Here's chapter seven. Thanks to those who gave me feedback and for rkn for betaing.

I usually don't include excerpts from previewous parts because my chapters are usually a day or two a part. But since this chapter starts directly after chapter six left off, here's part of chapter six:

Larry gasped as he saw her painting in full view for the first time. It took him a few minutes to recover his speech. “Kiley, this is amazing!” he exclaimed in awe. “You know, I grew up around the Alps. I can see them from a distance everyday. And sometimes on my day off I go to the park. But I’ve never seen them the way you’ve captured them here.” He pointed to the painting, brushing the canvas in wonder. “You’ve captured the beauty, the mystery, the wonder of the Alps. And you’ve included animals as part of that wonder.” He gestured to her portrayal of the golden eagle. “There’s so much detail in this. So much emotion, too. You can see how much you enjoyed looking at them.”

“Thanks, Larry.” Kiley replied. She was surprised at how much his support meant to her. She was used to getting praise for her artwork, with a few notable exceptions. So why did Larry’s praise make her feel like she was flying to the moon?

“Seriously, Kiley,” Larry continued. “I’ve never seen a painting like this in my life.”

She smiled at him. Then she made a decision. “You know what? It’s your homeland that inspired this. You can have it. This is my gift to you.”

Larry looked completely shocked. “Are you sure, Kiley?” he asked sounding unable to believe it.

“Yes, Larry.”

“I’ll put it right over my couch,” he said grinning from ear to ear. And every time I see it, I’ll think of you.”

They both smiled at each other very tenderly. Without thinking, Kiley and Larry leaned in and kissed.


Now, part seven

The room was silent for a few minutes before they broke a part. They looked at each other for a moment before whispering “mmmm.”

“Let’s do that again,” Larry murmured before leaning in to kiss her again.

They both grinned after finishing another couple of kisses. “So, seriously,” Kiley commented, breaking the silence, “I’m really glad you like my painting. Your support means a lot to me.” She looked deep into his eyes, hoping to convey how important this was to her.

Larry nodded, seeming to understand.

“I might do some other paintings of the Alps as well,” Kiley said brightly. “I’m thinking maybe a bird’s-eye-view of the same area.”
“That’s a good idea,” Larry replied. “It would be interesting to see the same area from a different angle.”

“That’s what I thought,” Kiley responded, already mentally planning the sketches that would need to be drawn and how she would transfer it to her canvas.

She grinned, thinking of how much fun it was to fly. She could get a really nice bird’s-eye-view of the area! “Don’t you think it would be fun to fly just like a bird?” she asked causally.

Larry hesitated for a moment. “Weelll…I think that sort of flying isn’t meant for humans,” he replied slowly. “Airplanes are fine, because a lot of people use them. But anything else…” his voice trailed off.

Kiley thought for a second. What did he mean by that? Was he trying to say that people who fly without airplanes (like her family) were doing something wrong? Once again, she wondered if she was doing the right thing by getting involved with him. Then she mentally shook her head. She was probably reading too much into his comment.

“Well, that does make sense, I guess,” said Kiley, trying to understand his views. Maybe he just meant he was nervous about the idea of flying.

“You know, I’ve got a great idea!” Larry exclaimed, trying to relieve some of the tension in the air. “Why don’t we take a picnic to the park tonight? I know I’ve seen the area before, but looking at your painting makes me want to see again. With new eyes.”

Kiley nodded eagerly. That was a great idea. She needed to put these ideas about his comment out of her mind. She had nothing to worry about!

“That’s settled, then.” Larry said brightly. “So what do you want to bring for our picnic, then?”

“Well, what do you have here?” she asked.

“Let’s see,” Larry replied, as he walked into his kitchen. “I’ve got stuff for salad, either American or Swiss cheese; whatever you want. And I’ve got Swiss cheese to go with turkey, ham, or chicken sandwiches.” He removed the items he mentioned from the refrigerator to show to her. “Here’s some crackers,” he added as he opened a cupboard and pulled out a box. “I’ve only got water to drink, though. Sorry.” Larry paused for a minute. “I could pick up a bottle of wine at the store if you wanted.”

