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Mr. Beeto
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Long Live the Movieverse

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Location: Warren, Michigan, USA
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Family Reunion - 20/?
Oct 8th, 2008 at 11:06am
 
Title: Family Reunion
Author: Mr. Beeto
Rating: PG-13
Beta: htbthomas and Shado Librarian
Summary: AU Twist on Donner/Singer Movieverse: Tie the three films together into a cohesive whole, and provide a more credible and interesting reason for Superman to have returned to Krypton.

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Author’s Notes:
As usual, my thanks to the beta team:  htbthomas and Shado Librarian, a.k.a. dandello.

Chapter 20 – Secrets and Lies

Thursday, September 28, 2006 7:45PM EDT
A stunned silence fell over the room at Kara’s declaration, with the adults all staring wide-eyed at the picture on the screen.  As Richard scrutinized the picture, he unconsciously shook his head and thought, No!  She did not say that.  Jason was premature.  He’s not Clark’s. Kara must have misunderstood.

“How can you be my sister?” Jason asked in confusion.  “We don’t have the same Mommy and Daddy.”

“Because my dad is your real fath–”

“Kara,” Clark interrupted sternly.  “We shouldn’t talk about that here.”    He rose from his seat and began walking around the table towards Kara.

  “Why not?” Kara asked innocently.  A guilty expression suddenly crossed her face and she asked quietly, “Was it supposed to be a secret?”

Clark sighed, and said awkwardly, “Well, it’s, um, it’s kind of complicated.”  He came to a stop beside her chair, and lifted her up to his hip.  “Let’s you and I have a private chat, and I’ll try to explain it,” he said pleasantly and he began walking toward the door.

  “Am I in trouble?” Kara asked contritely.

“Oh, no, sweetheart,” Clark assured her.  “You didn’t do anything wrong.  I just didn’t do a very good job explaining things.”

“You can say that again,” Lois muttered under her breath.  Her words broke the others free of their stupor, and they turned their gaze from the picture to her, except for Clark who ignored the comment and quickly walked out of the conference room.  When Lois noticed everyone looking at her, her eyes grew wide, a nervous expression appeared on her face, and she quietly said, “Oh, shit.”

That was practically an admission, Richard realized.  She lied to me!  Aloud, he angrily hissed, “Lois!  I think you owe me an explanation.”

“Shut up, White!” Lois commanded angrily.  “We’re not discussing it here, and especially not in front of the kids.”

What difference will that make now? Richard thought.  He opened his mouth to voice his argument but was interrupted by Jason’s distressful cry.

“Mommy!  What did she mean?”

Lois sighed in frustration and momentarily glanced into the bullpen where Clark had Kara seated on top of his desk as he sat in front her, speaking quietly.  She only allowed the briefest indulgence in the tableau before returning her attention to her son.  “It’s okay, Jason,” she assured him.  “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“But what did she mean?” he persisted.  His eyes now shined with unshed tears.

Lois quickly walked over to him, and took his hand.  “C’mon.  I think that maybe we need to have a private talk, too.”

“Lois!” Richard shouted after her.

“Not now!” she snapped.  She led Jason out of the room and over to Richard’s office, leaving her fiancé and stunned colleagues silent in the room.  All three of them returned their gaze to the screen and sat riveted to the picture that had sparked the revelation.

After another silent minute, Polly said quietly, “Out of the mouths of babes…”  She turned from the display and walked over to Clark’s laptop and pulled out the video cable.  Jimmy and Richard both spun around to look at her.  “I think you’ve seen enough, Richard,” Polly explained.  “No need to upset you any further.”

“It’ll hardly make a difference now,” Richard commented miserably.

“Jimmy, would you please take Clark’s laptop back to him?” Polly suggested.

“Sure,” Jimmy agreed quickly.  He gathered up the laptop and cables, and quickly fled the discomfited atmosphere that had engulfed the room.

Polly turned back to Richard and asked sympathetically, “Are you all right?”

“You really need to ask?” Richard asked bitterly.  At Polly’s pointed look, he sighed heavily and said in a softer tone, “She lied to me.”

“I know,” Polly replied.  “I’ve known that for a long time.”

“You knew about this?” Richard snapped.

