The Marshall and Superman
Chapter 8 Wedding snafu, Christmas & SF again
T -3 WEEKS FOR WEDDING
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Clark super speeds from the loft and picks up the house phone. "Kent farm, Clark speaking."
"Hello Mr. Kent. This is Cindy, secretary at the United Methodist church. I'm sorry to have to tell you that Pastor Steven has been transferred to NYC – an emergency call. So, he can't do your wedding ceremony. He is really disappointed, he was really looking forward to marrying you and Lana. We also don't know when a replacement pastor will be appointed. I'm very sorry."
"Wow," Clark is almost speechless . . . "Well, I'll talk this over with Lana. I guess we'll have to shuffle the deck. Thanks for the prompt notice, and you have a Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you and Lana. Again, I'm very sorry." She's impressed with Clark's gracious manner. 'If he weren't taken!'
THAT EVENING – LANA IS HOME
Clark tells Lana the bad news.
"Well, I guess we need to postpone. Right Superman, unless you can come up with a replacement? Anyway, with 2' of snow under the oak tree it was going to be an interesting wedding."
"We could have floated above the snow, sweetheart!"
"And cut the guest list to 1 – your mother!" She smirks. "And have the minister and all other participants wear /blindfolds!"
"There is that." Clark admits. "Postpone it is, at least I got that ring on your finger!" He grins.
"So, sometime in the spring then?" Lana quizzes him.
"Wait, isn't mom working on a trip to SF in the spring?"
"She is! And I was thinking of that artist-in-residence offer from George at the Mark Hopkins. I'm thinking we can try to coordinate those two trips. Are you interested, babe?"
"Definitely! Can you and mom put your heads, and schedules, together and see what you come up with? Then I can see if the JL can cover me for at least part of the time . . . otherwise I'll have to commute. That would be fun!"
"I will get to work on that with mom."
CHRISTMAS
Their 1st Christmas together was a highlight of the year. It was a white Christmas indeed with 2' of snow on the ground. Clark made sure that they had plenty of firewood, so an evening fire in the fireplace was enjoyed by all. Martha was home for a full 10 days and had been baking to her hearts delight, and 3 happy tummy's delight too!
Clark and Lana gave each other a complete set of cold weather gear and cross-country skis. Neither had done this before, so they learned together. It was hilarious at times, but they learned to enjoy it. After the outdoors, hot chocolate in front of the fire was super enjoyable! And of course, a piece of warmed apple pie!
VALENTINE'S DAY
The CK express delivered Clark and Lana to DC, where they joined Martha for a special dinner. Clark gave his two special ladies a selection of small Valentine cards such as school kids gave each other in grade school. The ladies loved them! That night at their hotel, Clark & Lana gave each other a special valentine's reward!
The kids stayed an extra 3 days in DC; Lana and Martha worked out the plans for the SF trip. It would be 2 weeks in early May and would include the wedding, meetings of the 2 senators (Kent & Feinstein), and lots of sketch time for Lana. Clark would commute back to Metropolis for his usual duties, plus some sightseeing time with Lana. The July 4th holiday would be honeymooning time.
SAN FRANCISCO!
Martha had enlisted the help of Senator Feinstein and together they secured Grace Cathedral as a wedding venue. The Episcopal Bishop even agreed to be the officiant. The bride and groom were amazed! Because of the re-scheduled wedding and the distance from Kansas, the guest list was minimal; the actual ceremony was held in a side nave, but the grand organ could still be heard quite well. Of course, Lana and Clark could have eyes only for each other! So, they barely realized that there were any guests at all. Doing his part, George at the Mark Hopkins had the honeymoon suite set up for them for 2 nights and 2 days. They never left the rooms!
SKETCHING
Lana had a blast doing "San Francisco Life" sketches. She and George spent some time together before she started, discussing his ideas of where & what to sketch.
SKATEBOARDING
"Taking a break" – one of the first sketches she did turned out to be a favorite. She Was walking along the Embarcadero with her easel under one arm and her messenger bag filled with sketching supplies over the other shoulder when she noticed 2 girls taking a break from skateboarding. They seemed to be 19-25 y/o, well-tanned and tatted, wearing distressed jean shorts and sleeveless tee's. One was seated on the ground with one leg cocked up, the other leg stretched out before her. The other was seated on a concrete planter, bent over with elbows on her thighs and breathing deeply.
Lana slowed and approached them, "Hi, I'm Lana and I am doing some sketches of 'San Francisco Life'. Would you be agreeable to allow me to sketch you two?"
"What are the sketches for?" One of the young ladies inquired.
"It's a project for the Mark Hopkins Hotel. They want to upgrade and modernize the art work in the lobby and other places in the hotel."
"Wow, that's the only way we will ever get inside the Mark Hopkins!" One girl says to the other!" Chuckling.
"What are your names," Lana asks. "I am Lana Lang, and sketching is a hobby of mine."
