Author: Supermom
Email: no1supermom@hotmail.co
Rated: PG
Submitted: December 2001
No copyright infringement intended.
Author’s note: The first paragraph contains a reference to the Iditarod, and just in case you are not familiar with this, it is a 1150-mile dogsled race from Anchorage to Nome. Each team (12 to 16 dogs and their musher) covers the course in 10 to 17 days. The Iditarod was inspired by a historic event – a dog-sled relay of life-saving serum from Anchorage to Nome in 1925. That January, in the middle of a frigid winter, diphtheria broke out in Nome. The serum was sent from Anchorage 250 miles north to Nenena by train, and from there twenty volunteer mushers ferried the diphtheria serum the remaining 674 miles, through minus fifty-degree weather, in five days and seven hours – and the town was saved!
Thanks to my faithful beta reader, Ann, who is helping me to pass “Adverbs I” and “Beginning Commas.” And special thanks to Riley and TerriAnn for their ideas and brainstorming.
~@******@~
Snow fell fast and furiously as Lois maneuvered her Jeep along the rut down the middle of the interstate. What had started as a day trip to a town two hundred miles away to meet with a source had quickly escalated into something more closely related to the Iditarod. There had been only a few flakes falling when she and Clark had left Center Point at noon, but less than thirty miles out of town, the situation quickly worsened. The drifts became deeper and the snow fell faster, making car travel nerve wracking if not downright treacherous.
Clark had taken over driving after the first half-hour. He’d glanced over and seen Lois’s knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel. A little vein had popped out in her forehead from her intense concentration. Lois had given up the driver’s seat, though not without a struggle, and had leaned the passenger one back to relax.
<I’ll just close my eyes for a few minutes, > she thought. <Then I’ll be ready to drive MY car again and get us home. >
Just why Sammy Flynn had chosen Christmas Eve as the only possible time to meet with them was beyond Lois’s comprehension. “I mean…even snitches take a day off now and then, don’t they, Clark?” she’d inquired of her partner. While Christmas didn’t mean that much to her, she knew it did to Clark. He’d told her he was planning on flying to Kansas on the twenty-fourth via a late flight from Metropolis. The way things were going now, Lois wasn’t sure he would make it.
~@******@~
Clark glanced over at his partner, slumped in the passenger seat of the Jeep, her head leaned against the window, her warm breath making a cloudy patch on the glass, and her coat pulled up tightly around her neck to keep out the chill. He’d been driving for three hours and they were only forty miles closer to Metropolis than when he’d started. He was beginning to wish Lois knew his secret, for then he could pull over, park the Jeep, and fly them safely back to the warmth of their respective apartments. And once Lois was settled, he could fly on to Smallville and celebrate Christmas with his parents.
He felt bad about leaving her alone for Christmas, but she’d assured him that it was no big deal. “Crass commercialism, conspicuous consumption, money, crowds, and a general nuisance,” was her description of Christmas. The first time he’d heard her say it, he actually expected her to end the tirade with the words “Bah Humbug!” How anyone could fail to see the magic in Christmas was beyond him; but if anyone could, it was Lois. He hoped to change her attitude toward Christmas, but at the moment, he didn’t think that a Christmas Eve blizzard would do anything to move it in a more positive direction.
“You go ahead and take the red-eye to Smallville and I’ll be just fine here in the city,” she’d assured him earlier that week.
Clark had never actually told her he was taking the red-eye. Lois just assumed that. It was the red-S that he’d be using. But his other identity was another subject altogether. And now it looked like neither the red-eye nor the red-S was going to get him to Kansas anytime THIS Christmas Eve. Clark knew that he’d better start looking for some sort of lodging for the two of them; otherwise he risked their being stranded in the blizzard that swirled around them. He could weather such a storm. Lois couldn’t – at least not without his risking a revelation of his powers. And that was something he wasn’t quite sure he was ready to do.
Clark peered over his glasses and gazed intently down the shoulder of the interstate until he spotted the next exit sign. It indicated that there was lodging at the location, but it was still several miles away. That would have been only a few minutes at normal driving speed. But in the slush and mush, he couldn’t be sure how long it would take. He could only hope that there were two rooms left by the time he got there.
Forty-five nerve-wracking minutes later, Clark breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the neon “Vacancy” sign in front of Harper’s Family Motor Court. He pulled into a parking space by the office, put the Jeep into park, and finally allowed his muscles to relax. He groaned as he stretched his arms behind him and rolled his head in circles to help ease the tension in his neck.
“Are we home?” a sleepy voice to his right asked.
“No, we’re still about a hundred miles from Metropolis.”
“What? What did you do? Get lost? It’s….” Lois leaned over to look at the dashboard clock. “Clark, it’s almost five o’clock. Why on earth are we not in Metropolis.”
“Look around you Lois,” Clark droned, suddenly in no mood for one of Lois’s tirades.
“So it’s snowing. If you’re tired, I’ll drive the rest of the way.”
“It’s taken me almost five hours to drive this far and the road gets worse by the mile. Trust me, Lois. I’ve been through enough Kansas blizzards to know when to cry uncle and give in.”
Not one to be bettered by a simple blizzard, Lois opened her mouth to protest.
“Besides, I just heard on the radio that the highway patrol is closing the interstate. So we either stop here or risk spending the night in the car. I figured you’d prefer a nice soft bed to a cold, hard Jeep.” Clark rubbed his hand over his eyes and massaged his temples as he stretched his neck once again. “Let’s just go in and get a couple of rooms, and we’ll worry about getting home tomorrow.”
“But…” Lois interrupted.
“But, nothing, Lois. I’m too tired to fight with you; and believe me, you don’t want to be out on that interstate.”
“What I was going to say, Clark, before you so rudely interrupted me, was what about your flight to Smallville?”
“Oh…well…it’s cancelled. I heard on the radio that Metropolis International is snowed in. I’ll call my folks and let them know not to expect me tonight.”
A kindly, gray-haired woman sat behind the reception desk, watching the local television coverage of what promised to be the blizzard of the decade. When she heard the bell on the front door ring, she glanced up to see a handsome dark-haired man enter.
<Here goes my last room,> she thought and reached under the counter to turn on the neon lights that displayed the word “NO”.
“Pretty bad out there, huh?” she asked as Clark moved toward the desk.
“You don’t know the half of it,” he groaned in reply. “But I’ll be more than happy to take two rooms off your hands for the night.”
“And I’d be more than happy to rent you two rooms if I had them…” she started.
“But your sign says you have vacancies,” Clark interrupted.
Suddenly the door opened again and a shivering, sleepy-looking woman rushed in. Hearing Clark’s last words, she glanced apprehensively at him. “They don’t have any rooms?” Her voice was near panic.
“Actually, the sign says ‘Vacancy” and that is precisely what I have: one vacant room. And you’re in luck because from what I understand, it’s the only vacant room between here and Metropolis,” the woman continued.
