The sun was beginning to set and Lois and Clark were walking slowly down the sidewalk.
"I hope you understand why I want to walk to the party," said Lois, "my eyes have really been opened. The world isn't always a great place to live, but it does have its beautiful moments that are unique to this planet."
"I understand. What I don't understand is why we remember our past and Perry and Jimmy don't."
"Let me try to explain differently. I know it's confusing. There are now three groups of people. The first group is the people that live out normal life spans like it's always been. The second group is people like us, who live longer life spans and are constantly aware of it. The third group is people like Perry and Jimmy, who live longer life spans but think they're living out normal life spans. Groups 1 and 3 will about every two or three years 'upload' new information causing them not to realize what is going on with group 2. Things will at least seem to be the way they've always been."
"If you say so. I'm still not a 100 percent clear, but I'll accept it by faith. How do you know and understand it all?"
"One of us has to know what's going on and I had to think about something while I was waiting to return. You know what bugs me? It's that museum story. I know we found the guy who did the robbery and got the story in on time but-"
"You can't help but think that there's someone bigger behind it. I agree and the question 'where did the items go' still remains. I don't think it was just sold on the black-market like the police say."
"We should look into it more, when we get the chance. Boy, does it feel good to be feeding my work addiction again," she said, pulling out a candy bar.
"That's not the only thing you're feeding. Lois. I know you have a sweet tooth but don't you think you're going overboard with all the sugar you've eaten today?"
"Don't start with me. I don't have diabetes now that I'm younger and I plan to enjoy it. Life's too short. It's not like I'm doing drugs or drinking."
"I was just pointing it out. I don't want to get in a fight with you when you just came back," he said and then he got a look on his face.
"Go, Clark! Be a hero."
"Only if you promise to stay put until I get back."
"I will, assuming a car doesn't come into my path or anything."
"It shouldn't be long. A gang is picking on an innocent man."
"Go! I'll be all right."
Clark left and Lois rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her candy bar. Clark was back after about 30 seconds.
"It's amazing how fast I can get things done again. Of course, they didn't put up much of a fight after they saw the S on my chest," said Clark.
"Let's go before we're late. After all, it was nice of everybody to have the get together in Metropolis."
"Is it just me or do you think we look odd?"
"You mean because of our clothes?"
"Yeah, we're not wearing what the current generation is wearing."
"That's because our generation is over there," she said pointing to an elderly couple.
"We need to blend in and not do stuff like talking to that 60 year old man in research like he's a child."
"But he is a child to us. I see what you mean though. Maybe we can get one of those bracelets like that girl over there."
"The one that makes it look like part of your arm is invisible?"
"They also have ones that make it look like an x-ray but those are supposedly out of fashion," she said.
"We'll talk about it later. Look, we're here and the outside looks run down."
" Looks is the key word. That's what makes it great and keeps a superhero party from sticking out like a sore thumb."
They went in and it was very crowded. They mingled and found Chloe and Bruce.
"Have you got to see your kids yet, Lois?" asked Chloe over the loud noise.
"We saw Laura and Jordan with their husband and wife. They didn't know where their kids took off to. It's awful crowded," Lois shouted back.
Just then a 4-year-old boy came up after crawling through people's legs.
He grabbed Lois' hand and said, "Come on, Mamaw! I want to show you the picture I colored."
"Not right now, Daniel. I'm surprised you recognized your old grandma."
She was being dragged off whether she liked it or not. So she called out, "On second thought, I'll be back."
The 3 of them waved, as the strong little 4-year-old dragged his grandmother off.
"This way," he said, as he crawled under the refreshment table.
Lois looked around to see if anybody was watching and then crawled after him.
"Okay, Danny boy. Where's the picture?"
"Here," he said, as he lifted up the part of the tablecloth that was against the wall.
A cow had been drawn and colored with crayons on the wallpaper.
"What a nice cow. You're a good artist but do you think you should've done that on the expensive wallpaper Uncle Bruce paid for?"
"I brought crayons, but I forgot the paper. What else is there to do at a boring grown up party, Mamaw? You can't even dance to the boring music."
"Good point. Do you have a green crayon?"
He handed her one and she put grass under the cow.
"There. Cows have to eat," she said.
"I missed you, Mamaw," he said, hugging her.
"I missed you too, baby," she replied.
Her cell phone began to vibrate. It was an unknown number. Maybe it had something to do with the museum story or some other important story.
"Sweetie, I hear Carrie out there. Why don't you go play with your cousin?"
"Okay."
"And let's keep this picture our little secret and next time only use drawing paper."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good boy," she said, crawling out the side of the table and leaving through the back door.
"Yes?" she asked answering her phone.
"I have some important information for you, Lois. Meet me at the corner of 48th street alone."
Click
Clark wouldn't like her going off by herself. It was still possible to be killed if you tried hard enough, but if it meant a good story, she had to do it.
