"OK," Diddi announced. "Time for the lemons."
Lois opened her bag and took out a bright yellow lemon. She cut it into wedges and offered one to Diddi. With a wide grin, Diddi licked the flesh of the lemon and then squeezed some juice into his mouth.
Clark winced. "Do African lemons taste different than American lemons?" he asked.
"No," Lois replied, giving him a wedge. "Try this."
Copying Diddi, Clark licked the lemon.
It tasted sweet! Just like the lemonade his mom had used to make.
Lois burst out laughing.
Clark lifted the lemon and squirted juice into his open mouth.
It was deliciously sweet.
"It's the berries," Diddi said, jumping excitedly. "They make sour taste sweet."
"For how long?" Clark asked Lois.
"About half an hour," she answered.
"And then?"
"And then the lemons will taste just like lemons again."
"That's amazing," Clark said as he bit into the pale yellow flesh. It tasted as if someone had poured sugar through the fibres.
"Yep," Lois said, watching him. "With miracle berries, you experience something as sweet even though it should taste sour."
"So they turn bitter into sweet?"
"Yes."
Clark lowered his mouth towards her ear. "I didn't need berries for that to happen," he said, just loud enough for her to hear.
Her smile trembled, and her eyes leapt into his as moisture gathered along her eyelids. "Aw, Kent," she murmured. Her fingertips rested on his arm, pooling the warmth just under his skin.
Clark wiped his other hand on his pants and reached over to brush away the teardrop in the corner of her eye. He ran his finger down her soft cheek as belief infused his heart.
Maybe forever wasn't impossible.
But he only wanted forever if he could spend it with Lois.
Part 20
They ate the lemons; they spat the pips; they became embroiled in a loud and riotous competition to see who could throw the segments of peel the greatest distance.
They laughed.
Because life was sweet.
Clark said little directly to Lois. They both contributed occasional comments to Diddi's torrent of animated chatter, but although words between them were scarce, communication was not. Their eyes kept drawing together, meeting, clashing, holding, drowning. And every time, the chains around Clark's heart loosened a little.
Just a few days ago, he had thought grief would haunt him for the rest of his life.
But Lois had stepped into that dark place and brought light.
It was unbelievable. It couldn't be happening.
He'd fought it, but he'd been overpowered. Wondrously overpowered.
"Where are we going to eat lunch, Maman?" Diddi asked.
"Snake Island?" Lois suggested.
Diddi jigged with frantic approval. "Yes!" he said. "That's perfect."
Lois looked at Clark, causing another flutter to his heart. "Is that OK with you, Kent?"
"Sure," he said, willing to go anywhere with Lois. "Why is it called 'Snake Island'?"
She laughed at his question. She'd laughed a lot since he'd made her cry. "Because of its shape."
"Let's go, Maman," Diddi said. "Come on, Kent. The river's this way."
"Are you sure it's not called 'Snake Island' because of the wildlife?" Clark asked Lois as they set off after Diddi.
"You're worried about the snakes?" she said, her eyes dancing with amusement.
"Hey, you already fed me berries that messed with my taste buds," Clark retorted. "If I'm going to be thrown into a pit of African reptiles, I'd like some warning."
They chuckled together.
Laughter felt so good, so natural, so much an integral part of being with Lois.
"I promise you, there won't be any snakes," she said. "To the north, the river widens and splinters, creating lots of slithery islands. To the south, the river narrows and there are very few islands."
"How are we going to get onto this island?" Clark asked, not caring in the least about the details, but wanting to prolong the breezy conversation.
"Swim," she said.
"Swim?"
"Well, unless you can fly."
Clark turned his attention forward, checking on Diddi. "Does that mean we're going to have a soggy lunch?" he asked, careful not to look at her in case something in his expression stirred up her questions.
"I'm joking," Lois said. "There's a ford. Our feet might get wet, but the rest of us will be perfectly dry."
