Clark squinted against the bright sunlight and adjusted the sun visor in the car he rented while he and Lois were in Kansas. It was a new car, perfectly comfortable and immaculately kept. It was almost odd, in a way, to have a car in such condition in this solidly middle-class town. Clark had never cared much about cars, but he’d spent a portion of his youth in this town. People’s cars were what his dad had always referred to as “workhorses.” People used them until they finally ran the machines into the ground, the cars and pickup trucks “old enough to drink” as Martha had once put it. It wasn’t uncommon to see twenty-year-old cars rumbling down the streets riddled with dents and held together with generous amounts of Bondo. In these vast farmlands, people generally didn’t have much money to spare, and so most people were reluctant to plunk down a sizable amount of money on a new vehicle.
At least, that’s how Clark had remembered the place. Now it seemed like the place was slowly changing, moving from a lower middle-class neighborhood to a much higher middle-class area. As he drove along, he noted that most cars seemed newer and many of the old store fronts had either been well-renovated or changed over to slightly more higher end retailers. While it was good to see the area being more prosperous, it made his heart hurt to see it changing so much. It hadn’t seemed that way, when he’d been there during the night. Then, he’d been too busy searching for the escaped killer and helping that runaway boy to take notice of the background details of the town.
“Okay, turn here,” Lois instructed as Clark once again fiddled with the sun visor. “And then a left at the end of the street.”
“You’ve got it,” he acknowledged, putting on his right turn signal and easing the car into a turn. He smiled grimly. “I haven’t been here in ages,” he commented, glancing around at the surrounding buildings. “It’s changed a lot, from what I remember.”
That much was true. Even when he’d brought Benji back to Grandma Tildy’s home, not a week prior, he hadn’t been to this part of the town. As a result, it felt only vaguely familiar and very foreign at the same time, almost like he was stepping into a dream only half remembered, especially given how much of it had changed.
“How’d you sleep last night?” he asked as he drove on. “I didn’t realize the room only had one bed, by the way.”
“I know. And I slept just fine. You?”
A ghost of a smile passed over his lips. Falling asleep next to Lois – even without them being intimate – had been one of the greatest joys of his life. Now, more than ever, he could envision what it would be like to be her husband, if she would one day have him.
Waking up to find her in her arms had felt so natural, so right. He could still feel the warmth of her body as she lay pressed against him as she slept. He could still feel the way her chest rose and fell with steady, even, shallow breaths. He could still hear the way she’d murmured in contentment as he’d lovingly stroked her bare upper arm. He could still taste her on his lips as he’d kissed her shoulder, just next to the strap of her tank top. He was still very aware of how his body had longed to make love to her.
His heart rate spiked as the memories flashed through his mind – a perfect series of snapshots in his mind. He felt his throat go dry and his palms grow moist as he recalled exactly how much he’d wanted to be one with Lois that morning. It was an effort to force his mind to retreat from those thoughts and turn toward why they were really here in Kansas.
“Honestly? It was one of the greatest sleeps I’ve ever had,” he answered.
Lois smiled shyly. “It was nice, waking up in your arms,” she admitted.
Do you know what you do to me? Do you know what effect you have on me? How your smile lights up my world? How your voice makes my heart soar? How one touch from you sets my desires aflame?
Clark sighed softly as he smiled. “I was about to say the same.” He made the left turn Lois had instructed him to take.
“Okay, this is the right road,” Lois said, consulting her map again. “Just go straight for…” Her voice trailed off as she calculated. “Two and a quarter miles, give or take. It’s right after Hemlock.”
“Right,” Clark recalled with a nod, as they passed a gas station with a very cheesy and very sunbleached twelve foot tall sunflower out front. Seeing the flower jarred his memories further and flashes of his youth zipped before his waking eyes. “I remember that now. There used to be an old bowling alley on Hemlock. We’d go sometimes, when we had coupons for free games or at least a group discount. It was a lot of fun.”
“It does sound like fun,” Lois commented.
“It was,” Clark confirmed. “I was never very good at it but, but by the time I left, I’d improved quite a bit. Enough to give Chen a run for his money, most of the time.” He couldn’t help but to smile at the memory. “Then, we’d go across town and get pizza at Max’s. I wonder if they’re still around,” he mused. “If they are, we should think about grab some dinner there. It’s been a long time but, they used to have the best pizza. Other items too. Shrimp parm, all kinds of pasta dishes, you name it.”
