Okay, I'm just back with a little more FDK! I think I was about here:
“Oh, Martha, lunch was wonderful as always,” Lana says, getting up from the table. “And Jonathan, your barbeque was a little spicy for me, but delicious nonetheless.
Don't you love it when your future in-law tells you that she didn't really like your food, but she loved it anyway?
Unfortunately my beeper’s going off and that means I’ve got to head back to the Mayor’s office,” she continues, giving each of my parents a hug and then turning to face me.
And don't you love it, too, when she informs you that she has to leave so that she can meet people who are a lot more important than you are?
“Clark, don’t be too late putting that paper to bed. I’m looking forward to a nice quiet pasta dinner at your place tonight.”
And surely it's nice when she tells your son how to do his job? And then she expects him to cook her dinner after he's done with his probably not-at-all stressful editorial chores. I mean, that job has to be a piece of cake, compared with being an intern at the Mayor's office!
Okay, Lana leaves. Thank goodness! And Clark tells his parents about Chad's information about the sabotage of the space station and of the Messenger. Clark realizes he should do something about the situation - why not go to the place from which the Messenger is going to be launched and make sure that nothing bad happens? Ah, but you know what Jonathan thinks about such a suggestion, don't you?
“You can’t do that. You know what would happen if you got caught?” Dad asks me.
“Don’t say it, Dad. I’ve got the speech memorized. They’d take me away, lock me up, do experiments on me; I’d never have a life. Does that about sum it up?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he says, smiling at me.
I love Jonathan's smile. It proves that his nagging Clark about not using his powers stems from real love.
But you can listen to your parents for only so long....
“But what good are these powers I have if I don’t use them to help when I can?”
“You do, honey,” Mom says, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. “You help out all the time in Smallville, with little things that no one will notice. If you go snooping around the space program and interfere, someone’s sure to notice.”
Yeah, I'm sure Clark helps little kitties down from trees and helps little old ladies cross the dangerous streets of Smallville. Nothing wrong with that, Martha, but surely....!
But Clark is a good boy who listens to his Mama:
I sigh. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll have to think about it some more. Surely I can come up with some way to help,” I pause to inhale another home-baked cookie.
I
love it that he's inhaling food again! (Sort of reminds me of my aunt's "office dog" - don't ask - who loved liver paté and liquorice, and once when it was the dog's birthday he got a liver paté cake decorated with liquorice. My aunt used to love telling me how the dog "inhaled" it! Or, at least, managed to swallow it all in two seconds flat....)
Anyway, Martha invites Clark and Lana to the Kent farm for a Friday morning breakfast:
“Oh, Clark, if the two of you think your offices can get by without you for a little while, why don’t you and Lana come over Friday morning for breakfast? We can all watch the live broadcast of the Messenger’s lift off together,” Mom says, her voice sounding hopeful.
So, uh, do you think Lana managed to come over?
“Lana was sorry she couldn’t come for breakfast this morning, just too much going on today.
:rolleyes:
Well, at least Clark made it. He's looking forward to buttermilk pancakes and the launch of the Messenger:
I, however, wouldn’t miss your buttermilk pancakes for anything. Isn’t it about time for the launch?” I ask.
And guess what happens?
The countdown had started: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, ignition... Fire! The Messenger is on fire!
Anyone surprised?
“Oh, Clark!” Mom exclaims, as we sit in stunned silence watching the Messenger engulfed in flames.
I like Martha's shock. Well, Martha, you'd better come to terms with the fact that your boy can't just stay at home and run errands around Smallville.
I slam my fist down on the table next to me, causing the table leg to shatter. The table wobbles unsteadily on its remaining three legs.
I curse under my breath. I know better than to let my emotions get the better of me. “I’m sorry. I’ll get that fixed for you.”
And I really like it that Clark feels that he should have been there to save the Messenger. So now he makes a decision:
My parents just stare at me in silence. They don’t have any words of wisdom to offer this time. I know what I have to do now. I have to go up there to Metropolis and take a look around. I might be able to see something that someone else would miss. This was too important to not help. Besides, while I’m up there, I can pay a visit to Chad.
There is a small problem about leaving for Metropolis, however:
“Now, how to tell Lana, that’s going to be the tricky part. If I take the time to tell her what’s going on, she’ll just try to talk me out of going. In her eyes, I’ll just be a foolhardy newspaper editor going up to poke his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
And... eh, isn't there something you've forgotten to tell Lana, Clark?
“She might think differently if you told her about you,” Mom reminds me.
A small spot of guilt tugs at me. I haven’t told Lana yet. I keep coming up with all the same reasons not to tell her, none of them really good ones. I’m basically just afraid to tell her, when it gets right down to it. I’m afraid it will scare her; I’m afraid of rejection. But it’s not fair to her - I know it’s not.
Hmmmm. This sounds so familiar. It sounds much
too familiar.
Lois, there is something I need to tell you... I... I... I need to return a book to the library, OK? But the fact that Clark lies to Lana in the same way that he's going to lie to Lois doesn't necessarily mean that he feels about Lana the same way that he is later going to feel about Lois:
“Do you think she’s really the *one*?” Dad asks me.
His question catches me off guard. “I love her,” I say simply. “How do you ever know that someone is ‘the one’?”
Well, Clark. With Lois, you'll just *know*. It's as simple as that.
“Trust me, you just know. This is one of the most important decisions of your life. Your mother and I both like Lana, and we want the best for you. But she already expects so much of you. I know you love her because of how much you’ve given up for her. I mean, she’s the reason you didn’t move to Metropolis. But just make sure she’s the one for you, Son, your circumstances are so special - it’s going to take a special woman.”
Gotta love Jonathan here! Please note the declaration of his love for Martha that he made here in an adorably roundabout way.
“I know, Dad. I know. I think that’s part of the reason I’ve waited this long to tell her.” I pause, remembering that we’re supposed to have dinner at my apartment tonight. She isn’t going to be happy.
And Clark, the coward - because sometimes he
is a coward - decides to tell Lana about his visit to Metropolis only after he has already arrived there, so that she can't talk him out of going there!!!
So what's going to happen in Metropolis? Is Clark going to visit the Daily Planet to learn more about the man who came there to warn the reporters there about the impending sabotage of the Messenger? And if Clark goes to the Daily Planet, is he going to talk to Perry? Will Perry offer him a job? And, above all, is Clark going to meet Lois?
I'm very much looking forward to the rest of this, DJ!
Ann