Chaos In The Flesh

Chapter 22

Friday, December 30th, 1:12pm

Lois sighed and flopped on the couch. The Christmas tree to the left of the firepit, right in front of her feet, glowed bright with homemade ornaments and rainbow colored lights. A little angel holding a candle leaned a little too far forward on the top of the tree, but still somehow managed to remain on the top. The stockings that Martha had knit for the family hung above the fireplace and were still stuffed Christmas candies and little knick knacks, gag gifts, and chachki. Candles, little figurines, and fake pine branches with pine cones decorated any open surface not being used (on bookshelves, railings, and on the outside of doorways).

Lois closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, enjoying the silence of the house. She and Clark just dropped the boys and Sarah off at the Wichita Airport to fly out to Gotham for their New Year festivities.

Should she have gone with them? Yes. Was she going to buy a ticket now? No.

Yes, the boys were in high school and still should have some sort of parental guidance, but one of them was also invincible and could fly while the other one was just beginning to develop the same powers.

Besides, mama needed a drink and the cheap plane champagne wasn't gonna cut it.

A glass of ice filled almost to the brim with ice sat in front of her, just waiting to be drained. Light footsteps and a soft chuckle made its way down the stairs. Clark, finally in a pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt, walked over to the kitchen and made himself his own whiskey on the rocks. He was quick to join his wife on the couch.

"Can you..." Lois pointed to the fireplace lazily. Clark smiled and quickly zapped the logs with his heat vision. The fireplace and entire room quickly warmed to a more comfortable temperature.

"Thank you." She said, smiling. Clark hummed a "you're welcome", before settling himself into the cushions. He grabbed the tv remote and put on The Nightmare Before Christmas. Even Hollywood couldn't decide if it was a Halloween or Christmas movie.

There was a comfortable silence in the room. One where neither of them needed to speak. And yet, something still needed to be said.

"I feel like a failure."

Lois looked at her husband. His face was so neutral, she almost thought she had heard the voices in her head. But when he turned to face her, she knew that it was his honest and true confession.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, and I didn't know how to express it," Clark said, muting the tv. "I know that having Wonder Girl train our boys is a good idea, but it's a killer for me, Lois. We booted me off to the side because I'm not good enough for our boys. And I didn't want to bring it up, cause I would love a holiday without depression or anxiety, but if I lose one more night of sleep on this, I may just stop sleeping."

Lois set her drink on the table and climbed over to him. After taking the drink out of his hand and putting it right next to hers, she settled herself on his lap and kissed his jaw with light pecks.

"Was I a failure when you were able to teach the boys to ride a bike after an hour when I tried to teach them for a week?"

He shook his head.

"Was your father a failure when he couldn't teach you how to milk a cow so our mother taught you instead?"

He shook his head, tears flailing down his cheeks and getting lost in his stubble. Lois kissed them away.

"Was Jonathan a failure when he tried to teach Jordan football, but couldn't and only managed to pick up the plays when you taught him?"

He shook his head again.