Title: When Summer Comes
Author: Dandello
Theme: Summer Fun (12 Days of Clois)
Prompt: #25 The Picnic
Rating: T
Summary: Follows
Spring Comes After Winter . Lois, Clark and Jason visit Smallville.
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“But I don’t want to go to Smallville,” six-year-old Jason Lane complained. His mother, Lois Lane, shook her head as she opened another dresser drawer and pulled out socks and underwear to go into his suitcase.
“Don’t you want to visit Grandma Martha?” Lois asked.
“Why can’t Grandma Martha visit us here?” Jason responded. He handed his mother the folded up shirts and pants she had laid out on his bed.
“Well, there’s a bunch of reasons,” Lois explained. “Starting with Clark is writing an article about where Grandma Martha lives and where he went to school and Grandma wants all her friends there to meet you and me since we’re a family now.”
“Why do we have to take a stupid ol’ airplane? Why can’t Superman fly us there?”
“Jason, we’ve been over this one,” Clark said from the doorway. Lois looked up, surprised. She hadn’t heard him come in. Of course she rarely heard him when he came back to the house after being out as Superman.
“We don’t want anybody to know that Superman has a special relationship to you and your mom,” Clark continued. “It’s too dangerous. And you and your mom showing up in Smallville without the benefit of a car or an airplane would show everybody that Superman was involved.”
“In fact, people like Ralph would start thinking that I’m cheating on Clark to be with Superman,” Lois added.
“That’s silly,” Jason commented with a grimace. Lois snapped Jason’s suitcase shut and handed it to her husband of ten weeks and two days.
“Yes, that’s silly,” Clark agreed. He led the way down stairs to where Lois had already stacked her luggage as well as Clark’s.
“How did it go?” Lois asked quietly, referring to the emergency he’d run off to while they were packing.
“Multiple car smashup on Ordway. A semi tried to avoid a stalled car, jackknifed, caught a van. The rest were just fender-benders, but it was still a mess.”
“How many…?”
“Five. Everyone in the van. Looked like they were starting out on their vacation. I’ve already sent the story off.”
He looked so forlorn. Failed rescues did that to him, adding to his sense of failure as he tried to make up for having been absent from Earth for nearly six years.
“You did everything you could,” she assured him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You always do.”
There was a sound of disgust behind her and she turned to see Jason standing on the stairs, watching them with open annoyance. Lois had thought, correction hoped, that Jason would quickly come to terms with the fact that his long missing biological father was now living with them, was now married to his mother. She had hoped they would miraculously morph into a real family.
It hadn’t happened. Jason liked Clark as an ‘uncle,’ as a ‘friend,’ even as a ‘baby sitter,’ but after six months of living in a single parent family, after six months of trying to come to terms with the death of the only ‘daddy’ he’d ever known, Jason hadn’t taken to the idea of sharing his mother with anybody. That included Superman. The fact that she and Clark had eloped on the spur of the moment while on an assignment hadn’t helped matters at all, nor had the recent times Clark missed school events due to being on rescues.
Lois sighed, giving Clark an apologetic look as she held out her hand to her son. “Come along, munchkin. We’ve got a plane to catch.”
* * *
The plane ride to Wichita was a quiet one. Almost no turbulence. Clark was glad of that. He’d flown commercial more than once, but he still didn’t find it comfortable. There was simply something unnerving in placing yourself in the hands of someone controlling a machine that common sense said shouldn’t work. This from a man who flies without an airplane.
Jason played with his Gameboy. Lois had brought along several books she hadn’t had time to read, while Clark finished outlining what he planned for his article on Smallville, assuming everything came together as he hoped. Perry had asked for a report revisiting an article Clark had written years before on the ‘Poisoning of America - Private property rights versus the public good.’ The original article had been well received and he planned for the new one to cover genetically modified organisms and the concept of patenting lifeforms.
For the first article, Perry had agreed that the microcosm represented by a small Kansas town was the perfect backdrop. The same thought applied this time as well although Clark admitted to ulterior motives for suggesting he go back to Smallville, especially with Lois asking for vacation days so she and Jason could accompany him.