Clark raked a hand through his hair as he glanced from the older woman’s face to Lois’s tired one and then out the window to the swirling wind and snow.
“We’ll take it,” he stated almost dejectedly. “It doesn’t happen to have two beds in it, does it?”
“No, I’m sorry. It’s a single.”
“I don’t suppose you have a roll-away bed or a couch somewhere I could sleep on? We’re not married or anything and we had to go to Center Point on business and this storm slowed us down and we can’t make it back to Metropolis, so we have to spend the night but we don’t usually share a room like this, and are you sure you don’t have a closet or something that I can sleep in?” Clark’s voice and gestures became more animated.
<And he tells me that I babble,> Lois thought with amusement.
Seeing the desperation on Clark’s face as the woman shook her head, Lois quickly moved to him and patted him on the arm. “It’s okay, Clark. We’ll manage. We’ll take the room,” she said firmly. “Where do we register?”
Lois stared at the walls of the room in Harper’s Family Motor Court and reflected on how she had come to be sharing it with her partner on Christmas Eve. She didn’t feel so bad about being stranded on Christmas Eve. After all, she’d made it perfectly clear that she considered Christmas nothing more than the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. But she felt bad that Clark would miss his flight home for the holidays. Not only that, but they had been forced to share a motel room. She supposed she should be grateful that they had stumbled onto the last vacant room within a two hundred-mile radius. But that still did nothing to calm the nervousness she felt at being in the same room with the tall, handsome man who was sitting across the room from her, fidgeting with his necktie, and looking like a little boy who had just been sent to his room without supper.
Sure, they’d shared that suite at the Lexor two weeks before, but that had been business. AND it had been a suite with a separate bedroom for her and a couch for Clark. THIS was a single room, with one double bed. And while she supposed it could be classified as business, somehow it just didn’t have quite the same feel to it as their stay at the Lexor. There she’d had luggage and a nightgown and a toothbrush and Clark had slept on the couch with a closed door separating them and he’d slept in sweatpants and a T-shirt and they’d had a closed door between them and it had been strictly business and there was a door between where they’d slept.
<Good grief, Lois! You’re babbling in your thoughts now, > she chastised herself.
~@******@~
He knew in his head that there had been no other choice. The highway had become much too messy and dangerous for them to go any farther. Fortunately, there had been one vacant room at Harper’s Family Motor Court. Clark was still unsure of what he’d have done had that room not been available. Drive on and risk an accident? Take a chance at being stranded on the roadside in a blizzard? Tell Lois he was Superman and fly her back to the warmth and safety of her apartment in Metropolis?
Clark stared at the solitary bed where Lois sat, fumbling with the strap on her oversized purse. <Hey, maybe she has a pair of pajamas in there. And a pair for me too. And another bed, > Clark thought woefully. When he and Lois had stayed at the Lexor together two weeks earlier, it had been strictly business. They’d teased each other a little, but they had each known where the line was drawn. He still cringed at the memory of his temptation to use his x-ray vision to peek through the door at Lois and fought a blush as he realized that x-ray vision wouldn’t be required tonight since there would be no doors between them.
He’d rehearsed his speech on the walk from the lobby to their room. <Lois, I’m a tough, Kansas farm boy, so you take the bed and I’ll just sleep on the floor. Don’t argue! I feel bad enough that we’re stranded here on Christmas Eve, so don’t make me feel worse by refusing my chivalry. I’m taking the floor and that’s that! > He’d repeated it over and over in his mind but hadn’t yet corralled the nerve to say it to her face.
Not that it mattered to Lois that this was Christmas Eve. What had she called it? Crass consumption, infomercials, crowds, a major bother? He’d fully expected her to end her tirade with “Bah, Humbug!” He didn’t understand her attitude toward the holidays, but he had a suspicion it stemmed from her relationship with her father. He’d seen the chill between Sam Lane and his daughter firsthand when they’d investigated a boxing scam that Dr. Lane was involved in. Clark had hoped to change Lois’s attitude toward Christmas, but he didn’t think it would happen this year. Not here, stranded together in a small motel room.
Clark had been planning a Christmas trip to Smallville for weeks. His mom had promised to prepare all his favorite foods. He and his dad would go out to the back part of their farm and cut a tree, and the three of them would decorate it with the collection of ornaments dating back to Jonathan and Martha Kent’s first Christmas together. There would be caroling on the town square, visits with a few friends still living in Smallville, opening gifts on Christmas morning, and a generous share of love between members of a very close-knit family. Clark had even thought about inviting Lois to come with him. Of course that would have meant taking the red-eye flight from Metropolis to Kansas, rather than the “red-S” flight that he normally took. This Christmas Eve, however, there would be no flight of any kind, thanks to Mother Nature.
He’d called them from the payphone outside so that Lois couldn’t overhear anything about his actually *flying* to Smallville. Of course his parents were disappointed, but knew he’d be there as soon as he could. He was responsible – for himself and others, and would never put Lois or other drivers in danger in such snowy condition.
“You were just lucky to find a couple of rooms in such bad weather,” Martha pointed out.
“Well…uh…we didn’t…uh…that is…the lodge only had one room left. But I’m sleeping on the floor in the corner farthest from the bed,” Clark stammered.
“There’s no couch for you like at the Lexor?” she asked, egging him on. Secretly Martha harbored deep feelings that his son would admit his attraction for Lois – and that Lois would be attracted back. She wanted Clark to find what he wanted in Metropolis – a job, a family, happiness. So far, the job part had worked out. He was working for the greatest newspaper in the world. And every time he spoke of Lois, he got all tongue-tied. Martha could tell that he was attracted to her – it had been so obvious to her when Lois had accompanied Clark to Smallville to investigate the excavating at Wayne Irig’s farm. She hoped it was just a matter of time before Lois admitted to herself that Clark was the best thing for her since microwave popcorn – which Clark had told his mother was one of the few things Lois could prepare without incinerating it.
A knock at the door pulled them from their respective reveries. Clark jumped up to answer the knock, eager to do something – ANYTHING – to break the tension in the room. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Emma Harper, owner of the Harper Family Motor Court, her arms laden with blankets and the ferocious wind whipping her face and hair.
“Extra blankets.” she announced as she walked into the room. “It’s gonna be a cold one tonight, even with the heat on.” She dropped two blankets on the foot of the bed and then turned to the two glum-looking folks standing before her.
“Is there anything else I can help you folks with? I mean, I know you weren’t planning on an overnight stay anywhere.”
“If you have a nightgown….”
“A pair of pajamas?”
Lois and Clark spoke together, their voices betraying the tension they felt.
“Oh, my! I didn’t even think about you two not having any luggage. I have something that you can sleep in dear,” she replied, motioning toward Lois. “And I think I can probably find something of Charlie’s for you, Mr. Kent. Charlie was my husband. He died this past May and I still have all of his things.”