“I’d like that,” Lois said. “In fact, you’ve got my stomach growling just thinking about it.”
He chuckled. “Mine too. I miss that place.”
“Is that it, right up there?” Lois asked a few minutes later. She pointed at the windshield.
“Looks like it,” Clark replied. “Wow, that is a lot of cars.”
In less than half a minute, they arrived at the old farmhouse that had long ago been converted into a funeral home. The gravel parking lot to the right of the building was completely full, with twenty-five or thirty densely packed vehicles all crowded in. To the left of the house, a large swath of field had been mowed down to accommodate the overspill from the actual parking lot. A fair number of vehicles were already parked there as well. Clark pulled into one of the open spots in the very back of the auxiliary lot and turned off the car.
“Are you all right?” Lois asked, turning to him and placing her hand on his.
Clark took a deep breath before answering. This was it. The moment he’d been dreading since Bruce had called to tell him about Grandma’s passing. A lump formed in his throat, making it difficult to swallow. His lungs felt pressed in a vice and it was hard to breathe. His heart beat more quickly, the way it did whenever he was about to face a dangerous situation as Superman. His stomach knotted in anticipation and a little fear.
This is it, he thought as he shoved away the tears that were ready to leak from his eyes in his grief. I have to say goodbye to someone else I’ve loved. Everyone who’s ever had a hand in raising me is dead now. Jor-El and Lara. My parents. And now Grandma Tildy.
He couldn’t count Bruce and Alfred amongst those who’d raised him. Though the two had taken him in and loved him like he was a part of their family, but by then, Clark had been almost an adult. Neither Bruce nor Alfred had ever parented him. Bruce had been – would always be – his brother. And although Alfred could pass for Clark’s grandfather, the beloved old butler had never tried to act as Clark’s grandfather. Especially not with his continued insistence on calling Clark “master” and “sir” – a quirk that made Alfred endearing but that Clark still didn’t feel right about using.
Empty.
Clark felt empty, in a way. And even being with Lois couldn’t fully abate the loneliness in his heart as he realized his last caretaker had departed from the world.
He sighed heavily. “Yeah. It’s just…it feels more real, now that I’m here. With my parents, it was different. Them being gone forever was an immediate reality for me. Being so far removed from Grandma’s home for so long…I know it’s real, that she’s gone. But…before…it was abstract, in a way. Now that we’re about to go inside to the wake…it’s really real now. Everyone’s gone. My parents…Grandma…I can’t…it’s just a lot to take in, you know?”
“We don’t have to go in right now. We can hang out here, in the car, for a little bit if you want,” she offered, putting a supportive hand on his knee. “There’s no need to rush, if you aren’t ready.”
“No,” Clark said, shaking his head. “I’m okay. Really. Let’s go in.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
They got out of the car and walked across the freshly mowed grass. Clark took a moment to savor the smell of the cut grass and the rich, freshly tilled soil. It brought his soul a sense of peace, to drink in the scents of the things that had once been a normal part of his life. He linked his arm with Lois’ and led her up the old farmhouse steps to the front door. It was slightly ajar, to welcome in anyone stopping by to offer their last respects to Grandma Tildy. Clark reached out and pulled it open, allowing Lois to step inside before he did.
Inside the house, a few new air conditioners pumped cool air into the rooms, to combat the heat generated by so many bodies in so small a space. Their rumbling sounds were nearly drowned out by the multitude of low conversations all around. It was hard to maneuver their way through the sea of gray and black clothed bodies, but, eventually, Lois and Clark made it to what had once been a living room, but was now the main sitting area. At the back of the room, a sleek walnut colored coffin was raised up on a platform. The lid was open, but Clark couldn’t see the body within from where he stood.