It was going to be hard, seeing his mother’s friends and his old friends and classmates after so many years. Clark wasn't sure what his mother had told people about his relationship to Lois and her son. His son.
A commuter plane took the trio and several other passengers from Mid-Continental Airport in Wichita to Smallville Municipal.
“How did we rate a commuter plane to take us half-way across the state?” Lois wondered aloud.
“I have friends in odd places,” Clark told her with a grin.
She gave him one of her famous ‘Lane glowers’ that made criminals quake, politicians cower, and police run for cover.
“I went to school with the pilot’s brother,” Clark explained. “She’s heading home for a visit and so we’re hitching a ride. All completely above board, except I did promise to write something up on how urban sprawl and government greed is damaging non-commercial and small commercial aviation.”
“Perry will love that,” Lois commented. Clark wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. She grinned at him. “Seriously, you know Perry loves it when you turn on ‘crusader mode.’ I think it reminds him of the old days of the crusading press.”
* * *
“Grandma!” Jason yelled as he got out of the rental car and ran toward the Kent farmhouse. The door opened onto the porch and Martha Kent walked out, wiping her hands on a towel. Her worn face broke into a smile as she caught sight of her grandson. Lois got out of the car more slowly, going to the trunk to get their luggage. An emergency had called Clark away just as they were leaving the airport. There was no telling when he’d be back.
Shelby, the old golden retriever, trotted out to greet the newcomers, woofing cheerfully as he caught scent of Jason, who squealed at the dog’s attention. Lois crouched down and scratched the dog’s ears before making her way to the house, luggage in hand.
“I figure you and Clark will stay in my room and Jason will sleep in Clark’s old room,” Martha stated cheerfully, ushering them into the house and closing the screen door to keep Shelby out.
“Martha, you don’t have to go to all this trouble,” Lois assured her. “Besides, where will you be sleeping?”
“Over at Ben’s,” Martha explained. She checked her watch. “In fact, Ben wanted to know if Jason wants to come over to his place and watch the game with him. The As are playing the Monarchs. Starts a little after six.”
The screen door opened and Clark walked in. His expression was clear. It must have been a good rescue. “Hi, Mom,” he greeted, giving his mother a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Jason?” Lois asked. “Do you want to visit Ben and Martha over at his house and watch the game?”
“But what will you be doing?” Jason asked his mother.
Martha smiled. “I thought your mom and dad might like to visit some his friends in town.” She turned to Clark. “There’s usually a bunch of your old friends down at the pizza joint on Fridays.”
“Jason?” Clark asked.
Jason pouted a little but finally nodded. “You won’t forget about me, will you?”
“Jason!” Martha exclaimed.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Clark said. “So far in the past two months I’ve managed to miss a parent conference, a concert, and his kindergarten graduation, not to mention being late to pick him up after school at least once a week.”
“Oh, Clark.” He didn’t have to be Superman to hear the disappointment in his mother’s voice.
“Yeah, I’ve been battin’ a thousand recently,” Clark admitted with a sigh. “It hasn’t been an easy transition.”
Martha patted his arm. “Oh honey… it’s never easy being a parent, even when you’ve been there the whole time. And I won’t lie and tell you it gets easier, because it doesn’t and it’s damned hard work to boot. But I think you’ve already figured that part out.”
* * *
Lois and Clark dropped Martha and Jason off at Ben Hubbard’s place. Actually, it was Ben’s oldest son’s house now, Lois recalled Clark telling her. Ben had turned the farm over to son Jim when Ben decided to move to Montana with Martha Kent eight months before. Those plans fell through when the people who bought the Kent farm backed out of the deal.
It had all worked out, though. It was Lois’s understanding that one of the co-ops was now leasing the farmland from Clark’s mother for a good price. She and Ben might not move to Montana, but they would be able to vacation there. Lois knew that the possibility of losing his childhood home had bothered Clark far more than he ever wanted to admit, even to her.
“You be good for Grandma Martha, okay?” Lois told Jason as he got out of the car. Jason simply nodded as he followed Martha Kent into the house.
“You don’t really think he’s afraid we’re going to just go away and forget him, do you?” Clark asked.
“What I think he’s afraid of is something bad happening and him getting lost in the shuffle,” Lois told him. “He’s also doing a lot of testing. Whether us being together means he’s being left out, see what the limits are.”
