From Part 2 ...
“I have something else ... but I’m really unsure about it.” He shrugged.
Lois was mystified. “Is it something you want to tell me? Something you want to ask me?”
“Something I want to give you.”
She didn’t understand how anything he gave her could cause him such doubts. “Clark, if it’s from you, I’ll love it.”
“If it goes horribly wrong, can you try to remember that it was never my intention to upset you?”
Now she was completely perplexed.
He gestured for her to sit on the towel, then reached for his bag and rustled through it. When he sat next to her, his fist was clasped. He held it towards her, still closed.
“You want me to guess what it is?” Lois asked.
Clark smiled hesitantly. “No, I’m trying to work up the courage to give it to you.”
PART 3
Lois could not imagine what Clark could be holding.
“Close your eyes,” he said softly. “And give me your hand.”
Lois did as he asked. He took her hand, smoothed it open, and rested it on his knee. She felt something light and cool and metallic drop into her palm, then Clark’s hand draped over the top.
“OK,” he said. “You can open your eyes now.”
She did. Peeking out from between their hands was a gold clasp and a few links.
With his free hand, Clark brushed back the slanted arc of her hair, stroking the crest of her cheekbone. “Ready?” he asked quietly.
Lois nodded, intrigued. Surely it was jewellery, which was completely incompatible with Clark’s hesitancy. He gripped the gold clasp and slid a small section from between their hands, revealing one tiny charm. It was heart-shaped with a series of droplet blue gems along one golden curve.
“This is a mother’s heart,” Clark said, his strong, deep voice as gentle as she had ever heard it. “The gemstones are sapphires, the birthstone for September – the month of your mom’s birthday.”
Lois stared at the tiny heart as a lifetime of memories engulfed her. Tears swamped her eyes and the heart distorted to a blur of blue. She blinked and lifted her focus to Clark’s face.
“Are you all right?” he asked anxiously.
Lois nodded, her eyes full, her throat too constricted to speak.
Clark brushed the tear-trail from her cheek with such tenderness, a lump formed in her throat that had nothing to do with the gift and everything to do with the giver. “If you want to stop, we can,” he said. “We don’t have to do this now.”
She shook her head and determinedly cleared her throat. “What’s the next one?” she said thickly.
Clark took the clasp and eased another section from between their hands. Next to the heart was a tiny stethoscope. Lois’s tears tumbled. “This is for your dad,” Clark said. “A doctor who healed and helped so many people.”
Through water-logged eyes, Lois stared at the two exposed charms on the delicate bracelet. Her parents. Her mom. Her dad. A part of her. And she, a part of them. Clark had found a way to normalise her family, a way to represent the best of them.
She looked up from their hands and saw his lingering concerns. “Clark,” she said. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”
The relief was potent on his face. He caressed her cheek, sweeping away her fallen tears and pouring his love into her eyes.
She took a deep, shuddery breath. “What’s next?”
Clark’s hand slid back, exposing a teddy bear. On the bear’s abdomen was the letter ‘L’, fashioned in reckless red. “I chose a teddy bear to celebrate your birth,” Clark continued. “A teddy bear with ‘L’ for Lois. The stones are rubies – your birthstone - also red for your impetuosity and passion.” Clark met her eyes and smiled.
A laugh rose up Lois’s throat, chasing away her tears. “He’s adorable.”
Clark grinned. Lois stared at him. His hair had been ruffled by the ocean breeze, his shoulders had – finally - relaxed and his eyes shone with effervescent happiness. Her love for him overflowed. “Would you like to see the next one?” he asked.
“I love you, Clark,” she said, because no other words were possible.
His grin widened and he slowly shook his head, maybe trying to convince himself that life really could be this good. “I love you too, Lois.”
After a suspended moment of silent communication, Lois said, “What’s next?”
Clark tore his eyes away and looked down. When his hand moved back, she saw a finely crafted pen. “This represents my admiration for you as a writer,” he said. “Your skill with words leaves me breathless. I’m honoured to work with you and I have immense respect for you professionally.”
Her tears threatened again. Lois took a deep breath, driving them away, and smiled her billowing happiness.
“Are you ready for the next one?” Clark asked, his eyes crinkling with anticipation.
“What is it?” she asked suspiciously. “Please tell me there’s not a mad dog under there.”
He drew back his hand, unveiling a miniature glass statue – a duplicate Kerth Award.
“How did you get that?” she shrieked.
“Do you like it?”
“Of course I like it," Lois exclaimed. "But how did you get it?”
