After about an hour, they made it to Smallville and registered at the town's better motel. Perry knew that to be the case – the first time he'd come, back when he was still drinking, he'd stayed in Smallville's other motel.
They unloaded their suitcases, and after a quick freshening up, got back into the car and headed to the Kent Farm. Perry, seeing the fields, was struck with a flash of memory. He saw himself, drunk, fiddling with cell phone, map, and steering wheel – suddenly a young man appeared out of nowhere in front of him. And Perry, swerving to avoid him, ran into a telephone pole.
From such meetings did lifelong friendships start, he mused. Although this was a stranger friendship than most.
They turned into the long, unpaved lane that served as driveway to the Kent house. A blue sedan followed them into the lane. Richard pulled their car off to the side and parked it; the sedan copied them.
Perry greeted the sedan driver with genuine affection. "Martha," he said. "It's good to see you again."
Martha Kent advanced to him and unashamedly hugged him. "You too, Perry," she replied.
"You look as good as ever," Perry couldn't help but say. And she did. Martha's hair was still mostly red, with only a few strands of gray. She'd kept her trim figure, and her air of aliveness belied the fact that this woman was over seventy years old.
"You must be Richard," Martha said, advancing on the younger man, extending her hand, smiling broadly.
"Uh, yes," Richard said, uncharacteristically tongue-tied.
Perry rescued him. "I wasn't actually invited, Martha…." He said almost playfully.
"Oh, Perry!" Martha chided. She stood back, looked him straight in the eye. With great sincerity, she said, "Perry White, you are always welcome on the Kent Farm."
He looked at her and quirked an eyebrow. And is Richard? Perry asked silently. She returned his look evenly, saying without words, It depends on how this weekend turns out.
"I'm sorry I don't have a home-cooked supper for you two," Martha said as they walked to the door of the house, "but I was at a board meeting of K-CAN and it went way over time. I swear, some people talk just to hear themselves talk!" she added in disgust.
"K-CAN?" Richard asked.
"Kansas Community Action Network," Martha told him. "It's a group of non-profits that work on housing, literacy, child development, improving educational opportunities, parent training, things like that." She stared Richard straight in the eye. "I think being a parent is so very important, don't you? It's difficult. But it's the most rewarding job in the world."
Richard shuffled his feet, and Perry was reminded of the fact that the woman in front of him had been Metropolis socialite, farm wife, United States Senator from the state of Kansas, and now a member of several executive boards. Not to mention being Superman's mother. She knew well how to skewer you and leave you bleeding while you wondered what happened.
Whatever Richard was going to say in response was drowned out by the welcoming cry of "Daddy! Daddy!" Jason came barreling off the front porch, running down the steps to meet Richard. Lois and Clark followed him, staying at the door.
Perry saw Richard take in the sight of his son and hesitate just a moment. Then, with a sob, he knelt and embraced the boy, giving a tiny sob as he did so. "Jason," Richard said brokenly. He hugged the boy tighter.
Perry, seeing Richard's face at that moment, knew that the other man had just thrown away any concerns he might have about Jason not being human. And he knew that Richard was going to fight for Jason. The man would not give up his son.
"Hello, Richard," Lois said, advancing to him. There was an awkward moment, finally resolved by them shaking hands. Clark followed Lois, extending his hand. An even more awkward pause ensued, with Richard looking at Jason, then finally facing Clark directly, taking Clark's hand, and firmly shaking it.
"Well," Martha Kent said, behind Perry and Richard, "why don't we all come in." The crowd trooped into the cheery Kent Farm kitchen, Jason holding Richard's hand and leading him there, chattering all the way. Greetings were exchanged – Lois and Clark shook Perry's hand and hugged Martha.
Martha set down her briefcase and jacket. "Jason?" she asked.
"Grandma!" the boy exclaimed. He came to Martha and hugged her. Richard watched, his mouth twisting.
"Jason, why don't you show your father around the farmhouse," Martha suggested. "I'm sure he'd like to see your room."
"You bet!" Jason said. "C'mere, Daddy!" He took Richard by the hand and led him out of the kitchen, Richard following obediently.
Martha turned to look at Lois and Clark, both of whom were smiling. "Just like his mother," Clark murmured.
"Clark," Martha began.
"Yes?"
"You take Lois and get some carryout for us. I don't care where or what." She fixed Clark with a stern gaze. "Don't come back for half an hour."
Clark nodded, reached for Lois's hand. She smiled and marched toward the door with him. As the two exited the kitchen, Martha said, "And don't listen in!"
