Clark was glad that they’d done the gig, but he was also glad it was over. He was surprised at how tired he felt after every show despite his super-metabolism. He’d never before realized how much energy entertainers of all kinds had to expend during a performance. He was glad Lois would have the bed tonight – she looked to be as wrung out as he was.
Frankie and Johnnie’s manager, Velma McCready, opened the stage door for them and chuckled. “You two are probably the best comedy team we’ve ever had here. You were funny, engaging, and I don’t think any of the parents would object to a single word of your entire show. Best of all, the kids loved you.”
Lois smiled. “Thank you, Mrs. McCready. I’m glad we came across that way.”
“So am I,” she answered. “I hope you continue to do well. I’ve already sent the check to your manager, along with a request to have you back for the teacher’s conference over spring break.”
Clark shrugged. “Good timing. It’ll give Lois a place to wear her new micro bikini.”
Lois stiffened for a moment, then sent a coquettish smile his way. “And you can wear that red Speedo with the high hip cutouts and low waist.”
Mrs. McCready laughed. “You two! Tell you what, if you do wear those outfits, I can guarantee a sellout with standing room only! None of the male or female teachers would miss that sight. And their spouses would be there, too, if only to keep track of their partners.”
Clark lifted his eyebrows and said, “We’ll have to discuss that one with Louie, I think.”
The red-headed woman winked at him. “You two talk it over and I’ll suggest it to your manager when I talk to him. Good night.”
“Good night. And thanks again for inviting us.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kent. Sleep well.”
The door closed behind them and they climbed down the four wooden steps to the poorly lit alley. Lois shook her head and said, “Micro bikini? What were you thinking?”
“That you’re an attractive young woman and that we’d have a good turnout. And speaking of revealing swimming apparel—”
“I know, I know! I think every straight woman in the city would love to see that sight.” She took a few steps and chuckled. “And some of the not-so-straight ones, too.”
“Oh, no, they’d be coming to see you, hoping that a strap would—”
“Hello again, you two.”
Clark and Lois both lurched to an abrupt stop. “Hello, Roberts,” Clark offered. “Were you here to catch the show?”
“Naw,” replied his fireplug of a companion. “We’re here to catch you two.”
“What kind of bait are you using?” snarked Lois.
Roberts lifted his hands in front of him and they heard the distinctive “snick-snick” of a semi-automatic pistol’s slide. “Nine-millimeter soft-nosed. They’re guaranteed to cause internal damage before exiting.”
“Why?” Clark demanded. “Weren’t we funny enough the other night?”
“Oh, you was both hysterical,” said Benton. “Especially when the little lady was snooping around the computer.”
Lois frowned at him. “What computer?”
Roberts stepped closer, but still too far away for Clark to grab his weapon without risking a stray shot or revealing his powers. “While you were pretending to be ill, Ms. Lane, you sneaked into an office and accessed our accounting software.”
“What? No! I was lying down at the time! It had to be someone else!”
“You missed the camera in the corner of the ceiling. You were recorded photographing several screen displays and a number of documents. And you had no way of knowing this, but there is a keystroke recorder on that machine. It captures every key the user presses and adds a timestamp. We know it was you, and we know what records you examined and photographed.”
“Yeah!” growled Benton. “And now we gotta take care of both o’ you.” He cracked his knuckles. “I’m gonna enjoy it, too.” He sneered at Clark and took a step forward. “I’m startin’ with you, mister fancy moves.”
Before Clark could step in front of her, Lois screamed at the top of her lungs and lunged at Roberts. The man split his focus between Clark and Lois and froze for just long enough. Her front snap kick caught the startled hoodlum squarely in the crotch and he folded up like a wet cardboard box. The pistol fell from his hand and ended up under him, but Benton ignored his partner and reached for his initial target.
Clark snapped out his hand and shoved the bigger man’s shoulder, spinning him around until he tripped on his partner and fell over him. Clark grabbed Lois’ arm and pulled her toward the alley they’d just exited. She followed without hesitation.
Before they reached the short steps up to the stage door Roberts fired toward them twice. Neither bullet was very close, but they convinced Lois to skid to a halt and duck behind the dumpster. “One of us has to distract them!” she panted.
Clark nodded, then jumped across the alley and picked up a trash can lid from the ground and threw it like a Frisbee at their pursuers. As he intended, it sailed high and smashed the only light bulb in the alley, plunging it into darkness.
