>>> Thursday, August 29th
Lois rode to work in Catharine’s Porsche. In deference to the intermittent morning rain, the top was up, and as a result they could talk without having to yell at each other.
Lois fidgeted, trying to get comfortable, then gasped and grabbed for a handhold as a cab darted out in front of them. Catharine expertly wiggled the steering wheel and adjusted her speed to avoid any incident, then frowned at what she considered Lois’s over-reaction.
“Relax, boss lady. I’ve never lost a passenger.”
“I’d say you’re overdue, then.” Lois glared at the street rushing by, seemingly just inches away. “It’s just a matter of time before someone runs over this pregnant roller skate you call a car and gets me all tangled up around the drive shaft.”
Catharine laughed. “I suppose you’d prefer to go to work in that tank you drive.”
“At least I get respect in my Jeep. Cabbies don’t dare jump in front of me like that one just did.”
“Because of the size of that thing?”
“That and the twin machine guns sticking out from the grill.”
Catharine laughed again. “Relax, Lois, I’ll get you to work intact.”
“Good. I’m really looking forward to all those employee reviews I have to finish by the end of next month.”
“Is that all you have to look forward to?”
Lois visibly tried to relax. “No. I’m also meeting with Superman’s attorney team after lunch.”
“That should be fun.”
“We’re going to – look out!”
“Easy, Lois, it’s just a bus!”
“Easy? Just a bus? That thing is huge! And look how dirty the wheels are! Where’s the city’s maintenance crews when you need them?”
“Calm down, Lois! Sheesh, you act like you’ve never ridden in a Porsche before.”
“I drove one on a race track once as background for a story. Felt like I was sitting on the ground then, too.”
“Hmm. Didn’t think about that. I guess your Jeep is a little taller than this.”
Lois turned and stared. “A little? Right now my head is below where my rear end usually is! Every time a truck gets close I start counting the dents in its undercarriage!”
Catharine was beginning to think that driving Lois to work had been less than a marvelous idea. “Okay, okay! Next time we take your armored personnel carrier and have no fun getting there!”
“At least we’ll get there alive and safe.”
Okay, thought Catharine, the fun is definitely over for this morning drive.
*****
They exited the elevator on the news floor. “Lois, give it a rest, okay? I promise I won’t take you anywhere in city traffic again, not ever!”
“It’s not that you’re a bad driver, Cath, you’re not, you got us here in one piece, although I’m sure I don’t know how you did it with all those huge machines on the road this morning and where do all those huge cars and monster trucks come from, anyway?”
As Lois spoke, they walked past the donut station where Ron was pouring a cup of coffee. “Detroit and Tokyo.”
“Huh?”
“You asked where all those big cars and trucks came from.”
Lois shook her head. “Everybody’s a kibitzer. We’ll talk later, Cath, I have to go edit some stuff.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you can catch a cab home. My car’s reserved for people who enjoy the driving experience.”
“Hey, that experience was – “
Catharine held up her hands and pushed at the air between them. “Uh-uh-uh! You have work to do, remember?”
“Yeah, right. Later.”
Lois deliberately didn’t listen to Catharine’s mumbled response as she walked to her office. When would she learn to accept people as they were and stop trying to change them, to fix them, to make them better?
Probably when she admitted she wasn’t always right, she thought with a rueful sigh.
She put her purse in the bottom drawer of the desk and booted up her desktop computer to check her e-mail. Just as it prompted her for her logon id and password, Jim knocked on her office door and leaned in. “Got a minute, Chief?”
She sighed. “Sure. What’s up?”
He stepped in. “Do we still have those three gofer slots open?”
“Sure do. Why, you have someone?”
“At least one, maybe two. Identical twin sisters just out of high school who want some real-world journalism experience. They’re coming by today about nine-thirty.”
“Uh-huh. Kinda late in the summer to get a part-time job, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think they’re looking for part-time work. Sheila told me they’re planning on something long-term and maybe shoehorning a degree program around their jobs.”
“I see. Sure, send them in when they get here.”
“Both together? At the same time?”
She grinned. “Why not? Or do you think they’ll overwhelm me with their youth and vitality?”
Jim put on an overly sober expression. “You watch yourself, Lois. They were in marching band, pep squad, yearbook, school paper, they regularly volunteer at a local nursing home, they’ve each had articles published in statewide magazines, and they both graduated in the top four percent in the state.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll be careful. Now, unless there’s something else, I have to get to work.”
