CHAPTER ELEVEN
Chloe awoke to the shrill ringing of the cordless phone. She took a moment to glance around. She was in her own bed but she didn't remember getting there. She shrugged and reached out her arm, grabbing the telephone off of the nightstand. With her face still buried in her pillow, Chloe blindly turned on the phone to stop the incessant ringing that she was sure that had awaken the rest of the household.
"Hello?" Chloe answered, her voice muffled from the pillow.
"Young lady, do you know how rude it is to not answer a person's phone call right away?" a familiar voice snapped. 'Oh my goodness, this sounds just like.no, it couldn't be. Could it?'
"Who is this?"
"I think you should know. You were after all engaged to my son."
"Amelia Quinton?!" Chloe exclaimed, sitting up.
"Don't raise your voice, it is not polite and it is improper."
"Sorry," Chloe mumbled. "Wait a second, how did you get this number?"
"You should remember that Roger has contacts in the FBI and various organizations. I had him track you down," Amelia said haughtily.
"You had Mr. Quinton track my telephone number down. Why exactly would you do that?" Chloe asked disbelievingly.
"I want to see our granddaughter. I want to make sure that you didn't rub off on her."
"I don't believe this. Why now? You never wanted to see her much when she was born or even when she was a toddler. I believe your exact words were, 'Our son was our only connection to that child and now that he's dead, so are our ties with it,'" Chloe replied, anger bubbling inside her. "Besides, she's my daughter which means that no matter what, I will rub off on her. I don't care if you like it or not."
"This is exactly what I am talking about. Your attitude, young lady, is not suitable for a child of Quinton blood."
"My attitude? What about yours? What do you have, ice in your veins? Or is the wind chill factor in the city that makes your voice so icy?"
"I will see my son's daughter and if I don't like what I see in her upbringing, I am bringing her back with me to Boston."
"Oh, no you won't. She's staying put. You may see her if you must, but she's not going back with you. She's five and very impressionable and I won't have her raised in your world of high society and back stabbing," Chloe said adamantly.
"You may very well have no choice."
"Don't you dare threaten me. Remember, I know what goes on behind closed doors in your knick of the woods. I know how to play your game and win. So, don't threaten me because I may very well not be in the mood."
"Fine, but since we're already on our way to that little place you call a town we will see our granddaughter. You have approximately twenty minutes to make the girl look presentable."
"Fine, as long as one thing is made clear."
"What may that be?"
"You agree that no matter what happens, you won't try to make her go with you."
"Deal. You're down to eighteen minutes." With that the line went dead.
Chloe turned the phone off and threw it into the pile of laundry in the corner by her desk. That woman had to be the most infuriating woman in three continents. She came from money, lived on money, and would probably die with it. Anyone who didn't, just didn't measure up and was frowned upon. Amelia thought people who didn't have the same amount of money or more as herself was immoral. Not only that, but the woman was the most proper woman Chloe had ever met and she seemed like she had a permanent scowl on her face. Chloe always thought that if she smiled, her face would crack in a million different pieces.
Now, she was coming to Smallville to judge Chloe as a mother.
Chloe reluctantly got out of bed and headed downstairs where she knew everyone would most likely be. She was right. Jonathan was at the table along with Clark and Lee was watching Martha cook breakfast. She cleared her throat and they all looked at her.
"I have some good news and some bad."
"What is it honey?" Martha asked.
"Well, Lee gets to finally meet her grandparents. Bad news, if everyone isn't dressed in their finest in the next thirteen minutes or by the time they get here, Mrs. Quinton is going to declare me an unfit mother and take Lee into their world," Chloe informed them. "Come on, Lee, let's go upstairs and get you dressed."
Chloe put Lee in sunny yellow dress had short sleeves, a simple collar and daisies scattered all over it. She made Lee wear a pair of white stockings and black dress shoes. She brushed Lee's auburn waves an pulled them back into a yellow barrette.
Chloe dressed herself in a pair of loose black dress pants, a simple ivory sweater, and black heels. She pulled her shoulder-length blonde tresses into a French twist and applied a layer of soft brown eye shadow and tinted lip gloss.
When she and Lee made it back downstairs, with only two minutes to spare, only Clark was there dressed in another suit. His hair was neatly combed and his glasses were in place.
"Where's your parents?" Chloe inquired.
"They decided to make themselves scarce."
Chloe looked out the window just in time to see a black limo pull up and a woman in a dark blue suit with the skirt just below her knees and a white blouse step out with the help of the chauffer. Chloe snorted and shook her head in disgust. Clark turned around to see the same woman, with gray hair in a tight bun and her gold earrings catching the early rays of the sun.
