Lois took a look out the window and made a face. "It better not be raining in Smallville because I will have to kill Smallville if he gets my $60 jacket wet."
Richard and Jimmy were confused at this comment but Chloe understood and chuckled.
Richard turned to the back and asked Chloe, "are you sure this is the right warehouse?"
"It's the only abandoned toy warehouse around," Chloe replied. "I think I should go in alone or this mysterious stranger might not want to open up."
The 3 of them looked uneasy about this but knew she was right.
(Clark and Lois have come back out of the kitchen. Clark is returning to his book and Lois has begun her pacing again.)
Lois became increasingly uncomfortable about being in the car alone with Richard and Jimmy. They both kept looking at her and she was worried about Chloe.
"You know this mysterious stranger isn't going to be worried about another young girl creeping around. You two stay here and I'm going to go hide and keep an eye on Chloe and the stranger."
Lois left before they could protest. Chloe was inside the warehouse waiting. Lois figured it would be better to stay outside. She made her way to a broken window and crouched beneath it.
"Miss Sullivan?" asked the man, who came out from another part of the warehouse.
He looked old and dusty but he was only in his 30s. The lenses in his glasses were cracked and the frames were held together with tape. He was a creepy sight but certainly not a dangerous one.
"I'm Miss Sullivan. Who are you?"
"My name isn't important but my story is. I used to work at this warehouse before they shut the toy factory down. As you can tell from my appearance and home, I haven't done so well, since it closed down 2 years ago. I've been afraid of telling this secret. So many people who were involved with this have disappeared but I can't go on living with this secret not when it could hurt innocent children," he began to tear up.
"It's okay. Take a deep breathe."
He did and continued. " a shipment of teddie bears came in. ( Lois is interrupting me to say that teddie is spelled teddy. She says that she's the worse speller in the world but even she knew that. I politely thank her and remind her that I already have a spell checker for when I'm done.) It was a simple little teddy bear, cute but simple. One of them became torn and I found a strange looking rock in it. It was a combination of pale pink and blue. The others had them too but apparently nobody was supposed to know about it. The factory shut down soon after. I've been avoiding society ever since, hoping somebody doesn't try to make me disappear."
Chloe was visibly shaken by the rocks. They had to be some sort of new meteor rocks. "How many bears did they ship out?"
"Only a 100, I think."
"You have no idea what the rocks are for?"
"None."
"Any idea who was in charge of this rock operation?"
"No."
"I think you need police protection."
He adamantly shook his head and said, " I don't want to be anywhere else but here."
Nothing would change his mind. Chloe and Lois went back to the car and the 4 of them left. Lois looked so tired that they took her home first.
"Chloe, promise me you won't try anything dangerous without me," Lois said before getting out of the car.
"You say that you're only trying to protect me when you follow me on these stories but you know what I think, Lois Lane?"
"I don't want to know."
"I think you like chasing down stories. I know you eavesdropped even when you saw that he couldn't possibly be dangerous."
"You're delusional. You should get out of those wet clothes. Now promise me."
"I will not chase down this story without my trusty companion."
Lois went upstairs and took out her other key. She had loaned one to Clark. She opened the door and saw—
(I'm going to stop here and record a present day argument going on between Lois and Clark. It's not a serious one but they're always so fun to watch. Lois is sitting on the arm of Clark's recliner and peering at what he's reading. She snatched the book out of his hand and flips through the pages.
"Lois, what are you doing?" Clark patiently inquires.
"Seeing what kind of junk you're reading now. Chapter 1: Was the universe created or has it always been here? Pure malarkey." She reads other chapter titles out loud. "Chapter 4: Does the universe have a physical end or does it go on forever? The last chapter ends with is there really life on other planets?"
Clark is starting to look a little irritated but he has such a quiet strength and tons of patience. You'd have to if you were going to be married to Lois for over 40 years. Lois loves conflict. She purposely picks fights but Clark had learned since his teenage years that instead of trying to beat her at her own game, you have to smile and not take the bait. They crack me up.
"Lois, honey, what do you think I should be reading?" Clark asks.
"Read a newspaper. You spend too much time reading books," she answers.
"How about we go on a walk? Chloe is so distracted by us that she's writing what we're saying instead of working on the book."
Clark has peered at my writing again. They do need to take a walk. Lois smiles at me but agrees to the walk.
"We'll be back in a few minutes, Chloe, so I better see some progress," Lois said doing her Perry White imitation.
Now that they're gone, I better get back to where I left off.)
Lois opened her door and saw a dark figure standing in the back of the room. She laid her purse down and put her hands into fists. She was ready to beat the intruder senseless. The intruder switched on the light. It was Clark.
She walked over and shoved him. "You stupid jerk! Were you trying to scare the living daylights out of me?"
"I want to know why you were out so late?"
"Give me a break! I asked you to take my clothes home not spend the night waiting up for me like you're my mother."
"Did you go back to his place?"
"That's none of your business, Clark. How dare you accuse all my boyfriends of being no good and you haven't even met this one. He is the most boring gentleman on the face of the planet and Chloe's date is an 18-year-old with all the innocence of a little boy. You'd have more to worry about if our dates were Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street."
"Then where were you all this time?"
"That's it, Clark! I've had it. You tell me and everyone else we know that you hate my guts and can't stand to be around me. So try and stay the heck away from me!
Clark was stunned. "Fine!" he said and he turned to leave.
"Give me back my key, you idiot!"
He threw down the key and stormed away. Lois could've sworn she'd seen a tear.
She felt bad. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings. She's gone too far this time but he was such a confusing person. Their relationship was confusing. Maybe all her crankiness and confusion stemmed from her lack of sleep. There was no point in tracking Smallville down tonight. He could stay hidden if he wanted to. She just didn't have the energy to think or even make it to her bed, so she fell asleep on the couch.
TBC