He shook his head and turned to leave. “Not now, but I’ll bring you a cream soda and an AARP application after they leave.”
“Oh, funny man. How unusually droll you are. I think the zoo still has a slot open for you right next to the primate exhibit.”
He lifted his eyebrows in mock consternation, then pointed to himself and spoke with a horrible French accent. “Moi? Mademoiselle, you are perhaps speaking of myself?”
“Yes, I am speaking to yourself and of yourself.” She pointed a pencil at him and tried to look stern. “Now you get yourself back to work and quit monkeying around.”
*****
The interviews with Sheila and Bernadette Thompson went very well, and Lois hired them on the spot, assuming they came up clear on their background checks. They agreed to start on Monday morning, even after Lois warned them that this day would probably be the last day they’d see her smile before Memorial Day the following year.
The rest of the morning went smoothly, even the quick sorry-about-this-morning lunch with Catharine. All too soon, she found herself hailing a cab in front of the Planet and giving directions to Connie Hunter’s office.
When she opened the outer door to the attorney’s office, she heard indistinct voices past the next door. There was no one at the front desk, so she knocked and the door opened.
Blair Collins’ honeyed Georgia tones greeted her. “Ms. Lane, come on in. We’re just decidin’ who to put on our final witness list.”
Lois glanced at Superman, who was standing in the middle of the room facing Connie, who stood beside her desk with her hands on her hips. She said, “Yes, come in, Ms. Lane. Maybe you can talk some sense into this super-bonehead.”
Lois grinned. “Super-bonehead? That’s a new one on me. And call me Lois, please.”
“Okay, Lois, I’m Connie and that’s Blair. Now talk to Superman and tell him that while I don’t know anything about rescuing ocean liners, I know courtrooms and trials and juries better than he does and he should listen to me.”
Blair lifted her hand. “Wait, please. Lois, I’m pretty sure you’re here as Superman’s friend, but I’d still like to be certain you won’t print anything you hear unless we okay it.”
Lois eyed her sharply. “I gather you’ve been burned by the press before?”
Blair smiled disarmingly and nodded. “Had a couple of very interestin’ experiences, yeah.”
Lois nodded and opened her purse. She pulled out a pen and a notepad, then laid them atop a filing cabinet. “See? I am now officially not reporting anything I see or hear. Are you satisfied now?”
“I am. How ‘bout you, Connie?”
Connie exhaled deeply. “Yeah. Now talk to him.”
Connie flopped onto the couch against the far wall and Blair sat on the corner of the desk. Lois frowned at Superman and asked, “What are they talking about?”
“The defense witness list.”
She could see the tension in his face. “Okay. What am I supposed to say to you?”
“Do you know who’s on the list?”
“No, of course not. Why?” She turned to the lead attorney. “Connie, what’s the problem here?”
“Him!” Connie lifted on palm in frustration, then crossed her arms. “He won’t agree to put Clark Kent on the witness list!”
“Ah.” Lois nodded. “I understand now.” She turned to Superman. “How do you want to handle this?”
His flashing eyes betrayed his frustration. “Leave that name off the list.”
Lois shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll do that. Even if Connie doesn’t list Clark Kent, the prosecution might very well decide to call y– call him. We’ve got to do something about this.”
He exhaled harshly through his nose. “I’m open to reasonable suggestions.”
She stepped forward and put her hand on his elbow, then she whispered, “You have to tell them.”
His eyes popped wide and his jaw dropped. “But – I thought – I thought you didn’t – “
She smiled. “I’m over that. It was the right thing to do this morning, just like it’s the right thing to do this afternoon. Your attorneys have a right to know something this important.” She leaned closer and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Besides, these two ladies are really puzzled now.”
He smiled slightly. “Yes, I suppose they are.” He stepped back and nodded to Connie. “Lois and I think you should know this.”
Blair, who had been watching their exchange with increasingly wide-eyed astonishment, said, “No, no, we don’t need to know that. Or this. Or whatever it is you two been whisperin’ about. Y’all just keep all your personal stuff personal.” She lifted her hands with her palms out. “And I’m not talking to anybody about what I just saw. Not my mama, not my pastor, not Clark Kent, not nobody.”
