Before we get to chapter nine, I have some housekeeping to do.

Bakasi, Clark wasn't flirting seriously. It's the kind of thing grammar purists do when they hear a mis-constructed sentence like "If you want anything, my name's Deidre." That literally means that her name is Deidre only if Clark wants anything from her, like a beverage refill or more napkins or a clean fork. Otherwise her name could be AnnaBannannaPeachPitCrumble or even something really outrageous. And I'm glad you liked the Lois/Lucy conflict. There is more to come.

Thanks, Blueowl. In some other universe, one in which I've already traveled - see Life and Death in the Other Lane for more information on a Clark-Lucy (Clucy?) pairing - they might get together and make a life with each other. But I promise, that won't happen here.

Cuidadora, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked Lucy here. I was trying to make her sympathetic. Yeah, Clark needs the love of his family and their calm steadfastness right now. And we'll see about the letters in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading, y'all! We're just moments away from the next bit!


Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.

- Stephen King, from On Writing