He leaped back as he heard the pistol fire twice more and felt a tick on the back of one leg. For Lois’s sake, they couldn’t stay here any longer.
He knelt behind the dumpster, between her and the pistol. “Lois! Look at me and grab my neck!”
“What? I’m not kissing you good-bye, Kent!”
“This isn’t good-bye! Just do it!”
“Fine! I don’t unders—”
He wrapped her in his arms and leaped for the sky.
*****
The air whistling past her face robbed her of breath. She’d been shot and was dying or already dead and someone or something was taking her somewhere she hoped would be safer and she couldn’t breathe and then her feet hit something solid and she stumbled and would have fallen had Clark not held her upright.
“Wha – Clark? What – what happened? Are we – are we both dead?”
He sighed. “No, but in a few seconds I may wish I were. Can you stand by yourself now?”
She tottered back two steps but maintained her balance. “Yes, I – I think so.” She glanced around herself. “Hey! This is the roof of your building! How’d we – wait, did Superman bring us here?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” He stepped back and said, “Please wait here and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Back from – hah?”
Clark turned into a whirl of primary colors which resolved into Superman and he gave her a very human pleading look then he launched himself into the air and she wondered if a bullet had hit her in the head or if she’d fallen against the wall and gotten a concussion and then she sat down hard on the rough surface of the roof as the thought that Clark was Superman invaded her brain.
Or was it Superman who was Clark?
Did it even matter?
*****
Superman grabbed Benton and Roberts from the middle of the alley and snatched the pistol away from Roberts. With the weapon tied to the corner of his cape, he secured a bad guy under each of his arms and flew them to Bill Henderson’s downtown precinct.
He strode in with the two horizontal hoodlums and said imperiously, “I need to see Inspector William Henderson right now.”
The desk sergeant goggled at him for a moment, then picked up the phone and punched in a number. “Inspector? Superman’s here to see you. He brought presents, too.”
Roberts was silent, still battling the effects of Lois’ quick kick, but Benton squirmed and tried to yell, “This is entrapment! We was just huuuggghh!”
Superman pressed his arm against Benton’s diaphragm just enough to discourage him from speaking. A moment later Bill Henderson opened the side door. He blinked once, then said, “Sergeant Kane, send Detectives Thorpe and Buck to my office.” He waved to the hero to follow him.
Superman followed him down the hallway. Just as Henderson opened his office door, two determined men rounded the far corner of the hall and strode to join them.
Henderson waved to the men under Superman’s armpits. “Thorpe, Buck, take custody of these two and put them in separate cells. They’re part of the special haul we’re making later this week. And make sure you read them their rights.”
One of the detectives grinned. “Did you wish really hard, Bill? Or is this an early birthday gift for one of us?”
“Just do it, smart-aleck.”
The shorter man sketched a quick salute. “You got it, boss man.” He waited for Superman to put the two gangsters on their feet, then each detective grabbed a man with a come-along grip. “Let’s go, boys. Me and my partner have a special place for you.”
Benton took a deep breath, then yelled, “I wanna call my lawyer!”
The short detective patted him on the shoulder. “I hope he gets here quick. Most guys don’t last too long staked out over an anthill with honey glopped all over their tender regions.”
“Wh – anthill?! Hey, you guys are Indians!”
“Please,” the taller one said, “the politically correct term is ‘Native Americans.’ You have the right to remain silent, of course, which most of the people we interview give up very quickly, but we only have the one anthill, so which of you goes first?”
They rounded the corner and Benton’s inarticulate cries quickly faded. Henderson smiled thinly, then said, “Do you want to make a report now, Superman, or do you have someplace else to be?”
“I have one more gift for you.” Superman held up the edge of his cape where the pistol was tied and waited for Bill to pull out a latex glove and an evidence bag. When Bill had the bag sealed with the pistol inside, Superman said, “I’m afraid I need to be someplace else very soon. I’ll be back before morning to fill out my report. And Lois Lane and Clark Kent will come by to file a complaint. The weapon has been fired within the past fifteen minutes at most, so I’m certain those two were threatening Lois and Clark.”
Henderson sighed. “Of course they were. Lane can’t go a week without getting threatened or kidnapped or trapped in a burning building or something and pulling someone else in the middle with her.”
Superman echoed the sigh, though for reasons other than Henderson’s. “That’s true, Inspector. I’ll see you soon.”
*****
Superman landed on the roof of his building and spun back into Clark clothes. “Lois?” he called out. “Where did you go?”