Connie glanced at Lois and saw the laughter trying to work its way out. She cleared her throat and stood up. “No, Blair, I think we do need to know. It has something to do with Clark Kent, doesn’t it?”
Lois smiled at her. “A little, yes.” She made a circling gesture with her index finger to Superman.
He shrugged his shoulders. “In for a penny, in for a certificate of deposit, I guess.” He turned to Connie. “Clark Kent can’t appear in court, Connie, at least not while I’m at the defense table.”
“And why not? What makes his time more valuable than yours?”
Superman stepped back and lifted his index finger. “I’ll have to show you.”
Then he started spinning.
When he stopped, Clark Kent stood in the middle of the room, dressed in jeans, running shoes, and golf shirt.
Lois nodded. “Nice touch. Casual day for you?”
He smirked. “One of the perks of being a freelancer is that there’s no dress code.” He was suddenly at Blair’s side, holding her by the elbows. “Wups! Don’t fall off the desk. You might get carpet burn.”
Blair stared at Clark and tried to speak, but no sound came out of her mouth. Her strength seemed to flow away and she floundered silently in his grasp. Lois saw that she wasn’t breathing, so she stepped forward and blew sharply into the attorney’s open mouth, and the young Southerner gasped sharply and panted several times.
Clark asked, “Where’d you learn that trick?”
“My nephew. Babies who cry too hard and adults in shock will usually gasp and start breathing again when you blow in their faces.” Lois looked closer at Blair. “Clark, I think you’d better put her in a chair.”
“Okay. Would you check on Connie, please?”
Lois turned to look at Connie. She had sat back down on the couch and was slowly shaking her finger at Clark as she stared blankly at him. She hadn’t said a word, either.
Lois knelt in front of her. “Connie? Come on, Connie, it’s okay. Stay with us. You’re not going crazy, I promise.”
Connie casually turned her gaze to Lois. “Wha’?” She took a deep breath. “He – Super – Clark – they – “
Lois took her hand and rubbed it vigorously. “I know, Connie, I know. Superman is Clark Kent’s secret identity.”
Connie stared a moment longer, then shook her head. “I think you just said that Superman is Clark Kent’s secret identity. Don’t you mean it the other way around?”
Lois stood. “I used to, but I recently realized that Superman is the artificial construct Clark uses to do good and have a normal life alongside it. Clark is the real person.”
Connie exhaled deeply. “I’ll have to think about that for a while to grasp it.”
Lois held her hand out to help the attorney to her feet. “I know. It required a paradigm shift in my thinking, too.” As Connie stood, Lois added, “I know it’s a bit late to be asking this, but may we assume this is covered under attorney-client privilege?”
Blair answered from her chair. “Sorta kinda, but not really.” As Clark and Lois turned to look at her, she continued, “In the most literal reading of the statute, Lois Lane being in the room voids the confidentiality of attorney and client, because she’s not our client.”
Clark, slightly alarmed, put his hands up and looked at Connie. Ignoring him, Blair continued speaking. “But because Lois was already in possession of this information and she obviously didn’t learn it at the same time we did, we can probably claim privileged communication, assuming anyone thinks to ask the question. I can’t be sure, but I doubt the judge would rule against us.” She stood. “Anyway, I ain’t tellin’ nobody ‘bout this.”
Connie stood in front of Clark and gave him a flat stare. “No warning? No hints? No hazard lights? You do realize that someday you could kill someone doing that, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Would you have believed me if I’d just told you?”
She took a breath to answer, then stopped to think. After a moment, she relaxed slightly. “I guess – maybe not. I would have wanted some proof, after all.”
“See?” he replied. “I saved us all some time.”
Blair grunted. “Right. Guess I don’t need to run my laps at the gym today. I already got all the cardiac stimulation I need for quite a while.”
Connie sat down at her desk. “But now we need to figure out what to do with you. Since you can’t be a witness at your own trial, you’ll have to leave the country.”
His face showed his consternation. “Can’t I just stay in Kansas?”
“Why Kansas?”
“My family lives in Kansas.”
Connie shook her head. “Can’t risk it. If Reisman wants you bad enough, he can tap the Kansas AG and extradite you. No, you’ll have to be out of the US entirely during this trial.”
Blair added, “And you’ll have to leave before you’re subpoenaed and before you’re officially notified that you’re on either witness list.” She paused. “We haven’t officially notified you yet. Have you been notified by the DA?”
