Green-Eyed Monster TOC Part 37Epilogue
Ten Days Later – Monday MorningLois and Clark walked out of the elevator and into a hectic and new Daily Planet newsroom. She wondered if her face matched the dreamy expression on Clark’s, exposing their make-out session in the elevator to the light of day.
Clark’s goofy grin made Lois’s heart race. How did she end up so lucky to be married to this invulnerable hunk with a heart of gold? She went to take a sip of her coffee and instead found a cake donut. She smiled, setting a gentle hand on Clark’s shoulder. He turned from gawking at the chaos around them to glance at her and found a donut in his face. Chuckling, he took the donut and passed her the coffee.
The first one to notice them as they walked down the ramp into the bullpen was Cat Grant. “Clark! Where have you been?” Then she scanned him up and down and gushed with approval. “Liking the new look. I’ll miss those shorts though.” She ran her fingers across his chest, flipping up his tie.
“Thank you, Cat. Lois…” Clark started saying before the woman turned to his wife.
“Lois! I see you finally found the softer side of Sears,” Cat said snippily.
“Thanks, Cat,” Lois replied kindly, running her left hand with the gold band on it through her hair. “I haven’t had much time to go shopping lately; been busy.”
Been busy making love to my husband, her thoughts finished.
“I know; that asteroid,” Cat answered with a roll of her eyes.
“Whoa, CK” Jimmy said, descending on them. “Loving the new specs!”
Clark grinned, touching his new wire rimmed glasses with a wink to his wife. “They were a wedding present from Lois.”
Cat – who had started to walk off – returned. “Wedding present?” Her jaw dropped, and she grabbed Lois’s hand. “No! So those rumors were true?”
“I thought you worked the rumor trade, Cat,” Lois said with a nod, glowingly gazing at her man.
Cat harrumphed. “Is that why you didn’t show up last week with the rest of us?”
Lois exchanged another knowing look with her husband. “We were stuck in Niagara. No flights into Metropolis because of Nightfall.”
Except on Superman Express.With a roll of her eyes, Cat sauntered off.
“Congratulations, again, guys,” said Jimmy, nodding with understanding.
“Hey, I hear a little bird put this marriage idea into Lois’s head,” said Clark to Jimmy.
Jimmy blanched. “Oh, really?” He pleaded innocence.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Clark said with high spirits, holding out his hand to shake his friend’s. “I owe you one.”
Lois wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist. “Two actually. He introduced us as well.”
Jimmy coughed uncomfortably. “Come on. We saved you some desks over here.” He gave them a tour on the brief walk to the two empty desks near each other, but not next to each other.
The door to a glass walled office flung open. Perry stood there looking so worn that he had appeared to have slept in the office. But his eyes shone with happiness and his whole body awake with joy as he shouted, “Olsen! Where are those photos of Superman?”
“On it, Chief!” Jimmy called. “Anyway, congratulations.” He ran off.
“Annie, what’s up with the markets? Have they recovered from Nightfall and Luthor’s demise? Wally, where are you on Luthor’s succession plan? What’s happening with Lexco? Get on it, people!” Perry’s voice boomed as reporters scattered. “Cat! How are you doing with that Ian Harrington bribery scandal?”
“Great!” she responded. “It turns out the Congressman is also skimming money off his re-election campaign as well. Apparently, he has a call-girl he likes to visit on a regular basis he didn’t want his wife to know about.” She shook her head. “Poor Lana.”
Perry pointed two fingers at her. “Verify your sources. Write it up!”
“Yes, Sir!” Cat replied with a mock salute, sitting down at the desk facing Lois.
The new bride tried not to sneer as she sat down, not liking the assignment of desks. At least she couldn’t see the gossip queen through her bulletin board partition separating their desks.
“Lane! Kent! Where is your follow-up to…” Their boss started to bark, when Clark held up a paper. “Nightfall?”
“I had to type it up my old typewriter,” Clark apologized. “We haven’t had a chance to replace Lois’s computer yet.”
Perry grabbed the paper out of his hand, scanning it with a slight nod. “Great shades of Elvis! A Superman exclusive, Kent? He hasn’t been seen in days. Some even wondered if the asteroid killed him. We here at the
Daily Planet didn’t believe that hogwash, though,” their boss said with a knowing smile to his newest writing team.
