Upon releasing her, Martha bustled her husband into the kitchen, immediately worried at the sight of his tearstained face.
Jon never cried!
Placing a large piece of pie and a cup of coffee (containing a liberal dose of cooking brandy) before him, she sat down next to him at the kitchen table and took his hand.
Jonathon took a large gulp of his coffee before passing the small sheet of paper to her.
Once she had read it, she looked up at her husband in sympathy, and squeezed his hand.
"What are we gonna do Martha? My son – our child, seems to think I am a homophobic bigot, capable of disowning him because of who he loves!"
Martha took a deep breath before replying.
"Look Jonathon, you may not what to hear this, but I'm not really surprised. The way you treat Lex *is* bigoted- unable to look past his last name, and punishing him for what his *father* has done to this town. Add that to the narrow-mindedness of small-town America, and you have Clark's conclusion."
Jonathon just stared at his wife for a moment, before nodding grudgingly.
"I guess you're right. I can see where Clark would get the idea. But it's still wrong! Straight, gay, bi – whatever! Clark is my son and I love him! I just want him to be happy!!"
Martha patted his hand.
"Good. Now the other thing. Lex. Were you honestly that surprised?"
Jonathon raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not blind Martha! I've seen the way he looks at Lex when he thinks no-ones looking. Initially I hoped it was just some hero-worship thing, or a crush. I guess not."
"And Jon, you realise that Clark is not alone in these feelings?"
"Yes Martha – as I said, I'm not blind! For someone brought up to hide his emotions, Lex can be more obvious than Clark! I mean, Lex has a personal space of like, 6 feet – and Clark is one of very few people whom he allows to breach it! So, what do we do?"
"Well, we can't really tell Clark that we've read what appears to be a page from his diary, so – it looks like we're going to have to do a spot of matchmaking!" Martha replied, already rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
"Well, first thing we're got to do is for you to make friends with Lex."
Jon never cried!
Placing a large piece of pie and a cup of coffee (containing a liberal dose of cooking brandy) before him, she sat down next to him at the kitchen table and took his hand.
Jonathon took a large gulp of his coffee before passing the small sheet of paper to her.
Once she had read it, she looked up at her husband in sympathy, and squeezed his hand.
"What are we gonna do Martha? My son – our child, seems to think I am a homophobic bigot, capable of disowning him because of who he loves!"
Martha took a deep breath before replying.
"Look Jonathon, you may not what to hear this, but I'm not really surprised. The way you treat Lex *is* bigoted- unable to look past his last name, and punishing him for what his *father* has done to this town. Add that to the narrow-mindedness of small-town America, and you have Clark's conclusion."
Jonathon just stared at his wife for a moment, before nodding grudgingly.
"I guess you're right. I can see where Clark would get the idea. But it's still wrong! Straight, gay, bi – whatever! Clark is my son and I love him! I just want him to be happy!!"
Martha patted his hand.
"Good. Now the other thing. Lex. Were you honestly that surprised?"
Jonathon raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not blind Martha! I've seen the way he looks at Lex when he thinks no-ones looking. Initially I hoped it was just some hero-worship thing, or a crush. I guess not."
"And Jon, you realise that Clark is not alone in these feelings?"
"Yes Martha – as I said, I'm not blind! For someone brought up to hide his emotions, Lex can be more obvious than Clark! I mean, Lex has a personal space of like, 6 feet – and Clark is one of very few people whom he allows to breach it! So, what do we do?"
"Well, we can't really tell Clark that we've read what appears to be a page from his diary, so – it looks like we're going to have to do a spot of matchmaking!" Martha replied, already rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
"Well, first thing we're got to do is for you to make friends with Lex."