Lois squeezed his hand in support. He gave her a light squeeze in return before looking at her and nodding. Then he glanced around the room. The space was nearly packed with men – standing around, sitting on the few hard-looking couches or on the wooden folding chairs, leaning against the wall, gawking at the coffin, talking to one another. Some women were there as well, but not as many. After all, the halfway house had only serviced boys, not girls. The women in attendance were either people from the town who’d known Grandma Tildy – Clark could point them out by how devastated they looked – or the wives or girlfriends of the men there. They were easy to pick out too, for their uncomfortable, but supportive, expressions.
“Grandma would have liked seeing all these people,” Clark commented, as they joined the line of people waiting for their chance to view the body and say their farewells.
“Do you recognize anyone?” she asked curiously, perhaps to take his mind off what was to come. She nodded toward the rest of the room.
Clark looked around once more, his sharp vision scrutinizing every face. “Not yet. Grandma took care of a lot of boys in her time. It wouldn’t surprise me if every single person here was a stranger. Plus…I haven’t seen any of the boys I used to know in years. For all I know, half of the men here could be people I once knew but don’t recognize. I mean, I hardly look like the fifteen-year-old I was when I left here.” He shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious.
The fifteen-year-old who fled in terror that he might burn the place down and kill everyone inside.
Lois nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
Clark continued to survey the room full of strangers. “It’s nice to see so many here, even if I don’t know them. Grandma Tildy was a great woman. It’s good to see how loved she was.”
She saved my life when I had nowhere to go. She showed me what career path I was meant to follow. She loved me like I was her own grandson.
“I’ll bet. It sounds like she changed a lot of lives for the better.”
Clark nodded. “Without her, I never would have considered journalism, at any rate.”
She was proud of me. She was proud that I became Superman. She even wanted the best for you, Lois, when she warned me to tell you who I am. And I will, I promise.
“Clark? Clark Kent?”
Clark whipped his head around to see who was calling his name. A tall, lanky Asian man was striding toward him. Clark blinked in surprise, though, of course, it shouldn’t have surprised him at all to see the man.
“Chen?” he asked, half in disbelief.
“Oh, so you remember me,” Chen replied, his lips in a hard line. Perhaps he’d meant it as a question, but the flintiness of his voice turned it into a venomous accusation.
“Of course I remember you,” Clark said warmly, extending a hand toward his friend. “How could I ever forget?”
Chen looked at Clark’s hand with contempt written plainly on his face. He refused to shake it and Clark withdrew his hand, uncertain how to respond. He decided to let Chen take the lead on how to move forward. Clark would take his cues from Chen, much like Superman took his cues from the numerous people he’d talked down from suicide.
“Come with me,” Chen said, motioning toward the front of the room, which was far less occupied than the space near Grandma’s coffin.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look, then they both followed Chen as he made a beeline for the far wall.
“Chen, it’s really good to see you,” Clark offered after a couple of moments, figuring that it was an innocuous enough statement to make.
Chen whirled around, angry. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, showing up here, you know that? Why did you come?”
“I heard about Grandma. I wanted to come and say goodbye to her,” Clark answered, shocked. “The same as everyone else here,” he added more firmly.
“You had your chance to say goodbye, years ago,” Chen told him, gesturing toward the coffin. “You had your chance, but instead, you chose to run away without saying a word, like a coward. Get lost, Kent. You aren’t needed or wanted here.”
“That’s not fair!” Lois bristled. Clark saw the anger flash in her eyes like a building storm. “You can’t punish him for a mistake he made a long time ago. You don’t know why he left and you sure as hell don’t know how much he’s regretted that.”
“Oh? And you do? Then enlighten me, Miss…?” Chen sneered, leaving the statement unfinished so Lois could introduce herself.
“Lois Lane,” Lois snapped, stepping protectively forward, as though she could shield Clark from Chen’s stormy, wrathful look.
“Ah, so you’re the reporter Kent here hooked up with,” Chen replied, giving her an unimpressed once over with his eyes.
“Leave Lois of out this,” Clark heard himself growl protectively.
Chen ignored him, and kept his steely gaze locked on Lois. “Go on then, Miss Lane. Explain to me why he left in the middle of the night, without even a note. Tell me why he broke Grandma’s heart, making her cry and wonder what it was that she’d done wrong to drive him to run away. Enlighten me as to why I wasn’t a good enough friend for him to come to with whatever problem it was that made him sneak out like a thief. Give me the reason why I had to be the one to break the news to the other boys, and counsel them in their grief at losing one of their own.” Each statement was a bigger, nastier challenge than the last, and Clark internally flinched at the razer sharp truth in each one. Chen’s eyes slid coldly over to Clark. “And not even in a way to celebrate. We always felt a loss when a boy left to go to his new home, but runaways always hurt worse. So…why? Why did this coward flee?”