He heard her huff and followed the sound behind an air vent. “Lois? Are you okay?”
She didn’t look at him. “Sure. I’m fine. Somebody was trying to kill me but Superman rescued me. Again.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “We need to talk.”
“We do? Oh, good, I’m glad you told me. I never would have known.”
“Cut it out! We need to have a serious discussion and it won’t do either of us any good to put it off any longer.”
“No. We can’t put it off.” She levered herself to her feet and faced him, her eyes obsidian and her face granite. “First things first. You lied to me.”
“I never told you a lie.”
“So you just borrowed Superman’s powers for the night?”
“I left out some things—”
“No, Clark. Assuming that’s really your name. You lied to me.”
She wasn’t going to be the slightest bit reasonable.
So he wouldn’t either.
“Clark Kent is my real name,” he growled. “I masquerade as Superman so I can help people openly instead of sneaking around in the dead of night and in sewer tunnels and hoping no one notices that funny things happen when I’m around.”
“You mean like hearing elevator doors opening that you shouldn’t be able to hear? And leaving gel on hairbrushes when Clark doesn’t use any? And water balloons drenching the person throwing them instead of the intended targets? And you suddenly knowing martial arts without any lessons?”
“Yes, Lois, all that and more! I can’t afford for everyone to know that I wear that Suit!”
She took a step closer. “Did you have a good laugh at my expense?”
That was the last question he’d expected. “Did I – what?”
“I asked you if you had a good laugh. You know, do you go home and drink a beer and talk to yourself about how stupid I am and how you pulled the wool over my eyes for another day and toast yourself? Do you drink two beers at a time or one after the other or do you switch costumes and alternate bottles?”
He waved his hands between them. “I have never laughed at you. And I wasn’t doing this just to fool you.”
“But it was a really good perk, wasn’t it? ‘Wow, I sure tricked Lois again today. She still thinks I’m two people.’ Please! Cheese of the Month club? Forgot your dry cleaning? You’re returning an overdue library book?” She leaned closer and thrust her face at his. “You have to believe I’m galactically stupid!”
“Maybe I do,” he snarled.
“Oh, yeah? If I’m so stupid, why do you act like two people around me? I think you’re the stupid one!”
She’d pushed him too far this time and something in his mind snapped. “You bought it.”
She shook as if she’d been suddenly slapped. “Wh – what?”
“I said, ‘You bought it.’ You never called me on any of those lame excuses. You never suggested I was hiding something from you. Your little brain just couldn’t put it all together, could it?”
“Put it all together? Hah! That’s a laugh coming from you!”
“And don’t think I enjoyed all those comparisons!”
She frowned. “What comparisons?”
“The ones where Clark comes out on the short end and Superman gets put on the ivory pedestal! My favorite was where you said Superman was the highly advanced specimen and I was the throwaway piece of junk!”
“I never said—”
“’Clark is the before and Superman is the after – the way, way after.’ Remember saying that? I’d just started at the Planet and Superman had just gone public and you were so in lust with him that you’d have stripped naked in front of City Hall and pole-danced for him if he’d asked you to!”
This time his head snapped to one side as she slapped him. “How dare you!”
“How dare I? How dare I what, tell the truth? You’re just jealous!”
“Jealous? Jealous of who?”
“Of me! Because I knew who Superman really was before you did!”
“What? You’re Superman, you idiot!”
He knew his voice was getting too loud but he was too angry to hold back. “Superman is a cardboard cutout! He’s a red-and-blue puppet! He doesn’t feel anything on his own! He only does what I tell him to!”
“Oh really? Then why did he – you tell me that we couldn’t have a relationship?”
His fists clenched and he barely kept them at his sides. “If you recall, you had just told him that you’d love him even if he didn’t have any powers! If you can get past your own tarnished ego for ten seconds then just maybe you could imagine how much that hurt me!”
“Clark – I – I thought – you told me you loved me and – and—”
“Did you ever think that you could kill someone’s love for you with your actions? With your attitude? With your words?” He leaned back and crushed his hands into fists. “I’m here to tell you that it’s possible. It’s very possible.” He folded his arms across his chest to control them. “I won’t talk about what it turns into then.”
Her breath caught in her throat and she paled. Before he could weaken – before he could take her in his arms and beg her forgiveness – he spun on his heel and stalked toward the roof access door. “Come on. You can have the bedroom tonight unless you’d rather get a hotel. We need to go give some depositions in the morning so Roberts and Benton will stay locked up.”