“No, Sir. He was just resting,” Clark responded with a glance to his wife. “Apparently, the asteroid is the biggest thing he’s dealt with so far.”
Resting? Ha! He didn’t stop making love to you all weekend.Lois slipped her hand into Clark’s.
“I knew you had potential, Kent. Great job!”
“Thank you, Sir,” Clark replied with a proud smile.
“Hey, my byline is on there too,” snapped Lois to Perry’s back. “I was also worked the interview.”
Worked? You two wrote that story while breaking in your new futon mattress, if I remember correctly.“Right. Good job, Lane, in snaring Superman,” the Chief called before closing the door to his office.
Ha-ha, Perry, very funny, scoffed Lois’s inner voice.
Clark kissed Lois with a knowing grin. “I’m proud of you, wife.”
Suddenly Cat’s head popped over the partition as she leaned against with her arm. “Does this whole wedding thing mean I owe you a gift?”
Lois looked at her co-worker a moment, thinking.
Do you really want a gift from this woman?“Did you say you were writing an article about Ian Harrington cheating on his Mrs. with a call-girl?” Lois stole quick glance to her husband as he wandered towards his desk. “No, Cat. I think that will be gift enough.”
“Okey-dokey. Fine by me,” said Cat, and then pointed at her. “Are you ever going to tell me about the bad blood between you and Lana?”
Lois looked her in the eye. “Nope.”
Cat scowled and disappeared behind the partition again.
Clark rolled his chair over to his wife and murmured, “Minx,” before kissing her cheek.
Oopsie, there, honey. Missed my mouth. Try again.“Thanks again for the new briefcase,” Lois said, patting the soft-side leather briefcase with the initials L.L. etched into the side.
“Actually, that was a wedding gift from Henderson,” Clark replied.
She looked down at the satchel with a little cynicism. “Really?”
Clark nuzzled his mouth next to her ear, sending hot fiery chills down her body. “Inside I found a folder full of photos of you, me, and the S-man and a mini audio cassette of your night in Luthor’s office.” Then, as he moved away, Lois’s body audibly rebelled with a moan.
“Get a room,” Lois heard Cat call from over the partition.
Great! Just what you need, an eavesdropping desk mate. Hey, weren’t Lex Luthor’s initials the same as yours?Lois dropped her new hand-me-down briefcase on the floor under her desk. “Remind me to thank the detective. Oooh. I could bake him some cookies.”
Clark gazed at her as a series of expressions crossed his face: disbelief, worry, dread, skepticism, and fear. She found this last emotion most interesting. It meant Clark was going to tell her the truth about her cooking skills. She waited patiently as he carefully chose his words.
“Not everybody is invulnerable, honey. How about a simple ‘thank you’ instead?” he finally replied.
Her tongue crossed her teeth as she hissed at her spouse. “Are you implying that Superman didn’t like dinner last night?”
Clark was saved from answering as their boss threw open his office door again and barked at them, “Lane! Kent! No canoodling in the cubicles. What are you two working on?”
Lois’s husband rolled his chair away from his wife with an expression of grateful relief. “Nothing, yet, Sir. Just settling in.”
“There is no settling in the news business, Son. Settling leads to atrophy, which leads to death,” Perry informed him. “That’s why Elvis did three shows a day in Vegas.”
Jack walked by at this moment. “Didn’t Elvis die, Chief?”
Perry two-finger pointed at him. “Go get me some jelly donuts from Lucille’s and tell her they’re for me.”
“Go get them yourself, Pops! It’s not in the job description. Anyway, I’m researching the rumor that Lenny Stokes – radio DJ extraordinaire – is being deported. It looks like someone forgot to renew his temporary green card.”
“Don’t call me ‘Pops’!”
Lois jumped up. “Oh, Perry, can I cover the deportation hearing? Please,” she knew she was practically begging, so she stopped. Mad Dog didn’t beg.
“Lane, I’ve got something else for you. Jack, give your data to Ralph to write up. He may have flies in the attic but at least he can string two words together,” replied their boss with a shake of his head.
