Noel smiled as she watched the children play in the backyard. Maisie chased Pete, giggling as she ran. She had her father’s laughter. Each day, Maisie grew to look more like Tom. She missed Tom so much it hurt, but at least he lived on through their daughter.
“Gotcha!” Maisie tackled Pete to the ground.
“Young lady,” Noel warned. “Get off him at once!”
Maisie stuck her tongue out at her mother and continued to tussle with Pete. Noel’s heart tightened. Tom used to do that when he was annoyed with Noel. He outgrew that eventually . . . but seeing the same expression on their daughter’s face was surreal.
Noel stomped to the wrestling first-graders. “That’s enough!” she screamed, ripping them apart. “Why can’t you be more like Clark!” she explained, waving her hand at the perfect son.
Clark Kent sat on the tire swing with Lana, spinning them madly. Lana squealed happily and hugged Clark tightly. Noel’s heart melted. The two of them reminded Noel of how Tom and she used to be. She saw wedding bells in their future.
Maisie made a face of disgust. “They gonna throw up any minute now. And guess who’s cleaning?”
Noel pursed her lips and grabbed her daughter’s hand. “No brownies for you,” she said. “Go cool down in your room.”
“Why?” Maisie asked. “I’m not hot.”
She shook her head. “Maisie Elizabeth Kidder, don’t make me say it again.”
“You’re mean,” she retorted and sulked off.
Noel kneeled beside Pete, who had started to whimper. He had scraped his knee in the tussle with her daughter. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sweetie.” She held the boy’s hand and guided him into the house.
The other parents sat around the kitchen table, drinking coffee and eating cookies. Imani Ross gathered her son into her lap and kissed his knee. Pete cried harder. Imani dabbed at the scrape with a towel, pressing down gently. She whispered words of comfort to her son as she cleaned the knee.
Martha’s eyes widened when she saw the oozing wound. “What happened?” she jumped to her feet. “Did Clark do that?”
It was odd how quick Martha blamed her son. “Nonsense, Clark is an angel,” Noel said. “My demon child did this.” She shot a glare at her daughter, who was hovering by the stairwell. “I thought I told you to go to your room.”
Maisie stuck out her tongue again and ushered upstairs. “I’m so sorry, Imani,” Noel said. “I would talk with her. This behavior is unacceptable.”
“But expected,” Imani laughed. “She is Tom’s daughter after all.”
Suddenly, there was a scream outside. All three parents rushed outdoors, Imani lugging Pete in her hefty arms. Lana sat alone on the tire swing, blinking wildly at something on the roof. The trio of moms followed her gaze. Noel’s heart dropped to the ground.
Clark walked along the roofline, inching toward a white kitten trapped on the top of the chimney. “Oh, my God,” Noel clapped a hand over her mouth. One wrong step, and they’ll have a six-year-old to bury. “Clark, don’t move!” How had he gotten up there? That was over three stories high.
“I can’t watch,” Lana covered her eyes. “I don’t want Clark to die.” Her voice wobbled. “Tell me when it is over.”
“Clark Josep Kent,” Martha thundered. “What do you think you’re doing?” Martha Kent’s hands flew to her hips. Noel frowned. She thought Martha would have been more worried than angry. “We discussed this.”
“I’m sorry, Ma,” Clark said, poking his little head over the chimney. “But she was so scared.” he cradled the fluffy white kitten, who nuzzled him. “I couldn’t let her suffer. I’ll come down now.” He bent his knees as if to jump.
“NO!” Martha screamed.
“What?” Clark froze. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Stay where you are, honey,” Martha instructed. “We’ll get a ladder.”
“Why?” Clark asked. “I can come down the same way I got up. Easy-peasie. I practiced at home.”
Practiced? Noel wasn’t one to judge. But allowing your six-year-old to scale a barn did not seem safe or appropriate for any parent. He could have been seriously hurt. She would never let any child of hers climb buildings.
“Just to be safe, let’s use the ladder,” Martha said. “You don’t want want to scare the kittie.”
Clark looked down at the kitten in his arms. “Oh, yeah, she’s afraid of heights. Probably best to take it slow, huh, girl?” he kissed the kitten’s head. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Together, Noel and Martha hauled the ladder out of the garage and braced it on the edge of the house. Clark secured the kitten inside his coat and climbed down the ladder. Noel didn’t relax till he was back on solid ground.
“Lord have mercy, Clark!” Noel hugged the little boy. “You’re gonna send us all to an early grave.”
Clark frowned, contemplatively. “Did I hurt you?”
“You scared the bejesus out of us!” Imani explained. “You could have been killed.”
Understanding slowly dawned in his bright blue eyes. “I’m sorry I scared ya’ll,” Clark said. He snuggled the kitten. “I had to help Fuzzball.”
“Oh, she has a name now?” Martha crossed her arms.
“She needs a home.” Clark met his mother’s eyes, dopey and wide-eyed. “Please?”
“We’ll discuss it with your father,” Martha said. Clark smiled, content, knowing he had won. “But you’re in serious trouble, young man.”
Clark sighed heavily, blowing some dark bangs out of his eyes. “I know,” he said. “I’m grounded. No reading for a week and extra chores.”
That didn’t seem fair. All he wanted was to save the cat. He shouldn’t be punished for that. It was a mystery how he got on the roof. There were no vines on the house for him to hold on to – the bricks were too smooth to help him climb. She was at a loss.
Martha gathered Clark into her arms, carrying both him and the cat. Clark was small for his age and still looked like a pre-schooler. Martha carried Clark to the car, and he waved goodbye to his friends.
“You’re not in trouble because you saved a life.”
Noel heard Martha say as she strapped Clark into the car seat.
“You’re in trouble because of how you went about doing it.”
Noel frowned, looking at the small boy and the three-story building. There was no way he could have done what she thought he did. He was just a little boy. Yet, her friend's words confused her even more.
Last edited by KSaraSara; 03/22/26 05:09 PM. Reason: edited to add the blue arrow
