NOTE: I have been unable to find out any mention of when Jonathan gave this item to Clark.
Jonathan hadn't known what to get his son for Christmas this year. Clark was old enough now that he was losing interest in toys. Most of the toys they'd got him the year before had been either broken or just discarded. Clark, being the compassionate child he was, had told his parents that all the toys he didn't want could be given to Goodwill or wrapped up and given to the church for their annual Toys for Tots appeal. Together, his son and his wife had collected a huge basketful of items ready to be donated.
Clark would be ten in May and he'd made it known to both of his parents that he was big enough now not to believe in all that 'kid stuff'. Last Christmas, when his mother had prepared to take him to the Granville Mall to meet Santa, he'd announced that he knew there was no such thing as Santa.
As much as Jonathan loved the fact that Clark was growing up and becoming a great kid, he missed the magic of those early days when everything was new and Clark viewed the world with wide-eyed innocence.
He watched his son working in the stables. They'd recently begun boarding a few of the neighbours' horses, just so they could bring in a little extra money. The farm had not been doing well lately, despite their efforts to turn things around. They no longer had farmhands, afraid that the workers might see his special son using his abilities. Clark had begun doing chores for him, and in many ways, as much as Jonathan hated the thought of his son having to work so hard, his abilities meant he could take on enough for at least eight other workers and still complete the jobs in half the time.
His father had always told him that hard work kept a man honest. He still believed that. He hoped that by Clark using his abilities for farmwork it would teach him that his strange powers could be used constructively.
He wondered sometimes if he was too hard on his son. He had even heard a couple of comments in the Wild Coyote that he was working Clark awfully hard.
Clark looked up and saw him watching.
"Everything okay, Dad?" he asked.
"Yeah. Doing a good job there, son."
Clark grinned widely, showing pointed incisors. He'd once asked why his teeth looked the way they do, but Jonathan hadn't been able to give him an answer. He'd had to have braces himself in his teens. It had been a common thing among kids that age. Where Clark was concerned, however, they had no idea if braces or any other kind of dental work could fix it. Given his alien heritage, they had never taken him to a doctor, or a dentist, afraid the doctor would discover he wasn't like other kids.
Martha told him it didn't matter to her if his teeth were crooked or didn't look like other kids'. To her, he was her beautiful boy, her miracle, and nothing would ever change that. They were such simple words but Clark had gone away from that conversation looking happy.
Jonathan turned to go back to his own chores when Clark stopped him.
"Um, Dad?"
"Yeah son, what's up?"
"Pete's brother Sam said we can go camping with him this weekend. Can I?"
"Camping?" Jonathan looked at his son, puzzled. "Where? Isn't it a bit cold?"
"It's just out near Palmer Woods," Clark said. "I know it's kinda cold but we like to look at the stars. Pete got this cool book for his birthday on the stars and constellations and everything!"
Jonathan reached over and ruffled his son's hair. "All right," he replied with a chuckle. "You can go. But if it snows …"
"We'll come back. Promise."
One of Pete's brothers had ended up in hospital with pneumonia last winter. Clark might not feel the cold the same as his best friend, but he did understand the dangers.
Later, Jonathan went back in the house to clean up. He had hit on an idea when he'd been talking to Clark and decided to look in the attic.
Martha came up the attic stairs. "What are you looking for?" she asked.
"I think I just figured out the perfect Christmas present for Clark," he said, lifting a heavy box out of the way. He exclaimed as he found it.
His wife smiled as he showed it to her. "Oh, Jonathan, that's wonderful. I'm sure he'll love it."
He no longer had the box for it, but he figured he'd use any old box to wrap it up.
On Christmas morning just over a week later, there was the usual array of small gifts. Clark, who used to wake them up just after midnight to tell them Santa had been and wanted to open his presents then and there, was still asleep in his room when they got up around seven. Jonathan had already been out to see to the animals, since a working farm never really had things like holidays, but he'd gone back to bed for a while, snuggling up with his wife in the warmth.
Martha began frying sausages and bacon with homefries while Jonathan lit the fire. He looked over to the Christmas tree. This year had been rather lean in finances and the pile of presents looked a little sparse. He sighed. He wished he had been able to make more money but since they'd decided to go fully organic, the crop yield just hadn't been good enough for a decent profit.
His wife must have heard his sigh as she came out.
"It'll be all right," she said. "It's not the material things I care about."
"I know, sweetheart, but …"
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Jonathan, we're here together, we have a wonderful son. Everything else is just the wrapping."
He knew what she meant. His mother had once told him that he could have all the riches in the world but none of that meant anything without someone to share it with. At the end of the day, the true value of a man's life was in what he shared with the world, not how much money he had.
A series of thumps could be heard from Clark's bedroom upstairs. Martha snickered.
"He must have smelled breakfast cooking," she said.
There was a whoosh and Clark appeared before them. His mother frowned at the boy.
"Clark, no super-speed in the house. You know better than that."
"But Mom …"
"No. What if I'd been carrying a heavy pan?"
Clark again tried to protest but Jonathan shot him a look. He watched as his son spied the presents. Especially the big box under the tree.
"Ooh, presents!"
"After breakfast, son."
"Dad …" Clark sighed.
"You know the rules, Clark."
The boy pouted, sticking out his lower lip. Jonathan smirked. "Careful, son. The wind'll change and you'll stay like that."
Clark rolled his eyes but turned to help his mother with the breakfast. Jonathan chuckled to himself.
The nine-year-old fidgeted impatiently all through breakfast, wolfing down his food and huffing loudly as his parents took their time with their own share.
There were still breakfast dishes to wash and a kitchen to clean. Then Jonathan announced it was time for presents.
"Finally!" was the exclamation from their impatient child.
He immediately made a beeline for the big box, having already figured out who it was for. He tore the paper and almost wrecked the box in his haste but the gasp and the look on his face was worth the effort Jonathan had taken.
"Wow!"
Green eyes stared in wonder at the telescope.
"Your grandfather gave this to me when I was just about your age," Jonathan told Clark. "It's yours now."
"Dad, it's … it's beautiful. Can I try it out now?"
"How about we take it up to the loft later and set it up. Then tonight we can check out the stars together. How about that?"
"Yeah! That would be so cool!"
Arms wrapped around his waist in a tight hug. "Thanks Dad. That's like the best present ever!"
Jonathan hugged Clark back, looking over his son's head at his wife. The smile on her face said it all.