▸ Column · Contemporary boardroom Metropolis — a syndicated advice column Lex answers between LexCorp meetings.
LEX LUTHOR replies.
Replied to by Lex Luthor, with a rebuttal from Superman.
The letter
My son Declan, 24, just announced he's quitting the master's program I've been bankrolling — mid-semester — to move to Lisbon with a girlfriend of eight months and "figure things out," which seems to translate to pulling pints and going on photography walks. I haven't told him yet that I'm done sending the $800 a month I cover for his living costs, but I'm close. My husband says to let it ride because "he's an adult." But I never got to make extravagant mistakes at his age — I had two kids and a mortgage. Watching him treat a graduate degree like a free streaming trial hurts in a way I can't quite put into words. Am I allowed to say the money comes with the expectation that he's at least attempting a plan, or does wanting that make me a controlling mother who should smile and nod?
Lex Luthor replies
Oh, sweetheart. No. You wrote four paragraphs and the only sentence that matters is the last one — am I allowed. You're not asking whether to stop the money, darling. You're asking permission to stop grieving in private. Granted. Now the real problem: that $800 isn't tuition, it's a subscription, and Declan has quietly rewritten the terms of service while leaving the billing untouched. Lisbon, an eight-month girlfriend, photography walks — and you, underwriting all of it. He gets the freedom and the floor under the freedom. Frankly, why would he stop?
I built LexCorp out of insurance money and a father I don't discuss — no allowance, no Lisbon, no soft landing. People are vastly more capable than the people funding them suspect. Your son included.
So: today. Not a lecture, and not a "show me a plan" ultimatum (the instant you demand a plan, you've agreed to negotiate one). One message. "This is the last $800. I love you. Lisbon's on you now." Then close the laptop. He'll rage — fury is the sound a cancelled subscription makes. That's the fee. Pay it once. And your husband, who finds "he's an adult" so easy to say? He isn't the one signing the cheque.
— Lex Luthor
Superman weighs in
Lex, you read everything except the part that hurt. She said she can't "fully articulate" it — that's not a billing dispute, friend, that's grief, and you told her to mail it in a text and slam the laptop.
Stop the $800 if you must; it's your money. But don't do it in silence. Declan should hear the true thing: "Watching you spend a freedom I never got at your age aches, and I've never said so." That's honesty, not control.
And where's your husband? Pa Kent never said "he's an adult" and wandered off — he told me why. Get your partner off the bench and into the room with you.
— Superman
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