***~~~***
Chapter 13: Guest
***~~~***
With all that was going on at work, Clark had been sure that they would be staying at the office most of the evening. However, it turned out that Perry had plenty of hands to help, so Clark and Lois left for his apartment well before dinner time.
The bus service had started in the mid afternoon and there was a bus stop not too far from the Planet entrance. Since many of the streets were impassible, the buses were running on a very limited route schedule, which meant less than the usual number of stops. However, on the few routes that were operating, the buses were fairly frequent and they didn’t have long to wait.
The limited number of bus stops meant that there was a walk of several blocks from where they exited the bus to Clark’s apartment. There was still no power other than emergency lighting. The city had put a herculean effort into getting some street level lighting operational. Clark didn’t want to think about what the city would be like after dark if there was no lighting at all. The lights were underpowered but provided enough illumination so that they weren’t walking in complete darkness.
As they neared his apartment, Clark realized that he’d made an assumption that Lois would want to eat at his place. Before they got too far he realized he’d better check with her. “Lois, have you thought about dinner plans?”
“No. I usually worry about that when I get home. Now that you mention it, I am hungry. Sandwiches showed up at work today and I just grabbed one.” She looked around at all of the dark buildings. “I don’t think there will be many restaurants open tonight.”
He looked around at all the dark windows. A few had a pale yellow light that suggested candles, but the majority of the windows were completely dark. Metropolis without power was a surrealistic and slightly gloomy place at night. “No. The power outage has them shut down. The city has coordinated with many of the churches and other charitable organizations to open soup kitchens. I’m afraid that’s the best option for eating out tonight.”
Even in the dim light he was able to detect a smile on Lois’s face as she answered. “That might be fun. Imagine what Lex would say if he knew I turned down Chef Andre for a soup kitchen.”
That should have been funny, but the mention of Luthor had triggered another chill in Clark. He pushed thoughts of the industrialist to the back of his mind and tried to focus on the evening with Lois. “We could go to a kitchen, but I have some produce in my apartment that I’d like to use. Will you let me fix you dinner?”
Lois turned suddenly and peppered him with energetic questions. “Do you remember how to cook? Wait, how can you cook? Does your apartment have power?”
He’d stopped as soon as she turned to face him. He was getting used to how excitable Lois could be. Clark couldn’t help but smile as he responded calmly. “As for the do-I-remember-how-to-cook part, it just seems to be there. When you went to see Luthor that first night, I spent much of the time looking around my apartment. I found a recipe box and other stuff that made me believe I cook all the time. I also looked through my cupboard and refrigerator and I have some of the ingredients from the cards. It seems strange but I remember that better than I remember people. Are you willing to take a chance on my cooking?”
She digested that information for a second before pointing out a discrepancy. “You haven’t explained how you plan to cook with no power.”
“Oh, right. I found a camp stove that I should be able to use to prepare a meal. I’ll have to do the actual cooking on my balcony but it shouldn’t be too difficult. I also found a whole box of candles so we’ll be able to see. I feel confident about my ability to prepare a meal. My amnesia doesn’t seem to have affected that ability. I’m sure it will turn out fine once I start.”
Her smile was brilliant in the darkness. “How can I possibly turn down a candlelight meal from my own private chef?”
***~~~***
When they arrived at Clark’s apartment, Lois noticed that there appeared to be an addition since this morning. Rough but solid-looking temporary walls blocked the two archways that divided the sleeping area from the rest of the apartment. The wall blocking the arch nearest the front of the apartment sported a door. “When did that happen?” she asked, pointing at the new construction.
“I figured that even if you didn’t stay with me, I might be hosting someone. While I was out this morning, I came back here and talked to the superintendent about having a guest. He had an extra door and I was able to get the rest of what I needed to throw up the temporary walls. They aren’t very pretty, but should make this space work better for the two of us.” Clark walked over to the door and opened it. “Why don’t you go on in and look around. You can also look at the clothes I was able to get and see if any of them will work for you.”
***~~~***
Dinner turned out to be marvelous. There wasn’t anything else for Lois to do while Clark cooked, so she worked right along side him and helped. Following Clark’s instructions made food preparation seem easy. She figured that this night alone might have doubled her knowledge of cooking.
After dinner, they moved into the living room. Clark had just poured the last of the wine from dinner into Lois’s glass and sat down beside her. He pointed at a picture of his parents. “Can you tell me about them?”
Lois felt a twinge of loss as she looked at the picture. Now she wished she’d had the chance to get to know them. After another seconds she said, “I really don’t know them very well.”
“But you said you’ve been to my home in Smallville?” Clark asked hopefully.
