Yay, thanks for the new installment tonight, Caroline. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting patiently for it.
I really am enjoying this cat, who really is so much like Lois.
And I was laughing out loud over the whole t-shirt debate:
“Lois!” he exclaimed. “That’s my shirt!”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Well…yeah. But it’s not a good one.”
He strode over and snatched it up from where Lois had arranged it over the bed of hay and then dusted it off. “Not a good one!” he repeated, obviously outraged. “It’s the best shirt I’ve ever had.”
“Are you just trying to change the subject?” she demanded, her hands on her hips. “Because no one could possibly think that was the best shirt they’d ever had. No one! And if you think you’re going to distract me…”
“Just look at it.” Clark held it up as if he were displaying a rare painting.
She folded her arms across her chest and huffed at him. “I’m looking…I’m looking…and all I’m seeing is an ugly, worn-out shirt.”
“I got this shirt in college,” he said. “It traveled the world with me.”
“Explains why you’re still single,” she noted.
“See this stain?” He pointed to a darkish splotch on the breast pocket. “That’s from the pen I wrote my first story with – the first story I ever sold, anyway. I scratched it out on the back of an envelope in a hotel in Peru.”
“Clark, are you feeling OK?”
“And this hole? Got that helping Dad string fence wire. It was at the end of my last summer at home.”
“Been flying too high? Lack of oxygen to your brain, maybe? Because that shirt is the color of vomit, and it looks like it’s been through a war.”
“No wars, but I do think I was wearing it when I helped after a terrorist bombing in Tel Aviv…and what do you mean the color of vomit? It’s green!”
“It’s puke green, Clark, and that’s the nicest color in there. The only reason I’m letting the kittens use it is that kittens are born blind.”
Sorry it's such a long quote, but that was absolutely hilarious.
And yet even with all the light-heartedness, you never allow us to lose sight of the emotional core of your story.
for a moment she wondered if yielding that much authority to him would ultimately enhance her life or diminish it. In the end, she knew she couldn’t do anything else: Clark’s trust meant more to her than anything, even her career. It was a staggering thought, and one she knew she’d have to explore more fully. She loved him, however, and she suspected that he still loved her. Never having loved before, she’d never realized how life-altering an emotion it could be. She was willing to give up a little of herself, a little of her Lois Lane-ness, for Clark’s peace of mind.
And then Clark with:
It was a paradox that threatened to fracture his heart. How could he love her and knowingly let her be in danger? How could he love her and want to change her?
That was beautifully put.
And, gaaah! Luthor has sprung his trap! How will Lois learn of what has befallen Clark? What will they do now?
I have missed your writing, and I'm so glad you're back. I can't wait to read what happens next.