Chen’s rant hit Clark like a bucket of ice water thrown onto his body. Each point he brought up slapped Clark directly in the face and bruised his already battered heart. He wanted to respond somehow, but what could he say, without either giving away the true reason or outright lying about it?
“I don’t know,” Lois admitted softly. Then, stronger, “But I do know Clark. Whatever his reason was, I know it made sense to him, even if only at the time.”
“You’re a fool,” Chen spat.
“She’s a better person than you’re presenting yourself to be,” Clark said through gritted teeth.
She’s an incredible woman, standing up for me when she has no idea that you’re at least partially right about me. I did handle the situation wrongly. But I only did it because I loved all of you too much to see you get accidently hurt.
Lois took another pointed step forward, getting in Chen’s face a little. “No. I’m someone who trusts Clark. I’ve seen the kind of man he is. Whatever the reason was for him to leave, I know it wasn’t an easy decision for him to make.”
Chen sidestepped her as though avoiding an annoying puppy. “You trust a man who won’t tell you important things like why he ran away from people who cared about him? Fine. Enjoy it when he runs from you too.” The sneer in Chen’s voice caused Lois to flinch ever so slightly. It had almost sounded like the man hoped Clark would abandon her and break her heart too.
“Maybe it doesn’t matter why he left,” she shot back, undeterred. “He’s here now. Here to say his final farewells.”
“And to apologize to you,” Clark offered, taking Lois’ arm and gently guiding her back to his side, making them a united front.
Please, believe me, he thought miserably.
“I’m not interested.”
Clark shook his head. “You deserve my apologizes, even if they’re inadequate,” he pressed gently.
I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to damage our friendship. You were like a brother to me. And I thought I was one to you in return.
“You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want your apologies. Not now. Not ever. You’re years too late,” Chen said, venom dripping from his words. He raised his hand and swept it toward the coffin. “Grandma is the one you really needed to apologize to. She drove herself crazy trying to find you. She worried herself sick – literally.” Here, Chen’s anger dropped almost microscopically, and as difficult memories appear to wash over him. But the change in him didn’t last more than two heartbeats before his wrath returned in full. “Then, next thing we know, we get notified that you’re living with Bruce Freakin’ Wayne, in the lap of luxury like some kind of Orphan King!” He snorted disdainfully. “Yeah, we got the call from the police. Grandma had begged them to keep her in the loop, even if you weren’t found again until you were fifty.”
“I know,” Clark said evenly, his voice barely audible over the constant buzz of the other conversations. “I spoke to Grandma, just this past week. She told me everything.”
“Bruce Wayne,” Chen repeated, crossing his arms before him, the name sounding like a curse on his tongue. “I hate that man, so taking you in. He should have left you to suffer on the streets.”
“And yet you’ve had no problem accepting this generosity as part of Wayne Charities,” Clark shot back, his voice like stone, his entire body bristling with anger. He could weather Chen’s anger, but attacks on either Bruce or Lois he would not stand for.
“Not out of choice,” Chen replied icily. “And now that Grandma is gone, your little pity charity donations to us are going to stop, just as soon as the funeral is over and I have time to make a phone call. I don’t want any part of you or Bruce Wayne.”
“So, what? You’re going to punish all the boys you’re supposedly looking after?” Lois growled, her eyes flashing dangerously. “Take away the funds they’ve been used to getting to have all the things they could ever want?”
“We’ll make do just fine without the Clark Kent pity money,” Chen hissed.
“Grandma wouldn’t want that,” Clark reminded him sternly, crossing his arms over his chest, taking a similar stance to the authoritative way Superman often dealt with criminals. “She’d hate what you’re planning.” He cut off his lecture there, choosing, instead, to take a deep, calming breath. He sighed sadly. “You should know…when I talked to Grandma, I apologized for my actions.”
