The Orphans Series Vol. 1: The Orphans (5 page)

             
Mr. Peterson felt like he was in a corner with two lions slowly walking in. "It is up to my discretion to make hundreds of decisions every day, but not every one of them will be without some misjudgment. Which is not in any way what I am admitting to, but I can assure you that I have already apologized to both students. I have told them that they will be able to make up any assignments with no grade loss and those responsible will be thoroughly punished."

             
Frank nodded. "So, additionally, you understand that neither of us would like to be bothered at work unless there is actually an issue. Am I making myself clear!?"

             
Mr. Peterson took a large deep breath clenching his teeth smiling. "Yes ... and again let me convey to you that this will not be an issue going forward. I appreciate you both leaving E&T to come down here to speak to me."

             
Karen looked at Frank and saw his E&T badge. "Well, what a small world!" She stood, straightened her suit, and headed for the door. Frank followed quickly behind and they both departed. Mr. Peterson collapsed back in his seat wishing there was a back door to his office.             

             
The kids had given up trying to overhear and were making small chat until both parents exited. Unsure if they were in trouble, they did the perfect thing for teens to do: they sat up, shut up and waited to be spoken to. As the office door finally clicked closed, Ellie tried to wait but it wasn't in her DNA. "So, mom ... are we at least going to get to make any last requests or is it straight to the firing squad?"              

             
Karen fought back a smile. Frank stared at Ellie then at Karen, and just kept staring at Karen, waiting for a response. He figured it wasn't his kid to tell not to be a smart ass.

             
Karen looked at Ellie. "Well, honey, believe it or not he came to a very quick conclusion deciding that you two aren't to blame?"

             
Shaun laughed before thinking about it and spat out, "Yeah, it was really quick! We spent all day in detention thinking we'd be in Saturday school."             

             
Ellie looked shocked as Frank lifted Shaun to his feet by his sweatshirt. He flicked him lightly behind the ear and smiled at Karen. "Excuse my son--he is occasionally unfiltered. It's a work in progress, I assure you."

             
Shaun fought back a comment. "Sorry, Ms. Randall. I didn't mean anything by it."

             
Ellie pushed up off the chair and slid on her backpack. "So, are we free to go, mom?"             

             
Frank, thinking quickly that he wasn't done talking to this beauty, tried, "Do you two kids have all the stuff you need?"

             
Shaun thought about it. "How? We've been in detention all day." Ellie nodded in agreement.             

             
"So I'm going to take that as a no then." Frank checked his large, silver watch. "Why don't you two run and get what you need. I have to get back to the office and finish a few things up before I can call it a night."              They scurried off toward their lockers and Shaun pulled at Ellie's sleeve. "Breaking news ... more work. What a shocker. Why not head right back? There's still daylight left."

             
As they headed down the corridor, before they disappeared around the corner, Shaun looked over his shoulder to see his dad leaning in towards Karen, his arm outstretched like a man on the prowl. Karen was smiling back and Shaun was wondering to himself if his dad could make things any more awkward with Ellie. Shaun thought there was nothing like kicking a guy when he's down after being stuck in detention all day. He was in absolutely no rush to get a new mom and really hoped Ms. Randall wasn't a candidate.

****

              Frank was flashing his largest smile asking what he already knew. "So, you work at E&T, Ms. Randall?"

             
Karen smiled brushing the hair from the side of her face. "Well, Dr. Fox, I work in accounting.... And please, call me Karen." She patted his shoulder playfully.             

Frank smiled bigger at the touch. "I work in the research and development department. We're always trying to do something new for the company. And if I have to call you Karen, you need to call me Frank."

              Karen read Frank's signs loud and clear. "Well, Frank, what are the chances of us meeting up for coffee later? You said you still had some work to do.... I'm going back myself after I drop Ellie off."                           

             
"I think your chances are pretty good. I'm in the west wing, lab 562. I'm almost always there, so I'm due for a break, right?"

             
Karen pulled out a notebook from her purse. She pulled a pen out of Frank's shirt making him suck in a deep breath sending chills down his spine. "Well when you're ready for that cup of joe, you call me at one of these numbers, Frank."

             
Frank smiled looking down at his feet and then back up. "You'll be hearing from me soon, Karen...."

****

                            Shaun and Ellie walked through the empty school halls enjoying their freedom. Shaun was contemplating the role of a dad in a teenager's life and was sure they were put on Earth to make a kid's life hell. He couldn't just continue to be a mediocre workaholic dad who was never around. No, he also had to be trying to make the girl he was crushing on his new stepsister. "I'll meet you back in a few minutes, Ellie. I just need to grab a couple books and journals from my locker."

             
Ellie smiled. She knew he kept a journal, and thought it was romantic in a way that he kept track of his thoughts and wasn't afraid to put them down on paper. She was thinking about starting one herself and was giving some thought about maybe how Greg Thompson would get a few pages devoted to it. She hurried with her stuff knowing her mom would be waiting and came up quickly behind Shaun at his locker. "What other kind of trouble do you think we could get into in an empty school?"

             
Shaun just looked around, up and down, and side to side. "If we get our parents called back to school anytime soon my dad would decapitate me. I wish I was kidding."

             
"Well, I guess we'd better get back to our parents. God knows what trouble they're getting themselves into!"

