Total Eclipse of the Heart
It was eight-fifty in the morning and almost time for the Mountaintops to leave Metropolis for a four-week gig in Gotham City’s Styles Club before heading for an extended professional recording session and Clark had promised to be there to see her off.
But he wasn’t there.
He’d promised.
But he hadn’t come.
Not only was he not there, he hadn’t called, he hadn’t sent a message, he hadn’t loosed a carrier pigeon, he hadn’t written a goodbye song for her, he hadn’t sent a singing messenger, he hadn’t tapped out a telegram. Nothing.
Maybe he was wrapped up in some Silent Vigilante thing. Yeah, that had to be it. That was the only thing that could have kept him away from her. It was the only thing that made any sense.
But it still hurt.
It really hurt.
She knew there was no way for them to build a relationship, not with her on the road or in the studio and him stuck here in Metropolis. The logical part of her mind sadly argued that this was for the best, that trying to keep something going with him would only hurt them both even more.
The part of her mind connected to her heart told the logical part to shut up. It did.
Connie stepped off the bus and slowly approached her. “Lois?” There was no answer. “Lois, honey, the bus is ready to leave. We have to go.”
Lois stifled a sob. “Yeah. I know.”
Connie gently touched Lois’s shoulder. “If he was going to come, he’d be here by now. You know how these things are. Most guys don’t want to get involved with someone who’s on the road forty weeks a year. It scares them off. Believe me, I know. I’ve had to deal with this more than once in my life.”
Lois shook her head. “Clark’s not like most guys. He’s different.”
“Maybe he is different, but – “
“He’s different!” snapped Lois. “He’s not like any other man I’ve ever met.” And I’m not sharing with anyone just how different he is, she snarled to herself.
Connie stepped back. “Okay, he’s different. And the evidence he dug up helped Lucy get cleared of a possible murder charge. And he helped us get loose from both the police and the Metro club. He did some really good things for us.” She paused, then continued softly, “But is he here for you? Right now? Do you see him here?”
Lois lifted her hand to shade her eyes from the morning sun, then dropped her hand and seemed to deflate. Connie put her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Come on. We got four weeks in Gotham City, a week off for rehearsals and arranging, then two months of recording in Muscle Shoals. Then we open for the Falcons for eight weeks on their winter West Coast tour. Thanks to Mr. Luthor and his publicity machine, the critics and our fans are already panting for our new album and we don’t want to disappoint them.”
Lois sniffed and wiped her eyes. “No. I mean, no, we don’t want to disappoint the fans and the critics.”
“Then let’s go, okay? We have some breakfast stuff on the bus. You’ll feel better after you get something to eat.”
Lois allowed Connie to turn her around and guide her to the bus door. Lois clomped up the steps and shuffled down the center aisle towards the cramped dining area, with Connie nudging her forward after every third or fourth baby step. “This is going to be such a crappy trip,” she muttered.
She heard the peal of Lucy’s laughter from the dining area as she reached for the door. How could Lucy be having such a good time when Lois was lower than a snake’s belt buckle? And when even thinking that made her think of how Clark wasn’t here with her? What could Lucy possibly think was so funny when Lois was hurting so badly?
Then she heard a male voice respond.
An unreasoning fury exploded in her head. First Clark didn’t show, didn’t send a message, didn’t even have the decency to call and make up some lousy excuse she’d never believe in a million years, and now Lucy has a guy on board before they even leave Metropolis! What about the rules that said no passengers? And especially no boyfriends on the bus, not ever?
Lois was so mad she suspected that she was about to become an only child. She yanked the door open and shouted, “Lucy, you creep! What do you – “
She got no further.
Lucy turned in her seat and said, “Hi, Sis! Clark was just telling us about his senior prom in Kansas and the girl he took. I asked him if they found a good make-out spot after the dance, and he said that he didn’t think it was all that healthy for him to keep the sheriff’s daughter out late and then bring her home with a hickey on her neck! Isn’t that a hoot?”
Clark smiled up at her from the side of the table opposite Lucy. “Good morning, Lois. I brought fresh croissants and a couple of flavors of preserves, and I even found a shop with fresh bagels and cream cheese. Want some?”
Shamika reached over Clark’s shoulder and picked up the top half of a bagel. “They’re real good, too. We gotta keep this boy around for his breakfast-findin’ skills, if nothin’ else.”
Lois stood frozen to the floor for a few seconds, then her face darkened as she turned on a smug and quietly hysterical Connie. “You – you turkey! You let me think he’d stood me up! What kind of nasty trick is that?” Behind her, Lucy tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, which drew Lois’ index finger as if it were a rifle barrel zeroing in on a particularly tempting target. “And you roped the whole band into it, too!” she snapped at Connie. “Even my sister! You traitorous blond twit!” Lois turned again and stomped closer to lean over the table towards Clark. “And what are you doing on this bus, mister? It’s for band members only!”