“Well, I didn’t have signed confessions, but I had a pretty good idea,” Polly answered patiently.  “All of us old timers knew something had to have happened in Niagara Falls–”

“Niagara Falls?” Richard questioned.

“Perry sent the two of them there under cover, posing as newlyweds.  Things were off between them when they got back, and it was only a few weeks later that Clark left to ‘find himself’.  None of us knew what had happened, but something clearly had.  Then when Jason was born…  Well, nobody believed for a second that he was premature–”

“But Lois’ sister had a ten pound baby,” Richard protested.

“Doesn’t matter.  If Jason had really been that early, he’d have been wired up to a machine in NICU and you wouldn’t even have been able to hold him for the first few weeks.  But he was fine…  Anyway, some of us did the math and noticed that it was about eight and a half months earlier that Lois had been in Niagara Falls with Clark, posing as his bride…  Most of us came to the conclusion that Jason had to be Clark’s, though there were a few with a more outlandish theory.  It may seem kind of silly thinking back on it now, but some people actually thought he was Superman’s love child.  Fortunately, that theory died a well-deserved death once Jason’s health issues became known.”

“Someone should have told me,” Richard insisted angrily.

“Norm Palmer tried,” Polly reminded him.  “So did Gil.   And I don’t believe for a second that Perry would have held his tongue.  But you refused to hear it.”

“I believed her,” Richard admitted sadly.  “Pretty stupid, huh?”

“No, Richard, you weren’t stupid,” Polly assured him.   “You were in love and seeing what you wanted to see.  I made the same mistake with my ex-husband, refusing to acknowledge any evidence that he was anything other than completely faithful.  Until his mistress filed her paternity suit.  That, I couldn’t ignore.  Once I’d finally opened my eyes, all the clues were right there for me to see, if I had only chosen to look.  I suspect you’ll discover that it’s a similar situation for you.”

“I… I don’t even know what to think right now,” Richard admitted.

“I know the feeling,” Polly replied somberly.  “If you want my advice… don’t say or do anything about this for a couple days.  Give the shock a chance to wear off, and then take a long, hard look at your relationship.  Try to separate fantasy from reality and figure out what you have left and if it’s enough.  In my case, it wasn’t – I divorced the S.O.B.”  She quickly gathered her remaining notes and printouts and stuffed them into her bag.  On her way out of the room, she paused in the doorway and turned back to face him.  “Richard, please think about what I said,” she consoled him.  “And good luck, no matter what you decide to do about this.”  Richard nodded his acknowledgement and Polly continued back to her desk.

-o-o-o-


“It’s really no different for you than it is for your friend, Mark,” Lois told Jason patiently.  “He has two daddies – one who lives with him and his mother, and another daddy that lives somewhere else – Newark, I think…  You’ve also got two daddies - Richard and Clark.  Your Daddy Clark and I were together like mommies and daddies are before I met Richard.  He’s your biological father, like Mark’s dad, Mister Evans, is his biological father.”

“Are you and Daddy Clark divorced?” Jason asked sadly.

“Daddy Clark and I were never married, but it’s kind of like that.  And it’s because Clark is your daddy that you look the way you do.  You were created from a little piece of me, and a little piece of him.  But he had to go away to do something really, really important before you were born.  We didn’t know that you were on the way before he left, and I didn’t have any way to get a hold of him to tell him until he got back a few days ago.”

“But what about Daddy?” Jason whined.

“Your Daddy Richard is kind of a step-father, like Mark’s step-dad, Mister Doyle.  After Daddy Clark left, I was all alone and then I met Richard.  He didn’t know about Daddy Clark, and when we found out that you were going to be born, he wanted to be your daddy, so we became a family.  He’s still your daddy.  It’s just that Clark is your daddy, too, and that means that Kara is your sister, and Clark’s mom in Smallville is your grandma…  Just think of all the extra presents you’ll get at Christmas this year with our family that much bigger.”

  “Really?” Jason replied enthusiastically with a wide smile spreading across his face.  “Are they gonna’ come and live with us?”

“That’s not quite how things work,” Lois explained.  “Mommies are only supposed to live with one daddy at a time.  We can’t all live under the same roof with both Daddy Clark and Daddy Richard.  And Clark is Kara’s daddy, so she has to stay with him.  But you’ll still get to see a lot of your Daddy Clark and your sister, Kara, and your Grandma Kent, too, eventually.”

