The Time Traveler’s Wife
By ML Thompson
Rated PG-13
This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. No copyright infringement is intended. I’m borrowing these characters for a little fun and not for any profit. For complete disclaimer, go to:
http://www.thompsonlawoffice.ca/Disclaimer.htm This story came to me while watching the movie, ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife.’ However, other than the title and the realization that when telling a story about time travel, there is no linear progression of events, this story bears no resemblance to the movie, well other than the time traveling thing, of course <g>. The ripples in a pond explanation for how changes in the past affect the present came from the movie, ‘A Sound of Thunder.’
Once again, special thanks must be given to my faithful beta readers, Carol Malo and Gerry Anklewicz. I’d be lost without them to bounce ideas off, find plot holes and grammatical errors and generally encourage me to keep writing. So thanks, gals, for indulging me once again.
I also need to thank the people on the message boards for answering my many, and often crazy, questions.
This story takes place in the alt-Clark universe.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Time Traveler’s Wife
By ML Thompson
* * * * * * * * *
TEASER
‘Dearly Beloved’
* * * * * * * * *
April 1993
* * * * * * * * *
To say that Lois was annoyed would be damning with faint praise. She was beyond annoyed. She was even beyond angry. She was livid.
And she was very, very late.
She pushed her way through the crowds in a rush to catch her plane. That jerk had made her late. If she didn’t hurry, she would never board on time.
“Last call for GendellAir flight 5340 to Rome, Casablanca and Brazzaville. All passengers should now be on board.”
The announcement coming over the P.A. system caused Lois to increase her pace. What had possessed her to stop and even listen to what he had to say? The guy was obviously a taco short of a combo platter.
“If you go to the Congo, you won’t be coming home,” she muttered to herself even as she skirted past a couple of women who seemed to be taking time to enjoy the view. View! Please! Like there was anything to see in the halls of the airport terminal - unless someone had an addiction for overpriced novelty items or designer water.
She switched into a jog, hosting her carry-on bag further onto her shoulder.
She still couldn’t believe she’d given that wacko the time of day. Okay, so he’d looked normal enough. And he’d seemed to know her, known that she was heading to the Congo to investigate a gun running story. She could even believe that she might be in danger. After all, the people behind this were obviously not going to be pleased to learn that she was hot on their trail. But Wacko wasn’t warning her to be careful. His message was urgent, panicked, almost hysterical. He’d adamantly argued that if she made this trip, she was dead.
Not that he’d been able to give details. The who, what, when and where a complete mystery to him.
Who did he think he was, anyway? He was crazy if he thought predictions of gloom and doom were going to stop her. She hadn’t won three Kerths by being careful. Playing it safe was for others. She had a story to get.
Besides, for all she knew, he was working for the people behind this plot, meant to keep her from completing her investigation. And she had taken the time to let him! Idiot! She was a complete and total idiot! And if he made her miss her plane, he was dead. She’d track him down and tear him gorgeous limb from gorgeous limb.
Was that really why she’d stopped? Had she let herself respond to a pretty face?
Letting out a frustrated growl, she pushed her way past another group of slower moving passengers as she picked up her pace to a full run. She was not about to miss this flight!
* * * * * * * * *
Clark stood helplessly, watching through several layers of walls and people and shops as Lois fought her way onto the plane which would seal her fate. He watched with growing horror as she arrived at the plane before digging into her carry-on to retrieve her ticket to hand it to the flight attendant.
She hadn’t listened. He’d been so sure she would. If the other Lois was to be believed, this Lois was his soulmate. Surely that must mean that she would listen if he told her that she should give up this investigation, that her life was in danger. So... why had she simply looked at him as if he’d lost his mind?
“I told you this was a fool’s errand,” came the older man’s voice from behind.
Clark cringed. Sometimes he really hated that man. Without him, he would never have met the Lois from the alternate dimension, never have realized how empty his life was without her, never have spent the past year with a Lois-shaped hole in his heart, rescuing people like a well-trained superhero and then flying home to an empty apartment night after night.
“The past is not meant to be changed,” H.G. Wells continued. “So are you ready to return?”
Clark felt fury rise in his chest. No. No, he wasn’t about to admit defeat so quickly. It had taken him forever to convince Wells to bring him into the past to talk to Lois in the first place. He’d been subjected to lecture after lecture about the dangers of playing with the time line. If he let this go now, he’d never get another chance.
