The Death and Life of Superman Read Free Page A

did you know where we were going?”
    Now it was his turn to look embarrassed. She found it charming.
    “I, ah, overheard. We’d probably better get going, if we want to avoid any more emergencies.” Superman glanced pointedly back at the boy.
    “Oh. Yes! Yes, of course.”
    “Who’s your day-care provider?”
    “The Little Pitchers Children’s Center . . . on Melrose.”
    “I know the place. Do either of you suffer from acrophobia?”
    “No.” What an odd thing to ask, thought Rosemary. “In fact, Benjamin loves heights.”
    “Fasten your belts, then. This won’t take a minute.”
    Suddenly Superman literally dropped out of sight. For a second, Rosemary wondered if he’d fallen. But then the car gently began to rise into the air.
    “We’re flying, Mommy! Superman is making the car fly! WHEEEE!”
    “Flying . . . yes, of course.” Rosemary was amazed by the even timbre of her voice. Just the same, she clutched the end of her seat belt and cinched it tighter. No wonder he asked about acrophobia! She turned in her seat to see Benjamin bouncing happily in his car seat and trying to undo its harness. “Don’t do that, Benjamin!”
    “Wanna look out the window! WANNA LOOK OUT THE WINDOW!”
    “No, honey. Superman wants us both to stay buckled up. Just sit still and you’ll see—!”
    “Don’t wanna sit still! DON’T WANNA!”
    “Ben!” The boy froze in the seat as his name echoed through the car. Superman’s voice was deep, much deeper than his father’s. The whole car vibrated with the sound. “Do as your mother says!”
    “I will.” Benjamin’s voice was a bare whisper.
    “That’s what I like to hear.” Superman lowered his voice to a more conversational volume. “Your mother wants only what’s best for you . . . it’s important to listen to what your parents say! Understand?”
    “Uh-huh.” The boy nodded almost reverentially.
    Rosemary smiled. They were already descending toward the day-care center. No one at the office will ever believe this, she thought. Not in a million years. “What a baby-sitter he would make!” Her words came out as a wistful sigh, but Superman heard her all the same.
    Coming from a farming family, he knew all about the problems working couples faced in raising their children. The Kents had faced them all, and more. Thank God my powers developed slowly, he thought. Imagine the hell Ma and Pa would have had with a super toddler going through the Terrible Twos! Superman shook his head and smiled. He hoped his folks liked the surprise he’d left for them.
    At that moment, one time zone to the west, Jonathan Kent padded into the kitchen of the old family farmhouse and gave his wife a peck on the cheek as she stood stirring a pot at the stove. “Morning, love. Why’d you let me sleep so late?”
    “It does you good to sleep in, dear. You are supposed to be retired, alter all!”
    “Semiretired, Martha. You ought to know by now that a real farmer never completely retires. I intend to work until I fall over in the field and they plow me under for fertilizer.”
    “Jonathan Kent! What a thing to say!”
    “Well, it makes more sense than pickling a man in formaldehyde and burying him in a box.” He looked down into the pot and made a face. “Oatmeal again?”
    “I thought you liked oatmeal.”
    “I do, but I also like a little variety. Seems like forever since I last had steak and eggs . . . with home fries and biscuits.”
    “Now, you know what Doc Lanning said! You have to be careful with your heart. And it does us both good to eat smarter and cut down on fats.” Martha considered her husband’s sour expression. “I could see about getting some of those egg substitutes at the market.”
    “Can you fry ’em sunny-side up?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “I’ll stick with the oatmeal, then. We got any brown sugar and cinnamon to put on it?”
    “There on the table. I bought raisins, too. Raisins are good in oatmeal!”
    “Uh-huh. The morning paper