Chapter Ten
"Okay, so the bridesmaids' dresses are going to be black strapless floor-length dresses," said Lana. She was sitting in her Talon apartment with Chloe and Lois. It was five days until the wedding, and there were bridal magazines everywhere. "You're also gonna be wearing a white sash around the waist, and lace black gloves."
"What about the bouquets?" asked Chloe.
"White lilacs," answered Lana.
"Did you decide what dress you want?" asked Lois.
"I think this one," said Lana. She showed them a picture of a dress. It was white silk, strapless, floor-length without a train, and the veil was attached beneath the woman's hair. It was up in a bun and it had been curled.
"That's beautiful!" exclaimed Chloe. "What about your bouquet?"
"Purple lilacs," she replied.
"Oh, very dazzling," said Lois.
There was a knock on the door, and Chloe answered it. A delivery man stood in the doorway.
"Special delivery for Lana Lang," he said. Lois and Lana looked up. Chloe signed for it, and the guy gave her a long, rectangular box with a red bow on it. Chloe brought it over to Lana and gave her the small card that went with it. Lana opened it and read it out loud.
"'To my bride-to-be; I'll love you always,'" read Lana. She smiled slyly at Chloe and Lois, and eagerly opened the box. Inside was a long-stemmed bouquet of beautiful, freshly-cut purple lilacs. Lana smiled.
"Oh, Clark," said Lana. "My favorite…"
"By the way, have you two chosen your wedding song yet?" asked Chloe.
"No," said Lana. "But we found a place for the rehearsal dinner."
"Where?" asked Lois.
"Lex is letting us have it at his mansion," said Lana. "He's letting us use his chefs, caterers, the whole works…for free."
"Are you serious?" asked Lois.
"Yeah," said Lana. "He's even helping with the wedding costs."
"That's an amazing gesture," said Chloe.
"Yeah," said Lana. "So, we're going with a black and white theme with lilacs. The wedding cake will be homemade by Mrs. Kent. And tomorrow is the fitting for the dresses: Smallville Bridal Shop at ten o'clock."
Clark stood in front of the dressing mirrors in his tux. Lex, Pete and Jonathan were all at the tailor's, getting their tuxes. It was four days until the wedding. Clark's tux was black with a black vest, white shirt, and black tie. Jonathan stood next to him with a hand on his shoulder.
"What do you guys think?" asked Clark.
Jonathan smiled. "I think I've never been more proud of you."
"Yeah, man," said Pete. "You're dashing."
They all laughed as the tailor came back out.
"Well, here's your bill," he said. He lowered his voice. "I gave you a little discount."
"Thank you, Mr. Jenkins," said Jonathan as Clark headed back to the dressing room.
"Thanks again for helping out with the rehearsal," Clark called to Lex.
"No problem," said Lex. "It's the least I can do."
Two minutes later, Clark came back out, normally dressed, and with the tuxedo on a hanger. He placed it on the chair with his father's, and put his hands in his pockets. He exhaled as he stood there. Pete looked over at him.
"What is it?" Pete asked.
Clark looked at them with a weary expression on his face. "I'm getting married."
They smiled as Lex patted Clark on the back.
"Yes, you are," said Lex.
"Oh, I gotta meet Lana," said Clark. He grabbed his tuxedo and walked out.
"Come on, Lana," said Chloe. "We wanna see the gown."
"You two have your dresses on?" asked Lana.
"Yeah, come on," said Lois.
There was a pause as Chloe and Lois adjusted their sashes. Lana brushed open the curtain, and stepped out.
"Oh, Lana," said Chloe. "You're glowing."
Her gown fell to the floor, and the veil flowed down her back. She stepped over to the mirrors. Lois and Chloe stood behind her.
"Clark doesn't have a clue how lucky he is," said Lois. Chloe looked over at Lana to see her smiling with tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Chloe.
Lana wiped a tear off her cheek. "Oh, I'm just so happy. Does it really look good?"
"Definitely," said Lois. "You're way out of a farm boy's league."
Lana's eyes went wide. "Oh, my gosh. Clark."
She hurried back into the dressing room.
"What are you two supposed to be doing today?" asked Chloe.
"We're going to scope out churches," said Lana. "Then we'll discuss the reception. Then he's going to take me to a little French restaurant in Manhattan."
"New York?" asked Lois, confused. "Isn't that a long way to go for a little romantic dinner?"
There was silence in the dressing room.
"Did she say Manhattan?" said Chloe nervously. "She meant…"
"Mannino's," recovered Lana. "It's this little Italian restaurant outside of town."
"But that's not what you said," Lois elaborated. "You said French restaurant in Manhattan."
"Well, with the wedding coming up and all, I've been watching romance movies," said Lana as she swung the gown over the top of the door. Chloe took it and carefully hunt it back up. "There was this one last night where this guy took his fiancé to a French café in Manhattan; I must've gotten them mixed up."
Lana came back out wearing her normal clothes just as a truck pulled up outside the store.
