Wow.
Maybe I'm late to the feedback party, but I still want to tell you that this was one of the most beautiful, most painful, most tender stories of recovery that I've ever seen. And Clark never pretended to Lois that he was anything other than who he really is! Well, not really; he didn't ever lie to her.
Oh, the elephant thing! The first reference I thought of was the old saying, "Well, now I've seen the elephant!" Meaning, to me at any rate, that Lois had seen only what Lex wanted her to see (his tusk, one of his more impressive features), but Clark allowed her to see everything about himself.
The phrase originated back in the early 19th century, when the new American west (Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, western Tennessee, etc.) had very little regular communication with the East and few books of exotic animals with pictures. So when carnivals and circuses came through the larger towns, people from all over would come to view the unbelievable pachyderms they brought with them. When they went home and their neighbors asked them how the show was, they'd reply, "Well, now I've seen the elephant!" It meant that they'd seen something that no one else around those parts had seen and that nothing else in life would surprise them. That's how I took Lois's remark that she'd seen "the whole elephant" with Clark and just the tusk with Lex.
Anyway, Catharine, this story is so wonderful! I love it. You truly had me laughing and wiping tears away at the same time! I'm going to nominate it for several somethings at Kerth time, and I plan to vote for it too! It was such a beautiful glimpse into a wounded spirit, and such a tender view of that spirit slowly healing. And I liked the idea of Lois having a "secret identity" for a change. In fact, there was nothing here that I didn't like a lot.
I envy your ability to touch your readers' hearts in so many different ways. You're so dratted
good at this! It's not fair for you to compete with us normal mortals.
My sincerest and warmest thanks for sharing this with us.