“Thanks, Chief.” Ralph practically preened at this ‘compliment.’
“Not him!” groaned Jack. “Why him? I’d rather go back to Daily Books.”
“I’ll assign you two to work together permanently if you keep calling me Pops,” growled the original Mad Dog.
“Got it, Chief,” replied Jack, defeated.
“Lane, at ten you’re at City Hall. Five members of City Council, the Mayor, and the Chief of Police are all resigning,” their boss told her, a grin slipping onto his face for a moment. “All thanks to Lois here! She really knows how to shake up politics in the Big Apricot.”
“Yeah, get kidnapped by a rich psycho,” muttered Cat. “None of us could
ever do that.”
“For now, Kent, I’m partnering you with Lois,” Perry explained.
Clark had returned to her side, his hand at the base of her back. “Forever,” her husband murmured only loud enough for Lois to hear. Then he raised his voice. “Got it, Chief.”
“Shadow her. Make sure she doesn’t get lost. Do what she tells you to.”
“Already doing that, Sir,” her husband replied, and she elbowed him.
“Good!” Perry lowered his voice to just above a whisper, “And see if you can pick me up some more of those Paava leaves, will you?”
Clark nodded before Perry returned to his office with a hand to his neck taking his own pulse.
Her husband wrapped his arms around Lois, singing, “Ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby. To keep me away from you.”
She cleared her throat. “I’ve got an idea, Clark. You cook. I’ll sing.”
“Sorry, just have that tune stuck in my head.” Clark grinned like a fool in love, which was okay with her. “Hey, I forgot to tell you,” he went on. “We’ve been invited to MJ’s Café for dinner. My folks called while you were in the shower this morning.”
Oh, is that where you disappeared off to? Leaving poor Lois to shower alone.Clark nudged Lois, guessing her thoughts. “Get this. It appears that the last order Luthor gave was to buy out the owners of MJ’s Café for seventy-five thousand dollars! The board of directors at Lexco wants to honor his dying wish and sent around a contract to do just that.”
Finally Lex Luthor has done some good with his money. He may have won many a battle, but the Kents finished the war triumphant.“Wow! That’s great, Clark. Now, they can finally moved back to Smallville,” Lois exclaimed with delight.
“I was thinking of asking Mayson to look the contract over for them.”
Mayson Drake? No! Must keep that woman away from your man!“You know, Clark, I’d hate to disturb Mayson with that,” Lois suggested gently, playing with his tie. “She’s probably flooded with work from all those criminals Superman keeps catching. Her roommate Constance went to law school with her. Let’s ask her instead.”
A sly smile graced his lips. “What’s wrong, Lois? You afraid Mayson might spill the beans to me about our secret engagement?”
Lois flushed.
How did he know about that?!“Who knew you were such the capable planner?” He laughed softly, and she elbowed him again.
“Be nice. You heard the Chief. I’m top banana in our partnership,” she sniped.
“Right. You like it on top. Already got that memo,” he replied with a wink.
Lois’s eyes widened as she glanced around to see if anyone heard him. “Clar-K!”
He grinned with an eyebrow bounce before pulling himself away to answer his phone. “Clark Kent, Daily Planet.”
Lois returned to her desk as well and pretended to do research on the resignation of the members of City Council. She was actually trying to eavesdrop on her husband’s phone conversation.
Cat popped her head over the partition again, holding out a business card. “Lois, no gift, but I can get you an appointment with Lawrence, my hairdresser. He takes new clients on an invite-only basis.”
Lois raised a brow. What was up with Cat?
Obviously, the gossip queen read her mind as she responded, “I feel bad about not warning you properly about Claude. Maybe if we had worked together instead of against one another we could have gotten rid of him sooner.”
Cat is apologizing to you about Claude? His attack on her must have caused some brain damage.Lois must have had a stunned expression on her face, because Cat continued, “I’ve been doing some soul searching recently, you know, with Nightfall and all.”
Ah. That explains it.“Actually, Cat,” Lois said slowly, the bait too tempting. “Clark and I got together because of that night. So, I should really be thanking you.”
Rubbing the salt in the wounds, are you?“What?!” Cat snapped.
