Chapter 24 [Fourth of July—two weeks following the wedding]
The air had turned hotter than a furnace as the calendar turned from June to July. Farmers hustled to keep their corn and wheat irrigated. The few clouds skittered across the unforgiving robin egg blue backdrop. The humidity hung so heavily in the air that one could cut it with a knife.
On the Kent Farm, Clark rushed between his three worlds. In the first case, he more than kept up his end for Perry White in running the Daily Planet's Granville Bureau. He kept the farm going despite the conditions. However his mind remained on the third and most important part of his world. He watched his wife but wanted to give her space to fight her battles. He wanted to do more but had accepted the impending finality of their situation. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. But recalling what had happened with Jonathan years before, he knew there was nothing he could do in the face of the Great Reaper.
Still he could plan a bit. He'd talked with the folks in Granville and Junction City about the big Fourth of July festival and fireworks going on the latter town. He determined that Lana would get another big night no matter what. Accordingly he made reservations and such.
And so the best laid plans went….
Lana struggled to get around even in her wheelchair on that particular morning. She hacked ferociously spitting up some phlegm into the toilet. The tendrils of numbness interfered with her arms and hands working the wheels forcing her to slowly amble the chair across the floor. She huffed for breath after burning breath. This isn't fair. I can't even take care of myself much less be the wife that Clark deserves! She forced her arm toward her face but it couldn't quite get there.
"Lana, what's wrong? Here let me help you," Martha noticed. She ripped a tissue from the box and gently wiped her daughter-in-law's cheeks.
"Sorry, Mom. I just wish I wasn't so helpless! I know what's going on! But Clark deserves better. I…" Lana broke down and bowed her head.
Martha embraced her. "You are doing your best, Lana. Clark knows that. He chose to be with you. Please understand that you are not a burden to him or me. All right? Please stop that kind of talk."
"It's so hard to…." Lana broke down into another fierce coughing fit. She spasmed dramatically.
"I know it is. But we give to each other as much as we can for as long as we can. Do you understand me? Clark isn't just a hero because of his abilities. It's his heart that makes him a hero. It's your heart that draws him to you. All right?" Martha insisted. "You're doing what you can within the season allotted to you. It's all any of us can do."
"I know. I just wish it were longer," Lana lamented.
"We all do. I can tell you though a lot of people treasure their time around you. Your relationship with Clark has been a cornerstone for him. I wish it hadn't taken so long for you two to get to this point. I wish you had a real lifetime in this marriage. But you two have had a lifetime. Take that as seriously as he does. Even though Jonathan's been gone for nine years, I still love and treasure the time I had with him," Martha explained while trying to give the younger woman some perspective.
"You two were amazing. You created this home and so much more," Lana concurred.
"And you create that with Clark. Maybe it isn't for as long or as much but you two have your own foundation. You love each other. You respect tradition and values. Those are what counts," Martha concluded.
Lana nodded. She could feel the burden lightening a bit. "As I said, you're amazing."
"Not as much as I'd like but thanks," Martha replied with relief. Just then she saw the door opening and Clark come walking in. "Clark, what's going on?"
"Hi, Mom, Lana. Hey I have something I flew out for," he noted while giving Lana a kiss on the cheek. "You doing all right?"
Not wanting to get his mood down, she nodded. "Sure. Just having some issues with my arms working this wheelchair is all. What's going on?"
"Why don't we see?" he asked her almost mischievously. He reestablished their 'seeing eye' connection. Then he wheeled her out the door and down the ramp toward the driveway. "Come on, Mom! You too!"
"What are you up to, Clark?" Lana inquired pointedly. "I…" Her eyes went wide.
There, by the truck, sat three cherry sapling trees in their balls of dirt waiting to be planted.
"I know how you love to look at them. I figured we'd have some here," he informed her. "Hope you like them."
"Like them? Clark, this is great! Thank you," his wife expressed enthusiastically. During the previous year, he'd flown her to Washington, DC, the Pacific Northwest and even across the Pacific to Japan so that she could experience those places for herself. On all of those trips, she'd admired the simple beauty and flowers of the cherry trees.
And now she could have them in the front yard for herself.
"Want to give me a hand?" he supposed while handing her a shovel.
"I can…do a couple of scrapes. At least I can help in spirit, right?" she agreed. After Martha had wheeled her up to the trees, she pointed over by the western fence bordering on her parents' old property. "How about over there? That way my parents can share too?"
"Over there it is," he agreed with a grin. He wheeled her over to the designated spot. Then, in turn, he brought each tree over. "Break ground for me?"
She ground her teeth and hefted the shovel. "Hate being this weak," she muttered while scraping a small amount of dirt across the spot.
"You aren't. It's okay. You did your share. Now…" He dug out a small trough at super speed. Then he set each tree in its spot. Finally he refilled the trough sealing the trees into their growing spots. "There! Our trees!" He grinned at her warmly.
"Our trees," she murmured to herself thinking of how those trees would grow and blossom for years to come on the prairie. She could almost see children admiring the flowers in the spring and enjoying the fruit of mid-summer. She could smell the fragrant aroma from the trees in that regard….
….the trees much as with their love giving so much….
"Yes. Remember, Lana, it doesn't matter about this stuff. You've been there for me too. Now these trees will carry on for us. We'll start them on the journey but they'll be here for a long, long time. They carry our love within them." He hugged her shoulders. "Our love…."
For a minute she didn't feel pain but rather a warm rush. "Our love…." She smiled dreamily.
"See what I was telling you, Lana?" Martha reminded her.
"Yeah I do. Thanks," Lana noted with a smile. She considered the saplings and knew that she wouldn't be forgotten by any means. That made her feel immensely better.
"You have a little time to look at these today. We, Mrs. Kent, have an outing in Junction City tonight," he informed her.
"We do? Oh, Clark, I'd love to do the festival but I can't get around with all of those people. Too bad I'd love to see the fireworks," Lana declined.
"I know. I figured we'd do the fireworks from a special angle. How'd you like to escort Superman to the fireworks?" he revealed. "I can hover above them and let you see them that way…up close and personal."
"Clark, is that safe?" Martha worried.
"We'll still be far enough away that she'll be okay, Mom. I figure Lana loves fireworks and…well…this is the best celebration in the state. So why not?" he supposed.
"I'll be okay, Mom," Lana assured her.
Martha nodded albeit with some reservations. While she was glad that Clark had planned some fun couple things for them both, she hoped it would go the way he'd planned….