Son of Krypton, Daughter of Earth

Tempest

Thirty-nine days with Clark on her Earth. Thirty-nine days as Summer ended and Fall began. Thirty-nine perfect days. Thirty-five days since he returned to his Earth. Thirty-five days, each a lifetime without Clark.

She woke up early on the  36th day, and dragged herself out of her lonely bed in her one-person studio apartment. Bootsie had an appointment with the vet. Her life had boiled down to cat butler, office clerk/drudge, and alone in a city bursting with nearly eight and a half million people. None of whom were the one she loved.

Boostie saw the cat carrier in Lexy's hand and leaped to the top of the refrigerator. He knew it usually meant a visit with the vet or some other equally heinous ordeal. Lexy took him down and put him in the carrier. She got her jacket, her purse, a book, and headed to the vet.

After dropping Bootsie off, she walked around the neighborhood, revisiting the places she'd gone with Clark. Clark farewell note told her to have a rich, full life, to be happy, for that would make him happy. I'll try, my dearest, but something of me beyond any star I can reach.

She went to a movie, then got dinner at a diner very like the one she used to visit after work with Clark and Larry. It even had the same burger specials. She stopped in a bookstore, wanting to find something to read that had nothing to do with Superman, other dimensions, or a heart shattered into stardust.

Lexy checked out self-help, mysteries, young adult, and finally selected a crime thriller that looked promising. She lost the fight to avoid comic books and superhero novels. There, on top, was a graphic novel with Lois, Lex Luthor, Lana, and Clark on the cover. Lois and Lex were were getting married by a Justice of the Peace, with Clark as witnesses. Clark and Lana were holding hands. Lois crossed her fingers behind her back. Her thought bubble read, Clark only do I love, but Lex I'll marry to expose his criminal connections. Lex's thought bubble read, Superman can't stay away from Lois. I'll use her to poison him and get rid of him and her snooping forever. Clark's read, You've broken my heart for the last time, Lois. I'll marry Lana right after they leave. Lana's read, Clark is mine at last. I'll make him happy. Lexy took a copy and walked to the register when she spotted a book on stars. She stopped dead and picked up the book. She looked up the constellation Scorpio and checked the pictures. A small checkmark constellation was not visible. She bought a star map and left the store.

By the time she got to the Empire State Building, the first stars glimmered in the night sky. She bought a ticket for the observation deck and rode up to the 86th floor. She walked on the deck. Several people milled around, pointed at various sights, and generally enjoying themselves.

Lexy walked around the deck to the south side and looked until she found red Antares, the heart of Scorpius. She followed the curve of the tail to the Stinger and searched for a long time, but could not see a bird in flight, a checkmark with a red point. She watched the empty sky where it existed in another life, remembering Clark's arms around her, his kisses, and the love that had been theirs in another dimension. I'd probably get a job here so I could look for Eldirao at night in the winter. Oh, my dearest, I hope the sun and moon and stars on your Earth give you more comfort. She shivered; the night was growing cool. With one last look at a night sky with billions of stars that did not hold the one that mattered, she went home.

*

Clark asked, "How am I doing, Barry?" as Barry checked his results on a screen.

"Good, Clark, very good." He looked at the former Kryptonian Superman, now the equal of an Earthman. "How's it going? Work? Are you still thinking of moving back to Smallville?"

Clark nodded. "At least for a year or two. Ma and Pa are getting older. They both need operations for cataracts this year. I want to finish my novel, and work on some other books. I have material I can write about Krypton and the United Planets."