Kiley’s eyebrows went up and she mentally jumped a mile. Discreetly, she looked down to make sure her feet hadn’t left the floor. Alcohol! She wouldn’t touch that stuff for fear of what might happen if she drank even a couple of sips. But how was she supposed to explain that to Larry? It was perfectly normal to offer to provide wine on a romantic picnic.
“No, that’s okay,” she replied after a few seconds. “I like water, actually. You don’t have to go out and buy any.” She hoped he would buy her reasoning. She couldn’t afford to be questioned to deeply on this issue.

“Oh!” Larry added, his eyes lighting up. “Guess what I also have.” He pulled out a container on his counter and showed her a batch of double chocolate chip cookies. “They’re supposed to be for the store, but I brought this batch home for us.”

“They do look good.” Kiley commented. “But are you sure you aren’t hurting your profits? Especially after I dropped all those boxes the other day?” she asked, concerned. She appreciated the idea, but she didn’t want him hurting his business for her sake.

“Of course not!” Larry exclaimed. “Look, I made an extra batch just for us. Besides, you gave me one of you paintings as a gift tonight. You usually charge money for those, right?”

She nodded.

“So you lost money because you wanted to give me a gift, Kiley. I want to share these with you. Come on, let’s package them for our picnic.”

Kiley chuckled. She supposed he had a point. She got busy helping him make sandwiches, American and Swiss salad, and putting them in containers. “Do you have a picnic blanket?” she asked when they had finished.

Larry blushed for a few seconds. “Actually, I don’t. I have my own patio, and I’m afraid I didn’t spend much time outside when I was young. Uncle Lex always told me young men were not to crawl around on the dirt.” He paused for a minute. “I can’t imagine anything funnier than Uncle Lex sitting on the dirt, even if it was covered with a blanket!” But anyway, I guess I still don’t like sitting on the ground. But we can take these chairs.” He pointed to the patio furniture. “They fold up.”

Kiley chuckled for a minute at Larry’s joke. She never knew Lex Luthor, but he really didn’t strike as one to sit on the ground! Then she thought for a minute, running her fingers through her hair as she followed behind him. Larry said that statement applied to her as well. There was another legacy of Lex Luthor in Larry’s life. He probably had others as well. But just how much influence did Lex Luthor have on his life? How much was too much for him to really be a good man? She sighed and picked up a chair. She had decided to give him the benefit of doubt. She needed to remember that.

“Are you sure you can carry that chair all the way to the park?” he asked concerned.

Kiley laughed inwardly. Of course she could! In fact she could carry both chairs and their picnic basket with no trouble at all. But she knew that would be unusual for a woman. So she needed to pretend it was harder for her than it was. Not hard enough for Larry to believe he had to carry the chair himself, of course. Just enough to make it realistic.

“Um…yeah, I should be fine. Don’t worry.” She held the chair low, pretending it was too heavy to carry over her head.

They reached the park within half an hour and quickly set up the chairs and spread out the food.

“It’s a really nice evening for a picnic,” Kiley sighed in pleasure as she looked around her. The sky was clear and it was relatively warm, despite the altitude of the area.

“Yeah it is.” Larry bit into his turkey and Swiss sandwich. Then he looked around himself, in awe. “I appreciate this so much more, just because of your painting. How can you make something more real, more magical, on a painting, than anything I’ve ever seen in my everyday life?”

Kiley shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just something I can do as an artist. I feel the wonder and the magic of this place, and I do my best to capture it on a canvas.” She munched on her salad. “I love putting my emotion into my art. I think it’s one of the things that make it valuable to me.”

“I’m glad you can, Kiley. It doesn’t just make it valuable for you; it makes it worthwhile for others as well.”

“Well, the chocolate you make certainly is worthwhile,” she teased him, as she bit into one of his double-chocolate chip cookies.

They smiled at each, and Larry put his arm around her.

Within another ten minutes, they had finished their meal. “Come, on. Let’s explore more of the park. I want to see all of the wonder that I never noticed before.”

Kiley nodded. They cleaned up the area quickly and folded up the chairs. Then they put them aside, figuring it they were unlikely to be stolen in such a quiet area. Larry reached for her hand, and they set out.

Two hours later, Kiley flew off. They had a wonderful time together. She loved that Larry supported her in her painting and saw all the emotion she had put into it. She remembered the way he looked when he first saw her painting. Complete awe. She was happy that she had given him “Swiss Alps Mystic.” They had even planned to spend the day together next Tuesday, when he had the whole day off.

