A future for Us
pt. 11
Lois sat at her desk, fingering the shiny new engagement ring and staring into space. A look of joy covered her face. She leaned back, letting her hand fall into her lap, still holding onto the ring with her other hand. She sighed. He’d been so romantic. It had been so much fun to talk to both of her boyfriends. How different this was from what she had always thought her future would be like. Two men. Nobody with any morals got engaged to two men. She smiled again and leaned forward to check her email.
The computer beeped softly and a new message appeared in her inbox. She smiled as she moved the mouse over to click on it.
From: Clarkkent@thedailyplanet.com
To: Loislane@thedailyplanet.com
My dearest Lois,
Thank you for making me the happiest man on earth. After I took you home, I couldn’t sleep for hours so I went out for awhile. I found something I think you’ll like to see. May I take you there for lunch?
Your loving husband to be,
Clark
Lois breathed deeply as she clicked on reply.
From: Loislane@dailyplanet.com
To: Clarkkent@dailyplanet.com
Dearest Clark,
The thought of seeing you when you come through those doors in a minute fills my stomach with butterflies. When I remember our evening together last night, I feel all tingly inside. I didn’t sleep much either so I wrote in my novel. I guess you probably can guess what happened in my novel last night. Maybe one day I’ll let you read it even!
I’d love to come to lunch with you today. It never ceases to amaze me what surprises you have up your sleeve.
Oh, and by the way, I want to know about what was in that big bag in your apartment, the one from the post office. You never told me about it.
I can’t wait to see you today when you come in.
Love,
Lois, your wife to be
She had just finished typing when she heard breathing in her ear and spun around to see Ralph reading over her shoulder. Fury replaced the tender feelings she’d been having. Instantaneously her chair spun around and her leg flashed up to catch him where it had the other day.
He yelled out and doubled up, falling to the floor in a moaning pile. Lois stood up drew her leg back to give him another swift kick when the elevator doors opened. Clark had heard the commotion and saw her foot meet with Ralph’s limp form with a thud. She turned back to her computer, clicked on send and turned off her monitor.
Clark was stunned. Ralph had undoubtedly deserved it, but it wasn’t Lois’ right to give it to him. He knew better than to get involved though. In a moment, he was at her side, “Are you alright?”
He was certain he could see smoke billowing from her ears and up from under her collar. Must be his enhanced vision. Her heartbeat was racing as she mumbled something incoherent and brushed past him toward Perry’s office.
“I’ve had it!” she yelled as her editor looked up with raised eyebrows. “Do something about that slime ball before I do it myself!”
“Now calm down, Lois. Sit down and start from the beginning.”
“No I won’t sit down. I’ve had it, Perry!”
Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes as her face turned redder than ever.
“What’s Clark done today?” He asked with infuriating patience. “Did he hide something from you again?”
Lois’ eyebrows came together in puzzlement. “Not Clark! Ralph. That disgusting excuse for a member of the human race.”
Perry looked out into the newsroom and saw Ralph hobbling away from her desk and off to the men’s room, looking just like she’d really done to him what she acted like she wanted to do to him.
“Lois Lane, sit down.”
“No. Fire Ralph.”
“Calm down and tell me what happened.”
“He was reading over my shoulder.” She felt like an idiot as Perry’s eyes went up.
“Stealing your story, you think?”
“Perry! He’s been harassing me. All the time. All he ever does is give me snide remarks about, well, you know. You saw him with that trash yesterday. He just has to rub my face in the dirt whenever he can.”
Perry opened a drawer and fumbled through the files, finally stopping and pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to her. “Now Lois, I need you to fill out this form. I know he’s a monster and I want him out of this office just as bad as you do, but I’ve got to have some hard facts to show the lawyers before I can give him the axe.”
“I’d like to have an axe right now,” she muttered, grabbing the paper from Perry and looking it over.
Perry pushed the drawer closed and leaned back in his chair. The flash of light from her finger caught his attention. That wasn’t the same ring she’d been wearing the other day. He looked at her face and knew that this wasn’t the time to ask questions. This was a woman on a mission. Correction, this was Lois Lane on a mission.
“Just fill this out and give it your usual fact filled touch and I’ll see what I can do for you.”
She took a deep breath and looked up to face her father-figure editor. “Thanks, Perry.”
He nodded. “Be in the conference room in 20 minutes, that’s all,” he said, putting on his most businesslike attitude. “And wash your face,” he added, relenting to his attachment to her. He looked back out into the newsroom to see Clark looking over toward the office. “I'm glad it wasn’t Clark today.” He muttered, pulling out his red pen and beginning to edit the first story on his desk.
