Chapter One A
Earth
The atmosphere in Metropolis’ Centennial Park during a moonlit summer night is usually surcharged with calm. The quiet allows the city’s dwellers to forget the daylight humdrum noises, and clamor that accompanies the light of day. The soothing beams of moonlight that caress each and every object of nature, present a charming sight. The cool air, flowed lightly through the trees, giving residents relief from the heat of the day. Anyone walking through the park might think they were in the countryside and not in the heart of a great city. Even the most jaded of city dwellers cannot help but feel a sense of delight at the spice of romance hidden within its center.
Unfortunately, such is not the case for an attractive young couple walking hand in hand and quietly conversing, around midnight near the park’s famed Victorian era water fountain. The stars twinkled above them, but the woman’s head remained downward, refusing to acknowledge those bright emissaries of night. The air was alive with nature’s sounds. Crickets competed with bullfrogs as to who was the noisiest. The hum and buzz of hundreds of tiny insect wings could also be heard, although only the man would perceive them with absolute clarity.
On this night, with all its beautiful sights and sounds, these lovers are saying good-bye for what might be the final time.
She tightened her grip around his waist, feeling the cotton texture of his shirt and the rippling muscles beneath and said, “We were supposed to be getting married this October. It’s only a few months away. If anyone had told me last week that you were leaving to fight an alien war …” The lovely woman’s voice caught as she stopped, breathed in the night air, and continued. “You … you are my husband in every way …”
The man bent his head down and whispered in her ear, “In my mind, you are already my wife. The only woman I could ever love.”
In the darkness, with his special vision, he could see the gift of a watery smile as it played out on her lips. He sighed, feeling the air escape his lungs as his slender fingers reached down and brushed away a lone tear sliding over her cheek. She was the embodiment of all he hoped for in life. Yet after so many years of searching for that life, now it was being wrenched away. He wanted to stay here in Metropolis, on planet Earth. But stronger than this was the tug to be among his own people, to know them, and most important of all, to help his parent’s people in their hour of greatest need. This final point made that pull irresistible.
He touched her wedding band on the silver chain she had given him earlier that evening, “I’ll come back, my love, and exchange vows with you. That’s a promise.”
She answered him with a broken laugh, held up her left hand to display the sparkling diamond solitaire on its third finger. “You better! This engagement ring needs its mate, just like I need mine.”
It was a clumsy attempt to lighten the moment. How could she let this man, her best friend, leave her to face an empty existence? Since the day they met, he had brought an odd kind of contentment into her life that was previously missing. In the beginning, all the investigations, stakeouts and writing up stories for the Daily Planet with him was incredibly annoying. How she hated it when he leaned over her shoulder and put his finger on the computer screen to correct her copy!
But gradually, over the course of two years, things between them changed. As he became a better writer and journalist, he pushed her to be better, not only as a journalist, but as a person. To her surprise, she found the challenge refreshing and rose to it at every opportunity.
In time, it seemed perfectly normal to call him up in the middle of the night to get the proper spelling of a word and examine how it would fit just right in a sentence. It was customary to meet at the Java Perk each morning and walk to work, while testing each other with trivia questions about Metropolis’ history. For some odd reason, the Hack from Nowheresville always beat her. At first, it rankled her competitive spirit. But when she looked into his warm brown eyes and watched as the perfect smile spread over his lips, somehow it didn’t matter.
While all this was happening, no one had warned her that she was falling in love.
Now with his departure, he was taking all the color and enthusiasm with life and leaving nothing but dreariness behind. Sure, his reason for leaving was noble, but she didn’t have to like it. Still, this was their last night together before the New Kryptonians put their plan of Clark’s public abduction into motion. No matter how painful it was, she would allow them to go through with it. Earlier that evening Clark had flown them to Smallville, and they had a simple dinner with Martha and Jonathan, who decided it was wiser not to be in the Daily Planet’s newsroom when Trey showed up. Neither one of them would be able to keep up the pretense. Better to say good-bye to their son now in the privacy of the farmhouse.
A chuckle bubbled into his voice, “Yes, ma’am! Do you want to go back to your apartment? Maybe have some coffee? It’s getting pretty late.”
She thought about it. Going back home would mean giving into delicious, dangerous temptations and passions. She was only human. “No, I’m not tired. Could you … could we … go flying?”
He came forward, bent down and their lips met passionately. They clung to one another, knowing this was the last night on Earth for him. The unspoken question lingered between them; would they ever be together again? She breathed in his scent, a heady mixture of woodsy cologne and wheat, curtesy of time walking the land with Jonathan. Their lips continued to touch with a soft tenderness that made her heart pound with a thrilling mixture of love and yearning.
That emotion of pure raw need heightened her desire for him as never before. She did not want this delicious intimacy to end. Another powerful wave of emotion overcame her with heated exotic results. Butterflies danced merrily within, while a frisson of flame swayed over her body. They drew apart and she moaned softly in protest with the sudden absence of that heat. She looked up into his darkened eyes and saw the honeyed desire reflecting her own emotions.
A rough whisper escaped his lips, “Lois…. please, you have to be strong for both of us.”
She looked down at the ground and said, “I know… I know. But I want to spend the night with you. Not … go flying.”
Touching her chin, he brought her face up to look at him. “I want that more than anything. But sharing one desperate night is terribly unfair to both of us.”
“What if … what if I conceived a child? Someone who is a part of the both of us? Someone to cherish if you don’t…” She left the words unspoken.
He wrapped her in his arms and nestled his chin gently on her head, taking in the faint notes of jasmine from her shampoo. He spoke with that oh so familiar rumble, “A child of two worlds without a father? No, we want … we deserve to raise our child together. I had Mom and Dad, but there were and still are days when having my flesh and blood parents with me would have helped to round me out as a person… very much like a wonderful novel.” He gave a short laugh and continued, “I’m like that novel, unfortunately two key chapters are missing. I want our child to read the whole book, not wonder what those missing chapters contained.” He was silent for a moment, reining in emotions and memories. Eventually he said, “Where do you want to fly to?”
She huffed out the answer, knowing he was right. “Paris. I hear La Maison d'Isabelle has won another award for excellence. Their croissants are not to be believed.”
He smiled, “I think that can be arranged.” He took two steps aways from her, removed his glasses and then scanned the area to make certain neither cameras nor people were nearby. Then, as quick as lightening, he spun about, the warm summer air around her cooling with each revolution until suddenly he stopped, now wearing the familiar Suit. She couldn’t help but grin. Honestly, seeing him do this never got old.
He stepped forward, took her in his arms and said, “Ready to make some more memories?”
She gifted him with a brilliant smile, “With you? Always.”
Scant seconds later, the space beside the ornate bubbling fountain was empty.
Last edited by Morgana; 09/09/24 12:40 PM.
