Coming in late (hey, now I have a shorter wait till the next part; woo hoo!), but I just wanted to second (third, fourth ...) what everyone else had said. The "aged rump" line was priceless -- so glad you kept it in. And I didn't even blink on "gawping", though after this discussion, I think it definitely needs to be used in the US, too.
Just to keep things interesting, I'll add that the phrase which caught my attention was Lois saying she was going to "chase Scardino up" to find out about his meeting. In the US, we say "chase him down" or "call him up" but not the way you have it. Might just be a typo, or might be a common Aussie phrase; either way, I am totally on board with the idea that Lois has travelled so many places that she has adopted various non-American phrases; LOL, that's the perfect catch-all answer!
As everyone has said, the whole date and Clark big "reveal" was perfect. It had everything we've all been waiting for. I was especially pleased to hear her finally ask, "How old are you?" since I've been expecting her to ask it for some time now. The whole thing was very nicely done.
So 2/3 of the way through story 2 of 4, huh? Good. That means many more weeks of this captivating, marvelous, riveting saga.
Kathy
