’m so very glad Clark and I found each other. And I haven’t exactly told him yet what I just told you but I wanted you to know. And I promise that if this is something that becomes permanent, like – like I hope it does, I’ll love him for the rest of my life and I’ll take care of him just like you would have. I’ll guard his heart and I’ll watch over him when he’s down and I’ll be the person in his life who loves him the most. And I’ll never be jealous that you loved him first, because if he loved you then you had to be a fantastic person and I wish I’d known you.
“Anyway, that’s it. I think we’re going to visit Glen now. If you see him, give him a heads-up for me.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Bye for now. I expect I’ll be back before too long. I hope I’ll have good news for you.”
Clark felt Bobbie turn toward him but he couldn’t see her. He’d slumped down as she’d spoken her final words to Lois, and his eyes had turned to flowing streams. He felt her arms slide around his head and her lips as they touched his cheek. He reached out and pulled her to him and sobbed.
“Shh, Clark, it’s all right,” she murmured. “It’s okay. I’ve got you and I won’t let go.” She lifted his face with one hand and gently kissed his lips. “I won’t ever let go.” Her smile threatened to split her face. “I love you, Clark.”
His lungs filled almost to bursting. It was all he could do to whisper, “Oh, Bobbie, I – I – love you too!”
With that, they both burst out in tears and embraced each other.
*****
It seemed like a long time before they wound down. Bobbie had been concerned that she’d jumped the gun by telling Lois about her love for Clark before she told him. The screwy thing was that she hadn’t planned to say all that, but once she’d started she’d kept going until it was too late to hold back.
She felt Clark fish a handkerchief out of his pocket and dab her face with it. She blubbered a quiet laugh, then took the cloth and returned the favor. She pulled off his glasses to wipe them dry, then she looked up and started to replace them—
And there he was.
Superman. The hero who’d looked distraught and stumbled against a door jamb at that suicide scene a few months ago. The super guy who’d saved so many but hadn’t been able to save the woman he’d intended to marry. The airborne hero who’d watched over her more than once. The incredible man who had let her as far into his life as she’d ever hoped he would.
And he’d just told her that he loved her.
He smiled and took the glasses back and put them on. They really did change the outline of his face, hid his expressive eyes, gave him an aw-shucks demeanor, shielded his special talents and abilities from the world around him. No wonder he’d kept the secret so well for so long.
She glanced at Lois’ grave and wondered if she’d known. Probably. Maybe. If she had, maybe she’d planned to do the same thing Bobbie had just decided to do. She’d wait for him to come clean with her about it. She wouldn’t steal his thunder, not about this, not while their love was so new and tender and fragile.
Life was good. Clark was wonderful. She loved him. And he loved her.
She wanted to live now, more than she had ever wanted to before.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” she asked.
“What does it mean?” he whispered back.
She leaned close and spoke softly in his ear. “Our parents will have to meet each other and give us joint permission to court.”
He chuckled and touched his forehead to hers. “Oh, I think that won’t be a problem.”
*****
Clark saw Bobbie’s eyes change for a moment, but then she looked at Lois’ headstone again and slowly smiled. Given what he was feeling and what she had to be feeling at this moment, he didn’t bother trying to figure out what epiphany she’d just experienced.
He knew what his epiphany was. He loved Bobbie Tracey and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
And that meant coming clean about his huge secret, the secret with which he’d teased her – no, “tantalized” her – a few months ago. He’d screwed up so badly with Lois by not telling her he was Superman, and Bobbie deserved better from him. Lois had deserved better too, of course, but he couldn’t fix that now. All he could do was learn from the mistakes in his past and take a different path with Bobbie.
After all, they were entertaining the notion of a lifetime together. She absolutely needed to know everything about him that was truly important.
Clark stood and helped Bobbie to her feet. Her eyes shone brightly and her smile showed him how little dental work she’d needed so far, and how wonderful she believed it was that they were together. He would guard her heart and her life with his own and give both for her without a second thought.
And there was no time like the present.
He took her hands in his and said, “Bobbie, we need to talk about something. Can you come with me to my apartment? I promise, all I want to do is talk with you.”
She lifted his hands to her cheek. “Talk about the future?”
“Yes. And one other important thing, something that you need to know before we have that future talk.”
She chuckled. “Can you give me a hint?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Not right now. But I promise to tell you everything.”
Her lips found his knuckles. “That sounds wonderful. Can I make dinner for us tonight? We never did have that second dinner date.”
He laughed softly. “Sure, if you still want to. After we have that talk, I mean.”
“You might be surprised, Clark. I’m a cop, remember? I’ve seen just about everything.”
“I might surprise you anyway. Or you might surprise me.” They shared a grin, then he asked, “Um, did you drive here? I took a taxi.”
“My car’s just on the other side of Starways. I’ll drive.”
They started toward the cemetery exit, still holding hands. Clark decided to tease her a little. “Ah, you do remember where I live, don’t you?”
She pressed her lips together to hold in the laugh. “I think I can find it. I have one of those GPS things on my dashboard now, a Tim-Tim. I got the one with a Doctor Who voice, and now it will help me find anything any place. When I arrive at my destination, it makes this horrible whooshing noise and asks me if I want a jelly belly.”
He laughed again. “Then lead on, my lady.”
She slowed and looked at him as if to say something else, then picked up the pace and all but dragged him to her car. He hoped she’d still be this eager to be with him when she learned about his spandex fetish.
No matter. He refused to hide Superman from her any longer. They’d have no secrets between them. Not ever, not as long as he lived.