“Please, call me Clark, Mrs. Harper. And if it would make you uncomfortable to go through your husband’s things, I can just sleep in my suit.”
“Nonsense! No sense you ruining that nice suit when I have perfectly good pajamas for you to wear. Charlie would want me to let you use them. That’s the kind of man he was – always looking out for others, taking care of our guests. And you know, I think I have some extra toothbrushes too. I’ll run and get those things for you.”
“That’s very generous of you, Mrs. Harper,” Lois said.
“Emma. Please call me Emma. And it’s the least I can do for two stranded travelers on Christmas Eve.”
She turned to leave and Clark rushed to open the door for her. Abruptly she turned back toward them. “Oh my, I almost forgot! I know that most of my guests haven’t eaten since lunch and I know it’s not much, but I’ve got a small meal for everyone in the little dining room behind the office. It’s not much – just soup and sandwiches – but you’re more than welcome to come.”
“That sounds wonderful, Mrs. …uh…Emma,” Clark replied. “And why don’t we just pick up those things from you then rather than you making a trip back here?”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you in the dining room shortly.”
Clark ushered the older woman back out into the cold and watched her head toward the next room with the remaining blankets.
Stuffing his hands deep in his pockets, he made his way back to the chair in the corner opposite the bed. “Okay, then. Dinner it is.”
“Yeah,” Lois smiled shyly. “Shortly.”
“And, uh…Lois…about the bed….”
“Oh, right. The bed….”
“Lois, I’m a tough Kansas farm boy so you take the bed and I’ll just sleep on the floor and don’t argue because I feel bad enough that we’re stranded here on Christmas Eve, so don’t make me feel worse by refusing my chivalry. I’m taking the floor and that’s that.” Clark let out a long breath after he finished.
“Did you practice that?” Lois asked, the corners of her mouth turning up in a small grin.
Clark raked one hand through his hair and grinned back. “Yeah. I guess I did. It’s just that I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable…or at least any more uncomfortable than necessary about our unfortunate circumstances here and I really am used to blizzards like this ’cause we get them all the time in Kansas, so it won’t be any problem for me at all to sleep with a pillow and blanket on the floor and….”
“Whoa!” Lois walked over to Clark and clamped her hand across his mouth. “And you accuse *me* of babbling.”
“I’m really sorry about all of this Lois.” He swept the room with a glance. “It’s not exactly what I had planned for our….”
“For our…?”
“Uh…our first Christmas Eve as partners. It’s not what I had planned for our first Christmas Eve working together at the Planet. I know you don’t really like Christmas. And I respect your feelings, Lois. I’d just hoped that after we got back to town today, we could have a nice dinner and just talk before I left for Kansas.”
He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I even have a gift for you,” he said, almost in a whisper. “But it’s at my apartment, so I guess….”
Lois swallowed hard. She knew Clark was a gentleman and a decent, kind person. But all this was more than she could believe. Her experience with men, starting with her father, and going right up through her most recent disaster with Claude, had left her believing that all men were pigs who lived merely to overeat, work too hard, lie, cheat, and belch their way to the top of the corporate ladder. She’d never had anyone treat her with such respect – not until Clark Kent had come into her life. And quite honestly, she didn’t know what to think of it. Part of Clark intrigued her, and she still couldn’t help thinking there *had* to be a scheme there somewhere. Yet part of him touched her deeply, and this was the part standing in front of her on Christmas Eve, stranded in a strange town, sharing a motel room. If she’d had doubts about Clark’s intentions earlier, they were gone now. Clark would sleep outside in the snow before he’d let her feel uncomfortable about the situation.
“Well…I guess we better head to the dining room,” she said, changing the subject.
Clark grabbed Lois’s coat and helped her put it on, then wrapped his own around him. Opening the door, he motioned her outside and followed behind.
The dining room was a small, cozy room, with a few tables and a big fireplace at one end. A small, but gaily decorated tree sat in one corner, and pine branches and candles were placed around the room to give it a more festive air. The other guests were milling about, chatting and laughing.
Clark glanced around the room and made note of the other “strandees.” There were seven men and six women in addition to him and Lois, along with four children. Clark wasn’t sure who went with whom but decided that rather than stand and scuff the carpet with his shoe, he’d mingle and get to know the other guests.
Grabbing Lois by the sleeve and making his way around the room, he introduced himself and Lois to the others. They learned that Michael was an optical salesman from Boston, Ron was a computer consultant from Buffalo, and Ethan was a college student on his way to his girlfriend’s home. Cassie, also a college student, was headed home. Katherine was a widow on her way to visit her son. Joe and Louise hailed from Maine and were driving to Disney World with their two children Joey and Lisa. Newlyweds Don and Victoria had honeymoon reservations in the Poconos, and Raymond and Melissa were the proud parents of nine-month-old Eric. The last couple, however, caught Clark’s eye. Or more precisely, William and Virginia’s daughter Lily caught his eye.
Lily was a dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty, even at age ten. She was as bright, curious, talkative, and stubborn as…well she was just like Lois. Clark imagined that this must be what Lois had been like as a child.
“Why are you staring at me?” Lily asked him, jarring him from his thoughts.
“Huh?”
“He was *not* staring at you,” Lois interjected. “And don’t you know it’s rude to be impolite to grown-ups?”
“I wasn’t being rude, and he *was* staring at me.”
Clark simply watched as his partner and the junior version of her argued. Thankfully, Emma quickly appeared from an adjacent room with a large platter of sandwiches in her hands.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Clark offered.
“I’d rather you get that big soup pot that’s still on the stove, if you don’t mind.”
Clark retrieved the steaming pot from the kitchen and placed it alongside the sandwiches on a serving table. Plates, bowls, spoons, napkins and glasses completed the table setting.
“Okay, everyone, soup’s on!” called Emma.
The group lined up and began to move single-file beside the table as Emma served their plates. Clark soon saw the children becoming restless and offered to help with the serving.
“I can’t let you do this! You’re my guest.” Emma insisted.
“Why don’t we call it making the rental payment for the use of those pajamas?” Clark countered with a wink.
Shaking her head and chuckling, Emma agreed to Clark’s offer. Everyone was quickly served and settled at the dining tables. As luck would have it, Lois and Clark ended up at the table with Lily and her parents.
“Where were you going before the storm stopped you?” Lily asked, staring directly at Lois.
“Lily,” her father interjected, “I don’t think you need to be asking Miss Lane a lot of questions while she’s eating.”
Lois flashed a “told-you-so” smile at Lily and took another bite of her sandwich.
“Well, if I can’t ask you questions, then I’ll tell you where we were going. We were going to my grandma and grandpa’s house for Christmas. It’s my daddy’s parents, and they live on a farm.
<Like Clark’s parents,> thought Lois.
“We go there every Christmas,” Lily continued, “because my mommy’s parents are divorced, and they don’t do anything at Christmas but yell and fight anyway.”
