"Where is he?" Chloe asked, taking another bite of her bagel. She hadn't seen Lex since she'd arrived at the Luthor mansion. 'Chicken,' she thought to herself.
"Didn't Whitney tell you? They went back to Metropolis. They got called in for meetings today but they'll be back by the party tomorrow night." Cara smiled. "So we won't have them in the way while we plan and prepare for the party!" She clapped her hands together joyfully. "This is going to be so much fun!"
Chloe swallowed the piece of bagel that had gotten stuck in her throat. "Great," she replied without feeling but Cara didn't even notice. She was too busy going into detail as to how they were going to decorate the front hall.
They spent most of the first day choosing colours and decorations. Finally, at six o'clock, she begged off to go into town for coffee.
"I can have Ted drive you in if you like," Cara said, one well manicured, pink nailed hand poised over the phone to call the driver up.
"No, no, don't worry about it. If I could just borrow one of Lex's cars I'll drive myself in."
"Go ahead. They keys are in the cabinet on the far left wall when you go in from the basement." She opened a drawer and passed Chloe a ring of keys. "The blue topped one will open that one."
"Thanks." Chloe took the keys and got out of the room quickly before Cara found something else she needed her opinion on.
It always amazed her how many cars the Luthors had, considering there were only two of them and the older one never came up here and they could only drive two at a time… Why would anyone own so many cars was way beyond her… Shrugging, she chose a nice little sports car that didn't look too expensive. The licence plate read Luthor2 and it looked like it couldn't have been used more than twice in its entire life.
The drive to town was quiet and relaxing. She wished Whitney were here though. Despite owning his own company and her only taking a few articles a month, they'd be interrupted, she'd be needed for a story or he'd be called back into work, like today. At least he would be back for the party tomorrow and she'd be able to get away from Vara and her catty comments.
Parking in front of the Talon, she got out and went inside. A coffee in a nice corner would be a nice change. Quite nostalgic actually.
The coffee shop really hadn't changed. The décor had but it was still packed with high school students, Crows jackets and cheerleader uniforms dotted within the crowd.
She ordered a coffee and took it to a table in the corner to watch the people mill around. She was totally lost in thought, daydreaming about Christmas and Whitney and happy cozy thoughts, when she heard it,
"Chloe?"
Looking up, she saw the strong handsome face of Pete. "Hey Pete," she replied, standing up to hug him.
"It is you! Damn!" He hugged her tightly. "I didn't think you'd come. I'm so glad you did! Mind if I sit?" She shook her head and they sat. "Wow, so have you seen anyone since you got here?"
She winced. "Clark and Lana…"
"Ah, I see. And how did that go?"
"Pretty bad… it felt like they were both jealous but maybe that was just in my own twisted world…"
He shrugged. "Well, Lana did go out with Whitney for a long time and Clark liked you. Hell, when I got the invitation to your wedding I was so mad and so jealous I wanted to kill Whitney. But when I saw you two together it just kind of melted away because I knew that you'd found something special with him and I wasn't about to stand in the way of that…"
"You liked me?"
"Yeah, once." He grinned. "But now I've got my own woman so Whitney won't have to worry about me stealing you away."
"Don't worry," she replied dryly. "He's not worried."
"Where is Lex Jr. anyway?" Pete joked, looking around.
"Very funny… Metropolis. Some of us actually have to work for our money…"
"I work," he replied defensively. "Just because football looks fun, there's a lot of work involved."
She smiled. It was nice to have Pete back and normal.
"Well, I should get back. Amy and the baby are waiting. I was just getting coffee for her because that child does not sleep!" He put on a mock scowl but she saw the pride shining through.
Her face softened. "I can't believe you have a baby… a mini-you…"
"Me either. Kind of scary."
"I bet you're an awesome father…"
"Maybe, but I should really get going. I'll see you tomorrow night." He left, pushing open the door to the coffee house and out into the swirling snow.
Just before the door swung shut, a hand caught it and Clark Kent came into view, shaking snow from his coat and hair. His eyes scanned the room, settling on someone behind the counter. Chloe watched him stride over and give Lana Lang a quick kiss before settling himself at the counter. She felt a minute sense of jealousy before remembering the look on his face when she and Whitney had first seen the couple. There wasn't anything wrong with being jealous. It was just missing Whitney. She sighed and left the coffee house, knowing she wasn't going to get any more peace.
That night as she lay by herself in bed, the sheets wrapped around her small frame, she wondered what it would have been like marrying Clark and staying in Smallville. She'd done it millions of times before meeting Whitney. She'd been a schoolgirl in love. They probably wouldn't have gotten along. She would have missed Metropolis… She rolled over and envisioned Whitney's strong arms wrap around her and dropped off peacefully to sleep.
The next day dragged on and on. She grimaced as Cara's voice rang out again and again, berating the men for making the banner too high or too low or yelling at the caterers for not bringing enough of something and too much of something else. She couldn't wait until six o'clock when the guests would arrive.
She thought she was okay at four when everything was pretty much done but Cara cornered her in the front hall.
"Chloe, we have to look perfect tonight for the party so I had some professionals called in for you and I to get ready…" She smiled, taking Chloe by the arm. "Whitney will be happily shocked."
"I'm sure he will," Chloe replied unhappily. The thought of sitting for more than an hour while they compared, changed, plucked, combed, and gooped wasn't very pleasant. But there was no way around it. Sighing, she followed Cara upstairs.
Two hours later, as the guests arrived and she was complemented on several times, she wasn't so mad about it. She saw Pete, Amy and little Geri who was the cutest thing and made her wish for babies, Clark and Lana from a distance because she'd been too chicken and run away when they'd arrived, and even some of her old friends from school. But still no Whitney and Lex.
By eight o'clock, she gave up and wandered out to the back gardens to a secluded spot so she could wallow. She was really tired of smiling, saying 'oh my god, you haven't changed a bit,' and hugging and shaking hands… She just wanted to go home, curl up and read something. Sitting down on a swinging chair, she pushed off and curled up, a most unladylike position but oh well… She closed her eyes and let the rocking sooth her. Where was Whitney when she needed him? Where was Whitney when she needed him?