Table of Contents from Chapter 18.5
The lovers, spent from their very first lovemaking session, clung to each other even as the phone rang. James and Lucy were wondering just where their dinner guests were. LabRat, who had stayed in the living room all this time, padded into the bedroom to find his owners seemingly sound asleep on Clark’s bed. Jumping up to join them, he curled up in the bend of their legs, resting his head on Lois’ thigh. Being a dog, he was somewhat oblivious to what had just transpired between his newly beloved masters; however, his canine nose told him that something was different about them. and now,
Chapter Nineteen The third time the phone rang, Clark’s super hearing finally kicked in. James Olson, his boss, was leaving them a message: “Clark… Lois… James here. We were expecting you both for dinner and you’re a half-hour late. Please call to let us know if something came up. We had something special planned. Thanks, hope to hear from you soon.”
Clark looked at Lois lying peacefully in his arms with LabRat cuddled alongside of her. How he wished they had not made plans for this evening! He leaned down and kissed Lois’ cheek, whispering, “Honey, time to get ready for dinner. We’re already late.”
Lois opened her eyes, feeling as if she was still in the midst of a heavenly dream. She had been making love to the most handsome man in the world, who had made her feel like royalty. Could it have been real? As her eyes focused, she found herself staring at the very same man in her dreams. His eyes seemed to reflect love back at her. LabRat jumped up when he saw his mistress stirring and before she had time to dodge him, he licked her face! That brought her to reality quickly. They were late for dinner at James and Lucy’s!
“Omigod! Clark! We’re so late! Lucy’s going to kill me, and this isn’t a very good first impression for me to make with James either!” Lois shrieked, staring at the clock. “I knew we shouldn’t have … I mean, it was wonderful… but…as usual, the timing was off…but it was really … wow….” Lois trailed off with a faraway look on her face.
Clark smiled broadly. “It was *so* great, Lois… if we were never together again, it would be the best memory I’ve ever had.”
Lois blushed a bit. “You’re so sweet, Clark. I feel the same way. I thank heaven that my first time was with you.”
Clark quickly spun into a black shirt and grey slacks, and put his hands on Lois’ shoulders. “Honey, it’s okay. You get changed and I’ll call them back and tell them we’re on our way.” Kissing her on the forehead, he whisked her to the bathroom. Out of habit, Lois closed the door for privacy so she could undress, and headed into the shower. LabRat padded over to the foot of the bathroom door entrance and lay down in front of it, anxiously waiting for Lois to reappear.
Clark smiled. “You’re *her* dog, aren’t you?” he said to LabRat. “Hey, I don’t blame you. I’m definitely “her” human.”
LabRat swung his head around as if in agreement with him. “Let’s hope that James and Lucy like you as much as we do,” Clark told him, as he grabbed the cordless phone, punching in their number.
“Hi James, Clark here. Sorry. Something came up. Can we bring anything? Hey, you’re not allergic to dogs or anything, are you? Good. See you in 10. Bye.”
Lois emerged from the bathroom, her hair wrapped up in a towel like a turban, wearing a white bathrobe with an “S” emblem embroidered in the right-hand corner. Clark had been gifted many such clothing articles by companies asking him to endorse their products. He had declined of course, but Lois nonetheless had found the various boxes in his closet. Since they were all men’s X-large, they were roomy and comfortable for her to wear.
“Clark, since I just had my hair done, do you think you can help me recreate Pierre’s handiwork with your heat vision so we can get there over there quickly?”
Clark grinned. Lois had just spent hours at the salon getting her hair styled for dinner; then their lovemaking session had just negated much of it. “Ok, I think I remember exactly how it looked when you came home,” he said, using his hands and heat vision to style it à la Pierre.
“Good job, Smallville. You may have missed your calling,” Lois remarked, applying hairspray to Clark’s handiwork. As she finished her makeup, she continued with, “What do you usually wear to his house? Is it like business casual?” She headed to the bedroom, looking through her very limited wardrobe hanging up in the closet.
“I have the perfect outfit for you,” Clark said, grabbing a box he had hidden underneath the couch. “I wanted to surprise you.” He handed it to Lois, who squeaked with surprise as she opened it.
It was a sexy black sweater with matching black pinstripe stretchy pants. “Wow, they’re just my size,” she exclaimed, noticing the “XL” tag on both items. Grabbing the items, she ran into the bedroom, dropped the bathrobe, put on her undergarments and then her newly gifted clothes. Looking in the mirror, she felt bolstered by self-confidence. “The only thing I’m missing is the right jewelry,” she lamented.