“Oh,” Jason said quietly.  He was silent for a minute and his brow wrinkled in confusion.  He looked up at his mother and asked quietly, “Am I gonna’ grow up to be like Daddy Clark?”

“What do you mean?” Lois asked patiently.

“He’s Superman,” Jason elaborated.  “Am I gonna’ be strong like him someday?”

Lois’ eyes grew wide and she asked apprehensively, “Where’d you hear that he was Superman?”  She paused momentarily, and sternly added, “Did Kara say something to you?”  She looked out into the bullpen and saw Kara shaking her head vigorously as she and Clark looked back at them.  Jesus, this is quickly spiraling out of control, Lois thought.

“No, I just knew,” Jason answered.  “They were talking ‘bout Superman on TV and showed his picture, and Daddy Clark was standing right there, and he looked the same.”

“Superman doesn’t wear glasses,” Lois pointed out.

“He does when he’s Daddy Clark,” Jason argued emphatically.

Before Lois could respond, there was a knock at the door, and Clark stepped through with Kara behind him.  “Sounds like we have a very clever little boy here,” Clark said cheerfully in a low voice.

“He figures it out in a day, but I was oblivious for years,” Lois murmured irritably.

“Remember what I said about perceptions?” Clark reminded her.  “He never saw me as the office dork, so the glasses and the ugly tweed suit didn’t make a difference.”  He turned to Jason and squatted down in front of him, and said seriously in a voice pitched low, “Jason, most people don’t know I’m Superman, and you must not tell them.  There are naughty people that Superman stopped from doing bad things who would cause a lot of problems for people I care about if they knew I was Superman.  It has to stay a secret.  Will you promise me not to tell anyone?”

“I promise,” Jason complied quickly.

“That means you can’t tell anyone that Superman is your daddy, either,” Lois added sternly.  “And no exceptions.  You don’t tell your friends.  You don’t tell Uncle Ron or Aunt Lucy or your cousins.  And you especially don’t tell Daddy Richard.  Do you understand?”

“I know,” Jason whined irritably.  “I already promised.”

“Son, we don’t mean to be cross,” Clark said patiently.  “It’s just really important.  People could get hurt if the wrong people found out about it.”

“I said I wouldn’t tell!” Jason complained.

“All right, good enough,” Clark said.  “I’m sorry if I upset you, and I know this is all a bit of shock, but you know what? I’m very proud of you, Jason, and I’m glad you’re my son.”

Jason expression turned apprehensive, and he asked quietly, “Is… is Daddy Richard gonna’ go away now that you’re back?”

“Jason, I’m not trying to take you away from your Daddy Richard,” Clark assured him.  “He seems to be a good man.”

“But why’s he so mad?” Jason pressed.

Lois smiled reassuringly at Jason and explained, “He’s just surprised.  I never told him about Daddy Clark.  You know, he’s going to want to talk to you about this, too.  Would you like me to go get him?”

-o-o-o-


After his conversation with Polly, Richard sat quietly at the conference room table and reflected on his current situation, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.  Not only was he shaken by the sudden recognition of a rival, but Lois’ recent behavior now struck him as suspicious.  He replayed his interactions with her since Clark’s return and noted how distinctly different her behavior was now than it had been before.  She’d been more distant, more confrontational, and unresponsive to his romantic overtures.  And to think that I was worried about her history with Superman, Richard thought.

He also angrily recalled that Lois had originally planned on ‘briefing’ Clark at his place - it had only been his insistence that led them to work late at the office instead.  But Lois clearly didn’t have any material worth briefing him on – Clark had been a step ahead of her.  What exactly was she planning to do? Richard wondered.  Would she really be so quick to cheat with Clark after he came back?

His thoughts were interrupted by Lois’ knock on the conference room door, which he answered with a cold stare.  She ignored his attempted intimidation and harshly said, “You need to talk to Jason about all this.”

“What, Clark couldn’t handle him?” Richard replied sarcastically.

“Clark may be his biological father, but you’re still his daddy and he needs a little reassurance that Daddy still loves him,” Lois said angrily.  “Or should I tell him I was wrong about that?”

