August 2-Smallville, Kansas
"Hello?" Clark said as he answered the phone.
"Hey, Clark. How're you and Amber?"
"Hey, Perry. We're okay. I'm working on that article right now. It should be done in a few hours."
"Take your time. I just wanted to check in with you. I know you're trying to help out your family, but do you know when you might be back?"
"We'll be back on the 22. We just want to help my cousin adjust on her first day of school."
"I understand."
"How are things over there? Is Morgan Edge still trying to buy us out?"
"About that..."
"What?"
"We're going to take the deal."
"Perry, you can't do that!"
"I have no choice. We'll go broke if I don't. Trust me, I wish there was another way."
"There's always another way."
"I wish I had your optimism, Kent. You guys take care. We'll talk soon."
He hung up and sighed loud enough to get your attention from down the hall. You walked into the room and put your hands on his shoulders.
"Writer's block?"
"I wish that was the problem."
"What's wrong?"
"Perry's gonna sell."
"What? He can't do that!"
"He's already made up his mind."
"There has to be something we can do."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. But we can't just give up."
"We'll figure something out."
"We always do."
✰
"Wait, how do I hang up?" Kara asked.
"The red button." Clark pressed it for her.
"Kryptonian tech is so different. This is all so new."
"You'll get the hang of it."
"It just beeped."
"David texted you."
"It's a face."
"That's an emoji."
"A what?"
"See?" He scrolled through all the emoji's.
"So many options."
"You have fun with that."
He got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. You were sitting at the table on the phone.
"There he is. I'll call you later. Thanks again." You hung up and got up to kiss his cheek.
"Hey."
"Did you know that you have the best wife in the universe?"
"I did know that. You gonna tell me why?"
"I just saved The Planet! Well, not the planet, but you know what I mean."
"What are you talking about?"
"I was talking to Bruce, and I mentioned our little problem, he said he'd be happy to donate some money to out buy Morgan Edge!"
"What?"
"I know! Isn't this great!"
"You asked bruce for money?"
"Technically he offered."
"We can't take millions of dollars from him. Call him back and tell him thanks but no thanks."
"No."
"No?"
"He's offering to help us. 15 million is change to him."
"15 million? Amber, we're not taking all that money."
"Well, he's not exactly running short of it, babe."
"We'll figure something else out."
"Oh my God. You're scared."
"I'm not scared."
"You're intimidated by the fact that you need help."
"I'm not. I've never been ashamed to ask for help. That sounds more like Bruce."
"You're more like him than you think."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that your ego can't handle asking him for money to save our jobs."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You would rather sit here and do nothing than fix this."
"We're not taking the money, Amber. Just leave it alone."
"What the hell is the matter with you? Why are you trying to make things more complicated when there's such a simple solution right in front of you?"
"We don't take handouts!"
"It's a donation! Who knows what Edge would do once he buys The Planet! He'll probably fire half of us and replace us with interns!"
"We don't need other people's money to fix our problems!"
"Fine! Be a coward!"
"I am not a coward!"
"Well you sure are acting like one!"
He tightened his jaw and held his breathe before walking out of the kitchen.
✰
"And she called me a coward!" He complained to his mother. "Can you believe that?"
"Well, are you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why won't you take the money?"
"Because Kents don't take handouts!"
"Where have I heard that before?" He smirked.
"Dad taught me that from a young age. He always got himself out of trouble without taking money from people."
"That's true. He was a very honorable man. But that stubbornness also cost us a lot of hardship. We were late on bills, mortgages, care notes, all because he would accept help."
"but it all worked out in the end."
"Yeah, but we paid for it. Literally."
"Everyday I wake up and my goal is to make him proud. I wanna be the kind of father and husband he was."
"You are so much like him you don't even know. But you're not him. You're you. You don't have to do everything he did."
He sat next to her on the couch and sighed.
"I wish he was still here."
"I do too. But he wouldn't want us to spend our days mourning over him. Our tears won't bring him back. But he lives on in our memories and in our hearts."
"How did you get so wise?"
"Years and years of experience, dear."
"Can you give me some advice then?"
"Yeah. Go make up with your wife."
✰
You stood on the porch looking up at the stars with a glass of wine. It had been a few hours since your argument with Clark. You silently sipped the wine and sat alone with the night sky.
"Hey." Your husband softly smiled as he walked outside.
"Hey."
"It's beautiful out here."
"Sometimes when I'm stressed or I get writers block, I come out here and stare at the stars. You can't see them in the city."
"No, you can't."
"I'm sorry I called you a coward. You're not. You are the bravest person I know."
"It's okay. I'm sorry I got so upset. I should've just told you how I felt."
"And how's that?"
"When I was growing up, we'd sometimes struggle with bills or other payments. And no matter how hard it was to get the money for it, my dad never asked other people for money or took a handout. He didn't believe it getting things the easy way."
"You're not your dad."
"You're the second person to tell me that today."
"It's true. He did things his way, and it worked for him. But this is a whole different ballgame."
"I just wanna be someone that he would be proud of."
You turned to him and grabbed his hand.
"Clark, your dad would be so proud of you. I'm so proud of you."
"You are?"
"Of course. You're an amazing man, husband, father, coworker. You inspire me everyday. Dare I say, you're my hero."
He smiled and kissed your forehead before hugging you tight.
"I texted Bruce."
"Yeah?" You asked hopefully.
"Yeah. The offer is still on the table."
"You'll do it?"
"Like you said. I'm not my dad."
"love you."
"I love you too."