<Like my parents.>
“So we go to Grandma and Grandpa Shelton’s farm and we have a big tree and Grandma cooks a big turkey and bakes lots and lots of cookies and Grandpa makes a fire in the fireplace and we have the wonderfulest time in the whole year.” Lily paused briefly to take a sip of her milk and then launched into the next sentence. “And you know what’s the absolutely best part?”
Lois shook her head, amazed that one little girl could say so much in one breath.
“Lily, honey. I’m sure Miss Lane and Mr. Kent don’t want to hear all the details of our Christmas trip.”
Lois opened her mouth to agree, but Clark spoke first. He’d seen the forlorn look cross Lois’s face when Lily spoke of her divorced grandparents. But he also heard something that sounded very much like his own family Christmases. And maybe hearing it from a child might just convince Lois that there was magic in Christmas after all.
“Go ahead, Lily. I’d really like to hear about your grandparent’s farm. I grew up on a farm too.”
“You did? Did you have cows and chickens and a barn?”
“Sure did!”
“Well…the best part of going to grandma and grandpa’s farm is that we’re all together all the time, and my daddy doesn’t have to go to work for a whole week.”
“What kind of work do you do, William?” Clark inquired.
“I’m a plastic surgeon.”
<Boob jobs, tummy tucks, face-lifts, and liposuction,> Lois sneered in her thoughts. <No wonder he can take a week off.> Lois remembered the many Christmas Eves she had spent alone with her mother and sister because her father had been too busy with his medical practice to even eat dinner with them. Of course, later Lois had learned that her father’s “work” had often included dining with his receptionist at secluded little restaurants on the far side of town.
“My daddy operates on babies who have…. What do you call that?” Lily asked, turning to her father.
“Cleft lip,” he answered. Turning to Lois and Clark, he explained. “I specialize in reconstructive surgery on infants who are born with a cleft lip. It’s not as lucrative money-wise as some other areas of plastic surgery. But the emotional rewards are unbelievable.”
Lois immediately felt guilty for her earlier assumptions. Just because her family had been dysfunctional didn’t mean that *every* doctor’s family was that way.
“My daddy fixes babies’ lips and makes them smile again,” Lily announced proudly. “And my mommy goes with him sometimes to Galla…Gwala…. Where is that, mommy?”
“Guatemala. William and I are part of a mission group that provides free medical care for children in other countries. I was William’s nurse when he first opened his practice, but once Lily came along, I wanted to stay at home with her.”
<Just like my mother.>
“I keep my license current just so I can go on the mission trips. It’s wonderful to see the hope in a parent’s eyes when there was none before. To know that a child will have a normal looking face and not be subjected to ridicule or worse. Do you know that in some countries, babies with facial deformities are considered to be evil and are killed?”
<My mother didn’t keep her license current. She spent her time studying a whiskey bottle instead of nursing books.>
“I ran across that in some of the places I traveled after college,” Clark said. “You know, Lois and I are reporters for the ‘Daily Planet’ and we’d love to do a story on your group…maybe drum up a little support for it.” He reached into his pocket, withdrew a business card, and passed it across the table to William. “Give me a call after the first of the year.”
“Thank you,” Virginia said. “William’s work is important to both of us, and we’d appreciate any help we can get.”
“And when I’m bigger, I’m going to Gwallamalla too!” Lily chimed in.
“Are you going to be a doctor when you grow up?” Clark asked her.
“I think Lily should be whatever she wants to be,” Lois commented softly.
Lily leaned over to hug her father and told Lois, “I want to be just like my daddy when I grow up. I want to make babies smile.”
<My father wanted me to be like him,> Lois thought cynically. <I suppose I should really be glad I didn’t follow in his footsteps. We’d be father and daughter Dr. Frankensteins.>
“Enough chatter, young lady. You need to finish your dinner, then thank Mrs. Harper for feeding all us stranded travelers, and then you need to get into bed because it’s Christmas Eve,” her father admonished.
Lily began to devour her dinner, alternating mouthfuls of soup with bites of sandwich, washed down with large gulps of milk. Without warning, she dropped her spoon into her bowl and shrieked “SANTA! What about Santa? How is Santa gonna know where I am?”
Like a line of falling dominoes, the other children picked up on the cry and were soon up in arms over the certain calamity they were sure was upon them. Of course, every parent knew that their car trunks were full of gifts, ready to appear on Christmas morning. They eyed each other worriedly, wondering how to calm a roomful of fretting children.
Emma Harper suddenly appeared at Clark’s elbow and whispered, “Could you help me with the pilot light in the kitchen?”
Clark followed her into the adjoining room and headed toward the stove.
“The pilot light is all right, Clark. I just needed to get you out of there because I have an idea that just might solve the Santa problem.”
Clark gave her a puzzled look as she continued. “My husband always played Santa for the children in this area, and I still have the suit that he wore. You can make an appearance and let the children know that you are aware of their situation, and that you will deliver their presents at my place. I have an apartment that adjoins the lodge and there’s plenty of room under my tree. I’ll just let all the parents know where to put the gifts, and all will be right with the world on Christmas morning.”
Clark opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted. “You don’t want to disappoint them do you?”
“Well…no…but wouldn’t one of the other men make a better Santa than me?”
“The fathers can’t do it because their children would know them. And those single fellows don’t look like they’d be comfortable enough with children to pull it off. But I saw how you interacted with little Lily, and I think you’d be perfect. You’re just about my husband’s height; and with a few pillows, I think you could fill out the suit just fine.”
“I’m not so sure….” Clark protested once more.
“Wouldn’t you have been disappointed when you were a little boy if you’d been stranded along the highway and didn’t know if Santa could find you?” Emma gave him her best grandmotherly look.
“Why do you people always use the guilt thing?” Clark mumbled under his breath.
“I heard that, young man!” Emma chuckled. Clark felt a blush creep up his neck as he grinned and shook his head.
“Let me tell the others that I’m going to fetch dessert and you come back to my apartment with me. I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
~@******@~
After Clark had left and Emma had announced that dessert would be served shortly, Lois sat quietly at the table, listening to the parents’ efforts to reassure their children. Past Christmases played through her head. Memories of her absent father and her drunken mother, remembrances of soothing a distraught Lucy, recollections of unfulfilled Christmas wishes hit her all at once.
There was a pitiful Charlie-Brown-like tree that she’d decorated with ribbons in an attempt to make some sort of festivity for Lucy. Of course her mother had stumbled through the room during one of pre-Christmas binges and knocked it over. And the next morning, when she saw the mess, Ellen had thrown the tree out, lock, stock, and ribbons. Lois never tried to put up a tree after that. And of course, nothing she ever really wanted appeared under the tree, so she soon quit asking for anything. It was better not to set herself up for disappointment again and again.
Lois was brought out of her reverie by Emma’s return. She carried a large platter of brownies and a tub of vanilla ice cream.
“Who’s ready for some dessert?” she cried.
