Table of Contents: Concrete Jungle Love, sequel to "Jungle Love" From Chapter 23:
Next, she bought a map and located the house he had supposedly grown up in, according to Olson's report. It was across town, so she phoned a cab to take her there. The current residents were a couple in their thirties by the names of Lawrence and Lydia LeHoure, which sounded French. Lois rang the doorbell and after several minutes, a young Caucasian female no older than ten answered the door, causing Lois to do a visible double-take in response. Curly red hair, freckles, glasses, and big brown eyes stared back at her. The girl was at the gawky stage, but had the potential to blossom into a real beauty some day, assuming she got contact lenses so the world could see her beautiful brown eyes!
"Hi, may I help you?" she asked politely, suddenly feeling an eerie sense of déjà-vu while face to face with Lois Lane, a complete stranger.
Twice in the same day, the penny dropped. Lois felt flushed and began breathing heavily.
Dozing off in the upper atmosphere, Clark's hearing alerted him to Lois' increased pulse rate. <There it is! She already got herself in trouble>, he thought, flinging himself through the clouds to come to her rescue.
~~~~~
Edge Enterprises Board Room, Metropolis 3:00 p.m.
Morgan Edge sat alone in the cavernous area that was his Board Room, 100 stories high, with an all-glass wall that faced east towards the harbor. He spotted some tall ships docked there; that served to remind him that some additional arm shipments from Congo-Brazzaville should be arriving soon, along with Mark Boyle's previously dead brother Philip Boyle. Nigel's scars from the expert plastic surgery he had endured had now healed sufficiently, and since he was an experienced journalist as well, it was time for him to join the staff of the Daily Planet also.
The board room door burst open; apparently Lenny Thorul had just arrived from the West Coast.
"Thought you weren't coming in until tonight?" Edge bellowed at him.
"I thought it prudent to take an earlier flight," the red-haired man standing in the doorway responded, briefcase in hand. "The ladies downstairs told me you were up here. Admiring the view, are we?"
Edge smiled back. "Something like that. Not that I – we – didn't work hard to earn it. Well, don't just stand there; there's no one else around - give your brother a hug!" And now,
Chapter 24 Clark followed Lois' racing heart beat to a side street in Coronado of fairly modest homes – for California. He hovered about 100 feet above her, stunned to see that she wasn't in trouble - at least the typical Lois Lane type of trouble – she wasn't being shot at, or indulging in offensive verbal sparring with someone. She was apparently anxious because of the face of the young woman staring back at her in the opened doorway. Clark was immediately struck by the family resemblance the two females shared. Even though the girl in the doorway had curly red hair, she had Lois' unmistakably fiery, passionate big brown eyes and somehow carried that "I'm a Lane, I'm going to get to the bottom of this" expression on her face.
<"Lois! Honey, I'm up here. Are you OK?" – Damn! She can't hear me because of the lead lining in this stupid spacesuit! I'll just keep an eye on things from up here – this looks interesting, and it's obviously causing Lois some anxiety…hmmm>.
<"Clark – I know this sounds crazy, but… I just *know* this young girl is my daughter. Clark?" Oh, that ridiculous suit blocks out our communication! I forgot!>
"May I help you with something?" the young lady asked for the second time.
Lois snapped out of it long enough to respond coherently. "Yes. I understand that this is the home that Leonard Thorul grew up in. I'm a reporter," she explained, displaying her press pass to the girl, "and I'm doing a story on him. May I come in?"
"Sure. Have a seat in the living room, I'll get my Mom," she replied, disappearing into the kitchen.
Lois entered the room, paralyzed with a sense of familiarity and déjà-vu. Had she been in this house before? Why did it seem that she knew the contents of every room and the layout as well?
A woman about thirty years old entered the living room. She looked nothing like her daughter – she was a typical California blonde; very lithe, scantily dressed, and tanned a golden bronze. Her daughter bore no resemblance to her whatsoever. "Hello, I'm Lydia LeHoure- and *you* are?"
"Lois - Lois Lane, of the Daily Planet." Lois displayed her press pass again, and then offered her hand in greeting. Lydia responded quite apathetically – the California "laid back" way, Lois assumed - but nonetheless shook her hand. "I'm doing a story on one of the new owners of the Planet, Leonard Thorul. I understand that he grew up in this house?"