“That was one time and it was mostly business. You and I were on assignment in Smallville and I met them there. I stayed at your house.”
“Do my parents run a bed and breakfast?”
“No. They were just being friendly. That’s just what your family is like. As soon as they knew I was going to be in town, your mom insisted I stay with them. I got your room and you slept on the couch.”
As Lois voiced the words, she realized that she seemed to spend a lot of time in Clark’s bed. But always alone. That was another thought best not pursued. She was about to move on when Clark said, “That seems to be a pattern.” After a slightly uncomfortable silence he continued. “So, what are they like?”
She stared thoughtfully at the picture. “Your mom is a bundle of energy. Not only does she help your dad run the farm, she does all kinds of art and sculpture. She seems perpetually cheerful and that’s infectious. You can’t be around her without her optimism bubbling over.”
“Is my dad like that too?”
“Not really. Jonathan reminds me of a big teddy bear. With all that energy and her art, your mom felt almost out of place on a farm. At least she did to me. I think of a farm wife as someone who spends all day cleaning and puttering around the kitchen. That isn’t Martha. Your dad, on the other hand, is the perfect image of a farmer. He’s quiet and seems more serious than Martha. I think he’d do anything for the two of you.”
They sat in silence for a long moment. “Clark, they might be fine. Just because Smallville was hit didn’t mean that your house was.”
“I know. I just wish I could remember more. The way you describe them, I can almost feel them, but when I think there’s a memory or an image and I try to grasp it, it’s gone.”
She reached over and placed her hand on his. “You’ll get your memory back. It’s only been two days.”
“I guess you’re right. This is just a difficult time to be a person with no past.” Clark paused for a moment as if looking to change the subject. “We need to spend some time getting the apartment organized. I’ll clear some space for you in the closet and some dresser drawers.”
Lois was thankful for the change of subject. “You don’t need to do that. I can pile my stuff in a corner.”
“I wouldn’t want you to do that even if you were only staying for a day. I thought you would be here for at least a few weeks. Did you have other plans in mind?”
“Honestly, I haven’t thought that far into the future. I guess I’m still thinking of this as being just like when I’ve stayed here before. You’re right, though. This isn’t just for a single night and I should be thinking about longer term arrangements.”
Clark’s voice became cautious. “I had thought—hoped—that you would stay here until you got around to getting a new apartment. You’re certainly welcome.” Clark paused for a second then offered defensively, “I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
She knew that Clark could be trusted. Given the state of Metropolis, it might be weeks before she could even begin to look for an apartment. The reasoning that had landed her here was still valid and would remain so for quite some time. She was paying the price for not having a social life. Lois didn’t have any close girlfriends that could provide a place to stay. The closest she came to friends like that were some of the other people in her apartment building and obviously, that was no good now.
“You’re right,” she finally replied. “It looks like I’ll be here for a while. I really appreciate your hospitality. I know it’s a lot to ask. And you have to promise that if you get sick of me being here, you’ll tell me. I remember the old Ben Franklin saying about fish and houseguests.”
“Fish and what?” Clark asked.
“Maybe you never heard it. It goes something like, ‘Fish and houseguests both begin to smell bad after three days.’ The idea is that after a while company isn’t so pleasant to have around any more.”
He chuckled softly. “I can’t imagine that I’ll want you to leave in a few days.”
She fixed him with a stare. “Just the same, promise me that if you do decide that you want me to leave, you’ll tell me.”
“Fine. If it happens, I promise I’ll be as polite as possible and suggest you find other accommodations.”
“Good.”
“But it won’t happen,” he said in a barely audible voice.
“Clark!”
He started laughing. “Well, it won’t!”
There was a moment of silence as they stared each other down. Clark held his happy and somewhat amused expression against Lois’s best effort to look annoyed. In this case, cheerful won as Lois felt her expression morph into a hint of a smile. “Whatever! Let’s make some space and see what kind of clothes you found for me.”
The first step was to make room. All that Lois had were the clothes that Clark had been able to get for her. That would have taken up very little room but Clark insisted that as his guest she deserved half of the space. This precipitated another minor disagreement but when it came to hospitality, Clark was as tenacious as Mad Dog Lane ever was.
Clearing out the space did provide the chance to search for memories. Most of Clark’s clothes were nice if generally unspectacular. Several times Clark asked her if there were any memorable events associated with various articles of his clothing. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t much to report. There were two exceptions. Lois was helping to move Clark’s clothes out to the front room. She returned after one trip to find Clark standing just outside his closet holding a rack of ties.
“Lois, there must be something you can tell me about this?”
She looked at the ties. “Those are your ties. Is there a problem?”
