Chapter 10

The bright mid-morning sun of a crisp Kansas day beat in to the windows of the Kent house, causing Lois into awareness. She turned, hoping to snuggle with Clark and was disappointed to find the other side of the bed both empty and cold.

Maybe she would catch him in the shower, she thought mischievously. She had a brief moment of Déjà vu of another time when she caught him in the shower. She remembered him being very upset with her about it. Maybe he was just shy.

Her disappointment continued as she found that Clark was not in the bathroom. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee assailed her just as she heard noises coming from downstairs. Clark must be making breakfast.

"Clark, do you mind if I take a shower before you?" Lois was asking as she came downstairs. She was surprised to see that he was fully dressed.

"Good morning, Sleepy head. I showered hours ago. I thought you were going to sleep the day away."

"What time is it?" Lois asked, while trying to stifle a yawn.

"It's already 7:30."

"7:30!? Oh my God, that is so early! And you've been up for hours? Why?"

"Cows don't milk themselves, Lois. Breakfast should be ready in about 20 minutes."

"I should be able to get in a quick shower, then."

Clark laughed out loud.

"What?"

"The Lois I know never takes quick showers. Why do you think I take mine first? There's never any hot water left."

"Oh yeah? I'll be back in twenty minutes."

Clark just grinned and shook his head as Lois made her way up the stairs.

Nineteen minutes later, Lois slid into a chair in the Kent kitchen.

Clark raised an eyebrow and said "Well this is one for the record books. Chloe is never going to believe it."

"I was hungry."

"Well, you're in luck, because breakfast is served." He set a plate before her with an omelette and hashbrowns, toast and jam.

"Everything looks and smells delicious."

"Well, what're waiting for? Dig in."

Lois was overcome with how wonderful everything tasted. "Clark, this is really amazing. First dinner and now breakfast--Have you always been such a good cook?"

Clark graciously accepted her compliments, about ready to tell her that the credit should go to his mom, but before he could Lois asked:

"Did I teach you?"

Clark almost choked on his orange juice at that, and then he began to laugh.

"Hardly. Lois. You don't know the first thing about cooking."

"Really? I've never cooked anything for you?"

"Oh, you've cooked for me." He said, recalling some of the disasters she had been responsible for in the past. "Let's just say it just didn't go so well."

"Oh."

Clark sensed that he hurt her feelings somehow. He certainly hadn't meant to cause her any additional stress.

"Lois, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Eat up, you need your strength. Okay?"

"Okay." She picked up her fork and resumed eating, lost in thought. At length, she asked

"Since I don't know how to cook—am I at least good housekeeper?"

She could tell by his hesitation to answer that he was afraid to hurt her feelings any further.

"Please, just tell me. It won't hurt my feelings. I really want to know who I am."

"Ok. No."

"No? That's it? 'No' "

"What do you want me to say? You never pick up after yourself. When you're in the middle of research you get everything out, you never put it away. You're . . . messy."

"And this doesn't bother you? That I can't cook and that I'm a slob?"

"Bother me? I never give it much thought anymore. It's who you are. And for the record, I never said you were a slob."

"Do I at least help out with the farm work?"

"What?! No you don't help out with the farm—well, okay, sometimes, but mostly no. Where are you going with this?"

"I just want to know what kind of a w—" She was about to say she wanted to know what kind of wife she was if he did all the work on the farm and cooked for her and cleaned up after her as well, but she was interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door.

Clark stood up to answer it. He was still bewildered by Lois' demeanor, and was glad for the interruption. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to argue with Lois. It was hard enough to argue with Lois when she knew who she was. He had a feeling that arguing with mind-wipe Lois would add a whole new layer of difficulty and aggravation.

"Mr. Luthor." Clark motioned for Lionel Luthor to enter the kitchen. "We were just sitting down to breakfast. What can I do for you?"

"Good Morning Clark, Lois. Actually I was looking for Martha."

"She left for Washington yesterday morning."

"That's too bad. I was hoping to catch her before she went back. No matter, I'll contact her in Washington."

"Is there trouble? Is there anything you need me to do?"

Lionel clapped Clark on the shoulder, "No, Clark. But thank you. I needed to discuss the new education bill that she is going to present to congress."

"Would you care to join us, Mr. Luthor?" Lois asked.

"As temping as that invitation is, I would hate to interrupt this domestic idyll and I really do need to catch up with Martha before the session opens. So I'll bid good day to you both." He nodded as he left.

The interruption did serve to diffuse the tension that had been escalating between them, and for that Clark was thankful. He made a mental note to check with his mother later to make sure that everything really was alright.

'Is he our friend?" Lois asked.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Well, he says he is our friend, but Luthors don't usually do things without an ulterior motive. I still haven't figured out what his motive could be."

"Uh-huh" Lois said thoughtfully, taking another bite of toast.

"I've seen that look before. What's wrong? Do you remember something?"

"I don't know—something just doesn't sit right. I can't put my finger on it—probably due to my memory being a total blank. I don't feel like we can trust him."

"Well, It's good to see that your reporters' instincts still function even without your memory. You're right not to trust him." Clark poured another glass of juice for Lois from the pitcher.

"I'm a reporter?"