He shook his head. “Nothing on paper. The DA’s office hasn’t talked to me yet, either.”
“Good. Then you probably won’t be charged when you come back.” Blair paused and put her head in her hands. “Yeesh. We’re talking about whether or not you’re going to be arrested for not being a witness against yourself in court. I’m going to be confused for the rest of the day. We’re saying that you have to leave the country so you can’t be called to testify at your own trial.” She looked up at him. “It’s a good thing attorneys have experience thinking about mutually exclusive concepts or I might lose what’s left of my mind.” She stood and waved her hands in frustration. “And under most other circumstances, this’d be downright hilarious.”
Lois asked, “Why do you even need Clark’s testimony? I don’t see that it’s vital.”
“It’s not,” Connie replied, “but it’s always better to have at least two corroborating testimonies for your defendant.” She stood and paced slowly, tapping her teeth with her index fingernail. “Hmm. Maybe – yes, I think that will work.” She turned to Blair. “How soon can we take Clark Kent’s deposition?”
They all turned to Blair, whose expression slowly morphed from wondering to wonderful. “That’s a great idea! First thing tomorrow morning! Nine o’clock sharp right here in this office. Mr. Kent, you be here then!” Blair pointed her index fingers at Connie and called out, “You go, girl!”
Clark turned to Connie. “Good. Now that you’re going, would you mind telling me about it?”
“It’s simple, Mr. Kent. We’re going to videotape you answering questions as you would do if you were testifying at your trial – say, would you please change back to the brightly colored clothes? It’s too easy to treat you like a regular person when you’re dressed like that.”
Blair smiled warmly at him. “Yeah, a real regular guy. Real good-lookin’, too.”
Lois frowned at her. “You know, if you weren’t his attorney, you and I might have a little discussion about that remark.”
Blair laughed. “Oh, I was just yankin’ your chain, girlfriend.”
Lois lifted one eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”
“Sure! We all know this real important secret now, right? That makes us all girlfriends, ‘cause we got to stick together on this.” Blair’s expression morphed again, this time becoming rock-hard, and her voice matched her face. “And none of us will ever reveal that secret or the other two will come after her. Right?”
Lois lifted one eyebrow. “You’re totally serious about this, aren’t you?”
“I am. And so is Connie. Neither of us will ever tell anyone.”
“I see. So, this is like a tontine.”
Connie frowned. “Remind me what a tontine is.”
Clark stepped back and whirled into the Superman suit. Blair and Connie both gasped again, but he ignored them this time. “It’s a pact that you make that will last for each of your lives. Not even the death of one of the members will void the lock you’re putting on this information.”
Connie blinked herself back to normal. “That’s what I thought it was. Blair, you with us on this?”
Blair hesitated, then took a deep breath and nodded shortly. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“Lois?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
Connie frowned at her. “For something this important, yes. I need to hear it.”
Lois smiled slightly. “I’m with you until death.” She reached out and grasped Connie’s right hand with hers.
Connie nodded in return. “Blair? Let’s make it official.”
“Yes, let’s.” She added her right hand to the stack. “Until my death.”
Just then, Superman touched their joined hands. “I would like to add something, if I may.” He looked at each woman in turn, and as he did they nodded to him. “Should my secret be made public in the future, I agree not to reveal that you knew who my other identity was. If you want to let others know that you knew, I’ll certainly back you up, but no one will learn from me that you already knew. Is that acceptable to all of you?”
Blair and Connie nodded. Lois smiled. “I agree, too, but if things go like I hope they do, no one would believe I didn’t know.”
Blair chuckled. “That’s why you willin’ to go to fist city with me over him, right?”
“Only if I had to.” Lois eyed her with a slight smile on her lips. “I don’t have to, do I?”
“You know, he’s a really hot guy – “ Blair eyed Lois’s expression and changed the next thing she was going to say. “ – but no, I guess you got nothing to worry about.” Blair sighed expansively, as each of them dropped their hands away from the communal clasp of the tontine. Then she perked up and grabbed the hero’s elbow lightly. “Hey, Superman, you don’t have a brother who’s a brother, do you?”
He laughed. “Sorry, no.”
Lois gently disengaged him from Blair. “I think I’d like some time alone with him now.”
