Chapter Five
Clark arrived at Lois’ tent at the agreed upon time. Paris was in the same time zone as Brazzaville, but slightly further west so it would stay light there a bit longer. Lois looked radiant, Clark thought to himself. Wait until she has some clothes on that actually fit her. His previous thought pattern went out the window. Maybe I feel differently about her because she *isn’t* the other Lois. I’m *supposed* to feel differently. This is *right*.
Clark took his cape off and wrapped it around Lois as they gently floated up into the air. Once above the camp, he began to fly at a more accelerated pace. Lois was absolutely amazed at the view she was getting while they headed over northwestern Africa, crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Clark flew relatively low in the sky so Lois could really take in the sights of the various countries as they passed overhead. She couldn’t believe how warm she felt in Clark’s arms. Even though she was wrapped up in his cape, he seemed to exude heat….or maybe she was just feeling a bit flushed to be this close to a Greek God. Shortly they were hovering right over the Eiffel Tower…”le tour Eiffel”. “It’s so magnificent,” Lois breathed. “C’est magnifique!” she shouted, loudly this time. Her newfound fluency in the French language would definitely come in handy now.
Lois looked up at Clark Kent, her flying savior. He was staring back at her, smiling, enjoying her obvious enthusiasm. <This type of thing must be nothing for him to see now. He’s used to it. He can just will himself up in the air anytime he wants. Wow! > she thought. <I’m acting like a silly schoolgirl. Oh, so what, who cares! I’m in Paris, for God’s sake! With Superman!>
Clark landed outside of the city limits so he could change into his civilian clothes. He figured that no one in Paris would recognize him unless he had the suit on, offering Lois and him some privacy as they got to know each other.
He gently placed Lois on the ground and said, “This will take a second – literally,” as he spun out of his suit and into his casual Clark Kent clothes. Lois’ jaw dropped as she saw Superman in his street attire for the first time. <This is what he looks like at the Daily Planet every day? Holy cow!>
“Wow. How do you do that? That’s amazing,” Lois exclaimed. “That would be a great gift to have when I’m running late for work!”
She handed him his cape, and she again was floored as he pressed it into a tight square that easily fit into his back pants pocket. “So you have super-folding abilities too, I see,” she joked. “You can come and do laundry with me anytime you’d like.”
Clark laughed. Conversation seemed to flow naturally with them. It didn’t feel forced. What a great feeling to be comfortable like this with someone you just met, he thought. “Okay, ready for more flying?” he asked.
Lois nodded, knowing innately that this was something she would never, ever tire of.
He then drew Lois into his arms again, floating them above the low-lying clouds. He gradually drifted towards the city. Silently dropping down from the sky, they landed unseen by tourists, on the upper level of the Eiffel Tower. “Pretend we’re sightseeing, and we’ll take the elevator down to the ground,” he whispered to Lois.
“I don’t have to pretend, Clark – I *am* sightseeing!” Lois reminded him. “This is so wonderful. Thank you so much!”
“You’re very welcome,” he replied. Within minutes, they were mixing with the other visitors, and rode the elevator down to street level.
Lois could tell Clark was using his super-vision to try to locate something.
“What? Where are we going now?” she inquired.
“Only to one of the best clothing stores for women in Paris, if not the world…’Emporio Armani’’”, he replied. “Let’s go.”
Clark stopped to purchase a Metro/bus ticket for the two of them, and then located a waiting area. In the meantime, they both drank in the sights and sounds of the world’s most romantic city.
“This is funny…Superman taking the bus!” Lois noted. “I’m going to have to include this in the article.”
“Oh, so you’re only going with me so you can write about it, huh?” he said with a smirk. “Remember what we said about the joint bylines.”
“Yes, I do. I’m the one on top,” she snarked back to him. <It feels go good to joke around with Clark. So …natural. Like we’ve known each other for years. Amazing>.
As they boarded the bus, they both shared a hearty laugh. In minutes, they had arrived at their destination.
Entering the store, Lois suddenly realized that this was *the* Armani…here she was in Paris, the fashion capital of the world, and she was walking into “the* Armani store…with Superman. She looked at Clark with wonderment. “Seriously, Clark. Why are you doing this? I’m more of a discount department store type of gal,” she informed him. “These clothes were made for size 4 ‘Barbie Dolls’. I need the ‘plus size’ department.”
Clark smiled and said, “Back in Metropolis I stopped a fire in their main store there that would have wiped out an entire floor of merchandise. Suspecting arson, I investigated it for the Planet. I determined that a disgruntled employee had started the fire. Management was so grateful that they mailed a generous gift certificate to their store to my attention at the Daily Planet. I don’t usually accept gifts but I kept it in case I ever finally found you. And that’s the truth, Lois,”
Clark’s eyes pleaded with her to believe him. “I don’t know if you know this, but as Superman, I *do*have a reputation for telling the truth.”
Lois studied him closely, finally replying, “Okay, I’ll try to believe you, but I’m still not sure that anything in this place will fit me.”
At that moment, the duo was spotted and nearly attacked by sales clerks bending over backwards to assist them. Clark handed the gift certificate to one of them and rather assertively added, “this woman needs some new clothes. Please get her anything she wants. In addition to this gift certificate, you can put the rest of the purchases on my credit card.” He opened his wallet and took his Visa out, handing it to the clerk whose mouth dropped wide open when she saw the name on the card: “Clark Kent”.
“Oui, oui, Monsieur Superman. We’ll be more than happy to oblige. Whatever your lady friend …”
“Miss Lane,” Clark interjected.