Before Lois’ words had made it into the living room, Clark was behind her, fastening a black pearl necklace around her soft ivory neck. After he was done, he kissed her cheekbone, and handed matching black pearl earrings to her.
“Wow, where did you get so good at coordinating women’s clothes, Smallville?” Lois asked, putting the earrings on and gasping at how perfect she looked.
“Lana. She was very materialistic,” he admitted. “If I didn’t buy her new jewelry for her birthday and Christmas every year, she made my life a total hell. And if she didn’t like what I bought her, we would go back to the store together and she would return it. *Then* she would show me what I *should* have bought her. Ugh, just talking about it makes me sick. But I guess it helped me fine-tune my taste in women’s jewelry.”
Lois smiled broadly, and kissed Clark on the forehead. “That’s a sweet, if bizarre, story. I still can’t believe you stayed with her that long. You guys were a total mismatch. I’m sorry that you felt that only she would love you for who you really were.”
“Well, when someone throws that in your face for years, you begin to believe it, you know,” Clark replied. “Just like you thought that no one could ever love you because of your weight. By the way, you look really great right now. If we had more time, I’d be tearing that sweater off of you…”
Lois and Clark stared intently into each other’s eyes, then, as one, they leaned in and grazed their lips together for the briefest moment. “We need to go,” Lois whispered. Clark held her and floated them into the living room.
“Are we going to bring LabRat with us?” Lois asked. “Or should be ask them first, and if they say ‘OK’, we will bring him back at night, so no one sees us.”
“I was thinking, Lois… if James says no, why not keep him here?”
“Clark! Luthor Corp is going to be looking for this dog. We need to hide him, remember? With all the paparazzi watching this apartment, someone is sure to find out and it will be front page news: ‘Superman gets Super-Dog!’ At least if we can leave him at James’ house, no one will suspect. Then we can investigate what Luthor Corp is up to back at their Smallville plant.”
“Yeah, all right,” Clark said resignedly. “It’s so nice having you and LabRat in the apartment, after living alone here. I feel like I finally have a family of my own.”
“We’ll figure it out, Clark, I promise. The first thing is to make sure that LabRat is safe.”
“You’re right, honey. So what did we decide? Are we bringing him with us?”
“No, let’s just take a picture of him to show them. Do you have a Polaroid camera? Every good reporter does, right? For those on-the-spot photo ops…”
“Actually, yes, I do. I never really use it,” Clark said, heading to the drawer of the end-table in the living room. “Ok, LabRat, smile pretty for the camera,” he said to the retriever, whose head perked up at the sound of his name.
After snapping several pictures of the golden pooch, Clark wrapped Lois in his cape, and they flew out the balcony window faster than the eyes of the media could follow.
James Olsen’s primary residence was located on the prestigious West River of Metropolis Bay. It was accessible only by air or sea. James took his yacht back and forth to work; his limo took him from the harbor to the Daily Planet/Olsen Enterprises building daily. For someone under 30, he had certainly “arrived” in every sense of the word.
As the duo hovered above the large, 5000 square foot Victorian home, Lois gasped. “My sister is going to be living *here*? Wow, did I do her a big favor when I went back in time!”
“Honey, you know I could build you a house like that back in Smallville… if that’s what you really want.”
“Clark, don’t worry. I’m not materialistic like Lana. But this is *really* Lucy… she loves the glamour and the social life that comes with money.”
“Good to know, Lois. You and Lucy are like day and night. Ready?”
“Yes. Let’s do this.”
They softly landed on the edge of the property. Lois took a small mirror out of her purse, smoothing her hair and updating her lipstick. Hand in hand, they walked down the long, beautifully landscaped brick sidewalk to the double-glass entrance door and rang the doorbell. A large man with a British accent appeared. “Good evening, Mr. Kent; may I assume that this beautiful woman at your side is Miss Lane?”
“Yes, Arthur, this is Lois Lane. Lois, this is Arthur; he works for James.”
“So glad to meet you, Arthur,” Lois replied.
“Please follow me,” Arthur directed. Lois’ eyes widened as she walked down the hallway filled with priceless artifacts and oil paintings that were undoubtedly originals.
They paused at a double wooden door entrance and Arthur rapped three times on it. “I believe they’re expecting you,” he said with a slight wink, opening both doors. “Congratulations on your safe return, Miss Lane.”
The room was filled and the crowd yelled “surprise” as Lois and Clark entered. Hanging up on the far wall was a celebratory sign reading “Welcome back Lois" and in smaller letters it read "Thank God we don’t have to look at Clark’s sad face anymore”!