Before Clark could answer, Connie piped up. “Good idea. Get your personal time out of the way now, while you can.”
Lois frowned at her. “What? Why now?”
Connie put her hands on her hips and stared at Lois. “Because Clark Kent has to leave the country, remember? And you can’t afford to be seen socially with Superman. It would compromise your journalistic objectivity and start rumors about you fooling around while Clark is away. That might undermine your testimony, and we can’t afford that.” She shifted her gaze between a startled Lois and a concerned Superman. “Surely you both understood that’s what would have to happen? That Clark couldn’t be in Metropolis during the trial at all, not even at your apartment?”
Lois’s face fell. “No. I didn’t realize that.”
Connie put her hand on Lois’s elbow. “I’m sorry. I thought it was apparent to all of us.” Lois shook her head ‘no.’ “Then you and Clark – and I mean Clark and not Superman – should have some time together before Saturday morning.”
Superman looked at Lois with consternation. “Lois, I – this isn’t what I planned either.”
She blinked back a tear, then nodded. “I know. But it has to happen.” She patted his arm. “Don’t worry about me. I spent three years waiting for you. I can wait a few more weeks.”
>>> Friday, August 30th
For once, a Friday at the Planet had proceeded according to Lois’s wishes. Everyone submitted their work on time, none of it was flagged by Legal as possibly actionable, the presses rolled smoothly, the afternoon deliveries were all either on time or early, and the Saturday morning edition was tentatively put to bed, pending any changes by the night crew.
Lois closed her office door at five on the dot. She and Clark were to have a goodbye dinner at her apartment and she wanted everything to be ready for him. And she’d already promised him she wouldn’t cry.
Clark would be leaving early the next morning on a flight to Kansas, then on to San Francisco, and finally to the Philippines. From there, he’d occupy himself on various Asian travel stories, do some work on his new K. C. Jerome novel, and try to get some real investigating done on a Muslim terrorist group who was targeting and kidnapping Japanese citizens. He planned to talk to the group’s leaders if he could find them, and interview several of the victims who’d been released after their families had paid what Clark thought were almost reasonable ransoms. It was an interesting story, one which promised to keep him occupied for the entire length of Superman’s trial.
Lois pushed those thoughts out of her head as she shopped for fresh fruit at Dimitri Stephanopolus’ deli. She focused on dinner and the prospect of quiet conversation with Clark, probably the last they’d have until after Superman’s acquittal. Of course, she was far more optimistic about that than he was.
And she still wasn’t totally clear on why that was. If she could get him to look at the facts objectively, she was sure he’d agree that he deserved no jail time, especially not twenty-five years or more in prison stripes. Superman’s actions that night, if not totally justified, were completely understandable.
But he obviously didn’t agree. She wondered if he still had dreams about Mayson Drake. Lois hadn’t, not since her last visit to the Kent farm, and she believed that whatever conflict in her psyche had been causing them was now resolved. Clark was Lois’s now, and she didn’t begrudge Mayson any of the affection that he’d given her. Lois loved Clark and he loved her. It was simple.
If only it hadn’t been for this silly trial of Superman.
*****
The knock on the door came as her new clock was chiming the hour of seven. She gave her hair one last pat, glanced at the table to make sure it was perfect, and walked to the door.
She peeked out and saw Clark, holding a bottle and waiting patiently. His body language said that he was relaxed and looking forward to a good time, and she was sure she detected a smile on his face. Good, she thought, this will be a good dinner.
She opened the door, smiling. “Clark! I’m glad you’re here.”
He handed her the bottle. “I’m not late, am I?”
She quirked her mouth. “You know you’re not.” She glanced at the label, which read ‘California Sparkling Grape Water.’
She raised one eyebrow. “No alcohol this time?”
He looked so innocent. “I’m on a tight budget, after all.”
She chuckled. “Right. K. C. Jerome is almost broke.”
He leaned down and lightly kissed her lips. “No, but Clark Kent doesn’t have much extra cash after making all those flight plans.”
She tried to keep the wince she felt at the mention of his leaving out of from her reaction. “Right. I forgot for a minute.” She took the bottle to the kitchen and put it on ice. “Did you and Connie get the deposition done?”
“Yes. It was less painful than I’d expected.”
She turned and gazed appreciatively at him. “I don’t suppose you can share anything about it?”
“Sorry, no. You’ll hear it for the first time in court, just like everyone else.”