Once again, she wondered about his comment, “I think that sort of flying isn’t meant for humans.” What did he mean by it? Was it just an off-hand comment that people shouldn’t try flying without a plane because it was dangerous? That could be it; he had meant it as a joke. Still, he hadn’t sounded like he was joking when he said it, and he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t laugh.

So what had he intended that statement to say? Before she could ponder that statement further, she heard screams coming from below. There was a huge building on fire in Manchester, England, and it had spread to two other buildings. A group of children were trapped in the top floor of one of the buildings!

Kiley flew down to the building with the children in it. She could see the fire coming dangerously close to the children. The fire fighters were trying to get them out, but they could only take them down on the ladder one at a time. Superwoman quickly picked up three children and flew them out of the building as quick as it was safe for them. Then, she returned to the building, and picked up three more children, who were crying.

“Mummy!”

“Where’s my teddy bear?”

“Daddy!”

She wished she could calm the children down, but she needed to get them out of the building first! She set them on the ground, next to a couple of firefighters who had decided to watch the children. Then she returned to pick up the rest. The remaining children were huddled under a bed, choking on smoke! Kiley sighed. She needed to focus on her task or these children were not going to survive! She picked up the children as fast as she could. Then she huddled them to her chest as close as she could, so they would not breathe in as much smoke. Flying as fast as she could without endangering the children, she exited the building.

They needed to go to a hospital, given the fact that she didn’t know how much smoke they had inhaled. She quickly scanned the area and found a hospital. Hopefully, someone would notify their parents. Unfortunately, because they were not entirely conscious, she couldn’t ask the children who their parents were. After entrusting the children to the hospital staff, Kiley flew back to the fire to assist in putting it out. She hoped the kids would be okay.

One hour later, Kiley arrived home. That was a traumatic situation. Not as traumatic as the war in South America, but more than what she was used to dealing with. She usually had Dad’s help with fires like that. And all those children, crying for the Mummy and Daddy! Even worse were the kids who couldn’t cry. She sighed.

Did Larry really mean she shouldn’t fly to help in situations like that? How could she live with herself if she didn’t? Would he support her the way Mom supported Dad? She needed to do something about her emotions.

Kiley went into her studio and picked up a new canvas. She had planned on doing another painting of the Alps. Like she had told Larry – a bird’s-eye-view. But she didn’t feel like painting that right now. Instead, she began painting her feelings for Larry. How gentle he was when he touched her. His teasing. The way he supported her art. The amazing things she felt when they kissed. Not to mention the chocolate. The man had the best chocolate in the world. Her conflicting feelings about him being Lex Luthor’s nephew. Her anger about him possibly not supporting her superhero job.

And she painted the sorrow and grief she felt for the kids who lost their homes, their teddy bears, and possibly even more.

Kiley grumbled as she stroked her canvas. She and Larry had kissed tonight. Did that mean they were headed for a more serious relationship? Was she ready for that after he said tonight? The support he had given her for her painting make her think she was. But
what about the other thing? Would he ever accept her other life?

************************************************************************

She finished her painting for the night at 6:00PM Eastern Standard Time. She was glad to have painting help her work through those types of emotions. They didn’t seem so serious anymore. She was still upset about those kids, but the pain had lessened. Larry was a more complicated issue. Still, she had probably read too much into the statement he made tonight about flying.

She began cleaning up her studio. It had a calming effect on her, as it always did after dealing with intense emotions. She finished about a half hour later.

She still wondered about Larry a little, though. She remembered the comment he had made about not sitting on the dirt because his uncle had told him not to. How much had he wanted to please Lex when he was young? What kind of things would he do to please him? Larry obviously did not agree with his uncle’s morals as an adult but still…

Kiley ran her fingers through her hair. She really needed to calm down. Apparently cleaning up her studio didn’t work as well as it usually did, though. Maybe she should clean her whole apartment. It had been a while since she had done that. She chuckled. Most people would find it odd that she found cleaning to be a calming and relaxing activity. Maybe it was because it was something so ordinary. Yes, she needed something ordinary tonight. Right after she ate another one of his chocolates, that is.