“I took a photo of your Kerth when you weren’t looking and took the photo to the jeweller and had him copy it.”
“Clark! You are ...” She really didn’t know how to finish.
“One day,” he predicted, “We’ll put a Pulitzer on here.”
Lois was speechless. She wanted to tell him how profoundly he had touched her, but this time, her proficiency with words failed her.
So she just looked at him, smiling, hoping he could read her heart. After a stretched moment, she looked down, ready to continue. The next charm was a sunflower. “The Sunflower Celebration,” Lois guessed.
Clark nodded. “Where you met the man lucky enough to, one day, be your husband.”
“I am the lucky one,” she told him.
Clark smiled. “Two to go,” he said. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, but he hesitated, still grinning. “What is it?” Lois asked, his expression inciting her impatience.
“This one is my favourite,” Clark said. “Care to guess what it might be?”
She thought for a second and then grinned. “A chest,” she predicted. “A male chest, stunningly defined.”
“This is about *you*, Lois,” he reminded her, trying not to grin.
“Yeah - *my* password.”
He shook his head, chuckling. His hand slid back and she saw a boy, holding a pot with the word ‘honey’ on it. She looked at him, questioning. “He’s a farmboy,” Clark explained. “With his honey.”
Lois pealed with laughter. “Clark, that is just so cute.”
He grinned, pleased with her delight. “Last one,” he said. She wondered what else he could have. His hand lifted from hers, revealing the final charm - three clustered palm trees. “To remind you of when you agreed to be my wife,” he said. “The day you made me the happiest man alive.”
Lois clasped her bracelet in her hand and put her arms around Clark’s neck, clamping him close. She held him, relishing his closeness, his face against hers, his arms tight around her, his steady breaths, his strong heartbeat, his coconut scent ... everything about him.
When she backed away, she put both hands on his face. “Clark,” she sighed, just a little unsteadily. “I ... I don’t know what to say ... you’ve ... I never ... thank you.”
He grinned. “You’re OK?” he asked. “About your parents?”
“It’s lovely. I couldn’t have thought of anything so beautiful.”
“I wanted something to celebrate you ... your life,” he explained. “I couldn’t leave them out, but I really didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me; you filled my heart, in so many ways.” Lois studied the bracelet in her hand, deliberating over each charm individually, recalling his words. “Clark?”
“Yes.”
“Could we put another charm on it?”
“Of course,” he said. “That’s the plan, to add more as things happen in your life.”
“No, I mean now,” Lois said. “There’s something I want on it right away.”
“What?”
“A star.”
He grinned delightedly. “Because you’re a star?”
“No, because you came from somewhere amongst the stars, and it would be easier to explain than a spaceship.” She swept back his wayward lock of hair. “But *we* would both know it represents your journey – because without that journey, I could never be whole.”
Clark’s throat leapt. She could tell her request had touched him ... touched him deep where his need for acceptance and belonging simmered. “Lois,” he said, very low. His fingertips brushed along her jaw. “Do you have *any* idea how amazing you are?”
She grinned. “You’re pretty amazing yourself, farmboy.” She picked out the little farmer with his honey pot and dropped a kiss on him.
Clark smiled, then took her hand into his. “Would you like to swim?” he asked.
“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t bring my swimsuit. Or a towel.”
“I brought towels.” He grinned. “And I deliberately didn’t ask you to bring a swimsuit.”
Lois’s mouth dropped.
“No, no, I mean ...” Clark reached into his bag and pulled out a one-piece swimming costume – a black background decorated with large, wildly colourful tropical flowers. “My mom helped me with the size.” He shrugged. “I hope it isn’t too personal.”
“Clark, in four weeks, I will be your wife,” Lois said. “Things are going to get personal.” She carefully stowed the bracelet in her bag and took the swimsuit. She held it up, admiring it. “It’s gorgeous. I love it. Clark, thank you.” She smiled. “Thank you for all the wonderful gifts.”
“Today, you gave me the best gift of my life, Lois,” he said, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing next to her ring.
When he drew back, the skin on her hand was humming and she felt the sharp pang of regret that she'd agreed to wait. Lois picked up the swimsuit. “I’ll go and change,” she said, depositing a sweet kiss on his cheek.
Lois went behind the towel and put on the swimsuit. It seemed so intimate - that against her skin, she wore something Clark had chosen for her. She imagined him doing it – actually walking into the women’s section of the store, looking at the options, considering, choosing. Had he felt out of place? Had he been self-conscious? How had he felt when he took it to the assistant to pay for it?
