"Uh, Lois, do you mind if I ask what you're doing in my house?"
She gave him a sunny smile. "I'm fixing breakfast."
"Why?"
"It's mostly for your mom. I'm quitting my job as her chief of staff."
"Again, why?"
"An internship at the Daily Planet opened up and I thought I'd take it."
She brought him a plate of biscuits and gravy. He just stared at it for a long while.
"Aren't you going to eat it?" she asked.
"Once bitten, twice shy. Actually, I've been bitten quite a few times."
"I've been taking cooking lessons."
"Really? Are you sure you're not lying just so I'll eat it?"
"I'm sure."
He slowly brought it to his mouth. The biscuit looked fluffy and the white gravy looked nicely peppered but looks could be deceiving. A look of horror passed over his face.
"What's the matter? Doesn't it taste okay?"
"Yeah, it tastes wonderful. Are you sure you made this?" he asked, as he scanned the room with his x-ray vision for any hiding chefs or receipts.
"Don't be silly. Of course, I made it. Anybody can learn to cook with practice."
"I guess miracles do happen."
She laughed. She laughed instead of giving an insulting retort or hitting him.
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.
"I feel great. It's the first day of the rest of my life. Listen, do you mind telling your mom about my new job? I don't want to be late for my first day at the Planet."
"Sure. I'll tell her," he said.
"Thanks, Littleville. You're the best," and she started to head out the door.
"Littleville? My name is Smallville. I mean it's not but that's what you call me."
"I know that. I guess it's stress from my new job. It's making me a little screwy. Bye."
That was weird. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that wasn't Lois. Then again stolen identities were a regular part of the day in Smallville. Maybe he ought to call Chloe and see if she had noticed anything strange about Lois.
He couldn't get a hold of her, so he called Jimmy.
"Hi, Jimmy. Do you know where Chloe is?"
"I thought you knew."
"Knew what?"
"Chloe quit her job and left the country."
"What?"
"It surprised me too and she dumped me, so I don't think I'll be hearing from her anytime soon. I thought she'd stay in touch with you. You're like her best friend."
"Thanks for telling me, Jimmy. Bye."
Chloe would be back. She wouldn't leave without telling him. She must've wanted to get away from Jimmy for a while. He was being ridiculous about Lois. What was wrong with her? She was acting nicer, her cooking skills had vastly improved, and she had a nice job, doing something she loved. Lois was bettering herself and he was complaining about it. He was going to sit back and enjoy the new and improved Lois while it lasted.
TBC