Chapter 6

Sitting on the back porch late at night with a coffee was one of the quiet pleasures of Lois's life. The densely packed buildings of Metropolis glowed with an ethereal light as the night-lights of the city reflected on the shifting water of the bay. The view changed constantly and the cool breeze that traveled through at night always gave her a sense of peace.

Lois was troubled by Perry's words and they had really affected her. Surely all of them weren't just work colleagues to Clark Kent. She remembered the first time she met him with his stammering and shy behaviour. How he managed to get such great stories when he was too shy to say boo had always been an enigma to her.

Right from the start she had seen the adoration in Clark's eyes and whilst flattering and great for her ego, why would she be interested in such a shy, bumbling country bumpkin. She had deliberately ensured that she kept Clark Kent at a distance in the early days so that he got the message that she was way out of his league.

No matter which way she turned in her thinking she couldn't stop thinking of the ways she had kept him at a distance. Clark was always prepared to listen to her talk about anything without criticism or judgment. Thinking back now on her actions she realized that when he talked she would almost disengage from him and listen with half her attention.

"Why did I do that?" she thought to herself, "Clark always had a point of view and inside that head of his was a very sharp mind."

She remembered how over the years they had become friends, maybe not close friends, but definitely friends. He had always been so attentive towards her and was always there. That was the problem, he was always there, like a gentle security presence that will always be, willing to go along with anything she wanted. She was the one in charge and no matter how scared he was to follow her, he always would. She came to rely on Clark Kent as a good work colleague yet on a personal level she never let him in.

Then Superman disappeared, she was so worried about him that when Clark came to her and told her he was leaving to go traveling she had given him a quick hug and wished him all the very best. Without thinking she had left the room and waving back over her head had said "Clark have fun with the Llamas." She heard him say "Lois . . ." but she had received a tip that someone had seen Superman down at the homeless kitchen and she was in a hurry to check it out, so she choose to ignore him.

He disappeared on his travels for years and so many things had occurred in her life. She found out she was pregnant to Superman, meet Richard, fell in love and created the family that she had always wanted. She had won two Pulitzers and had become one of the top news reporters in the world. Until he returned from his travel she didn't think that she had thought more than a couple of times about Clark Kent.

"How could someone that has been in my life for such a long time be a peripheral part of my memories," she thought to herself. "What is it about Clark Kent that made me not want to engage with him? He is an honest, humble and clever man who apart from his obvious stumbling tendencies was one of the best partners a person could ask for," Lois thought to herself.

Taking a deep breath she thought "well no point worrying about it now, you were a complete bitch to him and unless he accepts your apology there is nothing you can do to try and fix any friendship you had with him . . ."

"Good evening Miss Lane,"

His voice made her jump out of her contemplative silence, "Holy crap you scared me," Lois yelped, "can't you at least ring a bell before you scared the life out of me?"

"Sorry," he replied with a slight smile on his face.

"You enjoy doing that don't you?" she replied.

"It has its benefits," he replied. His silence after he spoke she found un-nerving. "God, Lois after all this time, he still makes you jumpy, grow up girl," she thought, before she asked the first question on her mind. "Superman, do you know where Clark Kent is?"

He looked down at her for a while before he floated to land on the ground in front of her. "Why?" was the only word he uttered.

"um . . . well I saw him the other day and I was just wondering where he was living?"

"Why?"

"I haven't seen him for a long time and I have been worried about him," she replied a little testy.

Leaning forward she was a bit surprised to see him looking intently at her before he said "Worried about him, do you think something is wrong?"

"No, it's just . . . well it's just I need to know he is ok?"

"Why are you only asking now? Hasn't he been gone a long time, why now are you asking me if he is ok?" he asked.

"The truth?"

"Of course"

"The truth is sure Clark was annoying but I need him to accept my apology for the way I treated him, I am unhappy with my behaviour," she replied.

She watched as his face closed and he stood back and stood in his Superman pose. "So you need to know where Clark is so you can feel better about yourself?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty selfish, it isn't like that, but I do want to put this behind me," she replied.

"No Lois, I won't tell you where Clark is but rest assure, he is fine and you don't have to worry about him," he replied before he floated off the round and said "Goodnight Lois."

Superman's words rang clearly inside her head, why did they feel so familiar and where had she heard them before. "Oh my God . . ." she thought as she suddenly remembered who and where she had heard that phrase before.

To be continued . . .

P.S. it's going to get dark from here.