"Until we go swimming," Diddi called from up ahead. "There's a rock that's great for jumping off. I'm going to do millions of cannonballs."
Lois and Kent shared another smile at the prospect of a fun-drenched afternoon. "I got you some shorts," she told him. "They're in my bag."
"Oh. OK. Thanks." Shorts but no shirt, apparently.
"Maman!" Diddi called from ahead. "I can hear the river. We're almost there."
"Are you hungry?" Lois asked her son.
"Yep. What did Gislane send for our lunch?"
"Bread sticks with ham and tomatoes."
"Yum," Diddi said. "Any cookies?"
"Yes. I think they are coconut flavoured. And we have some bananas, too."
"Do you like bananas, Kent?" Diddi asked without turning around.
"Yes, I do."
Diddi picked up speed, rushing ahead. Clark smiled down at Lois, wishing this day could go on forever. "Are you still concerned about some of your patients in the village?" he asked.
"Not so much," she replied. "But I still can't work out why Matymbou wouldn't come and see me."
A troublesome thought sprouted like a thistle in Clark's mind. "Could he have suspected you wanted to talk to him about your marriage?" he asked.
"I doubt it," Lois said. "Even if he'd guessed, that's no reason for him to avoid me."
"You sure?" Clark asked.
"I'm sure," she said, reaching to touch his arm. "Don't worry."
"I'm sorry I've taken you away from your friends. Your life."
"I'm not," she said. "I have no idea how you managed to find your way onto Bangala land, but I'm so glad you did."
Did she want to know? Had she thought about it? Was she going to push for answers?
"I reacted impulsively when Matymbou wouldn't come," Lois continued. "My mind flew to every possible explanation, the worst ones first. I miss the people, and I can't help wondering how they're doing. But Romaric would come and get me if they needed me."
If Lois did want answers about the time immediately before she'd found him unconscious in the dirt, she didn't appear to want them now. "But we're not in the quarantine area," Clark said.
"Romaric is the best hunter in the Bangala," Lois said. "He could find us within ten minutes if he needed to."
"He sounds … impressive."
"He is," Lois said. "He's strong and capable. He cares about people. He has a soft soul."
And he loved Lois. But Lois didn't love him. Not the way he'd wanted her to.
"Are you looking forward to going back to the village?" Clark asked.
She didn't reply for a few steps. "I've been thinking about that."
He waited for her to elucidate.
"Do you think you'll be ready to join a new community in two days?"
"I assumed we have no choice."
"If you'd like a few more days, we can stay in quarantine. Matymbou won't mind."
More time alone with Lois was tempting, but putting off the inevitable - joining the Bangala and facing her husband - wasn't going to make it any easier. "Aren't you eager to be back?" Clark said. "To see your friends? Return to your literary group? Check on Sylva? Talk to Matymbou?"
"There's no hurry to talk to Matymbou," Lois said. "And although I'm missing my friends and I'd like to see for myself that Sylva's ankle is healing well, neither of those is more important than waiting until you're ready."
Lois was so good at making him feel as if he mattered.
"Think about it," Lois said. "And let me know."
They walked in silence for a time, and Clark's thoughts slipped back a week - to Tempus, the green rock, the shock of discovering he could be hurt physically, the explosion, the flight in the airplane when he'd dipped in and out of consciousness.
The sensation of falling.
Somehow, Tempus had discovered that Clark Kent was an alien - the enemy, he had called him - and had tried to kill him. Tempus had known the power of the weird green rock and used it to weaken the intruder. The fall from the plane had been intended to bring about his death - either on impact, or later, when his injuries combined with isolation to take his life.
Instead, Tempus had dumped him near the one woman in the world who could challenge Clark's most deeply ingrained beliefs about himself.
But Tempus would never know. Clark did not intend to go back. Ever.
That thought had been lurking like a shadow, but now it came to the forefront in a splash of revelation.
He wasn't going back.
His old life had finished.