“Ms. Lane would like. Please, Ms. Lane, come with us. Let’s get those horrible clothes off of you right away!”
Lois waived goodbye to Clark, who took a seat in the waiting area. He smiled. The oversized khakis really didn’t flatter Lois at all. He couldn’t wait to see her in more stylish, becoming clothes.
About an hour later, Lois emerged with several boxes of clothing and was wearing a black cocktail dress that perfectly enhanced her voluptuous neckline and flattered her new, slimmer figure. They had swept her hair up and did her makeup and nails. She looked as if she was ready for a black tie affair! Suddenly, Clark felt way too casual himself.
Running up to Lois, he couldn’t help but kiss her hand and tell her how stunning she looked. “Have you seen yourself in a mirror, Lois? You’re a new woman.”
Signing the credit slip for the remaining amount that was owed above and beyond the gift certificate, he wrote in a generous tip for the salesperson that had waited on her. <This ought to help her self-esteem,> Clark thought. <She really looks *hot*>.
She had bigger breasts than the *other* Lois because she was heavier, but it added to her sexiness. The dress came slightly below the knee, and Clark couldn’t help but admire her well-shaped calf muscles and lovely feet. The pumps she had on matched her dress perfectly.
Lois checked Clark over and remarked with a sexy smile, “You know, you’re a bit too..plain..to be seen with me. I think a stop to the men’s department is in order.”
Clark agreed. “I was thinking the very same thing, Ms. Lane. Why I don’t I do that, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Lois said.<Omigod! I got away with saying that to *Superman*! I must really look good. Only hot girls get to talk that way to good-looking men!>
While she awaiting Clark’s return, she couldn’t help but stare at herself in the adjacent mirror. Clearly, this was the best she had ever looked in her life. She could actually see her waistline now, and even her face had more definition. Although she was no size 6, she was shocked to find out that she could now fit into a size 16! The last time she had bought a suit in Metropolis, it was a 28W. She had definitely dropped a lot more weight than she had realized. Maybe she’d splurge tonight and have a decent dinner with Clark and perhaps even order something chocolate-ty for dessert?
Clark soon reappeared in a three-piece black suit. Lois felt her heart skip a beat just looking at him.
“You are definitely a super-man,” she gushed. “You look very handsome, Clark Kent.”
“Thanks. Shall we go, madame?” he said to her, offering her his arm.
“Absolutely,” Lois replied, feeling like she was in the middle of some kind of dream sequence that she would soon awake from.
As they approached the exit door, there was a wall of tourists and paparazzi gaping at them.
“Uh-oh! Someone in the store must have leaked to the press that I’m –we’re here,” Clark told her. “They’re going to be asking me who you are. Your picture will be on all of the wire services. Are you ready for this, Lois? Because if you’re not, I’ll fly you out of here and we’ll go somewhere else.”
Lois took a deep breath and replied, “Yes, Clark. You can take us out of here, but first let me handle these guys, Watch and learn.”
They hit the sidewalk and photographers began flashing their pictures at the same time microphones were thrusted in their faces, “Superman, is this your girlfriend? Who is she? Why are you in Paris? Is this a special occasion? Are you engaged?”
Lois stopped and turned and faced the crowd. “I believe that Mr. Kent here is off-duty when he’s not wearing his Superman suit. Please respect his privacy and mine as well. Let’s go, Clark.”
Faster than they eye could follow, Clark lifted Lois up in the air and landed them in an alley several blocks away, leaving the throng of admirers and pushy media folk in the dust. Echoes of “Monsieur Kent, who is she? Is she your new press agent?” rang out as they disappeared in thin air.
Clark hugged Lois, and the two laughed hysterically for a few moments. “You were great, Lois! I’m always worried about being rude to the press, since I’m a reporter myself. You stood right up to that whole crowd. You’re amazing.”
“Clark, you’re a bit too nice. You have a right to an evening to yourself. You save the world, someone has to save you once in a while, too,” Lois told him. “Now where’s that café you told me about with the great view of the Eiffel Tower?”
“Right this way, Ms. Lane,” Clark said. “Are those shoes uncomfortable to walk in?”
Lois looked down at her shiny black pumps. “A bit, yes. But it’s okay.”
“Hold onto me and you won’t feel a thing,” Clark promised her as he again held out his arm for her.
Gently floating Lois several inches above the ground, they made their way across town to the Jules Verne café, which was on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. As promised, Lois had a panoramic view of the city from their table.
Lois felt a bit uncomfortable by Clark’s unabashed admiration of her. <We’ve just met, and this is too much. I must get to the bottom of this. No one is this nice without an ulterior motive. Before I get my heart broken again, I’ve got to find out what’s going on.>
Clark ordered a bottle of champagne. The waiter brought it over in a bucket of ice, popped the cork and poured the sparkling beverage into two very tall gilded goblets.
Clark raised his glass: “To the return of Lois Lane to the world of journalism.” Lois clicked her glass with his and they slowly sipped the bubbly wine, to better savor the magnificent taste.
“To Clark Kent, my mysterious savior,” Lois offered, raising her glass again. Clark gently touched his goblet to hers and they sipped in unison, smiling at each other.
After they ordered their dinner, Lois felt it was time to “cut to the chase”.
“Clark Kent – it’s time to level with me. I may be a bit rusty, but my reporter’s instincts tell me that Superman doesn’t do this kind of thing very often. In fact, from what I read about you when I was at the newspaper today, after you broke off your engagement with the Lang woman, you’ve been keeping quite a low personal profile. So spill it.”
TBC.... Thursday