All the children yelled, “ME!” simultaneously and rushed to line up by the table. Katherine, the older single woman, was pressed into service placing brownies on each plate while Emma spooned the rich ice cream on top. And Emma even produced a container of red-and-green sprinkles to add Christmas flair to the dessert.
After everyone was served and had returned to their tables, Lois noted that Clark had still not returned from the kitchen. At least this time he’d really gone to do something instead of making one of his stupid excuses to leave. But what could be taking so long? She rose from the table and headed in the direction of the kitchen.
“Is there something I can help you with, Lois?” asked Emma.
“I was just looking for Clark.”
“Well…he fixed my pilot light but I remembered that the panel for the main furnace needed looking at so that all the units would have heat throughout the night and Clark very graciously offered to help. That young man is so sweet, helping an old woman like me.”
“Yeah. Sweet. That’s Clark all right.”
“Why don’t you just go back and finish you dessert. I have an urn of coffee just about finished and there will be a nice steaming cup for you in a jiffy.”
Thwarted in her attempt to find her partner, Lois returned to her table. She smiled at William and Virginia, trying to think of something to discuss with them. She couldn’t discuss parenthood since she doubted she’d ever be one. She didn’t want to get into discussing medicine because then she ‘d have to reveal that her father was the famous Dr. Sam Lane. And she really didn’t want to get into that. So she just sat, shredding the paper napkin in her lap and wishing Clark would return.
“Are you married to that man?” Lily asked without warning.
“What?” Lois was caught completely off guard by the question. Why would that child ask such a question?
“I said, are you married to that man?”
“No!” Lois replied emphatically.
“Well you *look* married. Or at least *he* does.”
“No I *don’t* look married.” Lois spit out the words from between clenched teeth. “And just exactly what does being married *look* like?”
“Lily! That’s enough!” her mother reprimanded. “You’re bothering Miss Lane.”
Turning to Lois, Virginia apologized for her daughter’s behavior. She then gave Lily another stern look.
“Sometimes she just goes on and on and there’s no stopping her,” William explained. “She babbles – just like her mother.” He grinned at his wife as he made the comment and watched her first blush and then swipe a hand against his arm.
“I do *not* babble. I just have extremely long continuous streams of thought that I vocalize,” she clarified.
<That’s good,> thought Lois. <I’ll have to remember that the next time Clark tells me that I babble..>
“Now tell Miss Lane that you’re sorry and finish your ice cream,” William instructed.
Lily ducked her head and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” Lois responded.
“But I still think you and that man *look* married, cuz he looks at you just like my daddy looks at my mommy – all goofy and mushy and like he’s not paying attention to anything else in the world.” Lily then shoveled a huge spoonful of brownie and ice cream into her mouth and said nothing further.
Lois didn’t remember Clark every looking at her – how was it that Lily put it? All goofy and mushy and like he was paying attention only to her. But when had she paid enough attention to Clark to notice just *how* he was looking at her? Or even *if* he was looking at her? Yes he was a sweet man and an innocent naif from Kansas. She’d specifically told him that she didn’t have time for him to fall for her. And Lois Lane expected her orders to be followed. After all, she was the senior partner – in control, on top, in charge. Maybe, though, she would pay a little more attention to how Clark looked at her and see if Little Miss Precocious was right or just seeing everyone as she saw her own parents – a loving and in-love couple. She pushed her dessert around on her plate as she contemplated Lily’s words.
~@******@~
“Are you *sure* this is going to work?” Clark asked for the umpteenth time as he adjusted the pillows around his midsection.
“Very sure,” Emma reassured him for the umpteenth time and smoothed the beard she had attached to Clark’s face. “You look perfect. Absolutely perfect. You know, Charlie had this wig and beard made of real hair so it would look realistic. Now, why don’t you let me hear you do a couple of ‘Ho Ho Ho’s.”
Clark took a deep breath and practiced his Santa greeting. One look from Emma told him that he had not been very convincing.
“Think back to your childhood and the very best Santa you ever saw. Try to remember what he sounded like and then re-create that.”
Clark recalled a Christmas when he was eight years old. Santa’s suit felt like a soft bunny rabbit to his little boy fingers. And he had smelled of pine and spice and the outdoors. His hair and beard were snowy white, and his eyes had sparkled merrily. Clark had asked for a new bicycle that year, and he had truly believed that his special Santa would make that bicycle appear under the tree in their Kansas farmhouse.
Clark stepped in front of the mirror, took stock of his appearance, and took a deep breath, expelling it along with the words, “Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!”
“That’s it!” Emma cheered, running over to hug Clark around his pillow-enhanced middle. “Now let’s go make some children – and adults – very happy.”
“Well…most of them,” Clark mumbled.
“Your Miss Lane doesn’t think much of Christmas, does she?”
Emma Harper was an observant woman, but then Clark conceded that Lois didn’t leave much to the imagination with her open disdain for the holidays.
“No…but she had a rather unloving upbringing – parents divorced when she was young – and she just never had anyone to show her the magic of Christmas. I was hoping to do a little “magic show” later tonight after we got back to Metropolis, but….” he trailed off.
“She’s caught you by the heartstrings, hasn’t she?”
Clark merely stared, unwilling and unable to admit what was obvious to Emma.
“And she won’t give you the time of day, will she?”
“Not a nanosecond.”
“Just give her time, Clark. Be patient. Let her see the magic you experience, and she’ll come around. Trust me.”
Emma turned and searched on her kitchen table and with a flourish produced a sprig of mistletoe. She pressed it in Clark’s hand.
“Before you bring the suit back tonight, go to your room and hold out the mistletoe. I’ll bet even Scrooge Lane can’t resist such a handsome Santa with mistletoe,” she advised with a wink.
“You think?” Clark asked apprehensively as he tucked the mistletoe in the coat pocket.
“I *know*,” she said solemnly. “Now, let’s go, and make this evening special!”
She shooed Clark out the door, instructing him to wait to make his entrance after she’d slipped back in by another door.
~@******@~
Lois heard a faint noise coming from outside the building. Straining to listen, she finally chalked it up to wind and fatigue. Then she heard it again, only louder this time. And it sounded distinctly like…
“I hear bells! Maybe it’s Santa!” Lisa shouted.
“No you don’t, you dope. You’re just imagining things. Santa’s not going to be able to find us stuck out here in the middle of nowhere and we’re not gonna get any presents.”
Lisa looked first at her brother and then at her parents, tears glistening in her young eyes. “Mommy? Daddy? Can Santa find us?”
Having already been clued in by Emma Harper, Joe was able to honestly assure his daughter that her brother was indeed mistaken and Santa would be able to find them. And he reminded Joey that it wasn’t nice to call his sister a dope.
Just as Lisa and Lily, who’d been listening intently to the conversation, breathed sighs of relief, the door opened with a slam, a stiff wind swirled snow into the room, and everyone heard the deepest, merriest “Ho Ho Ho!” that they’d ever heard. And following right behind the words was the most resplendent Santa any of them had ever seen. The suit was made of the finest, softest velvet, with real fur trim. The gleaming black leather boots reflected the lights in the room. A matching belt had a large gold buckle with the letters “SC” ornately engraved.
