Beautiful, Shayne.
This was so funny and still somehow so touching:
He found the keys and opened the lock. “Come on in,” he said. Lois followed behind him. He could hear Lois snicker under her breath and he winced. The scorch marks on his backside must be worse than he thought. He felt an errant breeze and he sighed. No telling what sort of view she was getting. At least he’d always made sure he was facing the children.
Superman, the Santa who scorched his behind squeezing down the chimneys, but who always remembered to face the children.
Most of the children he visited had suffered great losses in their lives. Their lives weren’t all that much different than his had been- loneliness, loss. Giving them a little something extra had been like giving something to the child he’d once been.
This is absolutely beautiful. The lonely Superman plays Santa partly so that he could give a little Christmas cheer to the lonely child he had once been, and who still lived inside him.
If only someone had brought a little magic into his life.
Glancing back at Lois, it occurred to him that maybe someone had.
Nobody brought him a really magical Christmas present when he was a kid, not the kind of present that could change your life. But now, H.G. Wells had given him that kind of present.
He’d set the coffee pot, but he’d learned from hard experience that some things couldn’t be done at super speed. The first time he’d tried in the shower had been an education. Staring up at the drops of water as they stood frozen in the air had been an exercise in futility.
So funny (and so touching too, somehow - being 'super' won't solve everything).
A shadow appeared on her face and Lois looked down. She seemed pensive.
“I don’t know what you expect of me.”
Frowning, Clark said, “I’m not sure what…”
“You fall in love with this woman who looks and sounds like me, and you think that automatically means that we are meant to be together.”
Wow. This certainly brings home how awkward it would be to be Lois Lane in this situation.
Clark could hear a hint of anxiety in her tone.
“I’ve got some hopes,” Clark admitted cautiously. “But you aren’t obligated to do anything.”
Well, let's hope she isn't
obligated to do anything. Like she was a traded commodity, or, well, a Christmas present, brought to a person to be used as a piece of property.
Oh, but - poor Clark! It would really be too cruel if this Lois wouldn't want to be with him.
“This is just a lot of pressure to put on one person. People have expectations. You have expectations. Nobody’s even asked what I want.”
“What do you want?” Clark asked.
“I want to go home.” Lois said. “But everything’s different now.”
She started to cry.
Oh, poor Lois!
He offered her a cup of coffee. Lois gratefully wrapped her fingers around the mug, which was hot, but not piping hot. Her hands had been cold ever since she returned to this place, so far away from the tropical heat. It took her a moment to realize that he hadn’t asked how she took her coffee, yet it was perfect.
Oh, so perfect. In some ways, he most certainly knows her so well. And he is so wonderfully considerate. Really, Lois.
Santa’s home was warm and the furniture was inviting and comforting. It was perfect. He was perfect. A handsome man, kind to orphans and children, dedicated to rescuing the world. A man with, to all appearances, a great derriere. A man who believed that she, Lois Lane was his soul mate. All of this happened without any input from her. No work, no effort.
Oh, so sweet!
Nothing was this perfect.
Part of her knew that she was still in the pit, hallucinating. Find a time traveler to break her out of jail, have him take her home….give her to the man of her dreams. Make the man able to fly. It was too good to be true.
I can sympathize with her disbelief.
She’d been in the pit for six months before Mr. Wells had found her. He’d briefed her before bringing her to Clark Kent’s front step, and part of her had rebelled at the blatant matchmaking.
Another part of her was grateful. She’d been gone six years, and everything she’d owned was gone. She had no job, no place to stay, and no real prospects for the future.
I like Lois's reaction.
Lois continued. “I didn’t see any flying cars.” Just one flying man.
Clark shrugged. “Those weren’t supposed to come out until 2000.”
This is a joke, right?
Clark’s voice had turned gentle, as though he knew how startling she would find all this. None of it was bad news, but it was evidence that the world had passed Lois by.
Lucy was the older sister now, Lois realized. She’d skipped forward six years without experiencing any of them, while Lucy had continued to grow and change. Lois wondered just how much. Six years could make someone a completely different person.
This is incredibly poignant.
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” Clark said. “And besides…it’s not as though I have anyone to spend the day with.”
He was alone, lonely. For the first time, Lois felt the numbness within her beginning to release. She felt an absurd sense of relief.
If he was perfect, that meant that he would eventually realize that she was a fraud. She wasn’t the woman he’d met before, the successful, happy Lois Lane. She was just a damaged woman in a world that was unfamiliar.
But if he was lonely also…two lonely people spending time was the most natural thing in the world. His flaws were her salvation.
She tightened her grip in his hand.
I totally, completely love this.
Lois Lane didn’t love him, but Clark knew it was only a matter of time.
He felt like joining the carolers, lifting his voice in thanks.
Clark had been given the one gift that most people were never given- a chance at true love. For the first time since he was a child he felt that most elusive of emotions, hope.
The world already seemed brighter.
Lovely ending.
So beautiful, Shayne.
Ann
Beautiful!