Clark couldn't believe it. Of all the things he'd thought that had caused her such distress, and she was crying over a soap opera! He stared at the box in his hand for another few seconds, then couldn't hold it in any longer. He started laughing.

You’re right, Clark. Okay, here goes,” she said, and took a deep breath. Clark gave her hands a reassuring squeeze, then prepared himself for the worst.

“Jack broke up with Gwendolyn!” she blurted out, then struggled to stifle another sob. “He dumped her, just like that,” she snapped her fingers, “for no good reason.”

Whatever Clark had expected to hear, that was not it. “What?” he asked, confused.

She again lifted her head from his shoulder to see the cassette case in his hand. She nodded, sniffling.

“This is why you were crying when I got here?” he asked again, this time with a trace of disbelief.

“Um-hmm,” she replied, looking at the case like it was an obituary. “I couldn’t believe it. She loves him so much, and he just…walked away,” she shook her head hopelessly. She looked at her partner, expecting to find his eyes full of sympathy. Instead, he looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Clark couldn’t believe it. Of all the things he’d thought that had caused her such distress, and she was crying over a soap opera! He stared at the box in his hand for another few seconds, then couldn’t hold it in any longer. He started laughing.

After a moment, Clark was finally able to stop. With tears in his eyes, he addressed his livid partner. “Lois, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just, when I tried to imagine all the things that could’ve upset you like this,” he sighed, hoping she’d see the humor in it, “an episode of ‘The Ivory Tower’ is *not* what came to mind.” She continued to stare straight ahead in stony silence. ‘Apparently not’, Clark thought, so he decided to go with a sincere apology. “Lois, I am very sorry for laughing at you. You were obviously affected by something, and I shouldn’t have treated it so lightly,” he said softly.

He watched her, hoping she’d accept what he said, fearful she’d boot him out the door. But, after a while her body language relaxed, and she turned to face him.