Clark lifted Lois's left hand - resplendent with a brand new 'Sebastian Stone' engagement ring - for them to see. "Lois and I are getting married," he said.
His parents smiled together. "That's wonderful," his mom said. "When? And where?"
"September 28th," Lois replied. "In Melbourne. And we'd both be honoured if you would come."
"To Australia?" Martha said. "Next week?"
"I'm not sure, son," Jonathan said, his eyes glinting with amusement. "I want to get all the new fencing done before winter sets in."
Clark shot from the kitchen, fenced two fields, and returned to the table in less than a second. All three grinned at him. "Did you just do what I think you did?" Lois asked.
He nodded and then looked to his parents. "You'll have to travel the conventional way. If you agree to come, I'll bring your tickets to you."
"*You'll* get the tickets?" Martha said. "No, really, Clark, we can -."
"They're a gift from a friend of mine," Lois said, and Clark could see that she was fighting to keep her disappointment from showing. "My parents and my sister can't come, so it's important to both of us that you are there."
His mom smiled. "Of course we'll be there," she said. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."
Part 68
Alice White and her husband, Perry, were ushered by Gazza - who had met them at the airport - into a bright room that was rollicking with laughter and noisy celebration.
That nice young reporter, Clark Kent, saw them, smiled widely, and hurried to greet them. "Perry! Mrs White! Thank you for coming. How was your flight?"
"The flight was surprisingly good," Perry said. "We both managed to get some sleep."
A young woman came up beside Clark, and Alice immediately understood several things.
Why Clark had been so reluctant to leave Melbourne.
Why Perry had felt the need to chase up new reporters for the Planet.
And why Clark now wore the air of a man who had everything his heart desired.
The pride in his voice brought a smile to Alice's face - Perry's too - and a catch to her heart. There was something irresistible about young love - and these two had it in spades. "Ms Lane," Perry said. "I'm so glad to finally meet you."
"Please, call me Lois," she said with a welcoming smile that encompassed both Perry and Alice. "Thank you both so much for coming."
The next couple of hours passed in a blur of new faces, some novel and delicious foods, and animated Aussie accents - the two predominant topics being tomorrow's wedding and tomorrow's 'grand final' - which Alice quickly surmised was the biggest football game of the year.
She and Perry spent some time with Clark's parents - the lovely couple from Kansas whom she'd met on a previous occasion when they'd visited their son in Metropolis.
Perry spent a long time talking with a large, loud man who introduced himself as Paul Brown but insisted on being called Browny. He was Lois's editor, and, by the end of the conversation, their beer glasses were empty, and they had agreed upon the logistics of how they were going to share the two love-struck reporters.
Alice noticed a confident and casually dressed young man whom she had initially assumed to be about fifteen. It was only later when she glanced across the room and saw the same young man kissing a very attractive woman that she'd had to revise her estimate of the young man's age. Alice had later overhead Perry talking with Clark, and she had been shocked to discover that the flamboyantly excitable 'kid' was the one who had paid for their flights as a wedding present for Lois and Clark.
They met an older couple, Ron and Barb, whom Alice had assumed were Lois's parents. They weren't. Apparently, Lois's parents lived in the US and hadn't been able to come for the wedding. However, when Ron had called for quiet and proceeded to make a speech that included a lot of jokes at the expense of the about-to-be-married couple, he did so with such affection that Alice had whispered in Perry's ear that he *looked* every inch the proud father.
It was obvious that Lois's friends were delighted that she was with Clark. It took Alice a little while to work out that when they mentioned 'Rubber', they were actually referring to Clark. She wondered how they had arrived at that association but decided it would be diplomatic not to ask. It took her a lot longer to deduce that 'Flinders' was the soon-to-be bride.
The party was still going strong when the rigours of the long flight started to show on Perry's face, and Alice asked Clark if he could call a cab to take them to the hotel.
"You're not staying in a hotel," Clark said. "Gazza, Banjo, and Browny all offered for you to stay at their places. Browny won by threatening the other two with having to cover the speeches at one of the Grand Final Breakfasts tomorrow."
Clark called over a tiny woman whom he introduced as 'Sue'. She wouldn't hear of anything other than leaving the party early to look after her guests. Soon, Alice and Perry were being swept through the dark Melbourne streets as Sue pointed out local landmarks in her quiet Australian accent.
||_||
Perry had figured out quickly that this wasn't going to be a conventional wedding.
Firstly, there was the time. Who got married at eight o'clock in the morning?
When Perry had asked Paul Brown about the timing, he'd said that the grand final was to be played that afternoon, and if the wedding wasn't done and dusted by eleven at the latest, people would leave anyway.