He no longer had powers.
He could stay with the Bangala, and no one would ever know his deepest secret.
Lois didn't need to know.
Until now, he'd been dreading the moment when he would admit he wasn't human.
But … he had lost the powers, he had lost contact with everyone who had known Clark Kent, he had broken all ties with the world he'd been thrust into as a baby.
Lois was offering him a fresh start.
A new way of life. A new people.
Maybe even a new woman to love. And perhaps a child, too.
He could make a clean break. He didn't have to say anything. He could be free from the past - all of it. Not just the heartache of his broken marriage, but the torment of feeling like a trespasser. He would still be different, but his differences would be obvious and superficial - just as Lois's were.
He turned towards her and discovered she was looking at him, her smile tempered with concern. "You OK?"
"Yeah," he said, releasing a deep sigh. "I think it's going to be fine."
Her smile exploded, illuminating his world with the promise of a new dawn.
This was a beginning. Everything from the past was gone.
His future was with Lois.
She was still smiling up at him. He felt the need to mark this moment in some way. To share with her that something had changed. He couldn't find the words - he didn't know how to describe the sensation of being free from the shackles that had bound him since childhood.
Not knowing what else to do, he stretched his hand towards her.
Without even a moment of hesitation, Lois slipped her hand into his.
Clark's fingers curled around her hand, and it felt as if they had just silently committed to something momentous.
A future together.
"Lois," he said, his voice gravelly with emotion.
"Yes," she said. "I know."
She did know. She understood. She didn't know the facts of his origins, but she'd sensed he had moved forward, and she was right beside him, supporting and encouraging. "I need you," he whispered. Three words, yet they encompassed the whole spectrum of emotions crowding around his heart.
That, without her, he was a crumpled shell, brittle and weak.
Her fingers tightened around his hand. Her hold tightened around his heart. "I need you," she said.
His automatic instinct was disbelief. But he hadn't believed her about so many things. Perhaps it was time to change that, too. "I'll try to be what you need," he vowed.
"Just be Kent," she said. "That's all I need."
Kent. No longer Clark.
Kent. No longer afflicted with inhuman powers.
Kent. No longer alone.
Diddi came running up to them, his face puckered with concern. "Are you all right, Kent?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Diddi," Clark said.
The boy glanced from Clark to his mother. "Why are you holding Maman's hand?"
Clark looked at Lois, hoping she would answer. She didn't. But she didn't remove her hand, either.
"I'll help, too." Diddi took Clark's other hand and smiled up at him. "We'll be there soon," he said. "Then you can sit down."
Clark could feel Lois smiling at him, but the lump that had risen into his throat made a return smile impossible.
She squeezed his hand, and the three of them began walking through the jungle, their progress hampered by a track more suited to single file than a line of three.
As he walked, the feeling of belonging was richer than he'd ever felt before.
It confirmed his earlier decision. He wasn't going to tell Lois or anyone about being an alien. About having come to earth in a spaceship. About the bizarre things he used to be able to do. About the green rock that had nullified his powers.
He had already determined to try to forget Lana. He would also try to forget the man who had once been her husband.
Now, he was just Kent.
The luckiest man in the world.
~|^|~
They crossed the shallow water at the ford and found a sandy area on the tip of the 'snake' to eat their lunch. Diddi insisted that Clark sit down while he and Lois unpacked their lunch.
After Diddi had brought Clark's food, he sat close to him. "Are you feeling better, Kent?" he asked.
"I wasn't feeling sick, Diddi," Clark said. "But it's very nice of you to be concerned."
His dark eyes fell on Clark, full of questions.
"I was holding your maman's hand because I like her," Clark said.
"Everyone likes her," Diddi said.
"I like her a lot."
Diddi stopped chewing as he processed that information. "Does that mean you're not going back to your tribe?"
"I'm not going back, Diddi. If it's OK with Matymbou, I'm going to stay with the Bangala."