“Well whoop-dee-doo for you,” Chen sarcastically replied.
“And now, I want to apologize to you,” Clark continued, ignoring the remark, as though Chen hadn’t spoken a word. “What I did was wrong. It felt…necessary…at the time, but I never once felt good about it.”
“Good. You shouldn’t have been okay with it,” Chen replied, his eyes narrowed in anger. He dropped his arms to gesture expansively. “You flat out lied to my face, that night. You acted like you’d be there in the morning when you had to have known full well that you were planning to leave that night.” He poked the air in front of him with one accusing finger, as if pushing his words directly into Clark’s already wounded heart. “No, Kent, I don’t want your excuses or your apologizes. Go. Go back to Metropolis or Gotham or wherever it is you need to scurry off to, like the rat you are. You don’t belong here.”
“Let me just say goodbye to Grandma, one last time,” Clark said, his voice just short of pleading. He put his hands up in a gesture of pacification. “Then I’ll go, I promise.”
“He deserves at least that much courtesy,” Lois added, her hands on her hips like a disapproving mother.
“No,” Chen said flatly, using his arms to make a quick X in the air in front of him, like an umpire calling ‘out’ on a player. He turned to leave, then stopped and faced them again as some thought stuck him. Clark had the ludicrous, fleeting thought that perhaps his old friend might have thought better of his stance on things. “You know…there was a time, once, when I understood why Grandma held out hope that you’d come back. But, as the years passed, and she followed you from afar – especially once you started working for newspapers – I hoped she would finally give up on you, and turn her back on you, the same as the other boys had done long ago.”
“That wasn’t her way,” Clark countered softly. He placed a hand on Lois’ shoulder, drawing calmness from her presence, even if he could feel how much she was seething and holding herself back from verbally tearing Chen to shreds.
“No, it wasn’t. We can agree on that, at least.” Chen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, as though warding off a headache.
“And yet you still insist on acting like an arrogant jerk,” Lois shot back, her words sharp as arrows. She stepped forward and poked Chen directly in the center of his chest. “Nice way to honor her memory.”
Chen pushed her hand away with casual indifference, like she was no more than a bothersome fly. “I’m the one who’s carrying on Grandma’s legacy of caring for boys with nowhere else to go. I haven’t run away when times have gotten tough. Don’t talk to me about honor.”
“You wouldn’t know honor if it kicked you right in the…”
“Lois, please,” Clark gently interrupted her. He felt his body sag a little under his grief. It was becoming all too clear that he’d lost not only Grandma, but Chen as well.
“It’s the truth,” she sniffed indignantly, though her voice dropped to a level that was just above speaking under her breath.
“Chen…can’t we talk?” Clark asked after a few seconds, his heart beating so rapidly in his chest that he felt like it had to be physically bruised from smashing itself against his ribcage.
“I’ve got nothing else to say to you,” Chen said with icy dismissal.
“Chen?” a woman called, as she made her way over. “The minister wants to ask…” She stopped in midsentence as she caught sight of Clark. She blinked twice, as if in disbelief. “C…Clark Kent? Is that you?”
A bolt of recognition shot through Clark. “Mina?”
The woman nodded and embraced him enthusiastically. “Oh my God! How are you?”
“I’m okay,” he said as she let go again. “How are you?”
“Mina, please,” Chen said with a jerk of his head, motioning for her to step away from Clark. “Kent here was just leaving,” he added pointedly.
“I’m fine,” Mina replied, ignoring her husband. “A little tired lately but, what can you expect?” she said, affectionately patting the small bump of her stomach.
Clark mustered up a tiny smile. “I’d heard that you two got married and started a family. I’m really happy for you both. I’d like you to meet Lois Lane.” He put his arm around Lois’ waist.
“His girlfriend,” Lois interjected, a bit possessively, even though she had no reason to worry that Mina might hit on Clark. She pushed past Clark a little, keeping him firmly behind her.
“Nice to meet you,” Mina said, extending a hand.
Lois shook it. “Clark’s told me about you.”
Mina beamed a smile. “He’s a good man.”
Lois smiled in turn, but Clark saw that the smile didn’t quite make it into her eyes. “Agreed. I’m really lucky to have him.”
