Clark shut the car door, walked around to the back, and opened the trunk. He called to Lois ahead of him, "Maybe we can put your tripod in the trunk. There's still some room here. I still think it's a little dangerous to keep something so sharp inside the car."
Lois turned from the back seat to look through the gap and said, "You wouldn't let us be in danger, would you, Clark? Thank you so much. Without you, I couldn't have finished moving in a week."
"It was nothing." Clark took the bundled tripods from Lois as she opened the door, stuffed them into the gap in the trunk, locked it, and only then headed around to the driver's seat.
Lois sat in the passenger seat as well. Buckling her seat belt, she said, "Congratulate me. I finally got away from that awful editor-in-chief too. When you left, I knew I wouldn't last long there."
"I should be congratulating you on finding a new job you're happy with." Clark started the car and smiled at Lois. "And you rented a pretty nice place. That apartment only costs a little over a hundred dollars a week, and the utilities aren't expensive either. When rent comes due this month, I'll be the one envying you."
Lois slapped her thigh and burst out laughing. Sweeping back her hair, she looked at Clark and said, "Then maybe you could use an inflatable pool to collect water and fly home carrying it."
The engine rumbled. Clark pressed down on the gas, chuckled, and said, "Is that all flying means to you now—getting somewhere faster while carrying stuff? Your old editor really put you through the wringer."
"Don't be like that." Lois patted his arm. "You know how terrible Metropolis traffic is. Every time anyone