Oh, Rac, you've nailed it! This is a perfect chapter! You've captured Clark's stress reactions, Lois's hesitancy about asking him combined with her deep-seated need to
know what happened to him, Jonathan's gentle patience and soft guidance even now, when Clark thinks he's supposed to be a man and know all the answers:
What his father was saying made perfect sense and he found himself nodding as he listened. Parenting couldn't have been about knowing all the answers before you ever heard the questions. It had to be a learning process. But it was still so frustrating to be so far behind the curve. He was starting the journey four years too late.
It's never too late to be a parent for your children, even the ones who have rejected your counsel for years. And it's never too late to rebuild a marriage, especially if both parties want to rebuild it.
I have to tell you, I laughed at Bernie's complete clueless behavior. He's been taking Jon's blood for years, yet he couldn't let Clark know to distract the boy. I've known a few like him: brilliant in his own field and nearly moronic outside it.
Clark is going to think that showing Lois his scars will somehow make things better. It won't. She's going to want to know where they came from and if the person or persons who gave them to him are still in a position to hurt others. And then Clark will show Lois his worst scar: the one on his soul, the one that he thinks will somehow stain him for the rest of his life, the one that shows him killing Nor.
And he's already feeling inadequate beside Lois's accomplishments. He can't figure out why he's both attracted to and repulsed by Lois. He hasn't figured out yet that they'll have to rebuild their relationship brick by brick, almost from the beginning. They have an excellent foundation and the willingness to go forward, but he'll have to unload all that anger and self-loathing to someone who can help him. And that isn't Lois, nor is it his parents (although talking more with his father sure wouldn't hurt).
You were cruel to make us wait, but you were so generous to give us such a rich chapter! Keep up the excellent work, Rac. I'm with you till the end.
Whatever year that might be.