Mina chuckled lightly. “I’m sure he’s lucky to have you too.”
Lois nodded. “I like to think so.”
Chen scowled. “Mina…” he said, impatiently.
“Is he giving you a hard time?” Mina asked, once again refusing to address her husband. “Ignore it. He’s grieving. Grandma pretty much raised him.”
“I know,” Clark said respectfully, nodding his head. “How are you dealing with it? I know she was pretty special to you too.”
“I’m…hanging in there,” Mina confided. “The kids are taking it hard. They’ve never known what it’s like not having Grandma Tildy in their lives.”
“I’m sure,” Clark agreed.
“Will you stay for a while? I have a few people I need to talk to, but I’d love to catch up,” Mina offered. She waved her hand toward the rest of the room.
“I…uh…” Clark stammered.
“He’s leaving. He’s not welcome here,” Chen asserted, crossing his arms again. “If he doesn’t leave on his own, right now, he’ll be forcibly removed.”
“Oh?” Lois challenged, her eyebrow raised skeptically. “What? You’re going to throw him out? Please, Clark could probably break you in half without trying. And he’s not exactly Superman.” She shot Clark an apologetic look. “No offense, Clark.”
“You’re right. He’s not Superman.” Chen practically spat out the words. “Superman treats strangers with more respect than Kent treats his so-called friends. And no, I’m not going to be the one to throw him out. But there are more than a few other guys here who are built like linebackers. They will throw him out, if I ask them to.”
Clark was suddenly aware of how quiet the room had gotten. Many, though not all, of the people gathered there had broken off their conversations to watch the drama unfolding between the two former friends. In the guise of Superman, the stares wouldn’t have bothered him. But, standing there as average Joe, not-at-all-special Clark Kent, the stares bored right through him, down to his soul. It unnerved him to the point where it took a Herculean effort not to squirm under their unforgiving gazes. Instead, he forced himself to adopt the stance of Superman – hard and immovable, unfazed by anyone’s judgement. He stiffened his spine and stood even straighter.
“Chen, you and I used to be able to be completely honest with one another,” Clark said evenly, internally wincing at the lie. After all, he’d never been honest about his powers. “So let me be honest with you now. You’re being unreasonable. All I’m asking for is a few minutes to say goodbye to Grandma. Yeah, okay, I get it. You don’t want to forgive me for what I did. That’s fine. You’re entitled to feel however you want to. But let me ask you something. This grudge you have…is this how you act toward all of the boys who run away? Do they return just to have you actively hate them? What kind of message are you sending them? They’re watching you, you know. You and me, right now. Look around the room and you’ll see I’m not lying. What will you say when little Be…Bernard,” he said, catching himself before he could say Benji, the name of the boy Superman had helped get back to the halfway house, “when he gets brought back to the home after trying to run away? Will hold a grudge against him too? Or is your anger reserved just for me?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lois beaming with approval and defiance.
Chen, on the other hand, went scarlet with his fuming anger. Clark was fleetingly reminded of the way old cartoons would sometimes depict enraged characters as smoking from the ears or perhaps blowing the top of their head off like an erupting volcano, complete with a klaxon alarm sound.
“How dare you question my ability to head the halfway house,” Chen growled through gritted teeth, and Clark had to give him credit for not yelling. “I was running that place with Grandma well before you ever showed up. I’ve forgiven everyone who’s ever left. The boys know they can rely on me for that. No, I don’t hold any anger for them. Because none of them ever had the audacity to pass themselves off as my best friend. Former best friend, at any rate.”
The words punched a hole in Clark’s heart. “I see,” he managed to get out.
“Now, leave. Don’t make me tell you again,” Chen threatened.
“He has every right to be here!" Lois argued, her tone going dangerously sharp and loud.
“No, he doesn’t,” Chen shot back, matching her volume.
“Hey, Chen,” a burly man said, coming over. Clark didn’t recognize him. “There a problem over here?”
“I’m not sure yet, Jed.” Chen crossed his arms with a smug look on his face. “It depends on if this trespasser leaves on his own or not.” He gave Clark a withering look. “Jed here is in law enforcement. As are a few others in this room.” The words were painfully spoken, as though Chen was talking to an idiot, incapable of understanding his threat by his words alone. “The choice is yours, Kent. Leave without a fuss or leave in handcuffs. I really don’t care which it is.”