James and Lucy were the first ones to greet them. “It’s about time you two got here. I can just imagine what you were up to,” he said with a sly grin.
Just then Lois felt someone tap her on the shoulder. “Welcome back, Lo.”
“Daddy! Omigod, I thought you were out of the country! What a surprise!”
Sam Lane enveloped his youngest daughter in a bear hug. “Do you really think I’m that cold that I wouldn’t be here after you’ve been missing all these years? Come, I want you to get re-acquainted with your step-mother and meet your step-sister, Chloe.”
Lois grabbed Clark’s hand, pulling him with her. “C’mon Clark, I need you with me for this!” Clark rolled his eyes in response, as he disliked Sam Lane intently.
Lois stared at the woman her father called “wife”. Teri Lane was a bleach-blonde who wore way too much make-up. Lois smarted at the thought that her step-mother was only a few years older than her. The thought of her father sleeping with her sent her over the edge. Chloe, her daughter, was blond, blue-eyed and could only be described as “perky”.
“Lois, honey, you remember your step-mother, Teri. Teri, you remember Lois? And this is Chloe, her daughter,” Sam Lane said in introduction.
Lois obediently held out her hand in greeting to both of them. Teri shook her hand, and leaned over and whispered, “I know you don’t like me, Lois, it’s okay.” Then she smiled warmly and audibly, for the benefit of the others listening, said, “Lois, it’s so great that you’re back with us. Welcome home.”
Chloe seemed more sincere when she babbled out, “Ms. Lane, it’s a real thrill to be in the same family with such a famous writer. I know I can learn a lot from you.”
Lois smiled back at Chloe, feeling that the young girl was more genuine than her mother was. “Please, call me Lois. I’ll be happy to help you any way I can.”
“Really? That’s so great,” she replied, smiling ear-to-ear. When Chloe smiled, her entire face lit up. “And Superman – Mr. Kent – it’s truly an honor to meet you,” she gushed.
Clark was disarmed by Chloe’s charm and enthusiasm. “Thanks, Chloe. That’s very nice of you to say. Good luck with your journalism studies.”
The rest of the evening was spent in talking to ‘everyone who was anyone’ in Metropolis. At one point, there was a hush in the room, and a man with dark brown hair dressed in a very expensive business suit entered the parlor and headed towards the podium that had been set up for speech-making.
James greeted the man at the podium, turning on the microphone. “May I have everyone’s attention, please. A-hem. Everyone’s attention, please.”
“I would like to introduce someone who really doesn’t need introduction. He may not be quite as well-known here in Metropolis as he is in his home town, Gotham City...nonetheless, please welcome philanthropist Bruce Wayne,” James announced, shaking his hand enthusiatically. “Mr. Wayne has come here, Lois, to see how he can assist your efforts overseas in Brazzaville. Please join us up here so I can introduce you two formally.”
Lois gulped. Clark smiled. “Wow, honey, this is great. We caught the attention of someone who has the deep pockets to really make a difference over there,” he whispered to her, nudging her towards the two men awaiting her presence.
She numbly walked towards the microphone, her one thought being <if only I knew this was going to be a big society affair, I wouldn’t have dressed ‘business casual’>.
“Lois Lane, this is Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries,” James said. “Bruce, please meet Lois Lane, star reporter of the Daily Planet, and, I’m proud to say, now my sister-in-law.”
Bruce extended his large hand in greeting; as Lois extended hers, he kissed her hand. “Ms. Lane, I so admire your efforts in the Doctors Without Borders camps. You are someone with strength of character and fortitude. I would like to present you with a check of $10,000,000 dollars. I would like you to establish a charity foundation with it to assist orphaned children overseas. Are you up to the challenge?”
Lois was completely flabbergasted. She looked up to find Clark’s face in the crowd. He was beaming at her and nodding for her to accept his offer. “Mr. Wayne, this is unbelievably generous of you. Of course I accept.”
Photographers came out of nowhere to take pictures of Lois accepting the donation from Wayne Industries. After the photo op was over, Lois took Bruce aside and asked, “Tell me, Mr. Wayne… since Gotham City is your home, do you have any idea who Batman is? Because I have a short list of stories that I’m going to be working on… and he’s number two on the list!”
Wayne shook his head. “Some people say that Batman is a myth, Ms. Lane. No one has even been able to take a picture of him. May I ask who number one on your list is?”
“None other than Lex Luthor,” she replied smugly. “Someone who is probably richer than you.”
“Miss Lane, I can assure you that my wealth has no tarnish on it, unlike Mr. Luthor’s,” Wayne asserted.