No. Only one choice now existed. He’d go the Congo. He’d meet Lois the instant she stepped off that plane. If she refused to return to the States, he’d glue himself to her side and make sure that whatever had happened to take her from him the first time didn’t happen again.
He didn’t bother looking at Wells. Instead, leaving nothing more than a rush of wind behind, he disappeared, almost literally, into thin air.
* * * * * * * * *
PART ONE
‘From This Day Forward’
* * * * * * * * *
September 1987
* * * * * * * * *
Lois looked at the crudely drawn map before, once again, observing her surroundings. Left. She was pretty sure she had to turn left here.
She had to admit, she was excited. Her first year of university. She might be starting a year later than she had thought she would, but a serious car accident in grade ten had caused her to lose a semester of school. Still, at nineteen, it wasn’t as if she was an old lady. Of course, that might change when she turned twenty later this month.
“Excuse me,” a young woman said, drifting to a stop next to her. “Do you know where I can find the Ink and Quill?”
Lois looked up to see a blonde who was about her age standing before her. She had been so lost in thought that it took a moment for the woman’s question to sink in.
“It’s the university newspaper,” the woman continued when Lois didn’t respond quickly enough. “I was told it was somewhere around here.”
“Uhh... no. I don’t know where it is. In fact, I was just looking for it myself.” She gestured at the paper napkin in her hands. “I asked some guy in the dining hall and this is what he gave me.”
The woman glanced down at the napkin. “Left... it looks like we go left here.”
Lois nodded. “That’s what I thought, too.”
“I’m Linda King, by the way.”
“Lois Lane,” Lois responded as the two women began walking down the hallway they thought should take them where they wanted to go. “So are you a journalism major, too?”
Linda nodded. “I just arrived on campus a few minutes ago. Haven’t even been to the dorms yet, but I didn’t want to miss orientation at the paper.”
Lois smiled. A kindred spirit, obviously. “Well, I arrived yesterday so that gives me a day’s advantage on you for getting my first scoop for the paper.”
“No way. Once we step through the door to the paper, all bets are off. I’m going to be the best reporter the Ink and Quill has ever had.”
Lois’ smile widened. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
Linda laughed.
“Hey, I think that must be it up ahead.”
The large ornate wooden doors off to one side of the corridor had a sign above it that announced to all the entrance to The Ink and Quill. Both young women stopped before the doors, as if realizing how monumental a moment this was - the moment when they left behind their high school papers and entered the world of university journalism. They grinned at each other. Then, by unspoken consent, Linda stepped up next to Lois and each, hearts pounding, grabbed the handle to one of the two doors and, after taking a moment to let the occasion sink in, pulled together, swinging the doors open to allow them to enter.
One step into the room, they both stopped dead in their tracks, paralyzed by dozens of eyes staring at them in silence. Orientation had already started and no one had missed their grande entrance.
Lois felt color rise in her cheeks and she muttered a quick apology before slinking through the crowded room to find a place near the back. Linda silently followed. Not exactly an easy task since the room was crowded. People sat on chairs, desks, counters and even the floor. Excess people crowded around the edges of the room - testimony to the fact that New Troy University had one of the best journalism programs in the country.
Lois moved gingerly through the mass of humanity trying not to step on anyone and acutely aware that every eye in the room was currently following her and Linda’s progress. Since there was no place left to sit, Lois and Linda joined the other students cluttered along the back wall.
“So anyway...” A voice breaking the silence directed the crowd’s attention back to the man standing behind a make-shift podium set up on one of the desks on the far side of the room. “...now that you all know who I am...”
Lois had no idea who he was, but she wasn’t about to ask. Still, given the man’s graying hair and his poorly pressed suit, she suspected he was the paper’s faculty advisor.
“...there is someone else here you need to meet. You’ll probably want to suck up to him since he’s the one who assigns stories, edits your work and decides what will and will not go into the paper. Unlike your high school papers, for those of you who worked on them, the faculty advisor does not make editorial decisions. I am here solely to ensure that the paper does not get sued.”
In spite of the man’s monotone voice, polite laughter followed this comment - more as if they felt it was expected rather than that he sold the humor of his comment.
“Everything else is the responsibility of your student editor. So... come on up here, Paul.”
A young man with slightly unruly blond hair, wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows and khaki trousers, stepped forward from where he’d been half-seated on one of the desks at the edge of the room. He had broad shoulders and an athletic build and exuded a feeling of confidence when he moved. A young man sure of his place in the world.