Had he ever bought anything so feminine before?
Probably not.
Lois picked up her discarded tee and shorts and hesitated, undecided. Should she put them on? Would Clark want to see her in just the swimsuit? It was chaste for a swimsuit – certainly it had no plunging neckline or high-cut legs - but it did cling intently to her curves. She decided to leave off her shorts, put on her tee and, if he seemed disappointed, remove it later.
She edged around the palm tree. He looked up ... and smiled. “Does it fit OK?” he asked.
“Perfectly.”
“Do you –?”
“Would you -?”
They spoke together, then stopped, both grinning. “You first,” Clark offered.
Lois looked down at the sand. “I was going to ask if you’d like me to take off my tee.”
Clark laughed. “I was going to ask you if you’d like me to take off *my* tee.”
She laughed with him. “So ...?” she prompted.
“Four weeks isn’t long,” he mused. “But it could seem like a *very* long time, so how about we swim with shirts off, but wear them when we’re out of the water?”
“Good plan,” she said. Lois waited, suddenly self-conscious.
“Or we could leave them on,” Clark faltered.
Lois snatched the hem of her tee and pulled it over her head, her eyes rocketing into Clark’s as soon as the material had passed. A tinge of colour touched his cheeks and his throat jumped. “It’s going to be a *very* long month,” he groaned.
“You could always take the three year option,” she teased. She reached for him and lifted his glasses from his face.
“Not a chance,” he said emphatically. He peeled off his shirt and bent to place it and his glasses on the sand. Lois helped herself to a slow examination of what, until now, she had only imagined ... his shoulders, arching down from his neck, curving tautly up and around into his upper arms, then converging into the bulging barrels of bicep ... his back, an expanse of undulating muscle, dipping into the valley along his spine.
Clark turned and Lois’s lower lip snagged between her teeth. ‘Thatchest’ was still *that chest*. She wondered what it would feel like to meander across its sleek contours. Four weeks, she told herself, four weeks.
He held out his hand and together, they strolled into the water.
+-+-+-+
Clark’s mind was buzzing as he drifted through the temperate water. So many tempting memories, each begging for his attention. He would never forget holding Lois, seconds after she had said ‘yes’, trying to align his brain cells sufficiently to comprehend that she really, really was going to marry him.
His misgivings had been unfounded. Everything had gone so well – better than he’d dared to hope. Lois had cried a little, but he wasn’t so scared of her tears any more.
As for the swimsuit – Clark deliberately shut down the image seared into his mind. If he dwelt on that, the next four weeks were going to seem like four centuries. Yet, how could he not think about her? Four weeks ... one short month ... and she would be his wife.
Clark stopped swimming and stood in the waist deep water. Lois surfaced, just a few feet from him. “Wanna swim around the island?” he asked.
She grinned. “Bet I can beat you,” she challenged. “If you don’t cheat.”
“You’re on,” he said.
“You have to swim on the outside,” she directed. “To protect me from the sharks.”
“That means I’ll have to swim further,” he protested.
Instead of answering, she dived into the water and began smoothly stroking through the clear water. Clark watched her, unable to drag his eyes away.
She was beautiful.
And she had promised to be his wife.
She was nearly a quarter around the island before Clark remembered he was supposed to be in a race and dived in after her. His effort to catch her was not completely whole-hearted and when he estimated he was back where they’d started, Lois was already standing, regarding him triumphantly, when he surfaced.
“I won,” she proclaimed.
“Congratulations,” he said warmly. Although he couldn’t see how chasing Lois could possibly be construed as losing.
“Did you try?” she demanded.
“I got distracted at the start and never quite caught up,” he defended.
She laughed at him. “Well, as the vanquished, you owe me.”
“Owe you what?”
“I’ll think of something,” she said with a smile so seductive, it bombarded his mind with a hundred tantalising possibilities.
Clark pointed at her, grinning. “Don’t play with fire,” he warned. “My girl,” he added, just to see how she would react.
She smiled ... and his world exploded ... again.
+-+-+-+
After half an hour, they left the water and Clark picked up a towel and handed it to Lois, deciding against offering his heat-vision. He turned away so she could dry – using the towel – without being watched. He dried his back and chest and put on his shirt.
He brought the remaining platters to the table and removed the lid from the fruit. Then he poured the squares of lush chocolate into a bowl and liquefied them. He took a peach – at optimum freshness – bisected it with his eyes, removed the pit and scooped a generous amount of melted chocolate into the divot. He offered it to Lois.