He yanked the door open and waited until she slowly walked to catch up with him. Without a word she passed through the doorway and started down the stairs.
He almost told her that he was going on patrol but forced his mouth shut. He closed and locked the door, then spun back into the Suit and headed for Henderson’s precinct.
*****
She didn’t know who the woman inside her skin was except that she really was the stupidest woman who’d ever lived.
That last shot that Clark had fired at her, the one about her vowing to love Superman even if he’d had no powers, had struck home and exploded with a vengeance. She marveled at how patient he’d been with her, how he’d opened his home to her even after she’d cast that spear into his heart. She quailed at his ability to dismiss her betrayal of him and marry her, even if it had been only for the undercover assignment. She didn’t understand how he’d allowed her to even touch him.
He had to be the most super man who’d ever lived.
She reached into her purse – not even mildly surprised that it was still draped over her shoulder – and pulled out her keyring. She started to put it in the lock, then stopped to look at it.
He’d given her the key to his apartment. Openly, freely, even gladly. And she’d accepted it.
He’d also given her the key to his heart.
And she’d stomped on it, set it on fire, and laughed as it melted into nothingness.
She was a fool. The best man in the world – Clark Kent, the only man who had ever lived who was better than Superman – had offered her the greatest gift he could have given any woman. He’d offered himself to her. She had declined that offer – no, she’d refused him brutally and viciously. It didn’t matter that he’d pushed her away when she would have taken him into her life. He’d rejected her because she hadn’t told him of her love for him.
This federal disaster was entirely her fault. She’d done it all by herself.
There wasn’t much she could do for him now. But she refused to be a burden to him, an anchor around his neck, an albatross weighing him down for the rest of his life. She’d give him the annulment. She’d tell the court whatever it took to get the judge to grant it. She’d confess how she’d led him on and been dishonest with him and free him to find a woman who’d give him everything he deserved.
The key slipped into the lock for the last time. There were other places for her to stay for a few days until she got another apartment. And if Clark wasn’t comfortable with her in the newsroom with him, she’d leave without a whimper.
If he wouldn’t let her love him, at least she wouldn’t torture him.
*****
Superman signed his statement, barely remembering not to do so as Clark Kent. Bill Henderson might keep his secret, but he doubted that the other three officers in the room would all be so accommodating.
He handed the pen back to the sergeant whose name he hadn’t had the energy to remember and thanked the man. The wide-eyed sergeant nodded dumbly and fumbled the pen back into his shirt pocket.
“Thanks, Superman,” Bill said. “With your statement and those from Lane and Kent – whenever they get here – the weapon they used and the other physical evidence, these guys are going away for a long, long time.”
“Thank you, Inspector. I’m just trying to help. Your job is the harder one.”
Bill’s eyes narrowed until the stare became almost uncomfortable to bear. Then Bill nodded. “I’m not so sure about that. Anyway, we’re good here. You probably have other places to go, more people to save, that kind of thing.”
Superman nodded back. “As a matter of fact, I do have a fairly important errand to run, and it can’t wait too long.”
“Then smooth flying to you.”
“Thank you again, Inspector.” He turned and walked out of the precinct station, then launched himself skyward as if he had an important mission to complete.
He actually did have an important mission. He just didn’t want to perform it.
Lois might be asleep by now, she could be in the bedroom crying, she might be sitting up waiting for him with hatred for him flaring in her heart, and if the last were true, there was no telling whether she wanted to continue their argument or just tell him off or maybe stare at him until she ran him off the couch. Predicting Lois’ moods and actions was harder than predicting the weather in the North Atlantic, where it could go from glassy smooth to the worst hurricane conditions in just a few short hours. And the results could be just as devastating.
Rather than risk seeing her in an undressed state – something he didn’t think he could handle, now or ever – he landed four blocks away on a deserted side street and whirled back into his civvies. The walk home would give him an excuse to delay the inevitable confrontation with her, maybe give her enough time to go to bed.
So he was surprised to see her on the couch, dressed in sweat pants and his long-sleeved KU jersey, her knees drawn up to her chin and her arms around her legs. Her eyes were pointing at the TV, muted and showing an infomercial about a new kind of food processor.
“Hi,” he ventured.
Her voice was flat and dry. “I called in the story of our encounter with Frick and Frack, put both our names on it. Also included a Superman quote. Hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s fine. I’m sure I would have said what you wrote.”
