Lois was looking over the umpteenth application. Now more than ever, she really didn't have the time to babysit a new hire. Yet, she and Chrissy were swamped and badly needed help. She also had to fill up a whole sheet full of ad space by today, a job she detested. She looked at the pile of resumes and then she looked at the list of the local businesses and phone numbers, trying to make a decision about which was the lesser of two evils.
She dialed the number of the new hardware store. "Hello, I'm with the Smallville Gazette. You're in luck because we have the space in our paper for you to advertise your grand opening."
"I'm the only hardware store in town. Do you really think I need advertising?"
She could hear his cockiness. She tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. "Our rates are very reasonable. Twelve dollars per inch. You could have customers lined up around the block for less than a hundred dollars."
"Yeah, I think I'm going to pass. Thanks anyway."
She swallowed her pride and offered him a deal that would barely help make ends meet. "We do have a new customer discount. Ten dollars per inch for the first six months."
"Thanks, but no thanks," he said snidely, not knowing a great deal when he heard one.
She hung up on him without wishing him a nice day. She had to face it. A saleswoman she was not. She didn't have the people skills for it.
There was a light knock in the doorway; Natalie was standing there. She'd thought everyone was out being a Saturday. Clark was giving Jon his first driving lesson. Jordan was with Sarah. John Henry was trying to get more answers at the mine. She was ashamed to admit she'd almost forgotten about Natalie. "Hey, you need something?"
"Kind of. I have a small favor to ask."
Lois was eager to make good with the girl. She really did want them to become friends. "Sure. Shoot."
"See, I tried to sign up for driver's ed this semester, but it was filled up until January. Dad's been too busy to take me out, and I'm not sure an RV is what a new driver should begin on. I'm going to be sixteen in a couple months, so at this rate I'm going to be seventeen before I get a driver's license. What I'm trying to ask is could you take me out in your car?"
Lois sucked in a breath. She hadn't been expecting this. The boys would have never asked her such a favor. They wanted the calm, patient parent teaching them for one thing. And the other reason was that she and Clark had just saved up enough money to be able to afford a second car again. It wasn't a new car by any means, but it was new to her. Did she really want to chance a teenager giving it all kinds of dings and scratches? "Uh..."
"Forget I said anything," she said quickly, embarrassed to have asked.
That cinched it. It was the perfect way for them to start to bond, and she did feel she owed her something. "No, I want to. I need a break from all this desk work anyway. Just let me freshen up and grab the keys, and we'll go."
"Cool," she said, giving her what she thought was the first real smile since she moved in.
Eighteen minutes later, she was regretting it as her hands were gripping the dashboard so tight that her knuckles were white. She bet Clark was having an easy time of it. He was probably sipping lemonade with his feet propped up as he guided Jonathan through the process. Though when you were impervious to injury and could rescue both the driver and the truck with one hand tied behind your back, the prospect of teaching someone to drive wasn't nearly so harrowing.
They were stopping and going like an amusement park ride on the fritz.
"I'm not doing so hot, am I?" Natalie asked.
She was trying hard not to say anything at all to keep from making her more nervous, thankful that they were on a country road with no other cars in sight. "No, you're doing fine. You just need to learn to keep your foot on the gas pedal."
So, Natalie did, and they started gaining a little speed.
She saw Ben Hudson's mailbox that was shaped like a barn coming up. It was in the path of the car. "Turn the steering wheel a little to the left."
She did, but they were still in the path and still gaining.
Less calmly, she said, "A little more to the left."
Natalie did, but she was going to swipe it and was continuing to gain speed. "To the left!"
She didn't move fast enough, so Lois reached over and helped jerk the steering wheel to the left, narrowly missing another barn in Smallville being demolished forever.
Natalie slammed on the brake, and they lurched forward barely avoiding sporting matching goose eggs.
"It's okay. Let's just take a second to breathe." Lois drew in a deep breath, wondering if it was the teen years that turned a parent's hair gray.
"Who was it that taught you to drive?" Natalie asked.
She gave a short bark of laughter. "Not my father and certainly not my mother. It was a poor, retired state trooper, ex-military man my father hired because he was too busy. My first day of driving, I backed over a stump, trying to back out of our driveway onto a busy highway. I think I'm the reason the man now teaches driver safety courses rather than teaching teens to drive. He survived combat and law enforcement, but it took me to finally break him."
Natalie laughed at the picture that painted. "I wonder if it was the same for my mom."
"Maybe. You could probably ask your dad about it. My point is no one starts out knowing how to drive. It may not seem like it now, but you will get the hang of this."
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for being willing to teach me. Um, you want to drive us back to the farm?"
It was like the girl could read her mind. She could hug her. "No problem. And we'll pick this up again next Saturday."
When they pulled up at the farm, the truck was already back, looking no worse for the wear. She couldn't say the same for her husband, who sat on the porch with a glass of iced tea.
Natalie went inside, looking eager to compare experiences with Jonathan.
Lois joined Clark. "How'd it go?"
He offered a drink of his tea, which she took, as he answered. "We survived. You know what scares me is that in a year, he's going to have a driver's license, and I won't be in the truck. Jordan too."
"Yep, that's when it truly gets scary. Natalie did pretty good for her first time. Almost took out Ben's mailbox, but it could have been worse."
"Sounds like we both need stronger stuff than caffeine," he said, offering to get a bottle of wine though neither beverage affected him.
"I'll have to take a rain check. I'm going to need a clear head to sort through the rest of the applications and peddle ads."
"Okay, let me know if I can help."
He'd said it offhandedly, a habit really, but that got the wheels turning. "Clark."
He looked up, recognizing her tone and not altogether sure if he liked it.
"You have a lot of time on your hands now with football season winding down and until we figure out why your powers aren't totally reliable at the moment."
"That's true," he said cautiously, wondering if he was backing himself into a corner.
"How would you like to work for the Smallville Gazette? I hear one of the bosses there is a peach to work for."
"I have heard good things about Chrissy."
"Watch it, Kent," she said, chuckling.
He pretended to be thinking it over. "And just what would be my benefits if I accepted?"
"Well, the pay's kind of lousy, no medical or retirement plans to speak of, the hours can be long, but there's room for mobility as you can sleep your way to the top."
"Really?" he asked with a grin. "And no one's taken you up on that, Ms. Lane? Where do I sign?"
She grinned back and led him by the hand into the office.
She stuffed the list of numbers into his hand just as was spinning her around to trap her against the desk. "You can start by filling up our ad section."
"You're a taskmaster, Ms. Lane," he said with a teasing groan.
She gave him a playful pat. "I really am. Welcome to the Gazette, Mr. Kent."