Which added to the quirkiness. The bride and groom could have chosen any day - why this one? Perry had only been in Australia for fourteen hours, but he'd realised that the foremost topic of everyone's conversation was this grand final. Last night, Clark had tried to explain its importance, but Perry must have been suffering from the effects of the long flight, because very little had made much sense.
This morning, as they'd driven to the wedding, Paul had passed a large stadium and told them that this was where the grand final was to be played. It wasn't yet seven-thirty, but there were small crowds of people milling about - some dressed in blue and white, others in red and white.
Ten minutes later, they'd arrived at the wedding venue. If the time had been unusual, the place was extraordinary. Clark and Lois had chosen a sports ground. It did have a stately Art Deco grandstand, but it was rammed between a street and a train line, and eucalyptus trees grew on the terraces. However, the grass was soft and green - if a little worn in places - and it was clear that someone had put in a lot of effort attempting to imbue it with a wedding atmosphere.
The colours of choice were not typically nuptial either. Brown and a deep yellow colour prevailed ... *everywhere*. The trees, the grandstand, the wire fence, the four tall posts at each end of the ground - all had been dressed with abundant streamers and ribbons. From the rafters of the grandstand hung a huge sign - 'Lois ... Clark' with a gold heart between the names. The railing that circled the sports field was dotted with balloons - brown and yellow, of course - that danced cheerily in the early morning breeze.
On the field, chairs awaited the guests - two blocks, with an aisle between them. The aisle had been decorated with a series of large brown bows with posies of yellow flowers in the centre of them.
Adding to the overall effect was the fact that a considerable number of the guests wore various versions of what was probably a sports jersey. It was hardly typical wedding attire, but in this setting, it didn't seem entirely out of place.
At the top of the aisle - between the seats and the grandstand - was a little stage with a short flagpole on either side. An American flag fluttered on the right side with its Australian counterpart on the left.
Perry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Clark.
"Good morning, Chief," Clark said. "And Mrs White. I hope you both slept well."
"We did," Perry said. He grinned. "Who would've thought you'd be married in a sports stadium?"
Clark grinned back. He looked like he was in danger of exploding with happiness. "This is Glenferrie Oval," he said. "Home of the mighty Hawks."
"The team Lois roots for?" Perry asked.
An inscrutable expression crossed Clark's face. "Ah ... no," he said. "She barracks for them. They ... ah ... they don't say they root for a team here."
Perry skimmed over Clark's black suit, white shirt, and bow tie - noting that the latter item was yellow with a brown trim. "I half expected you to be completely rigged out in brown and yellow," Perry joked.
"Gold," Clark said. "It's not yellow, it's gold. That was one of the first things Lois taught me."
"Oh," Perry said, unable to see how the distinction was important. "We're sorry we had to leave the party so early last night."
"That's totally understandable," Clark said. "You'd only been off the plane for a couple of hours."
"I can't be away from the Planet for more than a few days."
"I appreciate you both making the trip," Clark said. "It's wonderful to have you here."
Alice smiled. "But we were at the party long enough to realise that you and Lois are wonderfully suited."
Clark's grin broadened further. "She liked you both, too," he said. "Although she's a bit nervous about her first day at the Planet."
"She doesn't need to be," Perry said. "I had a talk with Paul. He speaks highly of her - and I get the impression that his praise is not easily won."
"It's not," Clark agreed. "But people won't know who you're talking about if you call him 'Paul'. He's known as 'Browny'."
The youthful-looking man with blond hair - dressed identically to Clark - pranced up them. He thrust his hand towards Perry. "G'day," he said. "I met you briefly last night. I'm Seb."
"Perry White. And this is my wife, Alice."
"Pleased to meet you." Seb turned to Clark and slapped him energetically on the back. "Dad and I got shooed out of the house early - secret women's stuff - but when I left, your bride was looking exactly how every woman should on the morning of her wedding."
"Is she OK?" Clark asked. "Is she nervous?"
"She's so excited, she can hardly sit still. And by the end of the day, she's going to have strained facial muscles from the incessant smiling. But she also has this most amazing serenity - as if she knows she's doing exactly what she's always wanted to do."
Clark chuckled happily. "I can't wait for her to arrive."
Seb grinned. "I guess you'll both be at the Grand Final this afternoon."
"Absolutely," Clark agreed solemnly. "Couldn't possibly miss the Grand Final."
Perry searched Clark's face to see if he were serious. He and Seb burst out laughing, and Perry joined in, a little relieved.
"Sadly, we can't go," Clark said, not looking sad at all. "Lois gave her ticket to Bessie Bellchambers."
"Who's she?" Seb asked.