Clark smiled and nodded his assent.
Perry stood, wondering if Clark would drive to Smallville, or use his special abilities. A "swoosh" from the yard told Perry that the carryout might be from an unusual restaurant tonight – Superman wasn't limited to local eateries.
He smiled at the way Martha Kent had taken control of the situation. She'd always been one to do that. And, like clockwork, she spoke to him.
"Coffee, Perry?" Her hand hovered over the pot.
"When have you known me to turn down coffee, Martha?" he retorted. "Sure."
Martha poured him a cup, then a cup for herself. She indicated the kitchen table and they sat down.
"Perry, I'm counting on you to tell me the whole story," Martha said. "I know what Clark and Lois have to say, but I need to hear it from a….neutral observer."
Perry raised his eyebrows. "And your sympathies aren't with Clark?"
Martha snorted. "Of course they are, Perry. He's my son. I want him to be happy." She took a sip of coffee. "But my son has been known to be a lunkhead at times, and I've got to get it straight."
Perry choked into his coffee. "Superman….a lunkhead?"
"Come on, Perry," Martha said, almost laughing. "You can't tell me that you've known about him all these months and not figured that out."
"Well….there've been a few times….but any lunkheaded tendencies have been disguised by those saving-the-world episodes and the Pulitzer-quality writing."
"Oh, Perry," Martha said. "That's sweet." She grinned.
"Well, it's true," Perry defended himself. Then he needled her. "I always flatter senators."
"Senator no longer, you know that," Martha said.
"Doesn't matter," Perry replied. "You're still a mover and shaker."
Martha didn't deny this; she only nodded. After another sip of coffee, her air turned serious. "Tell me what's going on, Perry," she said quietly.
"Well, it all started when I found out Clark's secret, or, um, when he let me find it out," Perry said. "You know about the glasses?"
"Yes," Martha said. "And I was furious at Clark when he did that to Lois and Cat and you. That was very wrong."
"Glad to know somebody cared," Perry muttered.
"He kept on telling me that he didn't know how to fix it, and I kept on telling him to go to the Fortress and take his training, and he kept on refusing," Martha said, with the air of one repeating an old argument. "Sometimes I think he went to Krypton just so he wouldn't have me nagging him."
"Well, it's water under the bridge now," Perry said, becroggled at the thought of Superman ignoring the voice of conscience – in this case, his mother. "So I found out about Clark, and then Lois found out, and together they found Lex Luthor, and Lex got out of jail…." Perry went on to describe the whole sequence of events. Martha kept quiet through the whole recitation.
"So let me see if I have this straight," she said at the end. "You have all your memory back?" Martha stared intently at Perry.
"Um, yes, thanks to Lois," he said.
"I know Lois has hers back, too," Martha said, almost to herself. Turning to Perry, she said, "I'm so glad. When Clark took away her memory, I lost one of my good friends too. And she was the only person I could talk to about Clark – the only person who knew his secret. That's one of the reasons I was so angry at Clark. Besides the fact that what he did was wrong."
Perry could only nod.
"And, so, in a major lunkhead decision, Clark got Lois pregnant and then ran off to Krypton for five years," Martha went on.
"Uh-huh," Perry agreed.
"And Lois, not remembering, fell in love with Richard. And they thought Richard was Jason's biological father. Richard's name is on Jason's birth certificate."
"Uh-huh."
"And now Clark wants to take Lois and Jason away from Richard." Martha's tone was flat.
"Um…." Perry was noncommittal. "He hasn't actually said that…."
"Well, I know Lois wants to stay with Clark," Martha said.
"That's obvious," Perry said. "She still has feelings for Richard – she's told me so herself – but she's been with Clark ever since high school, they worked together for years, she trusted him even when she'd lost her memory – she has something much deeper with Clark."
"That's all well and good," said Martha, getting up and pacing nervously around the kitchen, "but Jason…" She turned to listen to her grandson, in the living room, still giving Richard the tour. "It's not right for Jason to just leave Richard," she said. "Clark wasn't our biological son, but we would have fought anyone who tried to take him away from us." Memory darkened Martha's eyes. "Besides, I've gotten to know my grandson over the past two weeks," she continued. "And if Richard raised him, he did a good job."
"Thanks for that," Richard said awkwardly from the door of the kitchen where he'd come, inadvertently eavesdropping.
"I meant what I said, Richard," Martha said evenly.
Richard stared back at her and nodded.