"Yes, he did. Mr. Thorul still owns this house, actually. We rent it from him. My husband had a summer job at the Hotel Del when he was a teenager, and he worked for Mr. Thorul's mother, Lena. She was a wonderful woman. When she passed away about eleven years ago, in 1992, we attended the funeral and met Mr. Thorul then. What a nice man – he happened to mention that he was going to have to sell his mother's home and how upsetting that would be for him, since he grew up there and had so many cherished memories. We were looking for larger quarters, since we were planning on getting married at the time and starting a family, so we asked him if he would be willing to rent it out to us instead of selling it. He thought it would be a great idea, and we've been here since then!"
"So you like him? Mr. Thorul?" Lois pressed on.
"Oh, he's a wonderful, wonderful man. And he's been very kind to us as well. Of course, we pay the rent on time every month – I'm sure that helps," Lydia joked.
<Interesting how everyone in the San Diego area thinks he's a great man, but all that know him in the business world think he's an SOB! Split personality or what?> Lois mused.
"So your daughter was born in this house? She looks like she's about nine-ten years old." Lois was clearly fishing for additional information about the young woman who answered the door.
"Actually, it turned out that I was unable to have children, and Mr. Thorul helped us arrange an adoption for our daughter, Lena."
"Lena? That's what you named her?"
"Yes, we named her Lena in honor of Mr. Thorul's mother, who was such a good person – my husband adored her."
"You said Mr. Thorul helped arrange the adoption? You mean he helped out with the paperwork?"
"No, he actually knew of an American baby girl overseas that had lost both of her parents – they were traveling in a third world country when she was born and apparently had an unfortunate accident, leaving the baby girl an orphan. Mr. Thorul said he became aware of her through his business contacts overseas. He asked me if we would be willing to adopt her and he paid all of the expenses involved with bringing her to the States. He was able to cut through most of the red tape and within several weeks, we were the proud parents of a 9-week old beautiful girl. We love our daughter so much," Lydia gushed. "I'm so grateful to Leonard Thorul for this gift."
Lois was beginning to feel that now-familiar, gut-wrenching anxiety welling up in her abdomen. "So exactly how old is Lena? Was I close when I said she was nine or ten?"
"She is exactly nine and ½ years old. Your guess was very close – do you have a daughter around that age?" Lydia asked, smiling.
Lois swallowed hard before answering the question. "Ah, no, I recently got married, having been overseas myself for the last decade. We haven't started a family yet, actually."
"If you're wondering why she's home in the middle of the day, it's because she's home sick from school. I always know when she's *really* sick, because she *loves* school – she's in the fourth grade, and her grades are phenomenal."
<A genius; just like her father. Omigod – where did that come from?> "Does Lena know she's adopted?" Lois asked.
"Yes, when she was seven, we told her because when she'd bring friends over, they'd always tell her how she didn't look like either one of her parents. We figured that it was better if she knew the truth as soon as she was able to comprehend it. Lucky for us, she took it well, and she's very mature for her age."
"Do you mind if I ask her a few questions? About how she feels about Mr. Thorul, that is," Lois asked.
"I don't see why not, but since she's not feeling well, try to keep it short. She should be in bed right now; I'm not sure why she decided to get up and answer the door before. That was kinda strange," Lydia commented. "It was like she was expecting someone or something."
"Do you know who her parents were? Is it on her birth certificate?"
"Well, since it was a third world adoption, they are listed as "unknown American male" and "unknown American female". That was kind of hard for her to swallow; please don't mention that to her, Ms. Lane."
"Of course I won't, Lydia. And please, call me Lois."
"Thanks, Lois. I'll get Lena for you."
Lois' mind was swirling with flashbacks that were coming fast and furious, but she couldn’t quite get a handle on what it was that her mind was trying to get her to see. A migraine headache was starting to envelop her, and suddenly she couldn't wait to find solace in her husband's waiting arms.
Lena entered the room. "Hi again. My mom told me you're a reporter, and you want to ask me about Mr. Thorul."