She bit directly from his fingers and a trickle of chocolate oozed down her chin. He swooped with his forefinger and mopped it up. Lois captured his hand and sucked the chocolate from his finger, causing a flurry of sensations to crackle through his body.
With a smirk that said she’d known exactly the effect she’d had on him, she took a strawberry, dipped it in the chocolate and held it for him to take into his mouth. He chewed slowly, in need of recovery time. After he’d swallowed it, he said, “Lois?”
“Uhm?” she said as she ate a red grape that had been drowned in chocolate.
“Have you thought about how we are going to organise a wedding in just four weeks?”
“Sure.”
He grinned. “Want to tell me?”
“I have it all planned.”
“You do?” he choked.
She chuckled. “Nothing definite, but I’ve thought about it enough to know what I’d like. You can veto anything of course, and add your ideas.”
“Thanks,” he teased, dunking a couplet of cherries. “What are you thinking?”
“I’d like to get married in your family church in Smallville.”
He hadn’t been expecting that. “You would?”
“Sure. I don’t have a connection to any particular church in Metropolis. I don’t have any family there except Uncle Mike. If Lucy comes, she’ll have to travel anyway, so why not Kansas?”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Lois said. “The distance isn’t a problem, not with Superman Express ... and maybe your mom would like to be involved.”
“*Like* to?” Clark grinned. “Mom won’t be able to contain her excitement.”
“I can’t wait to tell them.”
Clark glanced at his watch. “It’s late in Kansas,” he said. “I thought we could go there for breakfast ... and maybe stay the weekend.”
“So that’s why you spent fifteen minutes in Perry’s office pleading for both of us to have two days off.”
“Yep.” His grin faded. “Lois ... are you concerned that some people will think the wedding is too soon after your parents’ deaths?”
Lois shook her head. “Some people *will* think that, but the only two people who matter are you and me.” She smiled, a little tremulously. “And I want small and simple. Beautiful, but without all the trappings that make everything so stressful. We need a church, a minister, a place to have the reception, some clothes and somewhere to honeymoon.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“It will be.”
“Who will we invite?”
“Just the people who mean something to us. Your parents, Lucy, Uncle Mike, Perry, Jimmy, Lucy’s Aaron if he’s still in the picture ... Sarah Crawford, friends of your family.”
Clark had to keep reminding himself – they were planning their wedding. Which filled him with pure excitement. But for Lois, there had to be some mixed feelings, some thoughts of how things should have been. “Lois?” he said as he took her hand in his and cradled it carefully. “Have you thought about who will give you away?”
+-+-+-+
All her life, Lois had assumed, if she ever married, it would be her dad who would be there with her. But he wouldn’t. Her grief blazed again and she quashed her rising tears. “I’ve thought about it,” she said quietly.
“Uncle Mike?” Clark guessed.
Lois shook her head. “He’s *too* close to my dad. I can’t really explain it, but having my dad’s brother would hurt so much just because he isn’t my dad.” She took a grape. “Does that make any sense?”
“Yes, it does,” Clark assured her. “So ... who?”
Lois jabbed the grape into the chocolate, lifted it, let the excess chocolate drip into the bowl, then jabbed again. “Your dad?” she said hesitantly.
“*My* dad?”
“Would that be all right with you?”
“All right?” Clark said in wonderment.
“Do you think he’d mind?”
“Lois!” Clark smiled - full of reassurance. “He’d be ... honoured.” Clark took a strawberry and dipped it in the chocolate. “You never did explain how you two became so close.”
“Didn’t I?” Lois asked, smiling again. “We birthed calves together.”
“You *what*?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“No.”
“The day you flew me to Smallville ... the day before the funeral – your dad and I birthed twin calves.”
Clark’s shock was evident. “*You* were in the barn? Birthing calves?”
“Twins,” she confirmed proudly. “I dried them.”
Clark shook his head. “He never told me.”
Lois grinned mischievously. “I bet there’s something else he never told you.”
“What?”
Lois slowly immersed her large red grape in the chocolate, enjoying prolonging Clark’s curiosity.
“Tell me,” he demanded, grinning.
“You wouldn’t tell me where we were coming today,” she noted casually. “I can keep secrets too.”
“Do you need to be tickled?” he threatened. “Or maybe picked up and tossed into the ocean?”
She regarded him with laughing love. “Superman doesn’t use his powers unfairly,” she reminded him coquettishly.
“No,” he admitted. “But Clark might.”
He made a move towards her and Lois squealed, raising her hands in self-defence. “OK, I’ll tell you,” she conceded.
