"Good People"

Kat heard the light sounds of the invisible jet engine over the brewing thunderstorm. She hurriedly sliced the last of the cucumber and arranged the slices on top of the salads she’d just prepared. Her friend was here for their weekly journal meeting.

She heard a light knock at the door just as she was arranging cracked pepper crackers on a plate. She tossed the empty cracker package into the wastebasket and walked to the door to answer.



“Hey Won.der Woman,” she greeted. “I heard the jet outside. Did you have trouble landing it?”

Won.der Woman came in the door and removed the hood of her leather coat from her head. “No trouble at all, Kat. I landed on the roof of your apartment building. A quick jog down a couple of flights of stairs from the roof, and here I am.” She let out a long sigh.

“Well let me take your coat,” Kat said. Won.der Woman handed her the coat and Kat gently placed it on a hanger and placed it in the coat closet.

“Oh, wait!” Won.der Woman yelled. “Grab my journal from the inside pocket!”

Kat reached into the jacket and retrieved a small leather brown journal from deep within a pocket. It was a new one. Won.der Woman went through a journal a month. It took Kat some three months to fill up a journal. Won.der Woman led an adventurous life, and was the only person that Kat knew that wrote more than she did.

Kat examined the brand new journal. She guided her finger along the gold leaf edges of the pages. “Nice journal, Won.der Woman. Really nice.”

“Yeah,” Won.der Woman agreed. “Got that one last week in Austrailia. Aq.ua Man needed our assistance in an emergency off the coast of Australia. Superman stopped in Sidney on the way back to the Hall of Justice and got it for me. He knows how much I love my journals."

Kat nodded. She didn’t know what to say.

“Uh-oh,” Won.der Woman said. “What’s wrong, Kat.”

Kat massaged her temples with her fingers. She did her best to put on a happy face. “Nothing, Won.der Woman. Nothing at all. Let’s have dinner. The salad is on the table. Let’s eat while the salad is still cold and the chicken is still hot.”

Won.der Woman placed a hand on Kat’s shoulder, stopping Kat cold in her tracks. “Kat―”

“Won.der Woman, let’s just eat, okay?” Kat walked past Won.der Woman and over towards the dining room table. “Let’s just eat.”

“Okay,” Won.der Woman sighed.

They sat down to a light dinner of tossed salad, baked chicken, and French bread. Won.der Woman, a voracious eater, chowed down, while Kat picked at her food, pushing two cherry tomatoes around the bed of lettuce as if she was playing a haphazard game of marbles in a grassy field.

Won.der Woman placed her fork down on her plate. She was still hungry, but she could see that Kat had a lot on her mind. “Kat, does this have anything to do with a certain new love interest?”

Kat looked over at Won.der Woman, then back down at her plate. “Why do you say that?”

“Because, after our journal meeting last week, and that nice entry you read about that new guy friend of yours, what’s his name, Mack, Matt?”

“Mel,” Kat corrected. Her eyes softened at the mere sound of his name sliding from her lips.
“His name is Mel.”

“Okay then, this guy Mel. Does this have anything to do with him?”

“Won.der Woman,” Kat breathed, her voice just above a whisper. “Mel is wonderful.”

“Humph,” Won.der Woman grunted. “This must be about Super.man, then.

Kat said nothing.

“It is about him, isn’t it, Kat?”

“Look, Won.der Woman. I don’t know if I can deal with Sup.erman anymore. I rarely see him, and well, Mel, I talk to or see him everyday. Now, I know you and Sup.erman are good friends and all, and I’m trying to hold on, but I just, I just―”

“Kat,” Wo.nder Woman interrupted. She pointed at her. “Now Su.perman is my friend, and my crime fighting partner. He’s a great guy and I trust him with my life. The man is like a brother to me.”

Kat didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to upset Won.der Woman, so she thought it best not to say anything more.

“He’s good people. He truly is. Has a heart as big as the sun,” Won.der Woman continued. She faced Kat and threw her arm over the back of the chair. “But if he’s not taking care of business, and this Mel fella is? Hey, I’d be running with Mel.”

Kat breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she could tell Wo.nder Woman anything, but some lines just didn’t need to be crossed. It was refreshing to know the Wo.nder Woman could be unbiased about such a touchy issue.

“That’s how I’d look at it, Kat. That’s just me. You know, if you are feeling like you need to be loyal to Sup.erman, then do that. But um, when you got someone who makes you swoon the way
Mel obviously does, you gotta look at your options.

Kat nodded, giving herself time to soak up her friend’s advice. She watched as Won.der Woman examined her nails.

“Won.der Woman, that nail color is nice. What color is that?”

“Fuschia,” Won.der Woman replied. She picked up her fork and started back in on the salad. She always enjoyed a good conversation with Kat, but right now, she was hungry.

“Fuschia,” Kat repeated. “I gotta get a bottle of that. The clear polish I wear is getting old. I need something fresh and new.”

“I bet you do, girl,” Won.der Woman said with raised eyebrows.

Won.der Woman’s comments made her blush.

“Don’t worry, hon. That fuschia polish up in the invisible jet. After dinner and journal sharing, I’m gonna crash on your couch. You take the keys to the jet, my lasso, and whatever else you need and go handle a few of the stealth assignments I have left over from earlier today. I left a list on the pilot seat of the jet.”

“I can do that,” Kat chimed.

“And while you’re out, buy yourself a nice fuschia dress. I’m sure that Mel guy would appreciate it.”

“I can do that too, Won.derwoman! Good idea!”

Return to home post.

Go to Part II: "Fuschia"