The Chronicles of The Trinity on Earth-10: Part One - Superman

Chapter Four: The Lane To A Proposal, Part Two

Lois Lane's Condominium | Metropolis, New York
Friday, June 1, 2018 | 18:34 EDT

Lois did it. She called her parents and her sister with me there, and we set a meet time: Today at seven in the evening. Though, she told her mother to come at eight, because apparently, her mother likes to show up an hour early, during the time at which nothing is actually ready. So, to prepare, I went to the farmers' market to get some prime-cut steaks, fresh red-skin potatoes, unshucked corn, whole green beans, red onions and portobello mushrooms, and three bottles of some really good, nicely aged, sweet red wine. Then I went to Patterson's Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio, and picked up an apple pie, a cherry pie, and a dozen apple fritters.

What I didn't get from Patterson's, I'm cooking. Yeah, see, Lois and I have a bit of an understanding in regards to if we're together and one of us has to cook. She can't cook. She admits it. Last time she tried to cook something for us, before I told her my secret, I ended up having to come to her condo as Superman and extinguish her kitchen! And then I came back as Clark and we ended up having to order takeout until she could replace everything she accidentally destroyed. So the arrangement is that she takes care of the straightening up and setting of the table, and I do the cookin'. Things are much safer that way.

So, now, I'm in Lois' kitchen cooking this food--while she gets ready, listening to the gospel song Trust In You by Anthony Brown & group therAPy (a fitting song for her frame of mind, right now)--'cause I figure who can go wrong with steak and potatoes, right? And as everything simmers, I go to Lois' bedroom, where she's getting ready and knock on the door, and she tells me to enter. But when I open the door, I close it back immediately, because while I thought she was somewhat clothed, it turns out she's quite completely in the raw.

"Dammit, Lois!" I cry out, shutting my eyelids as fast as I possibly can. "That's not funny!"

"Oh, relax, Smallville, it's not like you've never used your x-rays on me before. Think of this as getting the same result from doing less work."

"Lois, I don't use my powers to peep," I say through the door. "That would be wrong. Besides, I'm a gentleman, and every time I scanned you in the past was to see if you were injured or not. I will only use my powers on you like that only once we're married, but until then, get a towel or somethin' on!"

"You really are a Boy Scout, aren't you? Fine, you big baby, get your ass in here."

I sneak a small preview to see if she's actually covered, and upon seeing that she in fact did put on a robe, I open the door and tell her, "Uh, listen, I was just going to tell you that I was going to stir up everything and then I'll be back in a minute to go and get something nice to meet your folks in."

"But don't you live, like, five blocks awa--That's right. Superman, super-speed. Okay, I'll be here."

"Alright," I say, and quickly-but-carefully, I stir everything up, flip the meat, and then I go back to my own spacious apartment and get a nice, dress-casual outfit out of my closet. Then, I fold my clothes up, lock my apartment back up, and get back to Lois' condo, and stir everything up again.

18:46 EDT

Just as the last of the food is ready and on the table, which Lois set, we hear a knock on the door and I use my x-ray vision to see who it is through the door. "It's your mama and your sister, LoLo," I tell her softly.

"Just a minute!" she calls out.

She runs over to me and whispers, "I'm not sure I can do this, Clark. What if things go sideways?"

"Then I will be right here with you, to put it right back on track, my love," I whisper back to her in response. "You can do this. We can do this, together. I have faith in you, and I have faith in us."