Richard’s expression immediately changed to one of embarrassment.  Jason is a victim here, too, Richard thought.  He sighed and irritably informed Lois, “Fine, I’ll talk to him.”   

Lois stepped aside to let him pass through the door and as he walked by, she warned him, “And don’t you dare fight with Clark over this in front of Jason.”

He looked back at her, narrowing his eyes, and retorted sarcastically, “It’s reassuring to know how highly you think of me, Lois…  Were you expecting me to take a swing at him or something like that?”

“Better safe than sorry,” Lois replied irritably as the two walked over to Richard’s office, where Clark was silently standing outside the door and proudly looking in at the children.

As they approached his office, Richard heard Kara’s excited voice through the open door as she spoke to Jason.  “…and Uncle Tom and Aunt Sarah have a stable with horses, and we even get to ride them sometimes!” she told him.

“Do you think they’d let me ride, too?” Jason asked eagerly.

“Grandpa said we’d have to wait before we go riding again,” Kara said disappointedly.  “They got termites, and Uncle Tom fell through the floor and broke his leg.”

“Oh,” Jason said unhappily.

“But he’ll get better real soon!”

Clark suddenly seemed to notice Richard and Lois, and his proud disposition immediately transformed into an awkward demeanor as he quietly said to his daughter, “Um, Kara, honey, Richard needs to talk to Jason.  Let’s give them some privacy.”  Kara quickly joined Clark in the doorway, and he led her back to his desk.

Richard finally walked into his office, where Jason was sitting on the couch kicking his legs and looking up at him nervously.  “Hey, kiddo,” Richard greeted him seriously.  “You okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Jason replied quietly.

Richard sat down beside him and commented, “I guess all this stuff is kind of confusing, huh?”

“I dunno.”

“Well, this doesn’t change anything between us,” Richard assured him.  “I still love you and your mom and we’re all going to be all right.  Okay?”  Richard wrapped an arm around Jason, and pulled him tight.  I really hope we’ll be all right, Richard thought.

-o-o-o-


Polly looked up from her notes when she noticed Clark and Kara rush past her to join Lois and Jason in Richard’s office.  She smiled thoughtfully at the pair and walked over to Jimmy’s desk, where he was engrossed in organizing the collections of pictures on his PC.  She leaned against his desk and asked with a chuckle, “So what do you think of that little soap opera over there?”

“What?  Oh, that.  Quite a surprise,” Jimmy stated pensively.  He looked over at the Richard’s office as Lois jogged to the conference room and reemerged a moment later, following Richard back.  “Richard doesn’t look very happy.”

“Of course not,” Polly agreed.  “He’s just realized that he’s been lied to, led on and used.”

“Oh, um, we don’t know the full story there,” Jimmy protested.  He looked over at Richard’s office and spotted Clark leading his daughter back to his desk.

“You don’t think she ever really intended to marry him, do you?” Polly asked harshly.

“Well, um, maybe not, but–”

“But nothing,” Polly interrupted.  “She led him on.”

  “I’d give her the benefit of the doubt,” Jimmy objected.

“I wouldn’t,” Polly answered.  “Look, it’s not that I dislike her.  I just think that Richard’s really gotten a raw deal here.”

“I’d rather not speculate on any of that,” Jimmy insisted.

“Fair enough,” Polly conceded, dropping the topic and falling silent as she turned to observe the group in Richard’s office.  A moment later, she urgently told Jimmy, “Listen… when Superman shows up later, try to get a good picture of me with him, okay?  My grandson’s a huge fan, and it would just make his day if I could give him a picture of his Nana with Superman…  Let’s see my ex try to top that.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jimmy promised, smiling at the thought.

The discussion was interrupted by Lois shouting across the bullpen.  “Clark!” she shouted.  “Get your butt over here.”  She had just emerged from Richard’s office and was pulling her coat on.  Richard appeared behind her with a pained expression on his face as he guided Jason out of the office in front of him.

  “Looks like they’re getting ready to get out of here,” Polly commented.

Clark had an anxious expression on his face as he and Kara walked over to the family group.  Clark squatted down and gave Jason a friendly hug before turning him over to Kara.  The little girl also gave her brother a hug, and snuck in a kiss on the cheek, which Jason quickly wiped off.  The adults spoke briefly and then the Lane/White family marched off to the elevators.  Clark had a sad expression on his face as he watched them go.