He settled back on his towel, visibly disappointed.
“Three days before I came to Smallville ...” Lois hinted.
“Yes?”
“Where was your dad?”
Clark thought for a moment. “He went away ... ah ... a famers’ conference in Idaho ... that’s it.”
“Really?” Lois questioned, eyebrows high.
Clark looked confused. “He *didn’t* go to the conference?”
Lois shook her head. “He came to Metropolis to see me.”
“He did?”
“... and told me the distressing tale of his woebegone son. He begged me to marry you before you disintegrated into a puddle of heartbroken loneliness.”
“He did not,” Clark exploded, eyes amused.
Lois giggled. “No ... he explained about the Chrissie story.”
“And?”
“And helped me to see there may be a future for us.”
“I’m not sure anyone has ever been so grateful to a parent for interfering in his life.”
“Well, someone had to do something,” Lois said practically. “Left to our own devices, we’d made a horrible mess of it.”
“Yeah.” Clark looked up. “Do you think Jimmy would be my groomsman?”
“’Course he would,” Lois said. “Who will you ask to be your best man?”
“Steve Irig. His family are our neighbours and Steve and I have been friends for years.”
“I’m going to ask Lucy to be my bridesmaid,” Lois said, her tone a little forlorn. “But I’m not even sure she’ll come.”
“Do you have someone else in mind?”
Lois grinned suddenly. “Sarah Crawford.”
“Sarah? I thought you barely knew her.”
“I haven’t seen her much the past few weeks because I’ve been a little engrossed in someone else.” Lois shot him a smile. “... but Sarah was such a good friend to me after my parents died. She was a good friend to you too.”
“She was?”
“She constantly kept telling me how stupid I was to throw away what I had with you.”
“Does she know why I left the funeral?”
Lois grinned. “Yep. We’ve spent hours speculating how hot Clark would look if the Superman suit got so tight, it split.”
Clark looked shocked, fleetingly, then grinned. “*That* is a lie, my love.”
“Well, if you ask dumb questions, you get untruthful answers.” Lois smiled. “Sarah knows nothing except you’re a very cute guy who’s in love with her friend.”
The lowest arc of the sun had dipped below the western horizon, sending shimmers of gold to frolic in the waves. The heat had dissipated into a balmy stillness. “Are you tired?” Clark asked. “It’s well past midnight, Metropolis time.”
“A little.”
Clark positioned a fluffy blanket on the sand and added a couple of cushions. “Come and lie down for awhile. I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave for Smallville.”
Lois lay on her side on the blanket and squirmed into the sand until it was shaped comfortably under her. “Come and be with me,” she suggested, patting the space next to her.
Clark hesitated.
“We’re both dressed,” she said. “It’ll be fine.”
He took off his glasses and lay beside her, facing her. “Have I told you how happy I am?” he asked.
“Not in the last few minutes.”
“Well, I am happier and more excited than I’ve ever been in my life.”
“Me too.”
“I think what is coming will eclipse it, but I just can’t imagine feeling any better than I do right now.” Lois moved her hand into his, wanting contact with him. He smiled, brimming with contentment. “Lois?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s something I’d like to ask about, something I’ve wanted to talk about for awhile, but if you don’t want to, just say so.”
“OK.”
“Your parents’ funeral – when I left.”
“Clark, we’re done with that.”
“Tell me what you were feeling,” he persisted. “Let me share it with you.”
“I felt so small and so vulnerable ... like my moorings had been cut away and the water around me was so overwhelming and there was nothing I could do. It just swept me wherever it wanted and I had no point of reference any more. No harbour, nowhere I could be safe.”
Clark’s hand tightened around hers. His silence hummed with understanding.
“Clark, there is something I need to tell you. Something you need to understand.”
“No second thoughts?” he asked. She knew he meant it to sound like a joke, but she could hear the tiny strand of uncertainty in his voice.
She smiled. “No second thoughts,” she assured him. “Other than realising four weeks is way too long.”
He grinned.
“I need to make sure you know that my wanting to marry you is not because I lost my parents,” Lois said. “It’s not because of my aloneness that I want to be with you ... it’s because of you.”
“You know why I waited four weeks to propose?” he asked softly.
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to take advantage of your vulnerability. I knew I wanted to marry you when you asked me ... truth is, I knew way before that. But I wanted to give you time ... time to get your emotional bearings.”
His thumb stroked the back of her hand.