“Paul Benson is currently a senior majoring in journalism,” the faculty advisor continued. “And this year, given his outstanding work for this paper during his time at the university, he has been offered... and I’m pleased to say has accepted the job as editor of the Ink and Quill for the upcoming school year.”
“The paper is doomed,” someone called out from the side of the room where Paul had been only moments before.
Laughter followed - mostly from the small group assembled at that side of the room.
“Thanks, Bob,” Paul said, glancing over at the heckler with a smile that informed the room that he and Bob were friends. Probably a fellow student who had also worked on the paper the previous year.
But Lois heard none of it. She was completely lost to everything except the classic good-looks and authority radiating off the new editor of The Ink and Quill. Unlike the high school boys she’d dated, when she took the time to be bothered dating, Paul was quite obviously a man. And given the way the blood was now pounding through her veins, she knew instantly what she was experiencing. The stash of romance novels buried in a box at the back of her closet at home talked about it often enough. That moment when a woman knows she’s met the one great love of her life.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.”
Linda’s voice in her ear, brought Lois back to her surroundings with a start.
“I wouldn’t mind taking him for a spin around the block... or two or three,” Linda said, before a look from Lois silenced her. “What? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him already?”
Lois squirmed slightly.
“Relax. He’s a senior. I’m sure he thinks of us as kids, anyway.”
“Trust me. I know just how I’ll get him to change his mind,” Lois whispered back.
She instantly regretted her words when she could see in her peripheral vision that Linda’s eyebrows had gone up.
“Not like that,” Lois hissed.
Linda choked back her spontaneous laughter, causing heads to turn in their direction. To deflect their attention, Lois and Linda both stared resolutely at the other side of the room where the faculty advisor had just finished shaking Paul’s hand and was gesturing him to take his place behind the podium.
When heads turned back towards the podium, Linda leaned closer.
“So what’s this great plan of yours?” she whispered.
“I’m going to get the best story this paper has ever seen. He won’t be able to write me off as a schoolgirl then.”
Any response Linda might have given was silenced by a couple of pointed looks from the people around them. Not that Lois minded. She didn’t intend to miss any of Paul Benson’s speech.
“The first rule of journalism is publish or perish. And to publish, we need reporters. So it’s good to see such a large number of people committed to bringing truth and justice to their fellow students,” Paul said. He then paused and glanced meaningfully at Bob. “Well, except for those of you who are just here because you’ve heard we throw the best parties on campus.”
The crowd replied with the appropriate laughter. Bob raised his cup of coffee in salute.
“For the past two years,” Paul continued, much more seriously, “the Ink and Quill has won the Krebbs award for excellence in university journalism - the Krebbs Award was established by Old Man Krebbs, the former editor at the Daily Planet, to encourage quality reporting in university papers. It’s an honor we take very seriously. That means we only print the best stories. So for those of you majoring in journalism who are required to have a certain number of stories published in the university paper... Not my problem. You submit good work and you’ll get published. If not...” He shrugged.
He continued speaking and Lois hung on every word, mesmerized not only by the content of the speech, but by the tone of his voice, the way he used his hands when he spoke and the slight lilt of his head when he would pause briefly. Bringing truth and justice to her fellow students. Not only was he good looking, charismatic, intelligent and funny, he was also an idealist. Could this man be any more wonderful?
* * * * * * * * *
April 1993
* * * * * * * * *
Where was she? He couldn’t have missed her - could he? Not with his extra advantages.
Still, she was not there. Clark had arrived in Brazzaville in plenty of time, watched her plane land, and then waited just outside customs. He hadn’t turned his back for a minute.
Lowering his glasses, he began to systematically look, scanning the entire airport with his eyes and hearing, alert for any sign of her. The place was a madhouse of activity. Everyone pushing, shoving, talking. Soldiers carrying guns and looking menacing. Crowds pushing their way towards destinations. Families reunited. Families saying goodbye.
Clark pushed all that aside to concentrate. One woman. All he needed to do was find one woman.
Nothing.
“I suspected I’d find you here.” Wells pulled out a hanky and began wiping the sweat off his brow. “Hot day here, I say.”
“Where is she?” Clark demanded, spinning around to glare at the little man behind him.
“She’s not here?” Wells asked, even as he instantly began looking around as if expecting her to appear at any moment. “Are you sure she’s not still on the plane?”
Clark rolled his eyes, even while Wells ignored him to continue looking around the terminal.
“I assume,” Wells continued after a moment, “that she didn’t for some reason get off somewhere else along the way.”