Lois got up and looked over the newsroom, picking Ralph out among the desks on the other side. The sneer was wiped off his face anyway. He was on the phone.
Lois headed back to her desk. Clark turned around toward his computer to look a bit busy, hoping not to suffer her wrath. He’d heard what had happened from the elevator and had listened to the rant in Perry’s office and was now listening to Ralph talking to his lawyer. He sighed. Lois was one handful of a woman to be in love with.
He opened his email and read her tender words to him. Perhaps talking by email was the best way to communicate with her right now. He leaned back for a moment, trying to compose a response that would be fitting, but that would soothe her from her current mood.
From: clarkkent@thedailyplanet.com
To: Loislane@thedailyplanet.com
Lois, my true love,
I’m sorry that you’re having a hard time of things at the moment. I'm here if you want to talk about it, but I think I’d better give you a little space right now.
Love,
Clark
What he had wanted to say was that he didn’t want to be in the way of any of the fallout that might come of this latest blow up.
He pushed send, then looked up to hear the report on LNN about a terrorist hostage taking. He quickly opened a new email in super-time and typed
From: superman@hotmail.com
To: loislane@thedailyplanet.com
I'm heading to the terrorist hostage taking in Lebanon.
Me
He clicked on send and headed to the stairwell, Perry watching from the door of his office. Not waiting for the stairwell door to close completely, Clark spun into the suit and flashed upward and out of sight. Perry looked up at the monitors to listen to the breaking news story, then glanced out the window in time to see the treetops swaying and to hear a distant sonic boom. He breathed deeply and went back into his office. “Guess I don’t have to assign him a story this morning. I hope he gives me a good sidebar to go with it. Too bad he doesn’t take pictures, too.”
“Jimmy!” Jimmy got up and headed into his editor’s office. Lois was busy leaning over the form on her desk. Ralph was still on the phone. Lois’ email beeped softly. She looked over her shoulder before opening the email Clark had just sent her. He wasn’t at his desk, nor around the coffee machine. It wasn’t like him not to come over to give her a cup of coffee.
Well, he certainly was giving her space, she thought grimly as she read his email, then opened the next one. Since when did Superman have email? She smiled as she read it and looked up at the monitors, which were now showing him on the scene. Did he think I’d wonder where he was? She scrolled back up to her email to him the other day and re-read it, smiling now that she knew that Clark was really Superman.
She chuckled as she realized that was probably why he’d told her where he was going, because she’d been so mad about him not telling her. She had no idea how concerned he was at her temper and that he’d not wanted to do anything to upset her in her present state.
It wasn’t long before the hostage crisis was over and LNN was factually stating the part Superman had just played. Clark walked through the stairwell door, straightening his tie. He took in the mood of the newsroom, poured himself and Lois a cup of coffee, and headed over to her desk.
“Did I miss anything?” he asked, brushing his lips across her cheek as he whispered to her.
She smiled and reached her arm up to hold his head in place, turning her lips to meet his. “Nothing much.”
“Excuse me, Lois Lane?”
“Who’s asking?” Lois said as Clark straightened up and looked toward the tall lean man standing beside her desk.
“Brad Wood, sheriff’s department.” He handed her an envelope. As she took it he continued, “you’ve just been served. Have a nice day, Ms. Lane.”
He nodded and turned toward the ramp as Lois tore open the envelope. “That bastard!” she hissed under her breath, but not softly enough that several heads didn’t come up to look in her direction. “Ralph is charging me with two counts of assault.” Clark’s eyebrows went up as she turned the papers in his direction. He settled onto the desk with a sigh and a slow shake of his head.
Clark’s words had failed him. He’d known she was reacting pretty badly to Ralph. However, Ralph definitely deserved everything he got from her. He’d hated him for the things he’d insinuated to Lois, but he’d always maintained his calm exterior. What would happen in court with this? Would his harassment of her get her off these charges? Was this self defense? He wasn’t sure about where the law stood on these issues.
“Conference room, Now!” Perry bellowed as he headed into the large room and seated himself at the end of the long table.
Lois took the paper from Clark and tucked it in her purse before picking up her notepad and pen. Clark put his hand on the small of her back as she walked alongside him.
The table filled up quickly. Ralph slid a National Inquisitor down the table where it stopped in front of Lois and Clark. “ENGAGED TO TWO MEN,” the headline yelled. The three pictures said the rest: Lois in Superman’s arms kissing him while flying; a close-up of his first ring on her finger; and a close-up circle enlarged on the new ring on her finger while she gives Clark a kiss outside her apartment door last night.
