This is wonderful, C_A. All of it is so extremely beautifully written, so wonderfully put together. And it is full of the doubts and longing that have haunted this almost star-crossed pair of lovers for two years. But there is also a new sense of belief, of trust, of faith, that comes from their lovemaking and from what Lois saw in Clark during their intimacy - things he could never express to her in any other situation.
I, too, want to quote that exquisite sentence that Caroline already quoted, but I'm asking you to re-read her quote rather than repeating it myself. Let me quote the end of this beautiful vignette instead:
Tonight, she'd found her way back to him. She'd realized that the man she'd thought she'd lost had never left her. She saw now that he had remained the same in every way that counted. There was a whole new side of him that she needed to come to accept, but she would.
Life wasn't fair, or pleasant, but it was real and so was his love for her. She knew that because she knew him.
Lois turned and stepped through the doorway back into his apartment. Leaving the soda can on the coffee table in the living room, she started toward the bedroom, walking slowly past the years and lies and words he had failed to say.
His body above her, she knew he was the one.
In the end, that was the only truth that mattered.
I should stop talking now, after quoting this heartbreakingly beautiful ending. But I have to ask you, C_A: could this possibly be a sequel to something else that you have written?
Once more: Thank you for this lovely, lovely vignette, the loveliest I have read in a very long time.
Ann