“I’m not doing a very good job,” Clark observed. “The teachers at his school think I’m a flake, and they’re right. I’m not exactly reliable. What sort of example am I setting when I end up half-an-hour or more late picking him up from school or daycare?”
“Clark, Jason understands why you’re late,” Lois assured him. “It might hurt a little knowing both your jobs seem more important than he is.” He opened his mouth to protest but she held up her hand. “He knows it’s not really true, but it does look like it sometimes. And he can’t tell his friends or his teachers the real reason you run late so often, so he has to suck it up when they say things.”
“I’m trying to do better,” Clark assured her. “But sometimes it feels like it’s an uphill battle. Worse, I think he really does hate me for trying to take Richard’s place.”
“This from the man who single-handedly saved Metropolis, if not the world, twice in less than two weeks? Both times after being seriously injured?”
“Yeah well, saving the world is easy compared to getting on the good side of a six-year-old,” Clark commented.
“Tell me about it.” Lois managed a chuckle. “But I’ll tell you, it’s better that he’s acting out and testing us than trying to be ‘little mister perfect.’ It means he’s not afraid of you. And that’s a very good thing.”
“He may not be afraid of me,” Clark said. “But I’m not sure if he respects me, and I know he doesn’t listen to me.”
Lois sighed. “That’s something we need to work on. Together.”
* * *
Smallville was exactly what the name implied, although Clark had explained that the name came not from its size, but that the town had been founded on the banks of the Elbow River sometime in the 1840’s by a trapper and trader named Ezra Small. The county had been named after an early Kansas politician, Mirriam Lowell, a Civil War veteran. The Kent family had been a presence in the area since just after the Civil War. Not just farmers, but law enforcement, newspaper publishing, even a bank robber.
Clark pulled the car into a space in the parking lot next to a wooden building just off the main street. The red paint was faded, but a sign reading ‘Harris Feed and Implement’ could still be made out on the side of the building. The parking lot was nearly full. A white SUV with marking’s indicating it belonged to the sheriff’s department was parked near the exit.
“The Pizza Joint,” Clark announced, taking Lois’s hand. Lois smiled as she read the sign on the front of the building and realized that really was the name of the place. They walked up a short flight of wooden steps onto a wide porch with several bistro style tables on it then went inside. The inside smelled of bread, pizza and beer. The floors were scuffed pine and the air was filled with laughter. A jukebox in the corner was playing oldies.
Several young children about Jason’s age or younger were crowded around vintage video arcade games, urging each other on as they knelt on chairs to reach the controls. Older kids wearing Little League uniforms sat at tables with thirty-something couples.
Their arrival elicited bored glances from most of the patrons who looked up to identify the newcomers, then went back to their own conversations.
“Clark?” a woman’s voice called out from a large corner table with several couples seated at it. “Clark Kent!”
Clark’s head had come up as he looked around to locate the voice. “Rachel?”
A tall blonde woman in a khaki uniform stood up and beckoned them to join her and her party. She pulled Clark into a hug when he got close enough, ignoring Lois’s scrutiny. The shoulder patches on the woman’s uniform indicated she was with the Lowell County sheriff’s department. The radio, weapon and handcuffs on her web belt added weight to that observation. There was a khaki campaign hat sitting on the table.
“Long time no see,” Rachel said with a grin, standing back to look Clark over. She held onto his hands. “You’re lookin’ pretty good for somebody who took four slugs eight months ago.”
“I was lucky,” Clark said, ducking his head. Lois could see the faint flush as it climbed into his face. “I never did get a chance to thank you for helping out my mom and Ben.”
“Hey, what are friends for?” Rachel asked. “But you are going to fill me in on what was going on, aren’t you?”
“How does coffee tomorrow sometime sound?” Clark asked.
“Works for me,” Rachel agreed. She let Clark’s hands go, apparently noticing Lois for the first time. “You must be Lois. Martha mentioned he finally got himself hitched. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Lois said. “You must be Sheriff Harris.”
Rachel nodded, grinning. She stretched up and kissed Clark on the cheek. “She’s a smart one. You’re one lucky guy. You’d better keep her,” she whispered loudly enough for Lois to hear.