"A lady who has followed the Swans since she was a little girl. She used to go to their games with her father."
"Do you think Sydney can win it for her?" Seb asked.
"I dunno," Clark said. "North have had a great year."
Seb turned to Alice with a disarming smile. "Sorry," he said. "But it's Grand Final Day, and we all suffer from Footy Fever on the last Saturday in September."
Alice smiled. "I believe we have you to thank for the airplane tickets."
For the first time, Seb's ebullience waned. "Aw, it's nothing," he said. "I'm so glad you could come. I know how much it means to Lois and Clark."
"Are you her brother?" Alice asked.
Seb grinned. "No," he said. "But she lets me pretend I am."
||_||
Martha Kent looked around the big, colourful sports stadium and couldn't help smiling. It wasn't anything like her dreams for her son's wedding, but despite the fact that they were on the other side of the world, there was a welcoming atmosphere that felt wonderfully familiar.
And anyway, the place didn't matter.
What mattered was that her son had never looked so full of joy.
Martha and Jonathan had had four wonderful days since arriving in Melbourne. Lois, having moved in with Ron and Barb, had given them the use of her apartment, and Clark had bunked at Banjo's house. Lois and Clark had worked on stories for Lois's paper, but there had been plenty of time for them to show their American visitors the sights of Melbourne.
Every moment they had spent with their son and his wife had further confirmed what Martha already knew - that Lois Lane was exactly what Clark had dreamed of for so long.
When they had first outlined their plans for Wedding Mark II, Martha had tried to hide her doubts. But now that she was here, it was perfect.
The cool, sunny morning ... the light frosting of dew on the grass ... the scent of spring in the air ... the laughter of family and friends.
And her son - about to publicly begin the most important journey of his life.
||_||
The car glided to a stop at the gates of Glenferrie Oval.
While waiting for Ron to open her door, Lois's eyes dwelt lovingly on the place that had become her home when she had no home.
In her opinion, the grand old lady that was Glenferrie Oval had never looked better. Seb and Chris, aided by an army of helpers, had vibrantly dressed her in her natural colours.
Lois looked through the small crowd of guests and located Clark. He was looking towards the car, and she caught him pushing his glasses back up his nose. She grinned. "I love you, big guy," she whispered, knowing he would hear.
He lifted his hand in a secret gesture of response, and Lois's smile deepened to a chuckle.
For her - for *both* of them - the stilted and impersonal wedding of Superman and Ultra Woman had been the beginning of their marriage. But this was going to be fun.
Ron opened the door and offered his hand. Lois took it and slid from the car.
She stood for a moment and waited for Chris to join them. Her bridesmaid looked stunning in a brown and gold gown of shiny satin. Lois didn't notice Chris's natural beauty as much anymore. Chris was just Chris - great friend, fellow Hawk, colleague at the Herald Sun, and, most importantly of all, the woman who had captivated Seb's heart.
Ron placed Lois's hand into the crook of his arm and smiled. She could see tears glistening in his eyes, which very nearly unloosed hers. Instead of impulsively hugging the man who had filled her fatherless heart with his love, she stepped forward, and they moved through the gateway into Glenferrie Oval.
She took two paces to the left - and, standing exactly where the little lost American girl had stood over eighteen years ago, she hugged the man who had welcomed her to Hawthorn.
"Thank you," Lois whispered in his ear as she embraced him. "Thank you."
When he released her, the wells in his eyes were deeper. "We received much more than we ever gave," he said. "We wanted another child so much ... the doctors couldn't understand why Barb couldn't conceive. Then ... you came."
Neither Ron nor Barb had ever told her of their yearning for another child. Lois felt a tear dribble down her cheek, and Ron's large hand brushed it away with utter gentleness. "I love you," Lois said. "And Barb and Seb. It's an honour to be a part of your family."
"It wouldn't be a complete family without you," Ron said. He glanced down onto the ground. "And Clark, too."
They slowly traversed the black asphalt hill and stepped onto Glenferrie Oval together. Lois wore flat shoes and a tea-length dress - necessities when the wedding was to be held in the middle of a footy ground.
Ahead, an aisle lined with brown bows and bunches of gold clivia beckoned her forward through the friendly, loving faces of their guests.
And, beyond them was Clark. Her man. Her husband. Her partner. Her lover. Her best friend.
He looked sensational - as she'd known he would. The jacket accentuated the breadth of his shoulders. His dark hair glistened as it caught the early rays of sunshine.
Next to him stood Seb - her brother. He was looking rakishly debonair, though Lois knew he would be itching to get out of the suit pants and jacket and into some denim shorts and one of his effervescent shirts. She met his smile, and his gaze moved behind her. His expression changed to one of stunned adoration, and Lois giggled. Watching Seb in love was such fun.
