"Are you going to church?" she asked.
"Not until tomorrow. Why?"
"You're all dressed up. I thought you always wear plaid on the farm."
"I'm going to see your mom and I thought I might as well look nice. I could use a girl's opinion though," he said as he sat her on the foot of his bed, "the blue tie or the red tie?"
"The blue one. It matches your eyes."
Clark stood in front of the mirror, as he put on his tie. He looked at Lilly's reflection. She still looked upset and mopey.
"So did you enjoy the movie?" he asked.
"It was funny."
He went over and sat beside her.
"It's about your mom, isn't it?"
She didn't answer.
"I've learned to take what your mom says with a grain of salt. It's taken me a long time to realize it but she's not a bad person. She's just not always aware of how her words make others feel. However, I have a feeling she'll come around sooner or later."
"It's just she acted weird. Mommy always plays with me like she's a big kid. She hardly ever orders me around unless she has to. She looks like Mommy, sounds like Mommy and acts a lot like Mommy but somehow she seems different. It's not just Mommy either. You act weird and different."
"I do?"
"You don't act as strong or like you know what to do. Everybody's a little different. Things are different. At first, it didn't bother me. I like doing new stuff. I like Shelby but I miss Krypto. I like playing on the farm but I miss the city. Nothing seems right and why does Mamaw have an old calendar? I'm starting to feel scared."
He put his arm around her and said, "there's nothing to be scared about. I'll fix everything. I promise. Just relax and have fun."
She looked up and smiled. She knew her dad could fix just about anything.
"You probably know your mom better than I do at this point. Do you think she'd like candy or flowers?"
"Both, I guess."
"Let's see, I know she likes any kind of chocolates. Do you know what her favorite flowers are, Lilly?"
She laughed and said, "you just said it."
"Lilies? Duh! Her daughter's name. I knew that."
Lilly laughed harder.
He stood up and struck a model's pose, asking, "do you think your mom will let your handsome daddy through the door?"
She had her arms folded across her stomach with laughter.
"Bye, sweetheart. I'll see you later."
"Can't I go see Mommy with you?"
"I think it's better if I see her first until she starts to feel and act more like the mommy you know."
"Okay. Bye, Daddy."
He hugged her goodnight and then he made a stop to say goodnight to Jason. He had already gone to bed. Clark stroked his light brown hair. He wondered if this was Lois' natural shade. It was hard to tell the way she kept it highlighted. He said goodbye to his mom and then headed out in the night air to try and reason with Lois.
-
He stood in front of Lois' apartment door and knocked. He had knots in his stomach.
What was he doing? Lois would never let him in after what happened this morning and worse yet, he was trying to woo her. That was like trying to woo a crocodile. Even the crocodile hunter couldn't woo this crocodile.
He was about to go back down the steps, when Lois opened the door.
"Woah, Smallville! Got a hot date, tonight?" she said, as she moved to let him in.
"Not really. I just didn't have anything else to wear. I brought you candy and flowers."
"No need. I've forgotten about this morning. I talked to a friend, who's studying psychology, and she said the kid was taking her feelings of an absent mother and applying them to me."
"Yeah. It's something like that. I should just tell you why I'm here. I want you to go to church with us tomorrow and then go on a picnic afterwards."
"I can't if the kids are going to be there."
"Why do you hate kids so much?" he practically shouted in exasperation.
"I just do. I can't explain it."
"If you tell me, I'll leave."
She gave him a long look like she was studying him for an explanation.
"Fine. I'll tell you and maybe then you'll understand why I can't be around kids. I've never told anyone this. The only people who know are me and the General. Lucy was too young to remember," she sighed heavily, " I was little but I remember it clearly. I came home from school and Mom wasn't there. We tell everybody she died of lung cancer but the truth is she left of her own free will. She ran away with some man. Dad blamed me. He said I was too much of a handful for her. He said I wasn't responsible enough. So I tried hard to be good and responsible. I took care of Lucy. I studied hard but she never came back and for awhile I was afraid Dad might leave too. When I found nothing I did worked, I blamed the General. I thought he was so mean and scary that he drove her away but he wasn't the one that abandoned us. When I got older, I realized Mom chose to leave and only Mom." At this point, tears started to form, "and I'm afraid that I'm just like her. Mom was an alcoholic and she was always smoking. I remember the alcohol most because she used to let me take a sip every now and then. She said it made you happier and calmer. I still carry that thinking around but it only made her more depressed. Alcohol cost me an education. It really only makes things worse. Then there are relationships. I'm never happy with a man. I get bored and I move on. I don't want to get married because I know I'll just move on to a more exciting relationship. Most of all though I don't want to have kids or even be around children at all. I'll just end up hurting them and leaving them. I have to put these flowers in water."
She turned around to leave but Clark caught her by the shoulders and turned her back around.
"Lois, I don't know what to say except that's not true. You are the strongest and most independent person I know and you will not follow in your mother's footsteps. You are unbelievably caring. You would never hurt the people you love intentionally. You are loyal and you would help them if it cost you your life. Look at Chloe. You are always there for her. You don't always come out and say it but you show love through your actions. I know for a fact that when you have kids, they'll love you and turn out beautifully."
She had stopped crying but one last tear was rolling down her cheek, as she asked, "you think so?"
"I know so. Come to the picnic and you'll see that children can and will think you're the greatest."
"Okay. I'll try anything once and that includes church but you better go, so I can get in bed early."
She shut the door behind him. He was finally getting somewhere with her. He was learning to like and respect Lois even if he didn't love her yet.
He almost forgot something. He turned around and x-rayed her apartment. He wanted to have a look at those poems. All he found was a lead box. Did she do that on purpose? She couldn't have. She had no idea that he couldn't see through that metal but whether she knew it or not, she couldn't have picked a safer box to put her poems in.
TBC