Welcome, Mari-El.
Nice first effort.
I liked your original idea about the reasons for Clark's choice of ties. I'm probably in the minority, but I quite liked his ties. However, this idea worked really well.
You posted it fine - well done.
If you write any more stories you could consider asking for a beta reader to go over it before you post it. In my experience, BRs improve a story significantly.
Corrina.