She didn’t smile or look at him or speak for a long moment, then without turning her head, said, “Do you want to go to Bill’s office together or separately tomorrow?”
“I think – maybe we should go in separately,” Clark replied.
She watched the TV for another long moment, then nodded. “Me too. Should I set my alarm for nine in the morning?”
He looked at his wristwatch. “Sounds good. It’s one-thirty now.”
She nodded, then picked up the remote and turned off the TV. “Don’t worry about making breakfast for me. I’ll grab something on the way.” She stood and turned toward the bedroom, then stopped. “I’ll get a hotel or something tomorrow night and be out of your hair.”
The isolation from her was stifling. The wall between them was up again, fully reinforced with rebar in the concrete, and there were no doors or windows that he could see. But he couldn’t blame her this time. He was the one who’d wrecked their chances with his anger and recriminations. It was no wonder that she was behaving in this way.
If he could have come up with the words to soothe her heart, to bridge the chasm between them, he’d have traded his powers for them.
But there were none to be had.
He wouldn’t argue with her over the annulment. He owed her that and much more. And if she wanted to move out, he’d help her pack and would carry her bags wherever she was going.
She’d never argue with him over a script or how a news story was structured again. She’d never tease him about his wardrobe on stage again or hint that he needed another horrible tie as much as Perry needed another Elvis anecdote. She’d never again feed him a straight line or set up an interview subject for him with her hard questions so he could get the tough answers with his soft ones. She’d never again smile at him as he complimented her timing in a routine or brought her coffee to her desk in the morning. He’d miss all that and more.
The worst part was that he’d never be able to make her laugh again. That might be what he’d miss the most.
*****
Lois woke up before her alarm went off the next morning. As soon as she was finished in the bathroom, she called Perry at work on Clark’s bedroom extension and asked him if he knew of any good apartments near the Planet she could afford. He told her that he didn’t, but that she could stay in his and Alice’s guest room until she found one, and that he’d ask Cat if she’d help Lois look for a place.
Lois thanked him and said she’d be over that evening if it was okay with him. He told her that the next night would be better, that it would give them a chance to tidy it up for her. She heard her boss’ concern in his voice, but he refrained from asking any tough questions. She thanked him again, then hung up the phone and sighed. The tough questions would come soon enough. And she could afford a mid-level hotel for one night.
She dressed casually and left the apartment. Clark was in the kitchen doing something, but he didn’t say anything to her. She was glad – any kindness from him would be more than she could possibly take right now.
She drove to the precinct and gave her statement. Bill looked at her with curiosity but didn’t ask where Clark was, and she volunteered nothing on the subject.
She drove away in the Jeep, and she thought she passed Clark walking to the station on the sidewalk. It was still too early for lunch, but she didn’t want to go back to the apartment yet. So her steering wheel all but guided her to the Daily Planet building.
The parking attendant greeted her by name – her maiden name – and Lois felt a jolt as she took the ticket. She wouldn’t be Lois Lane-Kent for much longer. And it was time to embark on her new-old life, one without Clark in it.
The elevator took her to the news floor and she went straight to Cat’s desk. The tall redhead glanced up at her, then gave her a classic double-take and leaped up to grab her around the shoulders.
“Lois!” Cat cried out. “It’s so good to see you! Are you okay? Those clowns didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Lois returned the embrace gently, hoping to avoid injury. “I’m fine, Cat. And I’m glad to see you too.”
Cat leaned back, her green eyes boring into Lois’ deep brown ones. “Perry tells me you’re looking for a new apartment. Is that true?”
“Yes. Do you know of anything available, preferably not too far from here?”
An impish grin appeared on her face. “Actually, I’m looking for a roommate. My last one called me a party pooper and announced that she was moving out this coming weekend.”
Despite her mood, Lois laughed. “You? A party pooper? Who was this crazy girl, a Playboy bunny?”
“Oh, just someone I met through a roommate service. I can’t tell you the number of times I got home and found Jamie’s clothes scattered all over the living room all mixed up with some guy’s stuff.”
“Really? Was she a clothing buyer for a retail store or running a laundry service on the side?”
Cat goggled at her for a moment, then laughed loud and free. “No-no-no! I doubt she was doing anything on her side.”
It took a moment for Lois to get the double entendre, but when she did she frowned at her friend. “You have a naughty mind, young lady. You’re lucky I’m here to rescue you from all that squalor.”