"Oh, that's Clark now," said Lana.
"Don't worry," said Chloe. "I will get this back to the apartment without Clark seeing it."
"Thanks," said Lana as she made her way out the door.
Clark watched as Lana opened the passenger door and climbed in.
"Everything go okay?" asked Clark as they pulled away from the curb and headed for the nearest church.
"Yeah," said Lana as she hesitated. "If Lois asks, we're going to Mannino's Italian Restaurant just outside of town."
Clark looked at her. "Why? What happened?"
"Chloe asked what we were doing tonight, and I forgot Lois was there, and I told her we were going to New York. I'm so sorry."
"It's alright," said Clark. "I've had closer calls than that. How'd you bail yourself out of that one?"
"Chloe actually helped; I guess she's had a lot of experience with that. She suggested I had screwed the names up, and the first thing I thought of was Mannino's."
Clark smiled. "Nice save."
"Yeah, I gotta watch my mouth."
"Don't worry; it gets easier."
They pulled over outside the first church, and got out.
"Okay, so we have a church," said Lana. "Now we just need everything else."
She and Clark were in the barn loft, planning everything out.
"Well, tomorrow, I'm decorating the church," said Clark. "And then Friday is the rehearsal."
"And tomorrow I'm meeting with your mom about the cake," Lana said. She got a notepad out. "What else?"
"We should plan the ceremony," said Clark.
"Well, your father is giving me away," said Lana.
"That's great!" said Clark. "I got us a minister, so we don't have to worry about that."
"I've been thinking about our wedding song, and I was thinking 'Wind Beneath my Wings.'"
Clark smiled. "I love it."
"I was also thinking about a recessional song, a father-daughter dance, a mother-son dance, a dance for the parents, and songs during the arrival of the guests."
"You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?" asked Clark.
Lana smiled. "Every since I was six, I've dreamed of a fairy tale wedding where my prince would come and take me away to live happily ever after."
"Tell you what: I'll let you plan all the details; whatever you want."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I trust you."
"Okay, well…where is the reception going to be?"
"I was thinking an outside rehearsal in front of the house."
"That would be beautiful."
Clark and Lana kissed, and got up.
"Our reservation is for seven o'clock," said Clark. "And we have…fifteen minutes."
"Okay, well, I'm ready," said Lana. She was wearing a black evening dress that she had changed into when Clark had run by the Talon. "But you are…"
Clark had been wearing jeans and plaid. She heard a rush of air, and when she turned around, Clark was wearing a nice, black suit.
"I'm what?" asked Clark with a smile.
"You are a little sneak," said Lana as she came over. "And ruggedly handsome."
She wrapped her arms around Clark, and kissed him. He lifted Lana into his arms as she looked into his eyes. He took off at superspeed towards their destination.
Jonathan set his tux down next to Clark's, and walked into the kitchen. Martha was finished up dinner. He walked over to her and gave her a kiss.
"Where's Clark?" asked Jonathan.
"He took Lana out for dinner," answered Martha. "So, I made dinner for two."
"What about Pete?"
"He's with Lex, planning a surprise bachelor party."
Jonathan looked at her warily. "No strippers?"
"No strippers," Martha replied, laughing.
"What about Lois?"
"With Chloe, planning a surprise bachelorette party."
"Well, I guess we're on our own tonight," said Jonathan.
"I guess so," said Martha.
Clark stopped running in an alley. He set Lana down as she straightened her hair a little. Clark held his arm out, and she took it. They walked out of the alley, and onto the street. The restaurant was just ahead, but Lana stopped suddenly.
"What is it?" asked Clark.
"Look," said Lana. She pointed into another alley. Clark looked over, and saw a man pointing a gun at a young couple; he was robbing them.
"I'll be right back," said Clark. He went over to the mouth of the alley, and waited for his moment.
"Give it to me!" the robber yelled. "Now!"
The gun went off, and Clark shot into superspeed. He rushed forward and grabbed the bullet in midair. He then grabbed the man around the waist, and flung him towards the alley wall. The robber froze in midair as Clark ran across the street towards Lana. She was standing there, apparently watching the show. Clark stopped behind her, and the robber hit the wall, knocking him unconscious. The couple looked in amazement at the man. It was as if the force of the gun had propelled him back. The couple ran out of the alley as Lana looked for Clark.
"Excuse me, miss," Clark spoke up. Lana turned to face him, smiling. "You look extremely dressed up for a night in New York City. What's the occasion?"
"Well," said Lana, playing along. "I'm going to the French restaurant at the end of the block."
"May I accompany you?" asked Clark.
"I don't think so," said Lana, holding up her ringed left hand. "I'm meeting my fiancé."
"Is he the jealous type?"
"Not really, but you wouldn't want to cross him; trust me. He really is out of this world."
Clark smiled as they kissed. He took Lana's arm again and they headed to the restaurant.
"Nice save, by the way," Lana told him as they made it to the door.