             
Shaun rolled his eyes imagining the things his dad was doing and hoped--no, prayed--that maybe his dad would let this one pass. Of course, only time could tell. They went back to the office, where Shaun saw his dad still leaning in on Ellie's mother, and, to make matters worse, he'd bet money his dad was currently pushing a pink piece of paper in to his khaki pants pocket.

             
Frank saw them approaching and backed up a foot. He looked as if they were caught with their hands in a cookie jar. They both smiled at each other and as the teens approached. "Well, hey! It was great getting to meet you, Karen, and what a wonderful circumstance to do so in."

             
Karen looked taken back for a second.

             
Frank realized his wit went completely unnoticed. "I was being ironic. Sorry ... not a strong suit."

             
Shaun snorted and laughed as he walked back down the hall. He called over his shoulder. "It was nice meeting you Ms. Randall! Ellie, text me later!"

             
Frank jogged to catch up to him. "So, do you know anything about Ellie's mom?"

             
"Well, I know if you decide to date her, my overall feeling about you might reach new levels."             

             
Frank grabbed Shaun and spun him by the shoulders to stare down at him. "Really, Shaun? You know, maybe when you're older you might realize I didn't plan for life to turn out like this. Making plans to move here was something that was meant to make our lives all easier. It's why I took this job and left the service. I'm sorry I wasn't here when your mom got sick. I was called back to active duty, and I was working on soldiers wounded in war. It wasn't like they could release me to come home right away. They had to replace people. The doctors I spoke with told me she would make it through the chemo just fine. What do you want me to say that I haven't already?"              

             
Shaun fought back tears thinking of his mother and pushed his dads hand off his shoulders. "That's the problem, dad! It's been nine years ... what exactly do you think you can do? You don't get it do you? There aren't do-overs in epic parenting failures! You can fall in love again, you can get married.... What in the hell do you think I can do? Do you think she'll be my fill-in mommy? You can't rewind time, Francis! When things are broke, what do you think repeating the same old apologies can do? I know you got called back to the Army, I get it, but try being in my shoes and explaining to a four-year-old who can barely spell 'chemo' let alone deal with his mother having to go through it by herself. She was like a walking corpse with her hair falling out, puking all the time! She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat ... she just laid around crying, waiting for her next session and the taxi to come get us and take us down to the hospital. For years when I slept that's all I've been haunted with. What's the fix for that, Francis!?" He turned and marched off through the car park.             

             
Frank was getting pissed off all over again. He had every intention of being back before the final days of chemo, thinking that there would be plenty of time to take care of his career and his sick wife. He thought that when you're young you always have one more day available. It's the reason his twenties flew by.

             
He started walking quicker, yelling, "Shaun, you wait for me! God damn it, boy! Stop, I said!" He grabbed Shaun by the shoulder spinning him around to face him again and almost spun him off his feet. "Shaun, don't call me Francis! I'm dad, got it? You know that I'd never try to replace your mother. It's not possible. But you can't think that the two of us in that empty house can be healthy. It isn't easy for me either but you need more than just me in your life!"             

             
Shaun broke free, wiping a single tear, and dodged Frank's next attempt at grabbing him. Shaun got his temper from his dad and screamed in a rage at him. "The house wouldn't be empty if you were ever home! I wouldn't be by myself all the time if you weren't always in that stupid lab! I wouldn't be by myself if you were there for me! I don't need you to marry some new woman so that you can pawn me off on her, damn it! Don't think that our annual father-son trips where you teach me to kill things with guns and then gut them are something that is going to make up for the other fifty-one weeks a year I'm by myself! He wiped his face with his sleeve and ran for the doors pushing through them and out into the school commons grounds.

             
Frank rubbed his hands through his hair and shook his head. He looked up at the ceiling. "Do you see what you left me with? Jesus, this would be easier with you here, Marie! Two thick headed people in the same house without a mediator is dangerous!" He smudged away a tear of his own and slowly followed after his son.

****

              Ellie and her mother were walking towards Karen's green sedan. Unsure how to say it, she just told her the truth. "Ellie, I think you should know ... men can be assholes. They think with what's in their pants, and most of the time it doesn't make the greatest choices."

             
Ellie looked at her mom completely confused. "Ew! Mom! Are you talking about Shaun? He's just a friend! Sure, he's cute but--"

             
Karen started laughing. "No! No, not Shaun...! I was saying this won't be the only time you have boys harassing you. Unfortunately, a girl who's going to turn into a knockout is going to have more than one boy hitting on her."

             
"Those boys weren't hitting on me! They were just being stupid! I don't even know if they knew what they were talking about!"

             
"Well, those boys either didn't know any better or were never taught how to talk to a young woman in the first place. There's nothing wrong with Shaun. I didn't mean anything at all about him. Although ... what do you know about his dad, honey?"

             
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Mom, seriously!? There's sixteen thousand people in this town! Is there a reason that you need to hit on my friend's dad? Yes, I know about him, he's some sort of scientist. He used to be a doctor or something in the Army but left to work at E&T. He is single, he is a widower or whatever you call it, his wife passed away like years ago when Shaun was only four or five?"             

             
Karen thought about it and smiled. She was thinking about Frank--doctor, ex-Army, good looking. She'd have to make sure she took him up on that coffee. They got in the car and started the short drive home.

             
"You know I could walk home, mom. I'm sure you need to get back to work."