She nodded. “That’s okay with me.” She turned and picked up a serving spoon. “You ready for the appetizer?”
He sighed. “I wish we could go out.”
She teased, “What, you don’t like my cooking?”
Suddenly he was behind her. His hands were on her shoulders and his lips brushed the back of her neck. “You have become a pretty good cook, Ms. Lane.” He nuzzled her trapezius muscle and her entire back tightened. “I only wish I could treat you as nicely as you’ve been treating me.”
She turned in his arms and found his lips on hers. She slid against his body and cupped her hands behind his shoulders and pulled them together. She deepened the kiss and felt herself blending with him.
Finally she had to come up for air. She pulled back just far enough to breathe and whispered, “Now that’s what I call an appetizer.”
He chuckled deep in his throat. “It’s not what I thought you meant, but I’m certainly not complaining.” He leaned in for a second helping and Lois gave him all she had.
At last, she pulled away and gently pushed him back a few inches. Smiling, she said, “I love you, Clark Kent.”
He caressed her cheek. “I love you, Lois Lane.”
She sighed deeply and thought about skipping dinner and going straight to dessert, but then her stomach burbled and broke the tension. They both laughed.
“Looks like a certain part of me wants that dinner.”
He stepped back slowly, sliding his hands down her arms to hold her fingers. “You’ve worked so hard on it, I’d hate to let it go to somebody else’s waist.”
She cocked her head to one side. “Who else would I cook for?”
“I know you, Lois. If I’d had to miss this for some reason, you’d have packed it up and taken it to the Suicide Slum Relief Mission before you went to bed. Those folks are always hungry down there.”
Her mouth fell open. “What? How’d you find out about that?”
He released her hands and shook his index finger at her. “You know you can’t hide from Superman. I was answering a call down there a couple of weeks ago and I saw you and Catharine unloading boxes of groceries from your Jeep into the kitchen. The director talked to both of you as if she’d known you for a while.”
“Yeah, well, Cath was pretty sore the next day. In fact, she had Clay bring her wheelchair up to the paper at lunch. I told her to let me carry the heavy stuff, but you know how stubborn she is.”
“Unlike her boss, of course.”
“Don’t go there, Kent.” She shooed him back into the dining area. “Besides, most of the Planet’s reporting staff contributes on a regular basis, too. We aren’t doing it alone.”
“Does Ralph help out, too?”
She made a face. “Not since he tried to put the moves on the director. She called her husband in from the kitchen. Did you know he was an Olympic weightlifter a few years ago?”
“No, but I bet Ralph does.”
They shared a chortle. “He sure knows it now. Now go sit down. I’ve got a casserole ready to come out and I don’t need you in there distracting me.”
“No distractions tonight, I promise.”
She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. He cupped her cheek with one hand and said, “I know. I’m going to miss you, too.”
She turned her head and kissed his hand. “That’s the future. This is now.” She looked towards the stove, then back at him. “Shall we dine?”
*****
Dinner was fun, she thought. They chatted about her parents and her mother’s budding romance. They discussed his parents and their ongoing love affair with the land, with growing things, and with each other. Clark revealed the plot of his next K. C. Jerome novel, and mentioned that he’d like to do more serious books in the near future. Lois confessed that she’d begun a romantic adventure novel many years past but had never finished it, and Clark urged her to take another stab at it. To her relief, he didn’t offer to help her with it.
It was fun, she considered, because they were both pretending that tonight was all that there was. And, for once, he didn’t take anything she said as condescending or insulting.
Clark insisted that he be allowed to prepare dessert, a generous helping of strawberry shortcake. He presented it to her with a flourish and a gentle smile. He even offered to do the dishes. Lois declined at first, but then he offered to do them a super-speed while she watched, so her kitchen was spotless before they turned on the video.
Clark picked up the box and read the description. “Hmm. ‘A rip-roaring adventure for the whole family.’ You like Tom Selleck?”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Why, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “His westerns are okay, I guess, but the other stuff he’s done doesn’t quite make the grade. It’s not bad, it just isn’t real strong.”
“Have you ever seen ‘High Road to China’?”
“No, actually, I haven’t. What’s it about?”
She smiled. “Come and sit next to me and we’ll see. I think you’ll like it.”
“I hope so. I’d hate to waste this evening.”
