Here's a bit of trivia for all those interested: The two new character names I used in this part (Brack and Thea) are from the play "Hedda Gabler" by Ibsen. Brack's initial's are H.G. to stand for the name of the play.
Okay, now that I've let my inner English geek out for a run around this story, I hope you enjoy this part! Thanks Nancy again for BRing this, and remember that parts outlined in *** are flashbacks!
PART SEVEN
***He knocked nervously on her apartment door and waited for her to answer. It had been bad this time. She had just been talking about how he always seemed to be running off on her, and asking him if that meant there was a problem with the relationship when he picked up a police radio. School shooting. He had had to go. Of course by the time he returned she was long gone.
The door opened abruptly, catching him off guard. Although she must have just gotten home from work she had already changed into sweats and pulled her long brown hair back in a ponytail. Amanda had always joked that the reason she had gotten a Theatre degree was so that she could wear stretch pants to work and not look out of place. As The Daily Planet’s Drama critic she did have to prescribe to the employee dress code, but that didn’t stop her from changing the minute she got home.
“Hi Mandy,” Jon began hesitantly.
“Did you decide to come over here to finish our conversation?” she asked. She crossed her arms in front of her defensively.
“Um, yeah. Can I come in?” Mandy wordlessly opened the door wider to allow Jon to step into her apartment. He led them over to the kitchen table where they sat across from each other.
“Are we going to actually finish the conversation this time?” she asked scathingly. “Or will you suddenly have to return another library book or something?” Jon winced. After thirty years of being in the business, the Kent family had yet to manufacture more convincing excuses.
“Look Mandy… I-I know that things have been rocky between us for the last while.”
“That’s an understatement,” she said wryly.
“But things are going to change now. Everything will be different, I promise.” It’ll be better, Jon promised himself. Once he told her the truth, everything would change for the better.
“Why is it going to be different Jon?” she asked. “Are you going to stop running away from me every time I want to talk about something important? Are you going to start acting like I matter to you?” He should’ve told her earlier, he thought to himself. He’d already hurt her so much with his constant lying.
“Mandy,” he began slowly, “I want to tell you something that I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time. But I couldn’t as it’s not just my secret. Letting you in on it is big step and it’s something I wouldn’t do if you weren’t so important to me. But once you know it, it’s your secret, too, and you can’t tell any one else.”
“Okay,” she said warily.
“I actually have a good reason for running out all the time. It isn’t because I don’t care about you or because I don’t want to hear what you have to say.” He took a breath to collect himself. “It’s because I have a… Well, I guess you could call it a second job.” Amanda’s forehead wrinkled in concentration.
“And whenever you run off when I’m trying to talk to you or when you’re late for a date, you’re off doing this second job?”
“Yeah.”
“Jon, what kind of job makes you run off at odd hours and is such a secret that you can’t tell anyone?”
“Well, Mandy,” Jon reached up and drew his glasses off his face. “The thing is: I’m Supernova.” And everything changed. ***
* * *
I had always hated going to the dentist, and this day was no exception. My previous dentist had sold off his practice to a guy who looked a little too chisel happy to put me at ease so I had been forced to switch to a new practice in a new building. Dr Brack had been recommended by one of the teachers at Riverview so hopefully it would be worth the long trek into a relatively unfamiliar part of town. I glanced once again at the scrap of paper in my hand, then back up at the street sign at the corner. I still needed to walk two more blocks south before I got to the street where Dr Brack’s office was. I set off down the street, sipping my coffee. I could never remember if you were supposed to refrain from eating or drinking an hour before or an hour after you went to see the dentist. Oh well, H.G. Brack could endure my coffee breath for the half hour checkup I was scheduled for, he was certainly being paid enough. Still maintaining the quick pace I always set when walking in the city, I checked the scrap of paper again. Wait; was that a five or a six? I stopped abruptly to take a closer look at my colleague’s scrawled writing, and I was bumped harshly from behind. The motion knocked against the arm that held my coffee, and I ended up spilling it all over my cream-colored suit jacket.
“Oh! Sorry!” My accidental attacker bent down and fumbled to pick up my dropped cup.
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “I shouldn’t have stopped so suddenly.” I brushed my hand absentmindedly over my ruined jacket.
“I’m really sorry,” he repeated. And this time I noticed a weird undertone to his words, a sort of awkward quality that went beyond the expected embarrassment. He stood up again, adjusting his glasses and staring at the ground. “Well, I should um…” He gestured vaguely with his thumb in the direction that he no doubt had been going when he bumped into me. “Sorry,” he said again. Then he looked at me. It was a sweeping glance before he started walking away down the street. We made eye contact for less than a second, yet it was long enough for a fierce jolt to shoot through me. I watched the man’s suit-jacketed back disappearing among the crowds of people walking down the sidewalk. It couldn’t possibly be… Could it?