“I can’t pretend to know what you’ve been through these past weeks,” Clark said quietly. “But on some level, I understand, because I don’t have my parents either – my birth parents. That’s one of the reasons why it was so hard to leave you at the funeral.” He sighed deeply. “Lois, what happened that day was my worst nightmare. I knew you needed support only I could give you. I also knew no one else could save those children. I was so torn.”
“I understand now.”
“But do you also understand that it will happen again?” he persisted. “Do you realise there will be times when you want your husband and you have every right to expect he will be there for you and he won’t be?”
“I know that. I know you’ll be there when you can be.” Lois grinned. “My husband,” she said, rolling the words off her tongue.
“You like that?” he asked, very low.
“Uhmmm.” She traced his knuckles with her fingertips. “Do you know anything about your birth parents?”
“Not one thing,” he said sadly. “My parents – Martha and Jonathan - found me in a spaceship. They had wanted children so bad. My mom picked me up and they took me home and even before they got there, I know they had both decided I was theirs and they weren’t going to let anyone take me away.”
Lois could imagine a dark haired baby boy – alone and so very far from home. How fortunate exactly the right people had found him.
“We didn’t know I was different,” Clark said. “We didn’t know *how* different ... until I was a teenager and I started doing really weird things. I had all these powers and at first I couldn’t control them. I was terrified of hurting someone, of doing something really bad.”
She gripped his hand a little tighter.
“And my parents were always so scared of someone finding out about me.” Clark’s eyes shot to hers. “Lois ... the secret is more important than ever now.”
“Why?”
“Because if anyone discovers Lois Lane is married to Superman, the easiest way to get to him is through you.”
“You’ll always find a way to look after me.”
“And what if we have to flee or risk being captured?” Clark asked, his anxiety surfacing. “What if we have to live in a desolate place? What if we couldn’t stay in Metropolis? What if you couldn’t work for the Planet?”
“I want to be with you, Clark. Anything else is a bonus.”
“What if –.”
She moved with lithe swiftness and clamped his mouth with a fiery kiss. When she pulled away, she grinned cheekily at him. “That’s what you get if you obsess too much,” she warned.
He grinned. “But –.”
“Clark, you worry too much.” Lois dropped a lingering kiss on his mouth. “This is supposed to be the happiest time of our lives. Your dream is coming true – in four weeks, you’ll be married. Let’s just enjoy it.” She paused. “You know, I could be worried about all sorts of things too.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like what if Superman gets tempted by any one of the thousands of women fawning over him? What if his heart is stolen away? He’s a very popular guy. He’s going to face a lot of temptation.”
“My heart yearns for only one woman – Lois Lane, my fiancée.”
“What about Superman’s heart?
“The heart behind that ‘S’? I have it on good authority it’s completely captivated.”
Lois smiled at him. “OK, here’s the deal, Kent. I won’t worry about a floozy tempting you away and you won’t worry about any of the hundred of unlikely possibilities you obsess over.”
He smiled. “I’m never going to stop obsessing if you kiss me when I do it.”
“Then maybe I’ll stop kissing you.”
“That would definitely work.”
Lois kissed him again. “So you’ll stop worrying about every little thing? I mean, it’s possible we will have safe, uneventful lives, a very long, very happy marriage and a couple of well-adjusted kids.”
He sighed happily. “That sounds perfect.”
“Then concentrate on that.”
The darkness gathered, broken only by the meagre light from the crescent-shaped moon, and the silence hovered, broken only by the pulse of the ocean.
“You think about your birth parents a lot, don’t you?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know enough to think about them, but, yeah, I have a lot of questions. Someone put me in that spaceship, but I don’t know why. Didn’t they want me? Was I some sort of bizarre experiment? Was there something wrong with me? Something that disappointed them?”
“You did *not* disappoint them,” Lois said with surety. “And I bet they wanted you. How could they not?”
“I wish I knew,” Clark sighed. “I sometimes wonder if it’s possible they watch me. Do they care at all? Were they in danger? Was I in danger? Or did they simply not want me?”
“You think they could be watching you?” Lois asked, trying to dismiss the vaguely uneasy feeling that had crept upon her.
Clark shrugged. “Not really. I suppose it’s possible, but ...”
“I think they had a good reason for putting you in that spaceship.”
He smiled, a little sadly and it tore at her heart.
“Do you still feel so alone?” she asked.
“I wasn’t really alone,” he said. “I always had my parents. And then one day, I walked into my bedroom and met you and realised if I could somehow convince this most amazing of women to fall in love with me, I would never be alone again.”
“Then I guess you’ll never be alone again, farmboy.”
He grinned. And kissed her.