“My clothes look fairly normal and seem similar to what I saw other people wearing. Where are my real ties?”
“Clark, those are the ties you wear.”
“Why?”
She looked at the ties again. “I don’t understand.”
“Aren’t they a bit…garish. These are *not* like what I’ve seen other men at the office wearing. Why do I wear such loud ties?”
She laughed at the question. “I’ve never known. I’ve always suspected that there is another side to your personality. I think the loud ties are that part of you trying to express itself.”
He looked at her skeptically. “All right. I guess they aren’t so bad. But, Lois, I don’t think I want to know what side of my personality *this* represents.” He reached in the closet and brought out a pink veil. “Please don’t tell me that I wear this sometimes.”
Lois stared at the veil for a few seconds and realized that she was turning red. She recognized that veil from her adventure with Miranda’s pheromone drug several weeks before. She didn’t want to talk about it with Clark right now, but she didn’t want to lie to him either.
She was still staring at the veil when she heard Clark ask, “What’s the story behind this?” It was clear that he’d read something from her reaction.
“What! Um… what makes you think there’s a story?”
“Lois, please. I don’t have all my memories, but I can see that you know what this is about.”
Lois thought for another minute. They were in the process of re-establishing their friendship. While this wasn’t a great time to tell this story, there wouldn’t be a better one.
“That’s mine.”
Now it was Clark that looked confused. That veil looked so flimsy and so…personal. Very quickly he started blushing himself in embarrassment. “Lois, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I… We… I didn’t think I was the kind of person that would keep… I’m surprised that you were willing to stay with me.”
Lois suddenly realized what he must be thinking. “No, Clark. That’s not some sort of trophy or something from us, um, being together.”
Clark felt relieved when Lois told him this. For a moment, he was having doubts about what kind of person he was. “Then what is it and why is it in my closet?”
Lois sat down on the edge of the bed. “A while back, the office what sprayed with a pheromone-based chemical that caused almost everyone to… It lowered inhibitions and people would chase after someone that happened to be nearby toward whom they felt some attraction. I... Well, I sort of got fixated on you and for more than a day I was throwing myself at you. Toward the end, I came over here and…” Her voice lowered to the point where it was barely above a whisper. “…did the dance of the seven veils.” She looked up at him and went on at a more normal volume. “Anyway, somehow you managed to control yourself and despite my best efforts that day, nothing inappropriate happened. That’s part of why I’m comfortable staying here. You had an ideal chance to take advantage of me then, but you were the perfect gentleman. You said later that it was because you weren’t attracted to me.”
Clark was looking back at her in disbelief. “Well, I may not remember much, but I’m pretty sure that was a lie.”
That’s right, she thought. With what she knew now, that incident didn’t make any sense. “Then how is it that you didn’t…go all crazy that day?”
Clark thought for a minute. “I don’t remember that day at all, but I have an idea.”
“Please, Clark. I’ve never been quite sure what to make of your reaction that day. I’ll admit that it bothered me that I was attracted to you but you didn’t seem to feel the same way. If you have an explanation, I’d love to hear it.”
“Well, I don’t know if this is right, but here goes. Before that day, I’ll bet you didn’t think too much about being attracted to me.”
“Well, we were friends but…not really.”
“I’m sort of guessing here, but I get the impression that I put a lot of effort into being your work partner and not acting like a potential boyfriend.”
“What are you saying?”
“I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable but I find you so… Anyway, over the past two days I’ve noticed that I have to concentrate all the time to remember that we don’t have a…more personal relationship. I suspect that’s been going on for a long time. I think the difference that day might be that you were caught off guard when the chemical affected you. For me it was just another day of having to maintain the relationship as your partner and friend and *not* act like a love struck teenager.” Clark held up the veil. “I think I understand. This was a trophy.” Noticing the confusion on her face, he elaborated. “It was an award for me. That had to have been the toughest day of my life.”
***~~~***
By the time all of the moving and sorting was done, it was past time to head for bed. Sleep preparations went smoothly and before long Lois found herself lying in bed thinking about the evening. When Clark had said good night at the door to the bedroom, it had felt like the end of a date. In fact, this was the most pleasant feeling Lois had going to bed that she could remember. If this were a date, it was a darn good one. As her mind started to drift around the way it does when on the verge of falling sleep, that veil came to mind. Clark’s idea explained so much. The reason he controlled himself during the pheromone incident wasn’t because he didn’t find her attractive. In fact, it was just the opposite. It was because he was so practiced at not acting on being attracted to her that he was able to fight it off. That was certainly something worth thinking about. And it was just what she did as she drifted off to sleep wearing a smile.
TBC
Bob