Lois simply stared as the children scrambled across the room and shouted their relief that he’d found them. Santa reassured them that he always did his best to find children on Christmas Eve – even those stranded away from home in a blizzard. Lois searched the room, trying to determine which of the travelers had dressed as Santa for the children’s benefit. But there were Michael, Ron, and Ethan still sipping their coffee. Raymond and Melissa were cuddling their baby. And Joe and Louise and William and Virginia were watching the delight on their children’s faces as they gathered around Santa.
<Who…> Lois wondered and then spotted the gleam in Santa’s eye. It was Clark! Furnace panel indeed! She watched as he made his way through the tangle of children’s arms and legs to a chair that Emma had set up for him and then told the children that each one would have a turn sitting on his lap. He asked them to line up and to be patient, because every child would have a turn.
Lisa sat on his lap first, staring shyly at him, and answering his questions with a mumbled yes or no. After a bit of prodding from her mother she began to open up and told Santa that she’d been a good girl, a proclamation that was affirmed by a nod of her mother’s head. Then she began to rattle off a list of gifts that would have filled the front page of the ‘Daily Planet.’ Clark had to stifle the urge to laugh as he saw the puzzled looks that Joe and Louise passed between them. “Did she tell you she wanted that?” they each asked the other. Something told Clark that he shouldn’t promise the children anything specific. Instead he simply smiled and then told Lisa to continue to be good and kind, and to love her parents and brother. He gave her a brief hug, told her to get to sleep fast, and reminded her that she should check under Mrs. Harper’s tree in the morning.
Lisa climbed off Santa’s lap and was quickly replaced by her older brother Joey, whose non-stop litany of toy requests eclipsed his sister’s. Again, Clark just smiled and then told him to keep being good, to help others, and to obey his parents and take care of his little sister. Bending to put his mouth next to Joey’s ear, Clark whispered softly that he shouldn’t call his sister a dope again. Joey’s eyes got as big as saucers. Clark reminded him that Santa placed a high regard on family responsibilities and respect, and that Joey would be watched to make sure he was living up to his position as a son and big brother.
“Watched?” Joey asked nervously as he walked back to his parents.
“And remember to check under the tree tomorrow morning,” Santa called after him.
Next in line was Lily – “little Lois” he’d secretly nicknamed her.
“Santa, I’m so glad you found me cause I was really worried that you wouldn’t know I was stranded in the snow and had to stay at a motel instead of my grandma’s house and then you wouldn’t know where to leave my presents and you might just give them to someone else and I had one really special thing that I asked for.” Lily clung to him like a drowning man would cling to a life preserver. For all her earlier bravado, Clark could feel her trembling.
“I’m right here, sweetheart. I found you and….”
“Santa, I want a baby doll that has real diapers so I can practice taking care of babies so I can go to Gwallamalla with my mommy and daddy and help make babies smile again. And I want some books about Gwallamalla so I can learn all about it before I go. And I want a new softball glove cause I gave my old one to a little girl whose daddy died and her mommy couldn’t afford to buy her a new one. She wanted to play on the team so bad. And last of all Santa…” Lily hesitated.
“Yes?” Clark asked.
“Most important of all, I wish that my Grandma and Grandpa Beck would stop being so angry at each other. You’ve been telling everyone they should love their parents and their brothers and sisters. Don’t you think it’s important for grown-ups to love each other too?”
<Out of the mouths of babes,> Clark thought. He’d watched Lois cringe all through their dinner with Lily, because she could see what he had seen. She had seen in Lily many of the same qualities she possessed, up to and including having the babble market cornered. But Lily had parents who had put their child first. Now he could see Lois squirming over Lily’s Christmas wishes.
“Yes, Lily, it’s important for grown-ups to love each other too. But sometimes they let silly things get in the way, and we still have to still love them even if they don’t love each other. And we also have to not let their anger get in the way of us living the best life we can. So you keep on loving your grandma and grandpa and maybe, just maybe, your love will help them get over their anger.”
Lily threw her arms around Clark’s neck and gave him a big hug and a kiss. “Thank you Santa, for the best Christmas Eve I ever had.”
Clark helped Lily off his lap and stood up, turning to leave the room.
“Wait, Santa,” Lily called out. “Aren’t the grown-ups going to sit on your lap too? Don’t they want anything for Christmas?”
Nervous laughter raced through the room as the adults eyed each other curiously. When no one made a move toward Santa, Lily planted her hands firmly on her hips and asked again, “Well, *don’t* any of you want anything for Christmas? This is your last chance before he has to leave.”
Clark was torn between not wanting to disappoint Lily and her firm belief in Santa Claus and not embarrassing the adults. As he glanced around the room, Lois’s disgusted look made his decision for him.
“Lily’s right. The adults need to tell me what they want too. After all, we can’t have you disappointed on Christmas, can we?” Clark’s eyes sparkled devilishly as he glanced around the room at the apprehensive group of grown-ups. “Come on now. I don’t have all night,” he ordered.
One by one the adults moved over to Santa. The men simply stood by his side and asked for chain saws, exercise equipment, and new automobiles, while the women sat on his lap and requested jewelry, perfume and designer clothes – all except Lois. She stood resolutely in the far corner, her arms crossed defensively across her chest as she dared anyone to tell her to sit on Santa’s lap.
<What utter nonsense,> she brooded. <All for sake of one bull-headed little girl.>
And then the bull-headed girl looked her squarely in the eye. “Please sit on his lap, Miss Lane. Tell him what you want to make you happy on Christmas.”
<What difference will it make? He never made me happy on Christmas before, so why should anything change now?>
Lois could tell that Junior Miss Prison Warden wasn’t going to give up easily, so she moved across the room to take her place on Santa’s lap.
“Ho, Ho, Ho! And what’s your name?” Santa inquired, the gleam in his eye just a little *too* impish for Lois’s liking.
“Lois. My uh…name is Lois,” she stuttered as she carefully sat on Clark’s lap.
“And what do you want for Christmas, Lois?”
“Uhm….”
Before Lois could say another word, Clark interrupted her. “Remember, Lois, that Christmas is the most special time of the year. It’s a time for people to gather together, whether they are family or strangers.”
“I…uh…know…and uh…I think that I’d like….”
“And Christmas is a time of not only receiving, but giving as well.”
“Yeah, I know all that.” Lois was becoming increasingly annoyed with Clark’s interruptions. He was taking his role as Santa just a little too far at her expense. He knew how she felt, so why couldn’t he just let it go?
“Since you know all that, Lois, you should think carefully about your Christmas list.”
<Maybe I should just tell him to buzz off,> she thought angrily. <The nerve of him!>
Deciding to simply ask for something trivial, Lois opened her mouth to make known her request only to be interrupted once more.