“Wha... Somewhere else along the way?”
Wells did turn back towards him then. “Or was it a direct flight?”
Clark stared at Wells in growing disbelief. He’d seen Lois board the flight in Metropolis and then, after hiding out from Wells until the time her flight was scheduled to land in Brazzaville, he’d come here, waiting for her to get off the flight. It hadn’t even occurred to him that it might not have been a direct flight. A moment later, he was pushing through the crowds to get to the counter.
“Excuse me,” he asked the woman behind the counter, giving her the best smile he could under the circumstances. After all, he knew the assistance he got from women increased exponentially when he smiled.
The woman glanced up from the computer screen in front of her and then, giving him her full attention, smiled back. “Can I help yous?” the woman asked in heavily accented English.
“Can you tell me...” Clark began, sticking with English since it appeared to be quicker than determining which of the Congo’s many languages the woman spoke. “The plane that just arrived from Metropolis... Did it land anywhere along the way?”
She glanced back at her screen. “Yes. It refuel in Rome and Casablanca .”
Clark suddenly felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. His hand blindly sought the edge of the counter to keep from collapsing.
“Sir?” the woman asked, concerned, but Clark waved her off as he stumbled away.
How could he have missed that? If she had disembarked in Rome or Casablanca, the trail would be hours old. But... why would she have gotten off the plane in either of those places? Still, there was no point in standing here, wondering about the reasons, when he could be searching Rome or Casablanca for her. A moment later Clark Kent was no longer in Brazzaville.
* * * * * * * * *
September 1987
* * * * * * * * *
Lois pushed open the door to her room and stepped out into the hall. All done. She’d put the finishing touches on her dorm room, the place that would serve as her home for the upcoming year. She was just about to head out when she caught sight of someone stepping through the stairwell door, her face obscured by piles of boxes as she staggered blindly down the hall.
Rushing forward, Lois grabbed the top boxes as they started to topple. “Here, let me,” she said, removing the top of the other girl’s burden.
“Lois?”
Lois glanced up from where she was ensuring she had a grip on the boxes, surprised, at the sound of her name. “Linda?” she gasped.
Linda laughed. “Are you in this dorm, too?”
Lois nodded as the two young women began walking down the hall. “Which room are you in?”
“Two ten.”
“Really? I’m in two thirteen.”
“We’re neighbors, then,” Linda said.
“I guess so.” Lois stopped in front of room two ten. “This is it.”
“Home, sweet home,” Linda responded before, with a sigh, setting her boxes down so that she could dig in her pocket for her key.
* * * * * * * * *
“Mark Harmon from St. Elsewhere... and John F. Kennedy Jr?” Lois said as she rolled out the posters before handing them, one at a time to Linda so that she could attach them to her wall.
“Well,” Linda responded, “you’ve got to admit that Mark is an absolute hunk and John John... Well, I couldn’t very well not put up a poster of my future husband.”
“You plan on marrying John John?” Lois asked in amusement.
“Absolutely.”
“Do you even know him?”
“Not yet, but after I graduate, I’m going to move to Washington and cover politics. I’ll interview John John. He’ll fall hopelessly in love with me and...” She turned towards Lois, holding out her hands. “You are looking at the future first lady of the United States of America.”
Lois laughed. “John John’s not even interested in going into politics.”
“That’s what he says now.”
“And what? You’re going to change his mind?”
“Hey, there’s nothing to change. He’s a Kennedy. Of course he’s going into politics.”
“And he’s going to win when he runs for President?”
“Of course he’s going to win. All we have to do is pull out that picture of him saluting his father’s coffin and every woman in America will be running to the polls to vote for him. And since there are more women than men in the country... It will be a landslide.”
Lois laughed again. “Glad to see you have it all worked out.”
“Well, not all of it. I still can’t figure out what I’m going to wear when I interview him.” She winked at Lois. “And, hey...” Linda continued after a brief pause. “...don’t tell me you don’t have any pictures of celebrities up in your room because I won’t believe you. Now let’s see...” She paused in her task of hanging John John’s picture to look at Lois, sizing her up. “Martin Luthor King, Jr.”
Lois blushed.
“I knew it!”
“Well, not King, but... Well, I do have a photo of Ghandi and... a signed poster from the Daily Planet promotional of their reporting team of Norcross and Judd.”
“You’ve got a poster signed by Billy Norcross and Serena Judd?” Linda asked, her eyes going wide in appreciation. “They’re only the greatest reporting team since Woodward and Bernstein! Have you met them?”