But much as she loved them, this wasn't about Seb or Chris.
This was about Clark ... and her heart overflowed with joy.
He was looking at her with eyes full of love ... smiling that amazing smile and looking totally jubilant. She hadn't realised it until now, but the thing she had missed most about their first wedding was Clark's smile. Now ... here ... he didn't have to be Superman. He could be Clark - the man she would love forever.
||_||
Clark watched Lois walk towards him.
He was sure that he'd never been happier than he was at this moment. It had everything - the almost palpable love of the people here, the slowly strengthening warmth of the newly risen sun, and the tall majestic grandstand - where Lois had first allowed him to glimpse her life - overlooking them like a proud matriarch.
But most of all, this moment had Lois - as did all the best moments in his life.
Lois. He couldn't even begin to express how much he loved her. For so long he had feared that there would be no true mate for him on this planet. But all his lonesome yearning had found completion in the woman who now approached him.
He'd found her.
And she looked so radiantly beautiful, his heart cavorted inside his chest.
His gaze left her face and took in her clothes. Clark had been curious about what she intended to wear, but every quest for hints had been met with unwavering assurances that he would find out on the wedding day.
She was, somewhat to his surprise, wearing a - mostly - white dress. It curved across her chest and under her arms. The 'hawthorn' necklace he'd given her glistened on the expanse of skin of her neck and shoulders. The dress fluttered out from her waist to drop below her knees. The bottom of the dress made him smile. Little brown bows were dotted just above the hemline - probably about ten of them in all - with shiny gold ribbon looped between them.
Clark felt Seb elbow him. "I reckon we've got the two most beautiful women in the world," he whispered - loud enough that at least the first three rows of people could hear him.
Clark heard their ripple of laughter and turned to grin at Seb. "I reckon we have," he said - not much quieter.
Then, Lois was next to him. Clark leant across her to shake Ron's hand. He met the eyes of the older man. "Thank you," Clark said gravely.
Ron nodded and went to sit in the front row between Barb and Martha.
The wedding began.
Clark and Lois had written their own vows. They had wanted something that spoke from their hearts ... but that in no way discredited the validity of the vows they had made three weeks ago in Metropolis. *This* was a family celebration. *That* was when their marriage had begun.
The celebrant finished his opening address, and it was Clark's turn to speak.
"Lois," he said, as his fingers tenderly cupped her hands. "I was a foreigner in a strange place. I was different and not sure that I belonged. Then, I met you. You made it so easy for me to fit in, but more importantly, you showed me where I belong - and taught me that belonging is not about a place, but about a person. I know I belong with you."
Clark stopped. Smiled. Allowed those last few words to echo across Glenferrie Oval.
"From the first, I appreciated your friendliness and welcome, but before we had travelled from Tullamarine Airport to the city, I knew that I wanted so much more with you. I was in love ... with a natural, beautiful, honest, down-to-earth, footy reporter - who didn't even know how close she came to breaking my heart when she informed me that her heart belonged to Hawthorn."
Lois smiled, and her grip on his hand tightened.
"I know that these people, this place, and this football club will always be dear to you - and I am so grateful that you have made room in your heart for me. My greatest joy is that you agreed to marry me, and I want to spend my life loving you, protecting you, and doing everything I can to ensure that you are always happy.
"I promise you my faithfulness. I promise that I will stand with you in good times and bad. I promise that for as long as my heart beats, it will beat for you. I love you, Lois."
Lois smiled as she expelled a shuddery breath. "I, too, have had times of being alone," she said. "But out of that lonesomeness came so many wonderful blessings - friends, a career, and a footy club family that starts with Ron and Barb and Seb and finishes with every single person who loves Hawthorn. It's true that my blood runs brown and gold, but a greater truth is that my heart yearned for someone else. Someone who would love me ... understand me ... encourage me ... inspire me ... Someone I could trust totally and love extravagantly.
"I love you, big guy. I love your steadfastness, I love your unshakable commitment to do what you know is right, I love your honesty, I love your generosity of spirit. I promise you that I will always be faithful to you in word and deed. I will support you and encourage you, and regardless of what the future brings, my heart will always belong to you."
||_||
Barb Wilton looked at the four figures standing in front of her. She had given birth to only one of them, but they were all her children.
And she was so proud of them.
More than proud. She was thrilled that Seb and Clark seemed - despite the short time that they'd known each other - like brothers. There was a bond between them - an unspoken understanding. Barb figured it centred on Lois. Both men loved her - though in vastly different ways - and that love had resulted in mutual respect and affection.