"Will you come in and have a cup of coffee?" Martha asked, indicating a seat next to Perry at the kitchen table.
"Sure," Richard said, glancing at Jason who pouted slightly at the adults settling down for adult talk.
"Jason," Martha said. "I'm going to make some cookies, and I need you to run down to the cellar and bring up two bags of chocolate chips, please."
"Wow! Sure, Grandma!" and Jason was off.
"We've got a minute," Martha said. She fixed Richard with the gimlet eye again. "Why didn't you visit Jason? You had two weeks."
Richard flushed and looked away. Then he returned his eyes to Martha's, and took a deep breath. "I was afraid."
Martha only nodded in understanding.
"I had all these thoughts in my head….is Jason human? Superman is his father….Lois has a meteor power – I saw it. What will it mean? I couldn't face Jason." Richard looked down. "I'm not proud of it." Raising his glance to Martha, he said in a more definite tone, "Then I came here and saw him, and I realized, it didn't matter. No matter who his biological father is, he's my son, and I love him."
"Jonathan felt the same way," Martha said quietly. She looked at Richard and Perry. "When Clark first came into our lives – we'd only had him a few weeks – he picked up the bed." She smiled. "That bedstead must have weighed two hundred pounds. And Clark picked it up like it was nothing." Her eyes grew distant in memory. "Jonathan was scared and worried, and he wanted to send Clark to the orphanage."
Perry leaned forward, fascinated. Not many people had heard this story about Superman's childhood, he was sure.
"And?" Richard prompted.
"And he grew to love Clark," Martha said, wistfully. "He accepted Clark, alien origins and all." Once again Richard had her full attention. "I'm sorry that you got stuck in all this, Richard, but I'm not sorry Jason lived with you." Her voice soft, she concluded, "You're a good man."
Richard nodded slowly.
"Tomorrow, you and Clark have to talk," Martha said briskly.
Richard made a small move of withdrawal.
"Oh, he's not going to do anything to you," Martha said. "I won't let him." Perry and Martha exchanged a small laugh. "But you have to settle this." Her eyes softened as Jason came running into the kitchen, triumphantly holding two bags of chocolate chips.
Perry could almost hear Richard protesting, "But he's Superman!" And he could almost hear Martha replying, "So?" Perry chuckled into his coffee. He'd learned to speak to the man behind the Suit. It was time Richard learned the same.
Martha pulled out a mixing bowl and some measuring cups from a cupboard. "Jason, will you help me measure the sugar?" she asked.
Jason was more than willing.
As Martha assembled ingredients, (at the same time dealing with Jason "helping") she said casually, "Can you tell your Dad about the farm and what you've been doing here?"
"Oh boy!" Jason said. "Mr. Hubbard keeps his horses here and they're called Laurey and Curley….Robert gets to ride them…Mr. Hubbard let me ride on Laurey…" Jason almost gabbled in his hurry to tell everything. "The horse poop doesn't smell all that bad….and Shelby likes to eat it – eew!"
Perry smiled. Jason tugged Richard by the hand and took him outside, presumably to show him some horse manure. Perry and Martha just laughed.
After a while the two returned, and Martha sent Jason upstairs to get cleaned up before dinner. She turned to Richard, her easy conversation masking things Perry knew to be of great significance.
"Did you ever wonder how Superman came to Earth?" Martha asked.
Richard rubbed his forehead. "You know, I never did," he said slowly. "It just seems like he's always been here….but I remember when he made his debut." He looked confused. "Why didn't I wonder that? When you say it now, it makes no sense – why would an alien speak English? How does he know our customs?"
Perry nodded significantly at Martha.
"Clark will tell you all about that tomorrow," Martha promised. Jason came clattering back down the stairs. She turned to him, and inspected his hands. "OK, they're clean enough. You can add the chocolate chips to the dough, now, Jason."
The boy carefully opened the bags and dumped the chips into the mixing bowl. Perry wasn't the only one who inhaled the rich chocolate odor.
"It's another Mr. Clark story, Jason," Martha said.
"Yay!"
"Jonathan – that's Mr. Clark's father, Jason," she said to her grandson, "Jonathan and I were in our truck coming back from town. And a meteor struck the ground right in front of us. But when it cooled off, we saw that it wasn't a meteor, it was actually a spaceship! And inside it, was guess who?"
"Mr. Clark!" Jason said excitedly.
"And we knew he was supposed to be our son, and we took him home…." Martha went on, as the chocolate chip cookies took shape under her hands.