“Exactly why he’s number one on the list, Mr. Wayne,” Lois retorted. “You don’t honestly think I would accept a large donation from you if I had any inkling it was dirty money, do you?”
Bruce Wayne displayed an unusually wide grin, for him, at least. “Ms Lane, I certainly can see why you’re such a great reporter. Good luck in your endeavors, and I look forward to working with you.”
“Same here, Mr. Wayne – please call me Lois, by the way,” Lois replied.
“Then I must insist that you call me Bruce.”
“Mr. Wayne? I’m Clark Kent. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Lois was surprised that Clark had crept up behind them. Was he jealous? How cute.
The two men shared an extremely firm hand shake. “Clark Superman Kent. The pleasure is all mine, I can assure you.” Leaning over to whisper in Clark’s ear, he continued, “I see that you and Ms. Lane are close. Is she off limits?”
“Ah, yes, you do have quite the playboy reputation, Mr. Wayne,” Clark whispered back.
“Call me Bruce, please. And I hope that I can call you Clark.”
“Of course, Bruce. And, well, I’ll let Lois answer that question. Far be it for me to speak on her behalf when it comes to love and romance. Lois, are you ‘off limits’?”
Lois was blushing wildly. Two handsome, prominent men – wanting to date *her*? She felt like she was in the twilight zone or something.
“Actually, Bruce – Clark and I are becoming quite close. So, yes, I would say that I’m ‘off limits’. But I’m extremely flattered that you asked.”
“You’re a lovely woman, Ms. Lane. By the way, I understand that you know my date this evening – Vickie Vale, from the Gotham Gazette?”
<He’s hitting on *me* and he brought a date? Oh, brother!> Lois thought to herself.
“Yes, Bruce, Vickie and I met in college, at Met U,” she replied. “And she recently interviewed me at the impromptu press conference Clark and I gave outside the Planet two days ago.”
“Hello again, Lois,” Vickie purred as she slithered up to Bruce. “Hello, Mr. Kent.”
“Ms. Vale,” Clark replied. “Lois, may I see you privately?”
“Of course, Clark,” Lois replied, grateful for the save.
“We have to get James and Lucy alone to ask them about taking LabRat,” Clark said, after they had retreated to a private corner of the large parlor. “Plus, I wanted to give you this.” His lips pressed gently to hers. “I didn’t like seeing you talking to Bruce Wayne. You can’t believe how jealous that made me feel,” he admitted.
“Smallville, don’t worry,” Lois whispered, kissing him back. “There’s no way Bruce Wayne could ever be the hero that you are, both to me personally and to the rest of the world. But I really got a vibe that there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. When I asked him about Batman, I got a sense that he knows who he is.”
“Really? I know how strong women’s intuition is. My Mom used to swear by it.”
“Let’s go find Lucy and James. Remember, Luthor Corp first, then Batman.”
Clark smiled. “Right. There they are. Let’s see if we can have a private conversation with them.”
As they approached the newlywed couple, James called out, “Hey you two! I hope you don’t mind that this was not as…. intimate… a dinner as you might have thought it would be.”
“Of course not, James. We apologize again for arriving late,” Clark replied, with a sly grin.
“You two are really a couple now, huh? I can see it in your eyes… way to go, guy!” James said, patting Clark on the back. “I know how much you wanted this.”
“Hey, can we talk to the two of you privately for a couple of minutes?” Lois interjected, blushing from overhearing the conversation of the two men.
“Sure, sis,” Lucy replied. “I’m sorry we’re not getting any alone time tonight. I just thought it would be great to get everyone together for one big celebration.”
“And I appreciate it, Luce, I really do. This is just something important and we don’t want anyone else to overhear the conversation,” Lois replied.
James opened a mirrored door leading into a small library. “I had this built for when I’m entertaining and I need to get away from all of the phony people,” he told them. “Sit down and tell us what’s up, please.”
Lois began, blurting it out at top speed.“We kidnapped a dog that was being used for illegal experiments involving Kryptonite. We believe that the Luthor Corp plant in Smallville, Kansas is growing fertilizer laced with Kryptonite. It may ultimately cause bizarre side effects and also be a weapon of destruction. We were hoping that we could hide the dog here, in your back yard,” Lois said, finally taking a breather from her babbling. “This could be a really huge scoop. We named the dog LabRat and he’s a beautiful Golden Retriever. He’s in our apartment right now. What do you say?”
James looked at Lucy. “Sweetheart, do you like dogs?”
Lucy smiled back. “Yes, yes I do. Especially golden ones.”
“Does that mean yes?” Lois exclaimed.
“Yes, that means yes,” James and Lucy answered in unison.
TBC