“You know, Lois. I think perhaps you’re not really sure yet exactly what it is that you want. So why don’t you just think about it a little more and then write it down. Leave your Christmas list beside the bed, and I’ll get it later.”
<Like hell you will!>
Lois gritted her teeth and replied icily, “Fine, if that’s the way you want it.” Then she quickly pushed herself off of Clark’s lap and retreated back to the shadows in the corner. The children were satisfied that Christmas would be wonderful; and as Santa headed to the door, they showered him with hugs and kisses, which he returned tenfold.
<He’s going to make a wonderful father one day – nothing at all like mine.> Lois was shocked that this thought should come to mind. She’d certainly never thought of Clark in any sense except that of co-worker and, more recently, partner.
The crowd socialized a bit more until the children’s smiles began to turn to yawns. One by one, the stranded travelers bid each other a good night and merry Christmas and left for their rooms. Lois sought out Emma to get the nightgown and toothbrush they had discussed earlier.
“Come along with me to my apartment and I’ll fetch it for you. And I’ll give you the things for Clark too.”
“Where *is* he, anyway?” a familiar voiced piped up. “He didn’t get to sit on Santa’s lap and say what he wanted.”
Thinking quickly, Lois explained to Lily that Clark had missed his airplane flight to Kansas and was probably talking to his parents on the phone at this very minute, letting them know why he wasn’t there, and wishing them a merry Christmas.
“Come on Lily,” called her father. “It’s time to get you into bed. Thank Mrs. Harper for her hospitality and let’s skeedaddle.”
Lily did as her father asked, and then turned to Lois. “Goodnight Miss Lane. Have a merry Christmas. And I hope Santa brings you what you write on your list. Remember to do that, okay? To make your list and leave it by the bed? Don’t forget.”
Lois smiled weakly, remembering Christmas lists from her childhood. <If you don’t make a list, Lois, you won’t be disappointed. Why set yourself up for another heartache? Not that there’s much you need besides a bigger paycheck and a few more hours in the day.>
“Come along, dear, and I’ll get those things for you and Clark,” Emma reminded.
Lois fully expected to find Clark in the room when she returned, but the room was dark and empty. She’d knocked before she entered in case he’d been…. <Been what? Undressing? He doesn’t have his pajamas yet. Using the bathroom? It has a door for heaven’s sake. Girlfriend, you’re losing it.> She put the toiletries in the bathroom and laid the pajamas for Clark on the chair. She turned on the nightstand radio, finding a station playing Christmas tunes, and propped herself up on the bed while she waited for Clark to return.
~@******@~
Clark watched carefully from his hiding place until all the children had returned to their rooms. He certainly didn’t want to blow his cover as Santa. He chuckled at the thought of yet another secret identity. And this one flew too. He’d been concerned about pulling this one off, because if he messed up, there would be some mighty disappointed children. But after he got over his initial nervousness, it had been fun. Seeing the children’s eyes bright with hope and expectation had been worth the earlier worry. And that little Lily. She was quite a character, and such a compassionate child, even to the point of worrying about the adults making their Christmas wishes known. <Too bad there aren’t more adults like her,> he thought sadly.
When he saw the last motel door close, he slipped from behind the clump of shrubbery and made his way to Emma’s apartment. As he lifted his hand to knock on her door, he heard hinges squeak behind him. Turning quickly, he saw Lily standing in the doorway to her room, wearing a pair of warm pajamas and slippers, and holding a teddy bear in her arms. Clark smiled at her, waved, and turned back to Emma’s door.
“What are you doing Santa?”
“I…uh…I’m saying goodbye to Mrs. Harper, and then I’ll be leaving to start my toy deliveries.”
“Did you get Miss Lane’s list?”
“Well…not yet.”
Lily grabbed her coat and despite the cold and snow, strutted down the walkway to where Clark was standing.
“You *promised* you would get it from her. Remember?”
All Clark could do was nod.
“Here. I’ll show you which one is her room, and you can get her list. Then you can tell Mrs. Harper goodbye and leave.” She grabbed Clark by the sleeve and marched him toward the room that was his and Lois’s. When they reached the door, Clark simply stood there.
“Go ahead, Santa. Knock on it. She knows you’re coming ’cause you told her you would.”
“Uh…okay. But you should get back to your room because it’s freezing out here. You don’t want to get sick at Christmas, do you?”
“Not until you knock on the door. I want to be sure you get Miss Lane’s list.”
Clark sighed. Santa Claus had the same image to live up to as Superman – he was a man of his word. So raising a hand, he rapped lightly on the door. Moments later, the door was flung open and he heard Lois ask “Did you forget your key?”
When she saw who was standing at her door, Lois blushed. “Of course you didn’t forget your key because you don’t have a key. What are you doing here, Cla…uh…Santa?”
“I made sure he came to get your list,” Lily announced proudly. “Did you get it written down yet?”
“I…uh…I…was working on it.” Lois gestured faintly toward the interior of the room.
“You better hurry, ’cause Santa has to leave.”
“And you should be in bed, young lady. Does your mother know you’re out here with this…this…Santa?” Lois’s irritation was obvious.
Clark kneeled down and faced Lily. “You run along back to bed now. You know Santa can’t bring any toys until all boys and girls are asleep. And don’t worry; I’ll make sure Miss Lane makes her list.”
Lily gave Santa a hug and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “G’night Santa. Drive carefully. And g’night Miss Lane. I hope you get what you want for Christmas.” She skipped back to her room, pausing in the doorway to wave one last goodbye to Santa, and then closed the door.
“Bossy little thing, isn’t she?” Lois snarled. “When she gets started on something she’s like a mad dog.”
Clark still stood in the doorway, one hip against the frame. He quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned. “Mad dog? I thought she was kinda cute. She keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure.”
A sudden gust of wind blew through the doorway causing Lois to shiver. “I’d ask you in, Santa, but I’m not sure it’s proper for a single woman to invite Santa into her motel room.”
“Oh, I think it’s probably okay. Santa has an impeccable reputation. He’d never take advantage of a lady. And besides, he’s going to look pretty silly waiting out here in the snow while you make out your Christmas list.”
Lois stepped back into the room and gestured for Clark to enter. “You don’t really expect me to make out a list, do you?”
“Of course I do. I promised I’d get your list.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Clark. That was just something you said to get that little storm trooper to go home. I have no intention of making out any Christmas list, so you can stop worrying about keeping your promise. That promise doesn’t count.”
“A promise always counts, Lois. Santa Claus stands for truth and….”
“…justice?” Lois finished the sentence. “Like Superman?”
“In a way, yes.” Clark was not anxious for the conversation to veer off onto the subject of his alter ego, so he attempted to swerve it back in the other direction. “But Santa has been around a lot longer. He’s a symbol of hope and belief and the spirit of giving. And you’d better stop stalling, Lois, because Santa promised to get your Christmas list; and he keeps his promises.”