  “It’s going to be tough on Richard for awhile,” Polly noted as she observed the tableau with Jimmy.  “And I’m not sure it’s much better for Clark either.”

Jimmy replied hopefully, “I’m sure everything will work out for the best.”  As they watched, Kara ran into the conference room and retrieved her book bag while Clark retrieved their coats from the closet.

“What’s best isn’t necessarily easy, and sometimes, it can hurt like hell,” Polly whispered conspiratorially.  She looked back up at Clark and Kara and smiled politely as the pair came over to them to say their good-byes.

-o-o-o-


Thursday, September 28, 2006 9:20PM EDT
Things were uncharacteristically awkward in the Lane/White household, while Richard read a bedtime story to Jason, and Lois sipped a glass of wine downstairs in the kitchen.  The couple had hardly spoken since leaving the Daily Planet, the exception being Lois’ insistent declaration that Richard should put Jason to bed, to help reassure him that Daddy was still Daddy.  It was taking longer than usual this time, which Lois was grateful for.  It gave her more time to prepare for the confrontation that she knew was coming.  This isn’t how he was supposed to find out, Lois thought.  And since I can’t tell him the truth about Clark, I have no choice but to let him believe that I’d intentionally deceived him.

The reprieve had also given her a chance to find out about Polly’s Superman interview from Jimmy.  She’d texted him with instruction to call her when it was over, and he’d just called in his report:  Superman left to return to Krypton and answer a distress call from his uncle, who was stranded there.  However, he’d perished long before his signal ever reached Earth.  The ship’s hull had been breached and its atmosphere vented to space.

Most of the interview had focused on Superman’s survey of Krypton after the unsuccessful rescue.  He had described the beauty and majesty of Krypton and its people prior to the holocaust in great detail - virtually all of it wiped out in a few terrible moments so long ago.  He then described the devastation of the planet, with nearly half of it blown away in huge chunks.  He’d managed to identify the city of his birth on the hemisphere that remained, but it was an unrecognizable pile of scorched and shattered crystals.  The only structure left standing was a monument to a trio of Krypton’s founding fathers, and that had been transformed into kryptonite during the disaster.  He’d barely escaped the poison when he finally detected it and had returned to Earth with a severe case of kryptonite poisoning.  Clever, Lois thought.  All of it technically true, but with so many details left out that it puts it in a completely different context than what he described to me.

“Did he say anything about me?” Lois asked.

“Polly asked why he didn’t want you to do the interview,” Jimmy revealed.  “He said that you were working on something far more important and that he didn’t want to distract you from it…  He also said that he wants to go with a reporting pool from now on, instead of selecting a single reporter for his press contact.  We’re supposed to ask Perry if he can set that up for him.”

“A pool?” Lois asked in disbelief.  He didn’t say anything about that to me earlier.

“Yeah, that’s what he said,” Jimmy confirmed.  “I got some good shots of him, too, including a couple with the Daily Planet globe in the background.  I hope Perry likes those.”

“I’m sure they’ll be great, Jimmy,” Lois assured him.  “Thanks for the update.”

“No problem,” Jimmy said cheerfully.  “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I will.  Bye.”

Lois tossed her cell phone back in her purse and drained the rest of her wine.  Well, Perry has his Superman exclusive, Lois thought, as she reflected on Superman’s abridged explanation of his absence.  Though knowing Polly, she’ll turn it into a sob story about him losing his uncle and being some kind of refugee…  Perry’s not going to be happy about the pool coverage, though.

Her thoughts returned to her domestic situation and she looked up the stairs where Richard would soon reappear, demanding an explanation.  Clark’s no longer the last son of Krypton, she reminded herself.  Jesus, did my life ever get complicated all of a sudden.  Lois retrieved the bottle of Riesling from the refrigerator and poured herself another glass of wine, bringing both her glass and the bottle with her into the living room where she sat to wait for the inevitable confrontation.

