Beyond Camp Randall Chap 7
Home on the Farm
Clark & Lana enter the house, "Mom, dad, Lana and I are here," he calls out.
"In the kitchen," Martha calls out, she and Jonathan are seated at the kitchen table. The kids enter the kitchen; mom & dad stand and hugs & kisses ensue. Then they all sit at the table and begin talking.
"Would anyone like some peach pie with ice cream?" Martha asks with a grin on her face.
"Peach pie?" Clark responds incredulously.
"Yes, I pulled some frozen peaches out of the freezer yesterday, thinking you & Lana would like some peach pie."
"And me?" Jonathan tried to look hurt.
"You always get your share, dear. Tonight, we have honored guests!" Martha exclaims.
Clark smirks, Lana giggles, dad rolls his eyes.
"I'll take that as three yes answers then," mom concludes. She gets up and starts working on dessert.
"Can I help," Lana inquires.
"Sure, can you get out the plates and silverware?"
"Will do," Lana gets up and goes to the cupboard.
"Clark, can you get the ice cream?"
"Yes, mom."
Jonathan leans back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. He loves to see the family teamwork! He wonders how long it will be until he has a daughter-in-law? He says nothing.
They sit back down and start on their pie and coffee. Jonathan now starts the conversation.
"Mother and I were pleased to hear that you two were coming for the weekend; we are assuming you have some news?"
"We do," Clark responds. "I had the opportunity a few days ago to speak with James Olsen, the owner and publisher of the Daily Planet. I broached with him an idea I had for a periodic column. Maybe every Sunday, for example. It would be illustrated stories on rural America; maybe titled "Americana – Clark Kent's view".
"I assume you would illustrate it?" Martha asks with a gleam in her eye."
"Yes, he would," Lana says proudly.
"And what was his response?" Jonathan wonders out loud.
"He was receptive to the idea. He asked me to come back in two weeks with 2 sample columns. Senior editor Perry White will be at that meeting; Perry will make the final decision regarding the column."
"So, how are you going to proceed, son?" Jonathon inquires.
"Well, I came home to spend some time writing. I'm hoping that being in this environment will be inspiring. And, I hope I can count on the two of you to be resources for me – give me your input and ideas! And critique my work. You have always been my harshest critics!"
"That's harsh!" Dad says.
"But true," Clark retorts.
Martha frowns, Lana stifles a laugh, Jonathon chuckles.
"And there is more," Clark adds.
"What," mom asks.
"I also asked Mr. Olsen if I could bring to our meeting some samples of Lana's caricature work. Thinking the Planet maybe interested in her work."
"So, I've brought along some pictures of people, and will be doing caricature sketches while we are here," :Lana adds. "Might I also do a sketch of each of you?"
Both Martha and Jonathon agree to be caricature subjects.
Next Clark asks, "Is the upstairs guest room available for Lana?"
"Well," Jonathon hesitantly responds. "We have done some remodeling upstairs since you have been home. Your room and the guest room have been rearranged into one larger bedroom with a queen-sized bed . . . and a nice sitting room next door. So, can you two share a queen bed without getting into trouble? Or is that already the norm for you two?"
Lana is taken aback, 'What the hell, his dad is asking that!' she thinks.
Clark gulps. "Dad, are you serious?"
"Yes, Clark, he is serious," Martha responds. "We trust you to behave appropriately," Martha adds.
Clark and Lana look at each other; Lana nods slightly, giving Clark her ok to respond for them.
"Yes, we can share a bed, though it isn't our norm – yet. Any comment Lana?"
"Not really, I agree with you, Clark."
"Then it's settled, mother and I are going to retire for the night," Jonathon says. "We'll see you in the morning, for breakfast."
Clark and Lana go upstairs to the remodeled bedroom. They each do their nightly routine including changing into sleep wear. Clark gets out his laptop and sits at the desk in the sitting room. The desk is large enough for Lana to sit on the other side.
"Not sleepy, babe?" she asks.
"Naw, I'm going to get started on one of my columns."
"Ok, I'll look through the pictures I brought and organize my thoughts." After a while she sighs and puts her picture folder down. "This isn't working."
"What's not working, sweetheart?"
"The sweetheart thing. You are very distracting!"
"I'm just sitting here, typing."
"Yeah, here in my personal space!" Lana retorts.
"Well, it's going to get more complicated when we go to bed."
"I know!"
"Do you want me to go downstairs and work?" Clark asks with a smirk on his face.
"No, that will only delay the inevitable."
"So?" Clark looks at her quizzically. He doesn't know what to do.
"I need to shift my focus."
"Away from me, apparently."
"Temporarily, sweetie!" Lana stands and goes to sit in the window seat that looks out at the barn and the closed loft window. The almost full moon sheds a soft light on the scene. "That's beautiful," she whispers. She gathers her sketch pad and pencils and sits back down, starting to draw.
"What are you doing," Clark asks.
"You'll see."
Lana's sketch took an hour to finish.
This was not a caricature!
Mid-ground: the barn with the loft window open. In the loft could be seen a telescope with a female figure looking through the instrument. She had long dark hair and a slim figure, her face was hidden by the telescope so her identity could not be determined. Below the loft window the barn door had one side open, one side closed.
Fore-ground: a male figure was carrying a shepherd's staff. He was leading 2 sheep towards the open barn door; the sheep were followed by a mid-sized sheep dog who was keeping them from straying again. They were obviously being led home, to safety.
Back-ground: one field of 18-inch-high corn, one pasture with two horses grazing. A tractor could be partially seen, peeking out from behind the barn.
The almost full moon could be seen in the upper right corner of the sketch. She signed 'LL'in the lower right corner and sat back to peruse her work.
"Babe, what do you think?"
Clark paused his typing, turned around and his mouth dropped open. "Sweetheart, that is stunning! Your artistic ability has improved remarkably! If you hadn't signed it, I might have mistaken it for one of mine."
"Oh, give me a break. You are biased – looking through the eyes of love! 1-4-3 babe."
"1-4-3 back to you, sweetie! My folks will be suitably impressed. So will James Olsen if you show it to him."
"I thought you were only going to take some of my caricatures to show him?"
"That's what he expects. But I can take more if you agree. The greater amount of art he sees, the better our chances are of impressing him."
"Well, I know you will impress him; me however, that's a crap shoot."
"Don't sell yourself short sweetheart. You are doing great work. Is that you looking through the telescope?"
"Maybe."
"And me leading the sheep home."
"Yes. Do you like it?"
"I absolutely LOVE it!"
"Thank you, that means a lot. Now I think I am ready for bed. You?"
"Yeah, let's retire."
They slip into bed; Lana on the right side, Clark on the left. They start out with reasonable space between them. But that doesn't last; he soon inches her way and wraps an arm around her slim waist, pulling her close to him. He is spooning, her back to his chest. He swears that she is purring like a contented cat. Falling asleep with her in his arms feels so natural, like it was meant to be!
TBC