From the far end of the room, Ramona – whom Lois had not yet noticed – innocently said, “Lois! I’m glad you’re here. Let me introduce you to Clark Kent, our new sound tech and head roadie. He’s on the payroll, just like you and I are. We finally decided that you were right, that we really needed someone to mix sound for us full time.”
Lois’s face betrayed her shock. “What? He – Sound tech? You mean – you’re saying he’s – “
Clark stood and enveloped her in a bear hug. “Yep. I’m with the band.” Then he laughed. “You know, I’ve always wanted to say that. It sounds so cool. I’m thinking of getting a baseball cap with that saying embroidered across the front.” He pulled her close and picked her up off the floor for a moment, then set her down again. “Maybe I can get one for everybody, with a mountain logo behind it. We could even sell them at concerts.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ramona said. “You’re paying off for us already, Clark.”
Lois’s arms windmilled helplessly under his for a few seconds, but then she gave up the struggle and returned the embrace. “You big idiot!” She buried her face in his chest and inhaled his scent. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.”
She pressed her cheek against his shirt and asked, “What about your other job at the Daily Planet?”
He chuckled. “Already cleared the whole thing with Perry. Officially, I’m on extended assignment to write a series of human interest articles about the Mountaintops in particular, and in general about being on the road and in the studio with a working band. Besides, he told me that too many bad people were mad at me for my role in taking down the Metro Gang, so I’m safer traveling with the Mountaintops than I am in Metropolis, at least for the time being.” He leaned down to kiss the side of her face and whispered, “I have something else to talk to you about when we have some real privacy. Oh, and I’m also supposed to protect Wanda Detroit and offer her a safe haven and a job at the Planet, assuming I ever find her.”
“Oh, you might be surprised where you might find her.” Then she leaned back and slapped his muscular chest. “And don’t you dare try to pull another stunt like that on me or I’ll clobber you!” She turned to face Connie, who had wisely backed up out of range. “And you, you Miss Universe never-be! Making me think he wasn’t coming when you knew all the time he was on the bus! I’ll get you for this, your traitor! You like snakes or frogs in your bed?”
Connie’s eyebrows lifted like battle flags. “Oh, no, girl, you start that stuff again and I’ll make your life totally miserable!”
“Yeah? How do you intend to perform that Amazonian feat?”
“That’s too easy. I’ll just tell every audience we have that our delicious sound man is straight, single, lonely, and looking for love in all the wrong places. I guarantee you he won’t be able to beat off the girls with three baseball bats and a two-by-four.”
Lois’s jaw dropped. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Connie leaned into Lois’ face. “If it keeps the amphibians and reptiles out of my bed, you bet your chromatic tuner I would!”
They stood glaring at one another for a long moment, then both women laughed and embraced. Lois pushed back and said, “You’re so evil, Connie!”
Connie bumped Lois’s shoulder with a loose fist. “What are friends for, anyway? Someone in this band needs to be in a relationship that works. With him around you’re going to be more fun, too. You should have seen your face light up when you got a good look at him. Besides, I figure with Clark around as a bodyguard, we won’t have to worry about getting hit on by all those drunks and bums.”
Clark leaned his chin over Lois’s shoulder from behind and put one arm around her waist. “As long as you all understand that it’s Lois’ body that I’ll be guarding most enthusiastically.”
Lois leaned back into his solid warmth. “Don’t worry, Clark, they all understand.” She turned and faced him. “You’re mine and they’ll have to get their own guys. Assuming, of course, that they can.”
“You just make all the rehearsals and meetings on time, Sis,” Lucy called out. “Sucking on Clark’s face is no excuse for being late.”
Lois smiled warmly at her sister. “Punky, I don’t need an excuse for that.” She grinned at Clark and said, “Let’s give them something to talk about.” Then, to a feminine chorus of catcalls and whistles, she kissed him with great enthusiasm and purpose.
She barely felt a tap on her shoulder, then Connie said, “Lois, we’re ready to go. It’s your turn to drive.”
Clark’s mouth formed a grin against hers. She pulled away just far enough to speak. “No way, Connie, I just switched shifts with Sham.”
“Huh,” said Shamika. “I guess I better get this rig rollin’ or we ain’t going nowhere.” She shoved Lois on the shoulder as she passed by. “You just go back to playin’ tonsil hockey with the big boy, you lazy thang.”
“If you insist.” Her arms wrapped even tighter around his neck. “It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.” She pressed her lips to his for a long moment, then pulled back and glared at him. “And nobody else better try doing my job for me.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry. I’m a one-musician man.”
“One at a time, you mean?”
His smile softened. “One per lifetime. And you’ve already filled my quota for this entire lifetime.”
She leaned into his deep chest again. “For every lifetime, Clark. Every one of them.”
“I love you, Lois Lane.”
“And I love you, Clark Kent.”
This is gonna be such a great trip, she mused.
# # #