She gave him a ‘look.’ “Sit your super-self right down here next to me, Kent, and I’ll make sure you don’t consider the evening a waste.”
*****
The closing credits rolled and Lois tilted her head up. “So?”
He kissed her forehead. “So, what?”
“Did you like it?”
He frowned in consideration, then smiled. “Yes, I did. I’m a little surprised at myself, but overall I liked it.” He held out his hands. “I give it one and one-half thumbs up.”
“I guess that’s better than a complete rejection.” She hugged him closer. “What was your favorite part?”
He sighed. “I think it was when Tom Selleck found Bess Armstrong among the rubble after the artillery attack and he was frantic that she’d been hurt and he was yelling at her to say something and she said, ‘Speak!’ in that freaky deep voice and then laughed hysterically at his reaction.”
Lois laughed. “I thought you’d like it.”
“Yeah, she kinda reminds me of you.”
“How so?”
Clark shifted to face her. “She’s tough, independent, knows her own mind, is willing to take on the bad guys by herself, and doesn’t back down from anyone or anything.”
She smiled. “I guess I do identify with her a little bit. Besides, we’ve already seen all the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies so many times, I thought I’d try something a little different.”
“It was different, and it was fun. Most of all, I enjoyed watching it with you.”
“Thank you, Clark. That means a lot to me.”
She kissed him lightly on the lips. She intended it to be a brief touch, but neither one of them wanted it to end, and it grew exponentially until Lois was in danger of forgetting where she was. This time, Clark broke the kiss and gripped her shoulders tightly.
She tried to close for another taste, but he gently held her back. “No. I – don’t think I can take much more of that.”
She smiled warmly. “Neither can I. That’s why I don’t want to stop.”
He intercepted her lips with an index finger. “I don’t want to stop either, Lois, but I don’t think it would be a good thing if we – you know, if we – “
She leaned back. “If we were intimate now.”
He hesitated, then sighed. “Yes. I’ve got a trial coming up – “
“No, Superman has a trial coming up.”
She saw in his eyes that her comment had stung a bit. “I am Superman.”
“No. Superman is a role you play, a name you assume, a way for you to help people and maintain a real life. Clark Kent is the real man, the man I’m deeply and permanently in love with.”
His face relaxed and he touched her nose. “Thank you. And I appreciate that you make the distinction. But I don’t know where I’ll be in three months, Lois, and I wouldn’t feel right if I left you here while I was in prison. You don’t need to be the woman in the song ‘Midnight Special,’ trying to bribe the warden to get me out.”
She ducked her head and tried to hold back her feelings. “I know. And my brain agrees with your reasoning, but my body says my brain is an absolute idiot.”
He wrapped her in a powerfully gentle embrace. “I know. My brain and body are still having the same argument.”
She sniffed against his massive chest. “Who’s winning?”
He stroked her hair. “Right now it’s something of a toss-up.”
She tightened her grip. “Then you’d better go, before I take advantage of you.”
He returned the embrace for a long moment, then softly disentangled himself. “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right.”
Her tears dimmed her vision but didn’t spill onto her face. “Don’t you remember? I’m the senior partner. I’m always right.”
“I remember.” He kissed her softly, then pulled away before either of them could attack the other. “I have to go now. I’ll see you – Clark will see you after the trial.”
He stood and pulled her to her feet. She squeezed his hands in hers. “It’s going to be hard, seeing you every day and not being able to touch you or talk to you.”
“For me, too. Don’t forget, you’re not alone in this relationship.”
She smiled and wiped her eyes. “I remember. Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”
They each put an arm around the other’s waist as they crossed the living room. Lois opened the locks with one hand and paused as she grabbed the doorknob.
She almost said something about this being his last chance, but instead she opened the door and briefly kissed him without a word. He wrapped his arms around her once more and made sure there was no distance between them.
She slowly pulled back from the embrace and nodded to him. “Good night, Clark.”
He cupped her cheek with his palm and said, “Don’t forget that I love you.” Then he slipped out the door and down the hallway. She stood in the doorway and watched him walk away.
She hoped he wouldn’t look back. It would be pure agony to wave goodbye again so soon.
She hoped he would look back. It would be sheer torture if she couldn’t see his face just once more.
He paused twice, but didn’t turn around. As he stepped into stairwell, she watched the door close and cut off the sight of him.
It seemed too final.