-o-o-o-


Richard easily slipped into his familiar routine as he tucked Jason into bed.  This time, he was barraged with a surprising number of questions about Superman before they finally began reading the bedtime stories.  As they read the story together, Richard was almost able to forget that his life had been turned upside down a couple hours earlier.  He observed Jason’s eyes grow heavy against the coming slumber, and when he finally fell asleep, Richard quietly let himself out of the room went downstairs for the long overdue discussion with Lois.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs he discovered Lois curled up in a living room chair sipping wine.  He noticed the half-empty bottle of Riesling on the coffee table and as he sat down on the couch next to her chair, and he harshly asked her, “Trying to get drunk?”

“Did you really expect me to have this conversation sober?” Lois answered irritably.

“You wouldn’t need the wine if you had come clean about this six years ago,” Richard retorted.  “If you hadn’t lied to me about Jason’s paternity.”

“I didn’t realize he was Clark’s when I found out I was pregnant, and afterwards… well, we were already together and it didn’t seem that important,” Lois said irritably.  “The last six years haven’t been about him.  In fact, I hardly even thought about Clark until he got back this week.”

“And just what have you been thinking about him?” Richard asked accusingly.  “You were originally planning to ‘brief’ him at his place, though he obviously didn’t need the briefing.”

“I didn’t know my material was junk,” Lois protested.

“He’s been a step ahead of you on that story all week,” Richard reminded her.  “What were you really planning with him?”

Lois sighed and said quietly, “He had a right to know about Jason–”

“And I didn’t?” Richard countered.

“Richard, it’s not that simple–” she began.

“You should have told me,” Richard interrupted angrily.  “Instead, you tricked me into assuming responsibility.”

“Now, hold it right there, White!” Lois snapped angrily, speaking in a loud whisper.  “I never asked for the house or the ring!  In fact, I specifically remember telling you that it wasn’t necessary.  You’re the one who insisted on pressuring me into that arrangement.”

“I never pressured you!”

“Oh, no?  You bought this house, moved in, and decorated the nursery without my knowledge, and then you ambush me with it, begging me to accept your proposal and move in with you.  You don’t call that pressure?”

“I… I was just trying to do the right thing,” Richard protested.

“You were trying to coerce me into your version of ‘the right thing’,” Lois corrected.  She gestured to the room around them and added, “The point is, that you’re the one who wanted all this, and you got what you wanted.”

“You still should have told me the truth!” Richard insisted furiously.

“I already explained that I wasn’t sure it was his while I was pregnant, and what would it have mattered anyway?” Lois countered angrily.  “Besides, you wouldn’t have believed me if even I had told you.  You’d come up with some rationalization for why I would say such a thing without ever considering that I might have really meant it.  Just like you dismissed what I said when it came to naming Jason.”

Richard flinched at the reference, which had been a persistent annoyance for him.  Before Jason was born, they hadn’t been able to agree on a name, with Lois completely unenthusiastic over his stated preference for naming the baby Richard Junior.  He hadn’t worried about it at the time, since he believed he’d have plenty of time to convince her before the baby came.  However, she went into early labor before he got that chance.  After she gave birth and caught up on some well-earned rest, Richard had filled out the paperwork for the baby, putting down the child’s name as Richard Randolph White, Junior.

Unfortunately, it was hospital policy to confirm the information provided by boyfriends with the mothers before officially registering the paperwork with the Department of Health.  When Lois saw the name he had put down, she went ballistic, ripping the form to shreds and kicking him out of the room.  By the time he was allowed back in to see her, the baby’s name had officially been registered as Jason Samuel Lane.

The incident had grated on Richard, who had always hoped to share his full name with a son when he began his family, and it infuriated him even further that Lois wouldn’t even allow him to share his last name with their child.  In the years since, he’d pestered her repeatedly to legally change their son’s name and to at least make him a White, but she had stubbornly refused.  Richard sighed as he recalled the matter and muttered unhappily, “Is this the real reason you didn’t want him to be a junior?”

“This had nothing to do with Clark!” Lois shouted.  “How many times had I told you that no child of mine would have a name that could be shortened to a synonym for part of the male anatomy?  Did you remember that at all when you tried to sneak that name in after I gave birth?  No.  You didn’t take me seriously, just like you don’t take anything I say seriously if it doesn’t fit nicely into your little fantasy vision of how you think things should be.”