With great effort, Clark bit back the retort on his tongue. “Fine,” he growled, forcing the words out. “You want to ‘win’ that badly? Fine,” he repeated harshly. “You want to pretend like leaving wasn’t hard for me? Fine. You want to prevent me from saying goodbye to Grandma? That’s fine too. Just know that that wasn’t her way. She would be extremely disappointed. She raised you to be a lot better than this.” He turned to Lois and took her hand with a shake of his head. “Come on, Lois. Let’s get out of here.”
“Fine by me. This place is way too toxic,” she commented.
Together, they started to leave. This time, the watching crowd parted for them, as though making way for a royal couple.
“Oh? And Kent?” Chen called after them. “Don’t bother trying to show up to the cemetery either. I’ll make sure you’re arrested on sight if you do.”
Clark didn’t respond in any way. He made not a sound. He didn’t even so much as pause in mid step. He and Lois simply kept walking until they reached the door and went back out into the all too cheery and bright sunlight. Down the steps they went, back onto the soft, springy grass that surrounded the property.
“Clark, wait!” Mina called after him.
He and Lois stopped and turned back.
“I’m so, so sorry about the way Chen treated you in there,” she apologized. “I’m just so embarrassed. Believe me. My husband will be getting an earful tonight when we’re alone.”
Clark shook his head. “I appreciate that but, truth be told, I’m not surprised that he’s still angry at me.”
“He’s a good man. Stubborn and hard-headed at times but…” Mina shrugged. “I’m sorry. I wish things had gone better. And I wish we could have reunited under happier circumstances.”
“Me too,” Clark replied. “Look, I don’t want to give Chen any further reason to threaten myself or Lois. I think it’s for the best if we don’t hang around. I’m sorry, Mina. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“I will. You too.” She hugged Clark tightly, then turned to Lois and gave her a quick hug. “Take care of him, okay? Despite what Chen may think, Clark’s one of the best people you could ever hope to know.”
“I know. And I will,” Lois promised. “I’m so sorry about Grandma Tildy. From what Clark has told me about her, I know she was a very special woman to all of you.”
“She was. Thank you, Lois.”
“Bye, Mina,” Clark said, knowing that it was likely the last time he would ever cross paths with her again as Clark, though he didn’t rule out the possibility of Superman needing to return to the halfway house again in the future.
“Bye, Clark. Lois, it was nice meeting you.”
“You too,” Lois said softy.
With that, Mina turned and hurried back to the funeral home, while Lois and Clark continued on to their car.
“That was your best friend at one point?” Lois asked with disgust as she shut the door and buckled in.
Clark slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “He was never like this, growing up. I’ve never, ever seen this side of him before. He’s just…so angry.”
“He’s a jerk,” Lois insisted.
“Maybe but…I’m not sure I can really fault him for it.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Lois replied, peering at his face to see if he was cracking a joke.
“No, I’m not,” Clark said, adjusting the air in the car and backing out of the parking space.
“Clark, he ripped into you like a dog on a ham bone!”
“I know,” Clark replied soothingly. “But…he and I were best friends. I let him down in a big way. I was supposed to be there for him. To support him when he was ready to propose to Mina. To be the best man at his wedding. To be available to talk if and when things got rough at the halfway house. They did, sometimes, you know. When the budget got tight, despite all the corners we were already cutting. When one of the boys we’d befriended had to leave the house – going to live with a family or aging out of the system and choosing to go out on their own to make their own life. But…I wasn’t there. I ran. I didn’t say goodbye.”
“He would have tried to stop you. Whether or not that would have maybe been for the best doesn’t matter. It was, for whatever reason, important for you to leave,” Lois said gently.
Clark pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the road. “It was more than that, Lois. The night I left…Chen asked me if I would hang out and play a game in the rec room. I looked him in the eyes and flat out lied to him. I said I was tired but I’d be up for playing the next morning. I knew full well that I was going to leave that night. I’d already planned it all out in my mind. Chen was right when he said that I’d lied to his face.”