"That's the woman who was going to be your mother-in-law?"
"Oh, yeah. And see the feeble man with the white hair behind her?"
"Yeah."
"That's her husband."
Chloe went over and opened the front door. "Mrs. Quinton," Chloe greeted her with a cold tone.
"Chloe."
Clark was sure that the room temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees with that greeting.
"Well, if it isn't Chloe Sullivan," Roger Quinton greeted Chloe with a smile on his face.
"Mr. Quinton, how've you been?" Chloe greeted him with the same smile.
"I've told you child, call me Roger. As for how I've been, my joints ache and I sleep most of the day. But hey, I am getting older so it's no big thing," Roger answered.
"Aw, Roger, you're not that old."
"Who you trying to fool?"
Roger wrapped his arms around the woman who used to be the fiancé of his only son. Chloe reciprocated the action and leaned in to ask in a low voice, "It's her isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah. I swear my wife should have been a prison guard or something," Roger whispered, then pulled away.
"Where is my grandchild?" Amelia demanded breaking through the family moment.
"Your grandchild has a name you know."
"Yes, well, we cannot be bothered by such trivial things."
"I bet you're a real hit at office Christmas parties, aren't you?"
Roger had to stifle the chuckle with a cough while Amelia looked on with a look of utter disgust. Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I repeat, where is my grandchild and while I'm at it, who is that man?"
"That man is Clark Kent, a good friend of mine from out of town, and your grandchild's name is Leona."
"That is no name. Who chose that name for the child? You, I suppose."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. Is there a problem?"
"Chloe, where's Leona?" Roger asked trying to restore a miniscule of peace.
"I'm right here," Lee said as she came out of the kitchen, "and everyone calls me Lee."
Amelia looked as if someone had hit her. Her eyes were wide her and nose was flaring. "Lee? You call your daughter Lee? That is not a name for a little girl. Lee is a boy's name."
"Actually, Mrs. Quinton, it's unisex," Clark pointed out.
Amelia turned to the stranger who had dared to talk out of turn. "Excuse me?" she asked in a cool and collected manner.
Clark was never afraid of people of her position of power but when Amelia turned his way, he shrunk away a bit. "I was just pointing out that Lee isn't just a boy's name, it can be a girl's name too."
"Whatever. Now, I would like to talk to my granddaughter alone. If you all would be so kind as to leave the room now," Amelia ordered.
"Come on, Chloe. Let my wife talk to Leona while you, Clark and me have a little talk ourselves," Roger said before Chloe could object. Chloe nodded mutely and followed him into the kitchen.
When they were gone, Lee looked shyly at her grandmother. "You're my other gramma?"
Amelia stared down at the girl. "Yes I am," she replied stiffly.
"Why are you mean?"
"Excuse me?"
"Mean. You're mean to mommy. Why?"
Amelia open and shut her mouth like a fish out of the water. "I.well.I." for the first time in her entire life, Amelia had no idea what to say.
"Is it because daddy's dead?"
"What?"
"Daddy. Are you mean to mommy because of him?"
"No, why would you think that?"
Lee shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
"No, I just don't like your mommy."
"Did she do something bad?"
"No--"
"Then why?"
Amelia sighed. She had to find an answer that a child would understand. "I just don't like her. She reminds me too much of myself at her age."
Lee looked confused. "But mommy isn't like you. She's nice."
"You're just a little girl, you don't know anything."
Lee's eyes narrowed and her arms folded across her chest. "I do too. I know that you're not a nice person and you look like one of those birds in Uncle Jonathan's stories."
Amelia's face turned a deep red. How dare a little girl try to insult her! "Roger! Roger, get out her right now!"
Roger came running to his wife's side with Clark and Chloe at his heels. "What? What's wrong?"
"And why is my daughter standing there like she's facing a bully?"
"That child is a nuisance and has no manners once-so-ever. How dare she speak to me so improperly," Amelia said.
"I just told the truth," Lee pointed out.
"Amelia, honey, I think it may be time for us to leave. Why don't you wait in the limo for me. I'll be out in a moment," Roger calmed his wife. Amelia just sighed and did as he asked. Roger turned back to Chloe, Lee, and Clark. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes my wife speaks before she acts. Good-bye Lee, it was nice to meet you. Chloe, six years sound good to you?"
"Sure Roger." Chloe gave Roger a hurried hug, Clark shook hands with him, and Lee wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. The sound of the limo honking told Roger that his wife was getting impatient. With a small wave, Roger strolled out the door.
"So, that was the Quinton family," Clark stated.
"Yep."
"Interesting people."
"Oh, yeah."
Chloe and Lee went to their rooms to change and Clark sat back down on the couch.