“I plan to,” Clark agreed. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Rachel grabbed the hat off the table, put it on and strode out of the restaurant.
“Old girlfriend?” Lois wondered aloud.
“Old friend,” Clark corrected. “Although we did go to the senior prom together after both of our dates bombed out on us. Mine ended up in the hospital with severe poison ivy and I never did hear what his excuse was for staying home that night.”
“The way I hear it, they both had poison ivy,” one of the men at the table said. He was heavy set and balding, a typical high school athlete who couldn’t keep the weight off once he stopped exercising hard every day. “I’m Chuck Barstow and this is Adam Rainor and his current girl friend Cleo, and over there is Dave Mitchell and his wife, Elena. The ugly guy in the corner is Ed Griffin with his wife Anny.” Chuck gestured to the deeply tanned woman beside him. “My wife, Mara.”
“Chuck, Dave, Ed, and I all played football together,” Clark explained to Lois as they sat down opposite Chuck and his wife. “This is Lois.”
Chuck eyed Clark. “How long has it been since you’ve been to Smallville?”
“About seven years since I’ve been to Smallville proper. The ten-year high school reunion,” Clark told him. “I was at the farm last September, after I got back from overseas, but I didn’t come into town.”
He turned to the bored looking woman beside. “This is the guy who threw the Hail Mary pass for the touchdown that won us the state championship our senior year. Probably the best wide receiver the Crows ever had.”
Mara raised one eyebrow, eying Clark. He shifted uncomfortably at her gaze.
“The Crows?” Lois murmured, amused.
Clark nodded. “I played quarterback and wide receiver. I was pretty good.”
“Your trophies and awards are coming back with us, you know,” Lois told him.
Clark shook his head. Lois knew she would get her way. But she also knew that he still felt the awards didn’t really belong to him. They belonged to someone who didn’t really exist any more. Someone who died nearly seven years ago on a futile trip to find his roots.
“I still don’t get why you turned down a full football scholarship to Kansas State,” Chuck said, oblivious to the muted conversation between Lois and Clark.
“There were other things I had to do before heading off the college,” Clark explained.
A waitress who looked like she wasn't more than a teenager came by and took their order. She returned a few moments later with two beers.
“So, what do you do?” Mara asked.
Dave chuckled. “You don’t read the Daily Planet, do you? Clark here is one of their hot shot reporters.” He looked over at Lois. “So I’m going to assume you’re Lois Lane.”
Lois nodded acknowledgement. “That’s me.”
The light seemed to go on for Mara. “You’re the one who writes all that stuff about Superman.”
“Yes.”
Anny leaned over conspiratorially. “Is he really as cute as his pictures?” she asked, giggling.
Lois glanced over to see Clark staring down into his beer. “He’s very tall and very cute,” Lois said with a chuckle.
“What’s he really like? I mean, is he really as human… I mean, is he really a man under there?”
Clark had his beer glass up to his lips when he started sputtering, nearly dropping the glass. Lois slapped him hard in the middle of the back as though he were choking. He set down the glass, giving Anny a dirty look before schooling his expression back to his usual genial, mildly curious, ‘Clark’ face.
Lois chuckled. “Um, I was told by one of the nurses at the hospital, after he fell from the sky, that he looked completely human and normal in all particulars. So I assume the answer to your question is ‘yes.’”
Mara shuddered delicately. “I can’t imagine having his hands… I mean, no matter how human he looks, he’s really an alien. How do you know what he’s really like?”
“I know he cares about people,” Lois said. “To the point he’s willing to put his life on the line every time he goes out on a rescue, to help during earthquakes, and storms, and accidents. I know he’s a lot more human than most of us want to believe. I know I’m proud that he considers me and Clark his friends, despite some of the things I’ve written in the past.” As she spoke, she placed one of her hands over Clark’s and gave his hand a squeeze of support. He gave her a little smile.
Their pizza arrived – a veggie special with spinach, olives and mushrooms. The crust was crispier than Lois normally liked, but it had good flavor. “So, tell me what Clark was like in high school…”
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The Pizza Joint is borrowed from
If I Were You by Caroline K.
