Chapter 53
"Mom!"
At the sound of her son's shout, Martha Kent came running downstairs. "Clark! I wanted to talk to you before—"
Clark held up the note that had been left on the table for him. "I saw. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to warn you that Lois is extremely upset over…some woman?"
"I take it she's in the loft?"
"Yes." She crossed her arms and stared at him. "She said, and I quote, 'I don't want to keep you up with all the screaming.' Son, what on earth did you do?"
"Mom, I didn't do anything. Actually, I think I've finally figured out that maybe that is what Lois didn't like. I probably should have done something to prevent…but Lois wasn't supposed to be there at all…and then it was just… happening."
"Clark, I wasn't there. You're going to have to be a little clearer about what happened."
"Well, I was to meet Wonder Woman at Oliver's and—"
"Wonder Woman?! You mean she is for real?"
"Oh, yes. And quite a bit more…impressive in person."
"A real Amazon!" Martha sat down, shaking her head in disbelief. "I thought those were all myths."
"No, she's real. And Lois was there and Wonder Woman sort of… kissed me." He looked up to see the surprise on his mom's face and added, "On the cheek. That's all."
"A peck on the cheek? That's all?" She puckered her own mouth and looked him up and down slowly. "And that's what has Lois in such a frenzy that I'm thinking you need to go get a suit of lead armor before you go out there?"
"Exactly. She's overreacting, right?"
"She's a woman, Clark." She got up and pushed him down on the stool. "Women don't exactly see everything the way men do. You've not only got that problem to deal with, you've got the problems that are inherent in you yourself."
"Oh, you mean those problems," he said miserably. "I am working on that with all these stupid tests, aren't I?"
She almost laughed. "No, I was talking about you and the ways you're different from us because you look at the world differently. You have to. Your perception of everything is a little different because of your differences. As much as we tried to give you a normal upbringing, it's just not normal to tell a fourteen-year-old adopted boy he's from another planet. Even if you knew you were strong enough to bench press the family truck and none of your friends could do that, to be told you come from somewhere out there in the stars…well, that had to be a very big deal. And from that moment, I watched you change and become more secretive not just about your gifts with others, but with yourself. I think you learned to see the world even more differently after that."
"Mom, you and dad were great. I couldn't have asked for a better set of parents."
"Thanks, sweetheart, you know we did our best. But that's beside the point now. You need help with dealing with Lois. Clark, you lead with your heart. You always have. I don't think that's from your Kryptonian genes. I think it's just you. The special part of you that is like no one else. And now, you're not dealing with some simple, little, small town girl, you're dealing with a street-savvy, Navy Seal-trained woman that is far beyond your experience. But you've got one huge advantage."
"I do?"
"Yes. Remember the night you told Lois you were Superman?"
"Of course I do."
"And she took it well? Called you 'amazing.' She didn't 'freak out' over it at all. She accepted you."
"Yeah, she did."
"And the next morning, you were in that very spot moaning about how you'd made a mistake in even telling her."
Clark shifted on the stool uncomfortably. "I remember."
"Clark, our journeys in life are not always laid out in a straight line. Sometimes there are curves and detours and obstacles. Yours seems to be full of zigzags."
He wrinkled up his nose and squinted at her. "What?"
"You take one step forward, and one back or even sideways, and then you push forward again." She looked upwards thoughtfully. I wonder sometimes if your father and I pushed you too much to hide your true self away, deep inside, and when it bubbles to the surface, you have a gut reaction to pull it back down. That's what you're doing now, aren't you? You're wondering if it's ever going to work with Lois if you can't grasp why she's so upset over whatever it was that happened. Is that about it?"
"Well, it does look like to me that I really didn't do anything that should have her this mad at me. I just don't understand." He sighed. "Will I ever?"
"Maybe not."
"But you said I have an advantage?"
"Yes, you do. She's in love with you Clark, every bit as much as I was in love with your dad."
"How do you know?" He looked down at his hands clasped on the table, and his voice dropped audibly. "Did she tell you that?"
"No. She didn't have to. I have eyes, sweetheart. And a brain. And, believe me, if that girl, who, by the way, has absolutely no talent whatsoever in the kitchen, took cooking lessons just to impress you, believe me, that's love!
Clark stood up suddenly and gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, mom," he said, and headed off toward the barn.