Chloe awoke to the shrill ringing of the cordless phone. She took a moment to glance around. She was in her own bed but she didn't remember getting there. She shrugged and reached out her arm, grabbing the telephone off of the nightstand. With her face still buried in her pillow, Chloe blindly turned on the phone to stop the incessant ringing that she was sure that had awaken the rest of the household.
"Hello?" Chloe answered, her voice muffled from the pillow.
"Young lady, do you know how rude it is to not answer a person's phone call right away?" a familiar voice snapped. 'Oh my goodness, this sounds just like.no, it couldn't be. Could it?'
"Who is this?"
"I think you should know. You were after all engaged to my son."
"Amelia Quinton?!" Chloe exclaimed, sitting up.
"Don't raise your voice, it is not polite and it is improper."
"Sorry," Chloe mumbled. "Wait a second, how did you get this number?"
"You should remember that Roger has contacts in the FBI and various organizations. I had him track you down," Amelia said haughtily.
"You had Mr. Quinton track my telephone number down. Why exactly would you do that?" Chloe asked disbelievingly.
"I want to see our granddaughter. I want to make sure that you didn't rub off on her."
"I don't believe this. Why now? You never wanted to see her much when she was born or even when she was a toddler. I believe your exact words were, 'Our son was our only connection to that child and now that he's dead, so are our ties with it,'" Chloe replied, anger bubbling inside her. "Besides, she's my daughter which means that no matter what, I will rub off on her. I don't care if you like it or not."
"This is exactly what I am talking about. Your attitude, young lady, is not suitable for a child of Quinton blood."
"My attitude? What about yours? What do you have, ice in your veins? Or is the wind chill factor in the city that makes your voice so icy?"
"I will see my son's daughter and if I don't like what I see in her upbringing, I am bringing her back with me to Boston."
"Oh, no you won't. She's staying put. You may see her if you must, but she's not going back with you. She's five and very impressionable and I won't have her raised in your world of high society and back stabbing," Chloe said adamantly.
"You may very well have no choice."
"Don't you dare threaten me. Remember, I know what goes on behind closed doors in your knick of the woods. I know how to play your game and win. So, don't threaten me because I may very well not be in the mood."
"Fine, but since we're already on our way to that little place you call a town we will see our granddaughter. You have approximately twenty minutes to make the girl look presentable."
"Fine, as long as one thing is made clear."
"What may that be?"
"You agree that no matter what happens, you won't try to make her go with you."
"Deal. You're down to eighteen minutes." With that the line went dead.
Chloe turned the phone off and threw it into the pile of laundry in the corner by her desk. That woman had to be the most infuriating woman in three continents. She came from money, lived on money, and would probably die with it. Anyone who didn't, just didn't measure up and was frowned upon. Amelia thought people who didn't have the same amount of money or more as herself was immoral. Not only that, but the woman was the most proper woman Chloe had ever met and she seemed like she had a permanent scowl on her face. Chloe always thought that if she smiled, her face would crack in a million different pieces.
Now, she was coming to Smallville to judge Chloe as a mother.
Chloe reluctantly got out of bed and headed downstairs where she knew everyone would most likely be. She was right. Jonathan was at the table along with Clark and Lee was watching Martha cook breakfast. She cleared her throat and they all looked at her.
"I have some good news and some bad."
"What is it honey?" Martha asked.
"Well, Lee gets to finally meet her grandparents. Bad news, if everyone isn't dressed in their finest in the next thirteen minutes or by the time they get here, Mrs. Quinton is going to declare me an unfit mother and take Lee into their world," Chloe informed them. "Come on, Lee, let's go upstairs and get you dressed."
Chloe put Lee in sunny yellow dress had short sleeves, a simple collar and daisies scattered all over it. She made Lee wear a pair of white stockings and black dress shoes. She brushed Lee's auburn waves an pulled them back into a yellow barrette.
Chloe dressed herself in a pair of loose black dress pants, a simple ivory sweater, and black heels. She pulled her shoulder-length blonde tresses into a French twist and applied a layer of soft brown eye shadow and tinted lip gloss.
When she and Lee made it back downstairs, with only two minutes to spare, only Clark was there dressed in another suit. His hair was neatly combed and his glasses were in place.
"Where's your parents?" Chloe inquired.
"They decided to make themselves scarce."
Chloe looked out the window just in time to see a black limo pull up and a woman in a dark blue suit with the skirt just below her knees and a white blouse step out with the help of the chauffer. Chloe snorted and shook her head in disgust. Clark turned around to see the same woman, with gray hair in a tight bun and her gold earrings catching the early rays of the sun.