“That doesn’t give him the right to treat you worse than he’d treat a piece of trash,” Lois said, fuming. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe it’s for the best that he’s clearly burned the friendship bridge with you.”
“Maybe. I mean, I was expecting him to be mad but…I didn’t recognize the man he’s become. It’s…terrifying, to be honest. I…I never want to cause that much pain to anyone else, ever in my life. Especially not to you, Lois.”
“You won’t,” Lois assured him confidently.
“Let’s hope not,” he said, unconvinced.
We’ll see, his inner voice said despondently. There’s still the matter of my alien origins to address.
“Are we still going to try to attend the burial?” Lois asked a few minutes later. “I know what Chen said but, he can’t really stop us…can he?’
“No,” Clark said, shaking his head. “We aren’t going to tempt fate.” He stopped for a stop sign, checked both ways, then continued on.
“That lets Chen win,” Lois gently pointed out.
“Maybe,” Clark conceded, “but…I know Chen. Or…used to, I guess. He keeps his word. His threat was real. If we step foot in that church or that cemetery, he’ll have a state trooper or sheriff or whoever put us in handcuffs. I’m not willing to endure that. And I won’t put you in that position either. It’s not right.”
“What’s not right is denying you the ability to be there for Grandma Tildy’s final send-off.” She sighed. “I wish there was something I could do to help. Maybe I should go back…alone? Try to talk some sense into his thick skull?”
“No,” Clark said with finality. “Chen’s past the point of being reasonable. It wouldn’t change his mind and would only make him furious with you too.” He shook his head again. “I can be content with having spoken with Grandma earlier in the week. I basically told her all the things I’ve been holding inside all these years. We made our peace with each other. It’s enough. It has to be.”
“Well, I’m glad you got the chance to do that,” Lois said softly, lightly touching the back of his hand as he drove.
“Not many people do,” Clark agreed. “Everyone always thinks that there’s always tomorrow, when it’s never actually guaranteed.”
“True,” Lois said with a solemn nod.
A few more minutes passed in silence. Finally, Clark could stand the oppressive quiet no longer. He cleared his throat.
“Lois?”
“Yes?”
“I’m really sorry.”
Lois blinked in surprise. “Sorry? For what?”
“For all of this. For dragging you out here to the middle of Kansas. For subjecting you to Chen’s hatred. For making you miss work for no reason at all.”
“Clark, you didn’t do any of that!” Lois countered, shock in her voice. “I’m the one who insisted on coming with you. And you couldn’t have known that Chen was going to act like a petulant child.”
“Still…I feel bad,” Clark replied. He beeped the horn at a driver who remained stationary long after the light changed to green. “I guess I’ll call the airline and see if we can exchange our tickets for a flight out tomorrow. There’s no reason to stay. Besides, we have a ton of work to do in Metropolis. The Luthor case is far from closed, at any rate.”
“No,” Lois decided.
“No? You don’t want to go back?” She could not have surprised Clark more than if she announced that she was also Kryptonian.
“Not yet,” Lois clarified. “Look. Perry’s already approved for us to take a few days off. We’re already out here, in Kansas. You said yourself that Smallville is only a few hours’ drive from here. So…why don’t we take a drive tomorrow instead? I think it’ll be good for you. When was the last time you were there?”
Last month, visiting my parents’ grave, he thought.
“The day I got sent to the halfway house,” he said instead. “I know Bruce would have arranged for me to go out there for a visit if I’d wanted but…just like Grandma’s, I wondered if I could ever really feel comfortable, going back, even if just for a day’s visit.”
At least as myself, at any rate.
“Oh…uh…did you not want to go? We don’t have to,” Lois quickly backpedaled.
Clark felt a rush of love surge through his heart. It still took him by surprise, sometimes, to see just how much Lois cared about him.
“No, I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “Thank you, Lois.”
I never thought I’d be going home again, he thought to himself. At least, not outside of the guise of Superman. But, is it really home anymore? The times I’ve flown out there, I’ve felt like a stranger. Like an outcast. Like I no longer belong there. Metropolis is my home now, because it’s where Lois is.
Lois.
He mentally sighed as he drove.
If she reacts to my secret the way Chen did to me showing up today, I don’t know what I’ll do.
To Be Continued…