Clark's maturity and naturally cautious nature perfectly balanced Seb's 'she'll be right, mate' enthusiasm.
She knew that Lois and Clark would spend time in Metropolis, but she was sure that the four-strong alliance would survive the separations.
The vows slipped into a more traditional phase.
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Clark was a fine man - a good bloke, as Ron would say. Clark said that he would love Lois for the rest of his life, and Barb believed him. Believed not only that he *intended* to do it, but that he would.
And Lois was everything any woman could hope for in a daughter. Barb sent a quick thought across the miles to Ellen Lane, hoping that she would come to her senses and realise what she had while it could still be salvaged.
The vows ended, and Ron slipped his hand into hers. Barb looked across at him and smiled tremulously. This was their dream, too.
||_||
"You may now kiss the bride."
Clark bent low and kissed his beautiful Lois.
His wife. Officially. Legally. Publicly.
Forever.
"I love you, Lois," he whispered as their mouths drew apart.
She smiled. "I love you, Clark."
||_||
The bride and groom walked slowly down the aisle, hugging the well-wishers.
Perry noticed that several people had begun bringing platters from the building across the road and were filling the trestles behind the stage. They were all dressed in smart black pants, white cotton shirts, and that brown and yellow ... ah, *gold* sports jersey that seemed so popular in these parts.
They laid out copious amounts of food - the most popular item being cold chicken. They circulated amongst the guests filling glasses with champagne.
Banjo - one of Lois's colleagues from the paper - explained that 'chicken and champagne breakfasts' were very popular during the Spring Racing Carnival, which would begin soon after the final throes of the footy season had died away.
It was a wedding in the middle of a football ground, with a colour scheme of brown and gold, held early on a crisp spring morning in the middle of Melbourne, Australia, where the guests ate chicken for breakfast, swilled down with champagne.
When Clark Kent had first stepped into Perry's office two years ago, the editor could not have envisioned this would be how the young reporter would marry.
But somehow, it seemed exactly right.
||_||
"Am I allowed to call you Mrs Kent now?" Clark asked.
It was late afternoon, and the bride and groom were standing on the balcony of their hotel room overlooking the city of Melbourne. Periodically, a distant roar resonated from the MCG where the Grand Final was being played.
They hadn't watched it.
The football reporters had begun leaving the wedding soon after ten o'clock, but the remainder of the guests had moved into the Social Club where Bantam had baked up a storm in honour of the wedding. He'd made hundreds of bite-sized chocolates, all decorated with the gold letters - 'L' and 'C' - entwined. He'd made hedgehog with gold frosting, and golden cupcakes, and vanilla slices topped with chocolate.
The crowning glory had been the wedding cake - three tiers of brown and gold splendour.
Lois and Clark had cut the cake ... and then danced across the floor of the Social Club to the Hawthorn theme song. They played the song again, and all of the Hawks - led by the Wiltons and Chris - had gathered around the bride and groom and sung the song with gusto.
Then while the rest of the city watched the 1996 Grand Final, Lois and Clark had begun their real honeymoon in a room - with no cameras - high above the city of Melbourne.
Lois grinned at his question. "Here's the deal, big guy," she said. "You can call me Mrs Kent only under certain conditions."
"Being?"
"You must be naked."
Clark chuckled as he put his arms over his wife's shoulders and kissed behind her ear. "Are you sad to be leaving Melbourne for three months?"
Lois leant back into his chest. "No," she said. "I'll probably miss it, but I'll be with you, and that's all I need."
"Three months to be together ... just like any other couple," Clark said with a sigh of deep contentment. "And when you come back, you'll have a home ... with a tower."
They both laughed. "Seb was so excited about that tower," Lois said. "I assume you'll visit - regularly."
"Only if the Lady of the Manor permits entry to stray Americans."
Lois laughed. "You'll be summoned."
"Summoned, huh? That sounds like fun."
She turned to him and smiled. "There are rules, you know? That a husband who can fly must use that ability to regularly visit his wife."
Clark decided they had spent enough time on the balcony - it was time to return to the bed. He nuzzled into Lois's neck, his mind already jumping ahead. He applied sufficient restraint to his thoughts to try to recall their conversation. "Rules?" he murmured from where his lips were kissing the soft skin along her shoulder.
"Sure," she said. A low groan escaped from her mouth, and Clark felt the reverberations of it sizzle across his nerve endings. "Aussie Rules."
The End.
Footy vid - 'There's One Day in September.'
0:23 - The retirement of Leigh Matthews (mentioned in Part 42 when Lois was reminiscing.)
0:58 - Final Siren of 1996 Grand Final - North Melbourne defeated Sydney
