Wow.
Imagine being part of a crime family - no, I can't. And I doubt that anyone who wasn't on the inside of one could. No wonder Jane/Margaret didn't want to tell Shane the truth.
When should she have told him? Well, it isn't quite like Clark's secret. After all, she hasn't been using her experience to commit crimes. Clark, on the other hand, is using his powers, albeit secretly. My opinion? She should have accepted his proposal contingent on his hearing the truth of her past.
But maybe Shane would have freaked out then, too. Maybe she knew that he wanted to marry her but wanted some kind of societal recognition too. Maybe she feared that he would reject her because of what her parents did. Maybe she believed that a long engagement would allow him to get to know her well enough and build enough trust in her that he'd be rocked by this news but not knocked completely off balance.
I have to admit, though, that Lois' question to Clark is about the best WAFFy cliffhanger I've ever read. It appears that she's figured out that he has a secret, too, one which is potentially just as devastating to a permanent relationship as Jane's secret. Will he tell her?
What will he tell her? Will he tell her everything? Will she pull a Shane or will she just pull away to think about it? And if she does think about it, will she decide that it's too big a secret to help him keep?
Two parallel story tracks. Two similar devastating secrets. Two trusting, loving, and skittish people who don't believe they can trust the person each loves because a secret that changes nothing was kept but which hammers that Ming vase of trust with a pile driver. Two fragile, scared people who carry secrets bigger than a single pair of shoulders should bear.
What a wonderful tale you've woven, Corrina. So tender, so touching, so heartfelt, and so very dangerous. I wanted to read the rest of it before - now I
really want to read the rest!
A random thought: This could be a Tank ending, except instead of everybody dying, Clark could marry Jane and Lois could marry Shane. That way, all the fragile egos won't have to carry those horrible secrets. That way, all the ones who seek to be trusted have someone to trust in reverse.
Surely you wouldn't do that to us? Would you?
