Whew! After all the build-up, I'm so glad this meeting didn't come across as disappointing!
Virginia, love your image of Lois as a hollow chocolate bunny! So true!
Atoning really is what Lois is looking to do - we'll see if an apology comes out verbally yet! I really liked the idea of Clark still wearing the glasses; I know he didn't when Clark was 'dead' in TOGoM while talking to his parents, but in this story, he's clinging to what little pieces he has left to him.
Thanks, groobie! It's always such a treat to see your feedback -- I'm glad to know that even after doing all your hard beta-ing work on the story, you're not sick of it yet! And I wonder what happened to Cat, too. If you ever write that spin-off story, we'll know.
It definitely will take time to re-establish trust, scifiJoan, especially when neither of them had gotten to the point where they really trusted each other before the article. They're rebuilding in a way, but also building something completely new. So glad the pacing worked out -- I stressed over it a bit, to be honest, and my poor betas are probably tired of answering questions about the pacing.
I wish I was culturally literate enough to fully appreciate your comment, Bean22, but I've never been able to fully appreciate poetry as it deserves, so The Waste Land is definitely beyond me. However, I love your comment anyway because you perfectly put down why I chose the use of present tense; I wanted to show just how uncertain the future, and everything we as readers take for certainties, now are. If a violent storm is coming, I hope Lois and Clark can weather it!
Sorry to make you so nervous, Lynn, but delighted that you're enjoying the story! I know you don't normally read stories until they're completed, so I'm even more grateful to have you along for the ride!
Thanks, cuidadora! It was definitely fun to write the paragraphs about Lois seeing Clark/Superman as an amalgamated stranger.
Here's a tissue for those happy but heartbroken tears, DC (though I still think you owe me some, especially after your beautiful 'Unlike Any Other' stories). I'm glad their meeting didn't seem TOO short. I wish they could just hug and go back to developing their love story, but sadly, there are quite a few issues needing to be resolved!
Wow, thank you for such a lovely comment, LMA!
Emotion is the one thing I can depend on to keep my interest in writing a story, so I'm glad that it comes through for the reader as well as for me -- and so relieved that this chapter didn't disappoint your expectations of it! Lois gaining deeper understanding of Clark before she even sees him again was one of my favorite things; she wrote a expose on him but is only now learning the 'important' things. Martha was difficult to write, balancing the protective mother with the kind woman, but I was glad she had this moment with Lois, too. Actually, Clark smiling when he came face to face with Lois was almost the first thing I came up with after that prologue, and it's the only reason I decided to go ahead and write the story! I knew there had to be some hope in there for me to devote so much of my time to such a depressing premise! The sentence about wondering who Clark/Superman really is actually is one of my very favorites in the entire story thus far, so I was glad to see it highlighted!
Thank you, LWhite! It's fun to get to explore not only Lois's relationship with Clark, but also with James and the Kents.
Thanks, everyone, who's following along! I hope you all continue to enjoy!