“Who do you think comforted me when I was so distraught over Claude’s treatment of me?” Lois grinned, batting her eyelashes innocently.
All true, too. OK. Now, you can cross “pay back Cat” off your to-do list.“Well, that’s great. How wonderful for you,” Cat said, her lips pressed together. “Whenever you want to cut off that mop you insist is all the rage. Here’s Lawrence’s card.” The woman flung the card at her like a discus.
Lois picked up the card and stuck it in her brand-new rolodex. She could use a trim. New husband, new job, new life. Why not a new haircut as well? Nah!
She turned on her computer to try to figure out where to start researching those City Council members. Her eyes darted to the elevator as she heard it ding, wishing for another distraction from her tedious assignment. Out stepped a petite, bespectacled, older man with salt-and-pepper hair hiding under a bowler hat and a lifetime of living etched on his face. Lois’s brow furrowed.
It couldn’t be.“Wells?” Automatically she gravitated over for a closer look.
He appeared much older than the man who had visited her back at the end of August.
“Mr. Wells? What are you doing here?” Lois asked him.
“Miss Lane! I wasn’t sure if I had gotten the right dimension. So much has changed here,” he replied, gazing around.
“Actually, it’s Ms. Lane now,” she said, holding out her left hand.
Mr. Wells gazed at her warily. “Congratulations, I think? May I ask who the lucky man is?”
Lois felt an expression of pleasure fill her face as it always did when she thought of her husband. Feeling a bit naughty, she responded, “Not that man Tempus said I’d marry, that’s for sure.”
He blanched. “No?!”
Lois glanced over her shoulder to see Clark approaching them from the vending machines. She grabbed her husband’s arm and pulled him over to the time-traveler. “Clark, let me introduce you to H.G. Wells. Mr. Wells, this is my husband, Clark Kent.”
The men shook hands. Clark glanced at her and then back at Wells; the man’s identity suddenly striking her husband.
“
Clark…?” Wells stammered. “Ms. Lane, you know…” Then he looked at Clark. “You did tell her that you’re… you’re…”
Clark snapped his fingers. “Darn! I knew there was something I meant to tell you, Lois.”
She grinned, hugging his arm. “Of course, I know, Mr. Wells. I’ve always known thanks to Tempus.”
“So, he didn’t change your future?” Mr. Wells stated with relief more than asked.
“Quite the contrary. If it wasn’t for your friend Tempus, I’m sure it would have taken Lois years instead of weeks to realize how we were perfect for one another.” Clark kissed his wife’s cheek as he returned her hug.
“You must thank him for us, won’t you?” suggested Lois. “It’s simply the best wedding present we’ve received yet.”
Amusement lit up Mr. Wells’s eyes. “It would be my pleasure to do so, Ms. Lane. My deepest pleasure. I must be off then. Glad to know you didn’t need my help setting things right after all.” The man practically chortled with delight as he backed up towards the elevators. “Nice to have met you, Mr. and Mrs. Kent.” He paused, a curious expression filling his face as he pointed at them. “You didn’t have any problems then with…?” He gulped with a slight flush. “Never mind. Obviously not. Good day to you,” he finished saying with slight bow before disappearing into the elevator.
What in the world was he talking about?Lois and Clark gazed at each other and shrugged.
“Who was on the phone?” Lois asked, walking with Clark to the coffee machine.
“That was Floyd from the Clinton Street apartment. He can meet us there at four P.M. to fill out the paperwork,” her husband told her.
“I don’t know, Clark, that isn’t the greatest neighborhood,” she hemmed-and-hawed.
“It has a private balcony,” he reminded her.
Right! You forgot about that. You can’t stay in your basement apartment; plus your sister is probably driving your in-laws up the wall.“All right, Clark,” she gave in.
“Whatcha need a private patio for?” Jimmy asked, walking by and holding a pile of photo proofs for Perry.
Lois and Clark stared at each other and didn’t answer as they returned to their desks.
Cat popped her head over the partition again. This seating arrangement was
not going to work.
“Hey, you’re friends with Linda King, right?”
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘friends,’ but yeah, I know her.” Lois rolled her eyes and hoped Cat would disappear again.