“Maybe *your* Santa did,” Lois’s voice cracked. “Mine didn’t.” Clark watched as a tear slipped down her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Lois.”
“What do you have to be sorry for, Clark? Your parents made Christmas wonderful for you. They supported your childhood innocence and nurtured it. I hated Christmas because it forced my family to be together and my parents’ anger ran rampant. They didn’t seem to care that two little girls were caught in the crossfire and that their hope and belief was shattered.”
Clark watched as Lois turned her back to him and began to sob quietly. He quickly pulled off the Santa hat, wig and beard and walked to the bathroom for a box of tissues. He pulled out a handful as he returned to Lois’s side. Cupping her chin in one hand, he tipped her face upward, gently wiped the tears away, and then pulled her into a one-armed embrace, pulling the pillows from underneath the costume with the other hand. When there was no padding between him and Lois, he put both arms around her and held her closely. He rubbed her back softly and laid his cheek her hair. “It’s okay, Lois. It’s okay,” he murmured to her.
“I wanted to believe, Clark. I really did. They j…j…just made it so hard.”
“Let it go, Lois,” he crooned to her.
“I never got to be a little girl. I was always the older daughter, the older sister, the one who took care of things when Daddy was gone or Mother was drunk. I remember one year I sent a letter to Santa and I asked for a doll and a tea set. And what did I get? A Mr. Skeleton and a chemistry set,” she sniffled. “I learned the hard way that it didn’t matter what I asked for; I got what my father wanted me to have. And after he moved out, he would just send a check. Mother wasn’t much better. She would buy us something practical like underwear and socks, and eventually she went the check route too. Her excuse became that she didn’t know what I wanted. Didn’t care was more like it. And would you believe that one time when she was upset with me about something, she actually told someone that I was daddy’s daughter by his first wife? My god, she *was* his first wife!”
Clark dabbed at her tears again. “You’re an adult now, and you’ve got to let go of all this pain and hurt. You can’t change the past, no matter how much you try to wish it away. You can only change what’s ahead. Just let it all go.” He pulled her close again as she wept.
As Lois’s sobs subsided, Clark became aware of the radio playing in the background. As a familiar lyric started, he began to move slowly, gently urging Lois into the dance.
/Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies
Well I’m all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I’m not a child
But my heart still can dream
So here’s my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need
CHORUS
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list/
“Listen to the words, Lois,” Clark whispered in her ear as he continued to hold her.
/As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree
Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list
What is this illusion called
The innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief
Can we ever find the truth
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my Grown-up Christmas List (c)/
The song ended and Clark released Lois from his embrace. He reached into his pocket to retrieve the sprig of mistletoe given to him earlier and held it over her head. Love and caring showed on his face, and Lois reacted with a look of sheer panic. Slowly Clark leaned toward her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. Taking her hands in his, he asked softly, “What is on your grown-up Christmas List, Lois?”
Lois felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. Tonight she’d done a lifetime of crying over a childhood of hurt. The panic left her eyes as she realized that Clark understood. He *really* understood everything.
“My list has one thing on it, Clark. I want love — not necessarily romantic love, but unconditional love and acceptance. No strings, no catches, no fine print. Just someone who will accept me for what I am. Someone who will listen to me – I mean really listen – and understand what drives me and motivates me. Somebody who won’t feel threatened by me.”
Lois paused and took a deep, shaky breath. “And if somewhere in there I find romantic love, that’s great. If not, at least I’ll have someone who likes me for me.”
She walked to the window, pulled aside the curtain and stared out into the winter night. “Is that too much to ask, Clark?”
<If she only knew,> Clark thought as he grabbed the Santa hat and placed it back on his head.
Stepping behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “No, Lois. It’s not too much to ask for at all. And I have an idea that it’s out there for you where you least expect it. So don’t stop looking.”
“You think?” she asked, her voice cracking.
Clark turned her around to face him. “Santa *knows*,” he answered with a wink. “And Santa also knows it’s time for good little girls and boys to get to sleep. You take the bathroom first.”
Lois washed her face, brushed her teeth, and slipped into the borrowed nightgown. She opened the bathroom door slightly and peeked into the room. Clark was on his hands and knees, making himself a bed on the floor with a pillow and the extra blanket.
“Uhm…I’m finished in the bathroom. It’s all yours.”
Clark scrambled up off the floor, grabbed the pajamas and toothbrush and headed for the bathroom. As he got ready for bed, he heard the creak of the springs as Lois climbed in the bed. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he thought back over the day and shook his head. <What a way to spend Christmas Eve. I’m stranded in a blizzard, can’t get home to my family, and have to sleep on the floor not ten feet away from the most beautiful woman in the world..>
Resigning himself to a night of emotional torture, he cracked the door a bit and called out to Lois. “Are you all settled? Okay if I come on out now?”
“Yeah…uhm…sure.”
Clark opened the door all the way, turned out the bathroom light, and walked across the room to his place on the floor.
“Clark?” Lois began hesitantly.
“Yes?”
“I…uh…don’t…uh…want you to take this the wrong way, but….” Lois began to blush.
Clark quickly checked himself to make sure all his buttons were buttoned. “Is something wrong, Lois?”
“No. Well, yes. It’s nothing really wrong, but I hate the thought of you sleeping on that cold, hard floor and I…uhm…thought….”
“I don’t mind. Honest. You know how tough we Kansas boys are,” he joked.
“Yeah, I know. But it just seems silly for you to sleep on the floor when there’s half of a perfectly good bed here going to waste. And it’s going to get really cold and if we are both in the bed and use all the blankets we’ll both stay warmer and I certainly don’t want to be responsible for you having a backache on Christmas and…and….” Lois’s jabbering stopped in mid-sentence.
“And?”
Lois took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And…I’ve been thinking back over today and I think I made a mistake on my Christmas list. I’ve realized that I already have someone who likes me for me and accepts me unconditionally and listens to me and doesn’t feel threatened and would never take advantage of me – no strings, no catches….”
“No fine print?”
“None at all,” Lois whispered. Lois drew back the covers on the empty side of the bed and patted the mattress gently. “How about it, farmboy? Think it would ruin your tough-as-nails reputation if you slept in a bed just this once?”
“Are you sure? Really sure.”
“More sure than I’ve ever been about anything.”
Clark scooped up the blanket from the floor and spread it across the others. He sat on the edge of the bed and fluffed the pillow before he laid it next to Lois’s. He slid his legs under the covers, laid his head back on the pillow, and pulled the blankets up around him.
Lois rolled over, facing him, and pulled the sprig of mistletoe from under her pillow. She held it over Clark’s head and smiled before quickly leaning over and kissing him softly on the lips. Just as quickly, she moved back to her side of the bed.
“Goodnight, Clark. And Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Lois.”
And a very Merry Christmas to FoLCdom. 🙂
(c) Grown-up Christmas List
by David Foster and Linda Thompson Foster