Lois nodded. “When I was working for my high school paper, we took a trip to the Daily Planet. I managed to sneak away from the group. Billy Norcross caught me. Of course, it wasn’t too difficult since I froze as soon as I spotted them - unable to look away.”
“What were they doing?” Linda asked in awe.
“Batting ideas back and forth on their latest story. I’ve never seen anything like it. They even completed each other’s sentences! It was like this well rehearsed act. It was amazing.”
“So what happened then?” Linda asked, completely enthralled by the story.
“Billy Norcross returned me to the group. I talked the whole time. Not sure exactly what I said, but I was just so... you know.”
“I would have been, too.”
“Anyway, I think he must have realized that I was a fan so as we were leaving after our tour, he approached me and handed me one of the Daily Planet’s promotional posters. When I got it home, I realized that he and Serena Judd had actually signed it!”
“I’ve got to see that poster,” Linda said, jumping down from where she was situated on her bed to hang her poster of John John.
“What about your room?”
“I’ll finish unpacking after I see your poster.”
Lois smiled and rose to her feet to accompany Linda across the hall. They had just reached the door to Lois’ room when they were stopped by the sound of a man yelling for someone to wait.
When they looked around, a young man was approaching. He looked somewhat familiar to Lois, but she couldn’t quite place him.
“Linda and... Lois, right?”
“Actually, I’m Linda and she’s Lois,” Linda said when he mixed up the names.
“Right, right. We haven’t actually been introduced, but...”
“You were at the orientation for the Ink and Quill,” Lois said when it finally occurred to her why he looked so familiar. “Bob, right? You gave Paul a hard time.”
She could see Linda’s confused expression clear.
“Bob Stafford,” Bob said. “Listen, Paul sent me to find you.”
Linda and Lois looked at each other. “Which one?”
“Either. Are either of you pledging a sorority?”
“I am,” Lois said, cringing slightly at the admission. To Linda’s raised eyebrows, she continued. “My mother sort of guilted me into it.”
“Which sorority?” Linda asked.
“Alpha Nu Rho. It was her sorority. Besides, I hear the alumni makes sure it always has the latest computer equipment so I guess it’s not all bad.”
“What about you?” Bob asked, turning to Linda.
“I’m pledging Alpha Nu Rho, too.”
“Damn. Oh well. I should have known it couldn’t be that easy.” He turned to leave.
“Wait! Why were you asking?”
“Paul is looking for someone to cover the sororities for pledge week for the Ink and Quill and...”
“I’ll do it,” Lois interrupted.
“Why should you get to do it?” Linda asked.
“Because I volunteered first.”
“Actually, neither of you can do it,” Bob interrupted before Linda could respond.
“Why?” both women asked in unison, their gazes returning to Bob.
“Because if you’re pledging, you can’t be impartial. And Paul is looking for someone impartial to cover pledge week.”
Both women suddenly looked despondent.
“Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll be other stories.” He was about to turn to go when Linda’s voice stopped him.
“Listen, Bob, what exactly is your position at the paper? Well, other than running Paul’s errands.”
“I do not run Paul’s errands,” Bob said, more than a touch of annoyance in his voice. “I write a science column for the paper. I’m doing a double major in physics and chemistry. And I saw a need for someone who actually knew what he was talking about to take over the science column. You should have seen some of the junk the last science editor let into the paper. You journalist types have no idea how to distinguish good science from science fiction.”
“And being such a brain yourself... unlike us poor simpletons... well, and a man, I suppose...” Lois paused briefly, letting her eyes take in the man in front of her, as if not quite sure of her assessment of him as a man. “I guess covering pledge week for the women’s sororities would be beneath you,” Lois said, fighting to keep a straight face when she heard Linda give a small snort which she covered quickly with a cough.
“As a matter of fact, it would be. But I don’t have time either.”
“Too many cultures that would miss daddy?” Lois asked, ignoring the poorly covered sounds of muffled laughter coming from Linda’s direction.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m a member of Beta Beta and I’ve got some major responsibilities in pledge week myself.” Without waiting for a response, Bob turned and stormed back down the hall.
The second the door to the stairwell closed behind him, Lois and Linda dissolved into fits of laughter.
“I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Lois said as the laughter ended. “He just made me so mad with his comment about journalists.” She turned towards the door to her room, pulling out her key to unlock it.