“I just heard some juicy gossip about her, but if you’re…”
“Spill it,” Lois demanded as Cat grinned in victory.
“I hear she’s banging Preston Carpenter, publisher of the Met Star,” Cat announced. “That’s why she’s always getting the best stories.”
“Oh, that kind of rumor,” Lois replied, disappointed as she sipped her coffee. “That’s essentially what the old boys’ network said about me and Superman, too. They just can’t stand it when a strong woman beats them out of a story.” She sighed. Only with her there was a grain of truth to the rumors. She didn’t sleep with Superman for a story. Well, she did sleep with him – not much
sleep sleep, lately – with Superman, but that was because she was married to him. She didn’t marry him for the story.
Mmmmm. Not sleeping with what’s-his-name… your husband… Missing the honeymoon routine already.“Oh, well, yeah, possibly.” Cat’s voice pulled Lois out of her daydream of making love with her husband. “But Linda King had dinner with Carpenter at the Press Club last night and then was seen leaving his house this morning in the same clothes. Are those just old boys’ network type rumors?” Cat asked, slipping back down to her desk.
Look who’s sleeping her way to the front page now! giggled Lois’s inner voice.
Lois didn’t have time for her revengeful gloat dance before their boss’s office door slammed open.
“Kent! Stand-off at the gold depository. Apparently, it’s being robbed by invisible men.” Perry rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. “Go check out the real story.”
Invisible men? Has Metropolis gone insane?Lois’s jaw dropped, but Clark just nodded and adjusted his tie. “On it, Chief.”
Jimmy shook off the strangeness of Perry’s announcement as he handed their boss the photo proofs and turned back to Lois, repeating, “Whatcha need a private patio for?”
Obviously this happens all the time in Metropolis. Good to know.Lois replied with the first words that popped into her head, “I like to sunbathe in the nude.”
Say what?She grabbed her briefcase and called after Clark as he started heading for the stairs. “Hey, Partner, wait up, I’m coming too.”
“Sorry, Lois. Perry tagged me for this one. You’ve got City Hall, remember?” Clark told her as he backed towards the stairwell.
“Paulson can take City Hall. I want invisible men!” Lois roared as the newsroom went silent.
“There’s no pleasing you, is there?” Clark chuckled with a shake of his head.
“The story! Jeez, people! The story!” Lois clarified.
Clark whistled the chorus to
Earth Girls are Easy, and then shot her a wave from the exit to the stairwell. She ran to catch up with him, but he was already gone.
Lois growled and stomped back to her desk, slamming her briefcase back underneath. She would have followed him, but she had no idea where the gold depository was. She would have to have another discussion with her husband about their partnership! She wasn’t going to be left behind on Superman stories.
No, Sirree! Not when you’ve got the inside scoop.“Nude sunbathing?” Jimmy walked by her desk, still laughing and shaking his head. “Poor Clark.”
Lois took hold his arm. “Jimmy! Do you know where the gold depository is?”
“Well… ah…” stammered the young photographer, looking like a cat eyeing something shiny.
“Do you want to get photos of the invisible men or not?” Lois grabbed her briefcase and dragged him to the elevators before he could respond. “I thought you would. Let’s go!”
“I thought Clark was handling the gold depository story?” Jimmy finally choked out.
“He’s my partner and partners don’t ditch each other. Got your camera?”
Jimmy nodded. “Lois,” he said hesitantly as they waited for the elevator. “You know you can’t nude sunbathe even on a private patio. Not with Superman flying around town.”
Yeah, I’m guessing he might hit a building or two if you started doing that.“Oh, right. I forgot about him,” Lois said with a shrug. “He’s a good guy; I’m sure he wouldn’t peek.”
“Lo-is!” Jimmy groaned as she laughed.
Lois grabbed his arm and dragged him into the elevator. “You’re too easy, Jimmy. Way too easy.”
*** The End ***
Coming soon…
Nightfall Honeymoon (Gfic) Ain’t No Mountain High Enough written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, performed by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
Earth Girls are Easy written by Julie Brown, Charles Coffey, Terrence McNally, and Sterling Smith, performed by Julie Brown.
"The Softer Side of Sears" is a trademarked slogan for the Sears Department store.
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