She muttered a few choice words that only Clark could hear before he turned off his superhearing. Jimmy who was sitting on the other side of Lois pulled the paper over and looked at the pictures. “Ya gotta admit Lois, even I'm asking questions now.” He said it quietly before she jabbed him with her elbow.
She was about as mad as Clark had ever seen her. She flipped open her notebook and turned to face Perry who was busy sorting through a mess of papers in front of him, her jaw set like steel.
“Okay now, what have we got today?” Perry began. “Clare?”
The conversation moved around the desk, tossing their story ideas to Perry as he weighed them and granted or vetoed approval.
“Clark?”
“I'm on the hostage situation.”
Perry nodded, “Good, son. But that’s world news, what have you got for me locally?”
“I’d like to show what Metropolis’ weak points are as far as terrorism is concerned.”
He nodded again. “Lois, I want you working with Clark on this. I want to know what the docks, the airports, the trains and the bus services are doing with security issues. And see if you can get me a statement from the White House on this.”
Lois nodded, her mind a million miles away.
“Lois, you with me today?” he followed her eyes to the inquisitor. “What’s that trash doing in my newsroom?”
Jimmy looked up from reading the article beneath the front page pictures and wadded it into a ball. “In the trash, Chief, right away.” He turned and tossed it into the trash can in the corner behind him.
“Lois? The White House?”
“Huh? Oh, sure Chief.”
“And get me that form as soon as possible.”
“Um hum.” She mumbled. She’d gone from white anger to a state of calm shock, numb to what was going on in the real world around her. Her mind had shut down almost completely.
Clark caught Perry’s eye, “We’re on it, Chief.”
“Ralph, I’ve got a meeting I want to send you to.”
“Oh yeah? Where’s that Chief?” Ralph had a pleased look on his face, assuming the next few days would be party time out of town.
Perry slid a piece of paper down the table to him and dismissed the meeting.
“What the…?” Ralph stated indignantly as he read the title of the seminar, ‘Sexual Harassment Stops Here’. “I don’t think so!” he shot back at his boss.
“Then you don’t work for me anymore, Ralph. Is this your resignation?”
He snorted and grabbed the paper before leaving the conference room with the crowd that was filtering out the door.
Lois and Clark were still there as Perry walked behind Ralph, closing the door behind him before turning to them. “Lois, I’m sorry about what’s going on here. Add this to your list of harassments for me, okay?”
Lois nodded and pulled the papers out of her purse to shove at Perry. He whistled and shook his head. “Let me talk to the lawyers about this and see if we can take this on. May I keep this?”
She nodded mutely, standing up. Clark was beside her, his arm around her shoulders, squeezing comfortingly. She sighed deeply, and dragged herself back to her desk.
“Lois?”
She looked in Clark’s direction but her eyes didn’t meet his. “Huh?”
“Lois, are you okay?”
She didn’t move but sighed again. Her brain had shut down completely. She didn’t notice that she didn’t have a single thought in her mind. She could have been anywhere in the world for all she knew or cared.
“Lois?”
She put her head on her arms on her desk, her breathing slowing. Clark was worried. He knew what she must have been going through, but this wasn’t how she normally reacted. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Lois?” when she didn’t answer, he headed over to Perry’s office.
“Chief, Lois isn’t well. I’m going to take her home. I think this is all very traumatic for her.”
Perry nodded slowly at him, “Okay, son.”
As Clark was leaving the room he added, “I must say I'm a bit confused myself. You know I don’t want to get involved in your lives too much, but is there anything you want to tell me?”
Clark raised an eyebrow. “Not yet, Chief.” He was back at Lois’ desk momentarily. “Lois, I'm going to take you home. Come on.” He pulled her gently up from the desk. Her eyes had a faraway stare in them as he tried to stand her on her feet. She collapsed into his arms, so he picked her up and carried her to the elevator, not caring what his colleagues thought as the doors opened. Since he’d begun this as Clark, he’d better finish it as Clark, he thought, hailing a cab with his head as he stood beside the curb holding Lois in his arms. A camera flashed and he felt like a beacon for another inquisitor article.
“Lois?” he whispered as he slipped her into the back seat of the cab before sliding in next to her. “Lois!” he demanded, as she didn’t make any motion that she’d heard him at all. He turned her chin to face him. Her eyes were still staring, her face expressionless. “Lois, don’t do this. Talk to me.”
She didn’t respond, so he leaned her head over onto his shoulder and held her as the taxi pulled away.