Diddi beamed at him. "Because we made you happy? Maman said it was our job to give you happy things to remember."
"I will never forget today," Clark said. "You were right when you said it was going to be the bestest day ever." He glanced up as Lois settled into the sand near them.
"When you move into the village, are you going to sleep in our hut?" Diddi asked.
"Ahh …"
"I asked Maman if you could be in our hut. There's room for another bed if we push my bed closer to the wall."
"Would that be OK with you?" Clark asked quietly, not daring to look at Lois.
"Of course," Diddi said. "You said you'd be my friend even though you didn't come from the moon. Remember?"
Clark took a small bite from his bread stick. "Did you mind me holding your maman's hand?"
"No. She always helps people when they're sick."
"I'm not sick, anymore." Clark lifted his head and crashed into Lois's gaze. "I'm not sick, anymore," he declared.
Her eyes filled with tears, tenderising his heart.
He was in love with her, he realised. He wanted nothing more than to be with her for the rest of his life. That should have set alarm bells clanging, but to his surprise, the fear of losing her felt more like a single cloud in an otherwise blue sky than a foreboding storm of approaching darkness.
"Does that mean you can go swimming after lunch?" Diddi asked.
"If your maman says it's OK."
"Is it, Maman? Please say we can go to the swimming hole. It's not far away."
"I think a swim sounds like a lot of fun," Lois said, wiping her eyes with the hem of her shirt.
"Great," Diddi said. "Will you teach me to swim on my back, Kent?"
"Sure."
"And dive? Romaric can dive really well, but he said I have to jump off the rock until he teaches me how to go in with my head first."
"Perhaps we should leave that to Romaric to teach you."
"Can't you dive, Kent?"
"Yes, I can, but maybe Romaric wants to teach you."
"But if you teached me, when I show Romaric, he'll be really surprised."
"Maybe I can teach you something else," Clark suggested.
"What?"
"Can you do a handstand?"
"In the water?"
"Yeah. Can you stand on your hands with you legs sticking up in the air."
"No," Diddi breathed. "Could you teach me that, Kent?"
"Sure."
"Wow. I'll be able to show all the other kids." Diddi bit into a cookie and said no more.
Lois had folded her arms across her arched knees and was leaning forward, her chin resting on her forearms as she observed Diddi and Clark's conversation.
Her brown eyes shone like deep wells of happiness. Her peace and contentment flooded over Clark.
And he finally understood something - belonging was not about a planet, but a person.
~|^|~
Lois arrived at the peak of a small hill and stood next to Kent and Diddi. A few yards below, the river arched away, but multiple small streams trickled into an elongated area partially enclosed by a sandy bank.
"Are we going to be safe here?" Kent asked. "No tiger fish? No hippos?"
Lois grinned back at him, relishing his light tone. "The tiger fish stay in the main flow during daylight hours," she said. She looked at her son. "Any hippos, Diddi?"
He inhaled deeply. "No," he said. "Let's go swimming. Do you have my swim shorts?"
Lois opened her bag and gave Diddi his shorts. She took out the shorts she had gotten from Nlandu via Tsumbu and offered them to Kent.
"Thanks," he said, taking them and giving her a little smile of appreciation. "I'll go back behind the trees and change."
"OK."
When he'd gone, Lois took off her skirt and slipped into shorts and an old cotton shirt.
Diddi looked at her in confusion. "Aren't you swimming, too, Maman?" he said.
"Yes. I'm swimming."
"Why aren't you wearing your proper swimming clothes?"
"I thought I'd wear these today."
"But they're real clothes."
Lois began tugging at the tie on one of her braids. "I'm going to wash my hair."
"Can I go in the water with Kent?" Diddi asked. "Or do I have to wait for you?"
"You can go in with Kent if it's all right with him."
"Kent?" Diddi said as Kent appeared, wearing the shorts Lois had gotten for him - shorts that hugged his hips and dropped down his thighs to just above his knees. "Maman's going to do her braids. Can we go in?"