“Lois, I don’t dismiss what you say like that,” Richard protested irritably.

“Like hell you don’t!” Lois yelled.  “Just look at all the things we end up arguing about again and again and again.  Because you keep nagging away at the same old things that I’ve said ‘hell no’ to dozens of times.”

“Lois, I don’t nag!”

“Do you have selective amnesia there?” Lois asked dramatically.  She began ticking items off on her fingers, “Here’s a little reminder, which I hope will be for the last time…  I am not merging my finances with yours, giving you my power of attorney, or anything else that sacrifices my independence.  We’re not legally changing Jason’s name, which Clark would also have to consent to, by the way.  I’m not getting rid of the penthouse, which I’ve been subletting at a profit, and I’m not putting my name on the mortgage for this house, which I didn’t get a say in choosing…  And I’m also not giving up my career to become a stay-home mom, and I’m not having any more kids.”

“You suddenly sound very determined to keep our lives segregated,” Richard said bitterly.

“Suddenly?” Lois asked incredulously.  “Jesus, did you not listen to what I just told you?  I’ve been saying the same goddamn thing about all of this shit for the past five, six years, but it never occurred to you that I might actually have meant it.  You assume that I said what I said because something’s pissed me off or, as ludicrous as it sounds, that I’m ‘afraid of change’ and then you try to give me that stupid lecture on embracing it.  Do you have any idea how aggravating that can be?”

“Well, I’m sorry I’ve made your life so miserable,” Richard replied dramatically.

“Don’t go putting words in my mouth, White,” Lois scolded.  “If we were really miserable, Jason and I would have left a long time ago.  The good’s outweighed the bad so far…  But it’s really a major drag when you go into control freak mode, or try imposing your fantasy on my reality.  And by the way, that reality could very well include joint custody with Clark in the not too distant future.”

“What?” Richard asked in outrage as the blood drained from his face.  “He… he can’t take Jason from us.”

“Who said anything about taking?  I said ‘joint custody’,” Lois reminded him.  “That’s a pretty standard arrangement for parents that aren’t together anymore – he’d get him every other weekend, alternate major holidays, and maybe a night during the week every once in a while… I don’t really know for sure.  I haven’t actually discussed it with him yet.”

“Perry never should have hired him back,” Richard commented quietly.

“Careful there, White.  You’re coming awfully close to violating your uncle’s first law of journalism:  ‘The paper comes first’, which is closely followed by ‘leave the personal bullshit at home’.  Besides, Perry’s known all along that Jason was Clark’s, and it didn’t make the slightest difference in his hiring decision.”

“Perry knew?” Richard asked incredulously.

“He confronted me about it right after Jason was born, before I even got out of the hospital,” Lois explained.  “The point is, that given how often Clark’s been on the front page since he’s been back, nobody could reasonably argue that hiring him back wasn’t in the best interest of the paper.  So don’t even think about trying to push him out.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that!” Richard objected.

“Better keep it that way,” Lois warned.

“How come I’m suddenly the villain here?” Richard complained.  “I’m the one who’s been lied to for the past six years.”

“I already explained that,” Lois snapped.  “And I’m done talking about it.”  She turned on her heel, and marched out the patio doors, grabbing her purse from the coffee table on the way and pulling out her cigarettes and lighter.

Richard stared after her.  Well, that went well, Richard thought sarcastically.  How does she always end up turning these things around on me, and making them my fault?

Richard was distracted from his ruminations by Jason’s distressed voice behind him.  “Daddy?” he said tearfully.  “Why are you and Mommy yelling again?  Is it because of me?”

“Oh, no, Jason, it’s not because of you,” Richard assured him soothingly, wrapping him in a tight hug and picking him up.  “Mommy and I didn’t mean to upset you, and we’re all done yelling.”  He began carrying the tyke back upstairs and suggested, “How about another story before you go back to sleep?”

As Richard carried Jason up the stairs, he noticed Lois out on the patio, looking in with a guilty expression on her face.  She exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and turned away from the house.  Richard rolled his eyes and thought, Is she really that complicated, or have I really been that oblivious? he wondered.  Clark seems to have figured her out.  Why can’t I?

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« Last Edit: Nov 21st, 2008 at 12:37pm by Mr. Beeto »  
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