Saturday, June 16, 2007
8:30am
Thank God it's almost over. That was the first thought Lois had early that Saturday morning as she slowly opened her eyes. Just one more day and the wait is over.'That one more day would be Father's Day, Clark's first, and the first that he, she, and Jason would be spending as a family. Just thinking that word brought a smile to her face as she cuddled closer to the warm body of her slumbering spouse. Clark had only gotten in a few hours ago from an all night rescue and as much as she wanted to wake him - and boy did she really want to wake him - her brain won the argument of letting him sleep. Jason was probably downstairs already anyway, fixing himself a breakfast of things he was allergic to.
Regretfully, she rolled out of the comfort of her bed and slipped on a white t-shirt and some light gray sweatpants, mindfully drawing closed the thick burgundy drapes, keeping out the creeping sunlight, before leaving the room. Thank God the windows faced the southwest side of the house. Power sustaining energy or no, the man needed his sleep.
Lois padded barefoot down the hall to Jason's room to find that she had been correct. He was already up, his comforter askew from when he'd climbed out of bed. Jason was never one to make his bed, but then again, neither was she. Clark always ended up handling that little chore. Absentminded about it Jason may be, but he never forgot to feed Mr. Krabs, the hermit crab Richard had gotten him for his fifth birthday. Mr. Krabs was still asleep however.
"At least somebody's got the right idea," she murmured, making her way down the carpeted stairway. Already she could hear faint sounds from the television and the clink of a glass being set on the coffee table. Jason never even saw her as she entered the room, his gaze fixated on the 32 inch picture box in front of him as he lay sprawled out on the couch in his favorite pair of Superman pajamas.
Poor kid. He only wore them when he missed his father, whom he hadn't seen much of for the last two or three days. Starting day camp this week only added to the problem, as camp hours were longer than school hours had been. Camp had more field trips though, and though that fact kept Jason busy for much of the day, he wasn't alone in his feelings. Clark had been missing him as well. Seeing his son for only two or three hours a day a few times a week was starting to become too routine.
Last week, after school, he had begun trying to teach Jason to ride without his training wheels, but that seemed like so long ago, a distant memory. Both Clark and Jason missed that time spent together, making up for lost time as it were. Clark still saw Jason, even if it was only at three in the morning. If only it were the other way around…
Stroking the soft brown of his hair, Lois squatted and leaned over to plant a kiss on her boy's forehead. "Morning."
Jason's only response was a soft "Hi." Lois turned towards the TV to where SpongeBob was blowing bubbles. After a minute Jason asked, "Is Daddy here?"
"Yeah, but he's still sleeping, sweetie. He's only been home a couple hours." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Did you eat yet?"
"No, I just had apple juice," came his sullen reply.
"Well," she reached for the remote and pushed the power button. "How about you help me make breakfast and afterwards we can go work on your Father's Day present. What do you think?" The idea seemed to lighten the boy's spirits a little. He took her outstretched hand and the two headed for the kitchen.
After the washing of hands and the cracking of half a dozen eggs, Lois and Jason set about making what quite possibly was the only thing Lois could somewhat decently cook: omelets. She gave him a plastic knife and let him cut up some of the peppers while she handled everything else. Minutes later, they were eating together in the dining room, letting the warm sunlight bathe them as they conversed.
"And Billy got a timeout for putting the spider in Cindy's spaghetti." Lois really didn't have a response to that; she just smiled as they ate and he talked, glad to be keeping his mind off of Clark. When she noticed that he'd completely stopped eating his food she suggested that he get dressed and brush his teeth so they could go.
Jason took one last bite of his breakfast, mumbled "Ok" and hopped out of his seat. Lois gathered the dishes and set them in the sink before running upstairs to get her shoes and to brush her own teeth.
Clark was still sleeping, his forehead and hair the only parts of him not buried beneath the sheet. Other than that, he hadn't moved. She pulled the sheet down away from his face, too handsome to remain hidden beneath the thin cream-colored cloth. Before she could press a chaste kiss to his lips, Jason appeared behind her, fully dressed in a t-shirt, denim shorts, white socks and sneakers. He'd even combed his unruly hair.
"Mommy? Can you help me with my shoe?" he whispered. "It's got a knot in it."
"Sure, honey." Once the strings had been unknotted and tied to look like their twin, she asked if he was ready to go.
"Can I give Daddy a kiss first?" She nodded, smiling as the scene unfolded in front of her. She wished she hadn't left her digital camera in the car; she'd have to remember to get it on their way back in. Lois grabbed a pen and paper from the nightstand drawer, scribbling a note to Clark that his breakfast was in the microwave and that she and Jason would be at the park. She left the note where he would see it and took Jason by the hand, leading him downstairs and to the back of the house to retrieve their bikes and Jason's helmet.
Two hours later, they returned, Lois energized from the morning's exercise, Jason tired and scratched from falling off his bike so many times. It was only 11:30, but she was glad to be back in the house. The weather had begun to heat quite rapidly, and what had started off as a somewhat cool morning was quickly on its way to becoming a humid afternoon. Besides, Jason looked pooped. How early had he gotten up anyway?
As they put their bikes back in their respective places, Lois called out to him, "Jason, honey, come here; let me clean you up." He obeyed silently, following her through the backdoor and into the downstairs bathroom, the one just off the kitchen. She sat him on the sink, washing his hands, his face, and that one cut on his left knee. A cotton swab of peroxide and a SpongeBob Band-Aid later, Lois was all done. She looked up into those droopy blues.
"Naptime?" He nodded and as she picked him up, he wrapped his arms and legs around her like he had done countless times before, especially when he hadn't been feeling well, which was far too often than she had cared for. The chicken pox. The flu. The colds. The asthma attacks…
As they ascended the stairs, her reverie was broken by his slurry question. "Can I sleep in your bed with Daddy?"
Poor thing.
"Sure, punkin'. You can sleep with Daddy."
After being helped out of his shoes and his clothes, Jason snuggled backward into the arms of his sleeping father and quickly dozed off himself. Lois grabbed her camera and climbed atop the cherry wood dresser she and Clark shared. It wasn't that tall and neither was she so there was plenty of room for her to stand without having to hunch over much to take the picture. From the dresser's position parallel to the bed, it was a perfect shot, but unfortunately, one that couldn't be put on public display in the living room. The flash lasted only a fraction of a second and neither of the Kent men moved. That was just fine with Lois. She needed to run some errands anyway. Well, one particular errand: Clark's gift.
She had put off buying it; she just didn't trust herself not to give it to him before tomorrow. That and she didn't trust that he'd accidentally find it while looking for something else. She scribbled Clark another note then grabbed her wallet and her keys and headed for the front door.
Later when she returned, small gift box in hand, Jason had changed direction completely, lying horizontal across the bed, while Clark's hand rested at the top of the boy's head where it lay on his father's bare chest. Another Kodak moment.
Stifling a yawn, Lois put the camera away and hid the gift box in one of the shoeboxes on her side of the closet. She needed a nap too and straightened her little boy to make some room for herself. The three of them may be sleeping the day away, but at least they were doing it together.