"That's the woman who was going to be your mother-in-law?"
"Oh, yeah. And see the feeble man with the white hair behind her?"
"Yeah."
"That's her husband."
Chloe went over and opened the front door. "Mrs. Quinton," Chloe greeted her with a cold tone.
"Chloe."
Clark was sure that the room temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees with that greeting.
"Well, if it isn't Chloe Sullivan," Roger Quinton greeted Chloe with a smile on his face.
"Mr. Quinton, how've you been?" Chloe greeted him with the same smile.
"I've told you child, call me Roger. As for how I've been, my joints ache and I sleep most of the day. But hey, I am getting older so it's no big thing," Roger answered.
"Aw, Roger, you're not that old."
"Who you trying to fool?"
Roger wrapped his arms around the woman who used to be the fiancé of his only son. Chloe reciprocated the action and leaned in to ask in a low voice, "It's her isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah. I swear my wife should have been a prison guard or something," Roger whispered, then pulled away.
"Where is my grandchild?" Amelia demanded breaking through the family moment.
"Your grandchild has a name you know."
"Yes, well, we cannot be bothered by such trivial things."
"I bet you're a real hit at office Christmas parties, aren't you?"
Roger had to stifle the chuckle with a cough while Amelia looked on with a look of utter disgust. Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I repeat, where is my grandchild and while I'm at it, who is that man?"
"That man is Clark Kent, a good friend of mine from out of town, and your grandchild's name is Leona."
"That is no name. Who chose that name for the child? You, I suppose."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. Is there a problem?"
"Chloe, where's Leona?" Roger asked trying to restore a miniscule of peace.
"I'm right here," Lee said as she came out of the kitchen, "and everyone calls me Lee."
Amelia looked as if someone had hit her. Her eyes were wide her and nose was flaring. "Lee? You call your daughter Lee? That is not a name for a little girl. Lee is a boy's name."
"Actually, Mrs. Quinton, it's unisex," Clark pointed out.
Amelia turned to the stranger who had dared to talk out of turn. "Excuse me?" she asked in a cool and collected manner.
Clark was never afraid of people of her position of power but when Amelia turned his way, he shrunk away a bit. "I was just pointing out that Lee isn't just a boy's name, it can be a girl's name too."
"Whatever. Now, I would like to talk to my granddaughter alone. If you all would be so kind as to leave the room now," Amelia ordered.
"Come on, Chloe. Let my wife talk to Leona while you, Clark and me have a little talk ourselves," Roger said before Chloe could object. Chloe nodded mutely and followed him into the kitchen.
When they were gone, Lee looked shyly at her grandmother. "You're my other gramma?"
Amelia stared down at the girl. "Yes I am," she replied stiffly.
"Why are you mean?"
"Excuse me?"
"Mean. You're mean to mommy. Why?"
Amelia open and shut her mouth like a fish out of the water. "I.well.I." for the first time in her entire life, Amelia had no idea what to say.
"Is it because daddy's dead?"
"What?"
"Daddy. Are you mean to mommy because of him?"
"No, why would you think that?"
Lee shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
"No, I just don't like your mommy."
"Did she do something bad?"
"No--"
"Then why?"
Amelia sighed. She had to find an answer that a child would understand. "I just don't like her. She reminds me too much of myself at her age."
Lee looked confused. "But mommy isn't like you. She's nice."
"You're just a little girl, you don't know anything."
Lee's eyes narrowed and her arms folded across her chest. "I do too. I know that you're not a nice person and you look like one of those birds in Uncle Jonathan's stories."
Amelia's face turned a deep red. How dare a little girl try to insult her! "Roger! Roger, get out her right now!"
Roger came running to his wife's side with Clark and Chloe at his heels. "What? What's wrong?"
"And why is my daughter standing there like she's facing a bully?"
"That child is a nuisance and has no manners once-so-ever. How dare she speak to me so improperly," Amelia said.
"I just told the truth," Lee pointed out.
"Amelia, honey, I think it may be time for us to leave. Why don't you wait in the limo for me. I'll be out in a moment," Roger calmed his wife. Amelia just sighed and did as he asked. Roger turned back to Chloe, Lee, and Clark. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes my wife speaks before she acts. Good-bye Lee, it was nice to meet you. Chloe, six years sound good to you?"
"Sure Roger." Chloe gave Roger a hurried hug, Clark shook hands with him, and Lee wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. The sound of the limo honking told Roger that his wife was getting impatient. With a small wave, Roger strolled out the door.
"So, that was the Quinton family," Clark stated.
"Yep."
"Interesting people."
"Oh, yeah."
Chloe and Lee went to their rooms to change and Clark sat back down on the couch.