“Well, he won’t make that mistake again,” Linda responded, following Lois into her room. “So where’s this... Oooo...” She rushed over to the Daily Planet poster, close enough to read the inscription. “To Lois. When you become a journalist, may you be lucky enough to be partnered with your best friend, too. Billy Norcross and Serena Judd.” Linda looked in awe for a moment before turning to Lois. “Best friends, huh? I heard there was more between them than just friendship.”
“I’ve heard that, too.”
“So...?”
Lois shrugged. “No idea.”
Linda made herself comfortable on Lois’ bed and glanced around. “Nice,” she said.
“Thanks,” Lois responded. “I have to admit, I love these rooms. No roommates. Our own bathrooms.”
“The kitchen areas are a little small.”
Lois shrugged. “Yeah, but it will be nice to be able to sit at a table... even if it is kinda small... to drink my coffee in the morning. And I love this chair.” With that, she lovingly stroked the arm on the large, if somewhat thread-bare chair on which she was sitting.
“Uhhh... the things that money can buy.” Linda smiled. “So what’s your story?”
“My story?”
“Folks still together?”
Lois nodded. “My dad’s a surgeon. My mother likes to refer to herself as his faithful nurse.”
“They work together?”
Lois nodded. “They often weren’t home when my sister and I got home from school. But the housekeeper was always there to make sure we didn’t get in too much trouble. Even when they were home, they spent most of their time together in the lab my father set up in the house. They have come up with some interesting inventions though which they’ve managed to get patented and it taught my sister and me self-reliance so it wasn’t bad. And...” A small smile twisted her lips for a moment. “...it led to some... interesting experiences.” To Linda’s look of intrigue, Lois added, “I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Then she changed the subject. “What about you? What’s your story? Your parents still together?”
“Hell, no. Mom has had two... no three marriages since my dad.”
“Is that hard?”
“It has its compensations,” Linda said smugly, rolling onto her side on Lois’ bed, hand propping up her head. “Mommy has a brilliant ability to attract rich men... and a lawyer who knows best how to take advantage of that during the divorce. Not only that, but she and Daddy are constantly trying to outdo each other with their gifts to me. Clothes. Shoes. Trips. Cars. Whatever I wanted, really. In fact, that computer you’re coveting at Alpha Nu Rho... I’ve got one of my own back home. Didn’t bring it with me because... Well, it was fun to play with when I first got it, but I don’t think there’s much of a future for computers. I learned a lot about how they work, but after that...” She shrugged. “You can play games on computers, of course. But I can think of a lot of things that are much more fun to play with - guys, for example.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Lois.
Lois shook her head, not entirely sure if she believed Linda’s casual manner when referring to her unconventional family life.
“What about using your computer for writing stories? Isn’t it useful for that?”
“The word processor?”
Lois nodded.
“I prefer using a pen and paper.” Linda shrugged. “I’m a good speller and a lousy typist.”
“Any brothers or sisters?” Lois asked, bringing them back to the topic of family.
“Two half brothers. Both younger. A step-sister and a step-brother. Both older. So what about you? Your sister younger or older?”
“Lucy’s younger.”
“So what did you mean about your mother guilting you into pledging Alpha Nu Rho?”
Lois shrugged. “I got a scholarship to pay my tuition and board. But I wanted my own room.”
“So in exchange for an upgrade, she nagged at you to pledge with her sorority?”
Lois nodded. “Daddy didn’t care. He was more concerned about my major.”
“What’s wrong with your major?”
“He wanted me to be a doctor. I think he’s gotten over that dream. Mother had something to do with that, too.”
“So how could you deny her when she wanted you to pledge her sorority?”
“Pretty much. What about you? Why do you want to pledge Alpha Nu Rho?”
“They party with the guys from Beta Beta.”
“The fraternity that our good friend Bob belongs to?”
“They say Beta Beta only take the best looking guys.”
“They took Bob.”
Linda laughed. “Well, Bob might be a bit of a jerk, but even you have to admit he looks pretty awesome.”
“Do you ever think about anything but guys?”
“What else could possibly be worth thinking about?”
“You’re hopeless,” Lois laughed. “Besides, who needs fraternity guys when there’s Paul.”
“Now who has a one track mind?”
A short time later, Linda returned to her room to finish her unpacking. This time, Lois didn’t join her. She was still reeling slightly from Linda’s description of her family and was suddenly thankful for her own childhood and her parents’, sometimes turbulent, but always solid, marriage. As she settled back onto her bed, her mind drifted back to one incident in particular and a small smile settled on her face as the adventure of a nine year old child came to mind.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