“Well, can we go to lunch and talk terms? Oh, wait, is Clark joining – no, he’s not, or you wouldn’t be – oh, Lois, I’m so sorry!”
Lois shook her head. “Wow. And I thought I shifted moods quickly. Sure, we can have lunch. And I don’t have to move in right away. Perry and Alice have offered me their guest room for a few days.”
“Oh, good, it’ll give me a chance to have the room fumigated and scrubbed. The crime scene cleanup guys offered to do the entire apartment, but I told them they only had to worry about the second bedroom and living room.” She made a face. “And – all the furniture in both rooms.”
“Oh, blech! Please don’t kill my appetite. Wait, you said – crime scene cleanup? Did she kill someone in there?”
Cat grinned. “No, of course not. She just – well, if sex were an Olympic sport, she’d be in the running for the national team.”
Lois put her hand over her stomach and grimaced. “That made me want to throw up a little and I haven’t eaten yet today.”
“Well, then, we simply must eliminate that problem.” She spun and called out, “Jimmy? Tell Perry I’m going to lunch early and I’m taking Lois, okay?”
Jimmy waved an acknowledgement but Ralph answered. “How come you don’t ever ask me to do stuff like that?”
“Because you’d tell him we were going to find a mud wrestling bar.”
“You mean you two ain’t gonna do that?”
“No, Ralph, we’re not going anywhere near 12th and Lexington. Jimmy, you will tell Perry, won’t you?”
The young man smiled and nodded. “Sure, Cat, I’ll relay the message. He’ll call you on your cell phone if he needs you for anything.” Jimmy shook his head. “Actually, he’ll probably have me call you.”
“Great! Come on, Lois, let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
As they strode up the ramp to the elevators, Lois whispered, “There’s a gas station, a pharmacy, a parking lot, and the South End soup kitchen on the corners of 12th and Lexington.”
Cat pushed the “down” button and grinned at her. “I know that, but I bet Ralph doesn’t. Not yet, anyway.”
Lois managed to hold in her guffaw until the elevator doors closed behind them. “Thanks, girlfriend. I think my appetite is back.”
Cat pushed the button for the garage level and patted Lois’ arm at the same time. “Good! We’ll chow down and you can tell me why you and that delicious man of yours are splitting up.”
Lois’ grin melted away. “I – uh – I’m afraid it’s my fault.”
“Really? Did he catch you in bed with some other man?”
“No, of course not.”
“Another woman?”
“No! He’s been totally faithful.”
“I meant you and another woman.”
Lois gave her a glare. “I don’t walk that side of the street and you know it.”
“Of course I do. So why isn’t this working out for you?”
Lois turned to stare at the control panel. “I – I learned something about him that – that I didn’t handle very well. If he’d told me without all the drama that was going on at the time, maybe I wouldn’t have reacted so badly.”
“So? Go apologize to him and see what happens.”
Lois shook her head and flicked a tear away from the corner of her eye. “I can’t. It’s too late.”
The elevator stopped and opened at the garage level and Cat led them out. “How do you know it’s too late? Maybe he’s desperately wishing that you’d open up to him and say what he’s been dreaming you’d say.”
“He’s not dreaming it. Not anymore.”
“Ah, I see. That’s too bad.”
Lois wiped both eyes quickly. “Your car or mine?”
“Mine, of course. We’ll get better responses in the Porsche than in your Jeep.”
Lois managed a small smile. “Okay. You pick the place and I’ll pretend I have a huge appetite. Just – let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?”
Cat nodded. “We’ll put a bookmark in it and pick it up again later.”
“What? No, I – wait a minute! What part of ‘not talk about it’ did you miss?”
Cat lifted her car fob and the Porsche beeped at her. “You need to resolve this, Lois, whether it’s now or twenty years from now. You won’t be whole until you do.” She climbed into the car and waited for Lois to buckle in. Without making eye contact, she muttered, “I know from personal experience that you don’t want this to go on too long. You’ll end up with a pothole in your life the size of Cleveland.” She cranked the ignition and revved the motor once. “And it will never go away.”
As Cat backed out of the slot and shifted into first gear, Lois wondered what she was talking about. But if that subject came up, Cat would all but demand that Lois talk about what was going on between her and Clark – or, rather, what wasn’t going on. And that was a patch of quicksand Lois wanted to give a wide berth.
Then again, maybe the Daily Planet’s resident sex kitten knew what she was talking about after all.