"Yes Lena, my name is Lois Lane, and I work for the Daily Planet. Have you heard of that newspaper?"
Lena shook her head "no" in response.
"Well, Mr. Thorul is one of the new owners, and I'm doing a story on him, following his roots to Coronado Island. Do you like him?"
Her face became brighter and more animated as she spoke of Leonard Thorul. "Oh yes, he comes over here a lot, and he always brings me a new book to read. He sometimes even helps me with my homework, and when I get good grades, he puts money in the bank for me. He says that's my college fund."
Lois gulped visibly. "So he's kind of like a second Dad to you, huh?" <Or he *is* your Dad, and I'm your – oh, God no!> The headache became suddenly overpowering.
"He really is. He's the best. Well, Ms. Lane, it was nice to meet you. I don't know why, but I feel like I've met you before. But that's not possible I guess."
"You seem like a very bright young lady, Lena. Keep up the good work in school," Lois replied. <You're *very* familiar to me too, but if I can't handle the truth – neither can you.> "Nice to meet you also."
Lena turned and went up the stairs. Lois called out to her mother, who was in the kitchen, "Thank you Lydia, you've been very helpful. I hope Lena feels better. Oh, may I ask you one more question? I'm sorry to bother you again."
Lydia re-entered the living room. "Sure, Lois. I have to say, it's not every day I get interviewed by a world-famous reporter!"
"I just got back from overseas, and you've heard of me? Wow," Lois replied.
"Well, it *was* all over the news that you saved the day during that April Fool's Day terrorist attack. And, more recently, Mr. Thorul was bragging to us that he had taken over the Daily Planet and you were going to be working for him directly. Oh – I guess I should have told you that before. He's a real admirer of yours, you are very lucky to have him for a boss. Oh, and that's right, he told me you married Clark Kent/ Superman. Very cool, Lois – he's a hottie."
<Huh? He's trying to kill me and my husband and you're telling me that he actually *likes* me? Something seriously doesn't add up - > "Thanks, Lydia, he sure is. But he's as wonderful inside as he is to look at on the outside, trust me. And that's very sweet of my boss to say such kind words."
Lois spied a family picture on the end table of the Lydia, apparently her husband Larry, and Lena, when she was about five or so. Larry was a typical surfer-type – blonde, tanned, muscular. They looked like the perfect California couple. Lena *really* didn't look like either one of them.
Lois nodded toward the photo. "Nice family picture. Your husband's quite good-looking, Lydia. By the way, what does – Larry, right? - do for a living now?"
"After Lena Thorul passed away, Mr. Thorul arranged for him to take over as manager of the Del. He makes very good money there, enough so I can stay home with Lena; help her with her homework, etc. It was important to Mr. Thorul that I be able to devote my time to her. He's really been like a fairy Godfather to us!"
<'Godfather'…that's more like the truth!> "Well, thank you very much for your time, Lydia. This has been quite an enlightening interview."
"You're welcome, Lois. Stop by anytime. I'm sure my husband would like to meet you."
~~~~~
As Lois stepped out of the house, her heart rate still racing, Clark, hovering above the house, followed her, intending to wait until he could safely scoop her up without making a scene. Just then, Lois looked up at the sky and spotted her nervous-Nelly spouse floating 100 feet above her. She walked towards the harbor, which was about two blocks away, then signaled to Clark to come get her.
Faster than the eye could follow, Clark and Lois were soon up flying above the fog which typically permeated the coastline in the San Diego area in the springtime.
"Honey, what happened? You're a wreck."
"Clark! Take me home. It's time to take another bath!" Lois wanted to talk to her husband privately, skin to skin, free of space suits and prying eyes.
~~~~~
The Board Room, Edge Enterprises "So Lenny, how do you feel about leaving San Diego behind? You have a lot of history there."
"I have mixed feelings, really. The hardest thing is leaving Lena behind, but I know she's in good hands with Lydia and Larry. It's more important for me to be closer to her mother right now. I need to keep an eye on Lane, to ensure that if she starts to remember anything, I have the means to tarnish her memory. She's not going to ruin the life of my daughter. It's bad enough she ruined *my* life."
TBC...
