That all depends on where, precisely, Metropolis is (there's another thread in the MB about this). But even if it is in the general region of RL NYC (which was the general consensus) one could still argue that she was not necessarily a resident of metropolis...She could have needed emergency hospitalization while visiting the city to see her nephew, for example. That would explain why Clark never mentioned her to Lois -- one would think that if he had a relative living locally, the topic would have come up between them, even if we never actually got to see her.
That makes a lot of sense, now that you mention it. I've been pretty much wondering why she would never have come up before then, if she was living close by to Clark. Other than 'it was(n't) in the script' of course.
LabRat