* * *
As it turned out, Jor gave me the perfect opening that night to question him. He arrived at my apartment later than we had originally agreed. Weeks after our first date, we had started to fall into a routine of sorts.
“Sorry I’m late,” he apologized. “There was an oil spill off the coast and we were all helping out with the clean up.”
“I saw it on the news,” I replied. We shared the customary kiss that had quickly become second nature to the both of us.
“Then I had to go back to my apartment and get cleaned up a bit,” he continued. I handed him a freshly doctored cup of coffee and he nodded his thanks. “Do you have any idea how difficult crude oil is to get out of your hair? Not to mention the stains it’s going to leave on my suit.” Bingo. The perfect opening.
“I guess you end up with all kinds of crazy stuff on that uniform,” I commented nonchalantly. He shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe I should ask you for some laundry advice.”
“Why, you got any stained spandex hidden away?” he teased. His back was to me, putting in the movie I had chosen for tonight while I was still in the kitchen fiddling with my coffee.
“No spandex,” I replied, “but I did get coffee spilled all over my favorite blazer today. This complete idiot bumped into me on the street and knocked my coffee cup right out of my hand.” Jor stiffened, and I could see a red blush crawling up his neck. Oh, he was so busted.
“R-really?” he asked nervously, keeping his head and neck suspiciously rigid.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t all that bad. The guy was really cute,” I drawled. “I might try looking him up and asking him out on a date sometime. That is, if things don’t work out between us.” Jor whirled around and gave me such a deer-in-the-headlights look that I couldn’t hold out any longer. I grabbed a nearby throw pillow and chucked it at his head. “You brat!” I exclaimed. “It was you! You were following me!”
“I wasn’t following you!” he exclaimed defensively. I gave him a long steady look. “I was just kind of… going where you were going. But how did you recognize me?” he asked incredulously.
“My superior feminine intuition,” I claimed.
“Seriously.”
“Seriously?” I thought for a moment. “The biggest clue was that I knew that Supernova is just a disguise. I knew that you were out there wandering around as a normal ordinary guy for most of the time, so I was looking for you among the ordinary. Also, knowing you voice and mannerisms was a huge clue. And I mean your real voice and mannerisms, not the façade you pull for the public.” We both sat down together on the sofa.
“Well, I’m suitably impressed.” Jor wrapped his arm around me and drew me close as we shared a kiss. “Just don’t ever say a word about it around my mother.”
“What? She didn’t figure out the secret identity as fast?”
“It took her two years,” Jor replied. “And she knew my dad both as a superhero and an ordinary man. My mom’s not exactly the type who likes being fooled.”
“I don’t think any woman enjoys that feeling.”
“Did I really ruin your jacket?” Jor asked sheepishly, changing the subject.
“It’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “And it’s not really my favorite, don’t worry.” I peered at his face interestedly, trying to match it up with the man I had seen earlier today.
“So if you weren’t following me exactly, where were you going?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Jor replied.
“Oh c’mon Jor,” I wheedled. “I think it’s a fair exchange: A ruined jacket for a glimpse into the secret life of Jor ‘Spaceboy’ Supernova. You don’t have to tell me specifics or anything, just a general idea.”
“All right, fine,” he conceded. “I was coming back from my lunch break on my way to work.”
“Hmm… Very revealing.” We had done this before. Jor would give me some sort of useless trivia about his life and I would try to interpret as much as I could about it. “You work in the Central Business District, home to many offices and other places of business that employ thousands of people. So you have a white collar job.”
“What makes you think I work in one of the buildings?” Jor challenged. “I could be a construction worker or someone like that who’s working on or around the buildings and not actually in them.”
“Nice try, Spaceboy, you’re not going to get me off the trail that easily. You were wearing a suit jacket and tie which is not the traditional outfit of a construction worker. Also that rules out any profession that requires a uniform. I guess being Supernova is enough of a uniform that you don’t feel the need to wear one when you’re not saving the world.” I tapped his chest where the S crest sat, and he smiled in confirmation. “Then there’s the matter of your lunch break.” He cocked an eyebrow in my direction.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It was after two when we collided, which is a little late for lunch. That probably means you work in a fast-paced environment where lunch is sometimes put on hold to make room for business.”
“Have I ever told you that you’re brilliant?”
“Frequently. But you can always tell me it again.” I tilted my chin up, silently asking for another kiss, but I could sense some kind of hesitation. I dropped my playful attitude and looked at him seriously. “Jor, you know that I would never go against your wishes and try to find out who you are, right?”
“I know,” he replied hesitantly.
“And even though I know what you look like now, that doesn’t change anything. When you think about it, how many people work in that area? There’s Chow Towers, The Daily Planet, LNN, and the old LuthorCorp building all within the same few blocks, and those are just the big ones, not even counting the smaller buildings and companies. And I’m hardly ever in that area of the city so it’s unlikely that I’ll bump into you as you again.”