"If it's OK with your maman."
Diddi puffed out a chuckle. "That's what Maman said." He reached for Kent's hand. "Let's go."
Kent sent a questioning look to Lois. "I'm going to wash my hair," she said. "You go on."
The two males sauntered down the little incline towards the water. Lois watched them, smiling.
She searched through her bag for her comb. Her swimming top was there. Bangala women swam in skimpy shorts and a strip of bright material secured around their bust. Although she and Kent had bathed together naked, she wasn't sure about swimming with him while wearing only two small pieces of fabric.
She sat on a rock and began releasing her braids, finger-combing them to freedom. Below her, Diddi and Kent were splashing around in the water.
Lois's fingers stilled, her eyes glued to Kent.
He was magnificent.
The moisture shone on his broad shoulders. The wet trails followed the sculpted grooves of his chest and back.
Lois freed the last of her braids and shook her head.
She was mesmerised by Kent's body. Was that good, bad, or expected?
How did he feel about looking at her? He'd figured she'd gotten him the shirt because he'd done something wrong.
But that had been yesterday.
Today, something had changed. A lot had changed. Kent was smiling. Laughing. Enjoying life.
Lois didn't want to jeopardise that progress.
Should she swim in the shirt and shorts, risking Diddi's questions and Kent deciding he was the reason for her change in behaviour?
Or should she swim in the moderately revealing bathing costume that was normal for Bangala women?
Lois stood up on the rock. "Kent?" she called.
He turned from where he was instructing Diddi in the art of underwater handstands. "Yes, Lois?"
"Would you come here for a moment, please?"
He said something to Diddi, who responded with a grin, and then waded out of the water and up the sand bank. Lois met him, ensuring they were sufficiently far from Diddi that he wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.
Kent looked at her quizzically.
"I think we need to be absolutely honest with each other," Lois said.
"Yes." But despite his agreement, unease had clouded his expression.
"Bangala women usually wear a type of bikini when we're swimming. If I swim in my shirt and shorts, Diddi's going to ask questions about why I'm not wearing my swimming costume. I don't mind his questions, but I don't want you to surmise that I put on extra clothes because of something you did."
"OK," Clark said warily.
"It would be because of you," Lois continued. "But only because I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She scanned his face for a possible reaction. "Did that make any sense?"
"Some."
"And?"
His smile appeared. "And I think you should wear whatever you want to wear."
"That's OK with you?" His broad, glistening chest was tantalising close.
"Yep." He glanced towards Diddi, who was waiting with dwindling patience. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"
"Yes."
As Kent turned, he gave her a smile that was perhaps meant to convey his appreciation for her efforts to avoid misunderstanding.
It melted a significant portion of her insides.
Kent's smile was dynamite. And addictive. And he seemed completely oblivious to its power.
Lois took her bag behind the nearest rock. She slipped into the two pieces of her bathing suit and returned the old cotton shirt to her upper body, reasoning that her lower body would be under the water most of the time.
Armed with shampoo, she walked towards the water's edge.
"Look at this, Maman," Diddi called. He dived under the water and a second later, his legs wobbled through the surface.
Lois glanced to Kent. He wasn't watching Diddi; he was looking at her.
Her face. He seemed to realise he was staring and snapped his eyes away.
"Kent?" she said, wondering if she should have worn the shorts, too.
His eyes came back to her. "I … I really like your hair loose," he said.
"But it's …" Lois patted it down. "… it's a mess."
"I like it," he said.
"Thanks."
Diddi's legs crashed into the water, and his head appeared. "Did you see that, Maman?" he said. "Kent taught me. I'm the only kid in the whole Bangala who can do an underwater handstand."
"I saw it," Lois said. "And I was very impressed."
"I'm going to teach the other kids," Diddi said. "And they're all going to want to be Kent's friend. But he was my friend first."