"I am Angela and she is Megan," one of the girls replies. "Can we see any of your work?"
"Sure," Lana puts down her things and pulls her sketch pad from her bag. She has 2 sketches done, and shows them. One is of Coit tower with some pigeons flying by; the other is of Fisherman's wharf with a ferry leaving for Sausalito. The girls look at them and are obviously impressed. They look at each other, nod, then turn to Lana. "Ok, but what's in it for us?"
"Well, let me make a call," Lana steps away and pulls out her cell phone. She dials a number.
"Mark Hopkins, George speaking."
"Lana here," she explains her dilemma.
"How about $50 each, Lana?"
"George, come on! At least $250 each!"
"Ah . . . ok, but only because you're beautiful!"
"George, you are stepping on a line! That will bite your ass one of these days."
"Ok, ok, point taken. Go with $250 each and Lana, be a better bargainer next time. Please?"
"Will do, sir!"
She turns back to the girls and makes the offer, they accept. "What do we have to do?" Megan asks.
"Just stay as you are; periodically I will ask you to sit still for a few minutes – say 3-5 minutes, not stock still that whole time. Otherwise, you can move slightly to stay relaxed. I have 2 caveats to ask about . . . 1) can I do realistic faces, or do you prefer I use a generic human face, and 2) can I do realistic tatts or are any of them sensitive so you don't want them to be identifiable?"
The girls talk softly for a minute, then reply that realistic is ok in both cases.
Lana thanks them, then gets set up and starts to work. After 45 minutes she has completed their bodies, faces and enough background so that the girls can be on their way if they desire. They stay for another 15 minutes, then share contact information so they can get their compensation. They then leave and Lana stays and finishes the sketch, filling in the foreground and background. Just before she moves on the girls skate up to her and ask to see the finished sketch. When they see it, their mouths drop open. "That's incredibly beautiful," Angela exclaims. Megan nods in assent.
Lana moves along Fisherman's Wharf to the west, doing 3 more sketches. Then it is approaching supper time so she catches the Powell St CC and makes her way back up to the Mark Hopkins.
She shows her sketches to George and he is thrilled! He promises to have this batch hung in the main lobby by the next morning so Lana, Clark and Martha can see what she has accomplished so far.
She then arranges a dinner reservation, goes up to their suite to freshen up and waits in their sitting area for Clark and Martha.
Soon the device on her belt softly buzzes, alerting her to Clark's immanent arrival. She steps to the glass doors to their balcony and slides them open. Within 2 minutes Superman glides into the room; he steps to Lana and hugs her tightly. After a hello kiss, or two, he swiftly changes into civvies and they settle into a love-seat to await mom.
"Clark, we have dinner reservations in an hour. Should we alert your mother?"
"Probably, I'll TXT her," he says.
Martha replies that she is on her way and should be there in 5. She makes it, freshens up and they make their dinner reservations in plenty of time.
POLITICS AS USUAL!
Senators Feinstein (CA) & Kent (KS) have 2 90-minute meetings on each of 2 days while Martha is in SF. They meet at the CA Senator's SF office which is in a high-rise with a stunning view of the Golden Gate bridge. A rather apropos setting as they are attempting to build bridges between themselves personally and between their two political parties. Unfortunately, the gap between the two sides (Not necessarily the 2 ladies) is so wide that their efforts yield little in terms of noticeable results. Dianne & Martha, however, do feel that they have closed the friendship gap noticeably. This is in large part due to the easy-going Martha Kent. They both vow to continue working on both areas; they shake hands and embrace fondly as they leave their final meeting.
SKETCHES
Lana spends a good share of M-Th traversing SF and environs, doing sketches. Areas she covers include:
1) Fisherman's wharf and views of SF bay,
2) the ferries to and from Communities at the southern tip of the Marin peninsula,
3) SF neighborhoods,
4) Golden Gate Park,
5) SF Bay bridge and views of the east bay (Oakland etc),
6) SFO, San Francisco International airport.
She completes 20 sketches in all, pleasing George immeasurably! They both feel that the time and effort was well worth it. Lana & Clark have made a friend for life! And a place to be welcomed at any time.
SUPERMAN
Clark commutes between SF and Metropolis, keeping up with his superhero duties. He does have the JL cover for him on the 2 weekends so he can have 'vacation' time with Lana and his mother. He feels refreshed and relaxed when they arrive home to the Kent Farm.
While they are dining at Alioto's at Fisherman's Wharf, he again overhears a party planning a robbery and extortion caper. Of course, he discreetly informs the owner and aborts the crime. This further ensconces CK in the hearts of the owners. Another place of free meals for life! But he must beware of leaving too many bread crumbs behind. People with nefarious purposes at heart are always looking for clues as to who Superman is during day time. He doesn't feel that this trip has increased that risk much. But he & Lana must be ever vigilant.
Back at the farm, the family starts preparing for July 4th festivities.