“All right.”
“I would never betray your trust like that. This relationship is too important for me to risk it by doing something so stupid.” Jor smile faintly and I felt him relax beside me.
“I know that, Kaylie. And the way you’ve handled the… oddities of this relationship is so amazing. Thank you for understanding.” He finally drew me in for the long awaited kiss, and we spent several minutes cuddling together on the sofa before I finally broke the silence.
“So glasses, huh?”
“Yeah. They’re actually made with leaded lenses. I started wearing them when I was fifteen and I couldn’t control my X-ray vision. I just kind of stuck with them ever since and it helps to maintain the disguise.” I closed my eyes and scrunched my face, bringing the face of Jor’s alter ego to my mind.
“I think I like them,” I decided. “With the glasses and your hair looser it makes you look softer somehow. I think I could get used to that someday.” I fiddled with his hair the way it was now, slicked back with copious use of gel. “So,” I began, changing subjects completely, “I have a bit of a favor to ask you.”
“You know I’d do just about anything for you.”
“Well it’s not just for me,” I explained hesitantly. “It’s also for twenty-five students and a fellow staff member at Riverview.” His raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“You’re going to have to explain that one a bit more, Kaylie.”
“My friend Thea and I are responsible for getting a speaker to come and talk to the graduating class about this time of year to get them thinking about their futures. Going to college or a trade school maybe. Most deadlines for applications are coming up soon and we want as many of our students as possible to continue with their education. We were going to have one of the city councilors come but she cancelled. I guess increased property taxes are more important than students at Riverview. A lot of things are more important than students at Riverview,” I added a little bitterly.
“Let me guess,” Jor began, “you wanted to know if Supernova would be available to make an appearance.”
“Only if you want to,” I rushed to clarify. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, there’s no pressure.”
“Of course I want to, Kaylie. What would make you think I wouldn’t want to?”
“Well, I just didn’t want it to look like I was taking advantage of having you as a boyfriend. I didn’t want you to think I was using your identity for selfish reasons.”
“Kaylie, it’s hardly selfish to want the best for your students. When am I supposed to come for this speech?”
“Next Friday,” I reply with a grin.
“I’ll be there.”
* * *
I hadn’t done any serious drawing since my university days, but tonight after Jor had left it felt very comforting to be able to sit down again with thick paper and a smudgy stub of charcoal pencil.
Flying in the face of artistic convention, I started with the glasses. Rectangular in shape, deep red in color, they were very stylish and contemporary. I saw these glasses as the heart of his identity. They were the polar opposite of Supernova, creating the illusion of imperfection instead of projecting godliness. I drew the shape of his head around the glasses and began to fill in the rest of his features. Although my stub came out as only grey, I still thought in color. The hair was a rich brown, lighter then his slicked down style suggested. He wore it freer when he was himself. I could see its softness in my imagination and I yearned to touch it with my fingers. It looked longer too, the way he wore it. Maybe the flattened hair gave the illusion of a shorter cut or something. It was messier too, rumpled and tousled. I could see this man right now, sitting at his desk, shoving his hand into his hair, burying it among the loosed strands and shaking out any semblance of order.
He had an expressive mouth. Its shape twisted and turned in response to his emotions. It tightened almost imperceptivity at the corners when he was nervous or worried, it broke wide open when he smiled, and hung loose sloppily when he was shocked. Inviting lips that were sensitive and powerful all at once and that never failed to pull me towards him.
His eyebrows lay thick over his eyes. Always twitching, quirking, tilting, pinching, rising, moving, they told me the story of his mind. A straight nose pointed downward to a strong chin. Strong, but not hard, nothing about this man was hard.
His ears were maybe the only aspect that could be considered a flaw. They were big. Just a smidgen, just a hair. The glasses especially brought attention to them. They humanized him. I loved those ears.
I drew the eyes last of all. I had spent countless hours staring into those eyes and I could map them as easily as I could map the south bank of the Hobbs River (which, by the way, is very easily). To say they were brown would be to negate the incredible power of those eyes. The flecks of gold that burst forth and the ravines of darkness that dipped further down created such movement, such passion within his eyes that made ‘brown’ a tragedy of a term. And last of all, that glint of spirit hidden within. That special spark that snuck out and zapped me every time he came to see me.
There. Done. I pulled my focus back to take in the picture as a whole. There was my boyfriend, the real man. Although I saw Jor in him, there was a certain quality about this picture that I recognized as something else. Someone else who I hadn’t met yet.
I could find him with this picture. The face recognition software I had access to through my contacts would come up with maybe a dozen matches and based on what little trivia I knew I could find out who he was. But I wouldn’t. I had promised him I would wait. Walking over to my fireplace, I picked up the lighter and flicked it on; flames spurted up onto the paper and devoured his face. I tossed the picture into the hearth and watched it evaporate into ash. I would wait.
