Thank you for the feedback! It's always such a pleasure to find!
Ann,
Alice really got on my good side when she gave Lois that hug, by the way!
I was trying to paint an image with that. We don't see much of Alice on the show, I'm not sure she's ever there except in ways where she's hard to see (in the episode where she and Perry are kidnapped). But I've always figured it would take an incredible woman to be married to Perry who seems mostly married to his job. I was hoping with just a few words to have her come to life a little. (Thus the plane thing, too – it helped explain how she put up with Perry for all those years. She had her own passion she was pursuing.)
I tried to do the same with Pam, whom I see as a lot like Jimmy – enthusiastic and eager to help, and smart although not quite aware of how smart she is.
I wasn't quite so happy when Clark found it so easy to tell Pam his secret, even though he hadn't been able to tell Lois for ten years.
You know, given this comment from you and Sheila, I considered changing it. And I considered just asking if others thought it should be changed before archiving, just because changing would require basically rewriting this chapter. But I've decided not to. I know this clearly didn't come across to either of you, but it was supposed to be about Clark's having grown. Beth sums it up quite well actually.
The idea behind this was that Clark is getting a little better about recognizing that while the secret is a secret for a reason, he shouldn't be keeping it a secret at all costs. And in the same way he shouldn't keep secrets from Lois, he can't expect Jimmy to keep secrets from his wife. He didn't tell Pam because it was convenient. He told Pam out of respect for Jimmy and Jimmy's commitment to Pam.
Actually, what made me think of it was not convenience at all. It was a memory I had as I started writing this part. I was trying to figure out how Jimmy could donate a large sun of money to Clark without telling Pam (who her brother, who owns half of Jimmy's business) and then I remembered this. While as with most family relationships, it comes and goes, at various times throughout our marriage my husband has been friends with my brother – as in real friends aside from me. At some point a few years back, my brother told my husband something he did not want me to know. I don't even remember what it was. What I do remember was my husband telling me about it later. He was annoyed when my brother started the conversation with “Don't tell Nancy…” and he cut my brother off to say, “If you don't want Nancy to know, then don't tell me. I don't keep secrets from her.”
I grew up in a family where trust is really not that big an issue and more than one of my family members have clear lying problems to the point of some of them needing psychological help. My husband for reasons I'm not completely clear on is almost maniacal in being honest. And as such, trust is a very big thing in our relationship. I recognize this is not the case for everyone – my parents seem to have a pretty good marriage and I know they keep secrets from each other.
But for me, part of what makes me feel secure and safe and loved in my marriage is the knowledge that my husband would never lie to me. And it makes me feel good that he knows that despite the rest of my family, I would never lie to him.
I feel like given Clark's need to keep his secret a secret, and the length of time it took him to tell her (particularly in this story) the same would be true for him and Lois. Trust and honesty would be a cornerstone of their relationship. And while it's not the case for everyone, and they would know that just as I do, it is a bit hypocritical to say, “I don't keep any secrets from my spouse,” but to then expect someone else to keep a secret from their spouse for you.
So, in effect, Clark tells Pam his secret as a sign of his complete honesty to Lois, as this is the type of relationship he wants to have with her. One where people would know not to tell him anything they didn't want Lois to know, because there wasn't anything they didn't share. (I'm ignoring, of course, silly things like birthday presents and surprise
parties, but hopefully you get the idea.)
Beth,
And Alice as a pilot! I'm loving the mental picture I'm getting of this...
I know it's not accurate, as this story takes place in present day, but when I picture this, I get a mental image of Amelia Earhart. Open cockpit, protective goggles…
Sheila,
I think it's sweet that Jimmy named his son after Clark but what will Clark and Lois name their son?
Given that I only have one more chapter left, you can probably guess that I'm not going to have to figure that out for this fic. But feel free to make suggestions.
In Packing Up Home, I named him Kyle. In my head, I decided he was named for Lois' maternal grandfather, but it didn't play into the story at all, so it was really just a random name.
I'm interested in how you will resolve the B-plot, too.
) part.
