The Orphans Series Vol. 1: The Orphans (9 page)

             
He sat there for a while and a new message popped in from Ellie saying: "
Hey better save some of that battery for the rest of the weekend, or you're going to be off the grid completely, hope you guys are having fun, I'm out with Tina and Greg wish you were here.
"             

             
He heard in the distance the loud weekly city tornado sirens going off. Thinking it must be noon, he laughed because it was the most excitement that happened on Saturdays. He read his phone again and the "wish you were here" made his day. He sat back smiling and shot one last message out, saying: "
Hey maybe we can hang out Sunday evening depending on when we get out of the woods.
"

             
After listening to nearly all his music, Shaun looked down at his watch. It had been hours--the time was 5pm. He peeked around the corner of the tree being sure to be quick about it. He didn't want a deer running this way and having his dad blow it to kingdom come. Of course he knew sharp shooter Fox wasn't going to miss and hit his only son, but he didn't want to take a chance. He decided to wait.

             
Eventually Frank stopped thinking, wiped a few tears convinced that if his late wife knew he had a chance to be happy and he could help Shaun by having a mother that she would be fine with him moving on. He went through a grieving period over not being there for her, but was still reminded by Shaun anytime they got into a verbal battle             

             
Frank looked at the sun getting ready to set for the evening and knew that by the time they got back to the cabin that it would be dark. There were mountain lions rumored to roam the hills here. He knew the shotgun would take one out, but didn't want to think about what would happen if one came up from behind or jumped out of a tree. There'd be no way for Shaun to be ready for something like that. He walked up the path. "Hey, killer! You ready to go get something to eat? I'm starved! I should have thrown some snacks in my pack for lunch! I don't know what I was thinking ... I guess I was just too excited to get out here."

             
Shaun looked up at the movement in his peripheral vision and saw his dad's mouth moving. He pulled out his ear buds. "Huh?"             

             
His dad couldn't give him a hard time. He hadn't been paying attention to anything else all day but the thoughts of Marie and Karen, trying to decide how he wanted to let Shaun know exactly what he was thinking, and talk about the changes which were going to be coming soon. He repeated, "You ready to go get something to eat? We better get back before it gets dark. No reason to break out flashlights for a mile walk back if we can avoid it."             

             
Shaun pushed up, grabbed his gun from resting against the tree, and they started their walk back. "I didn't see anything but squirrels and birds all day," he commented. Did you see any when you were up here last month scouting and bringing up supplies?"

             
His dad smiled at how observant his son was even though he pretended how little he really cared. "Well I saw this deer highway, but I didn't see any actual deer.... But where there are tracks you know there's deer! We just need to be patient. We still have Sunday and I'm feeling a little ill, so if we need to then maybe we should stick it out for Monday."

             
"Wait!" Shaun managed, startled. "You're purposely going to miss work? Wouldn't that go against, like, your personal honor code or something?"

             
Frank shook his head. "I'll find a way to sleep at night, I'm pretty sure. I've put some overtime in."              

             
Shaun nodded and sarcastically added, "I have a feeling the Principal would say that you're full of it, and there's a good chance they'd have a heart attack if you mentioned a teenager was using a firearm ... then something about how didn't you know that guns kill."

             
"Yes, guns kill every day, but it's at the hands of the untrained or those too weak to handle life's issues without one."

             
"Geez, Frank! Settle down! I was just pulling your chain!"

             
"I know you're kidding, boy, but there are some things someone should know how to do. Being able to hunt for your own food shouldn't be something that those ignorant teachers are able to complain about, or think lesser of you for. If the world went to hell in a handbag, anyone who couldn't fend for themselves would be dead. No one's going to support a society full of people who can't contribute or are unwilling to take care of themselves."

             
They arrived back at the cabin just as the sun was going down, and brought inside their solar powered lanterns. They hit the power switches lighting up the ten by fifteen foot space. There was plenty of room for two guys, with two cots, a table, and a stove to cook on and heat the building by. If needed, there was a lavatory outside anywhere you chose. Shaun went over and laid out his gear next to the cot, and found a nice big fat log to stuff into the hot embers which were left from burning all day. He grabbed a hot pad and looked at the stew concoction that his dad had made before they left. It was more like a steak mush at this point. It had cooked and boiled and stewed all day long.

             
"How is the stew looking? I could eat a pig's asshole right now I'm so damn hungry!"

             
Shaun looked at his dad. "Please tell me this is our regular stew meal and not the alternative."

             
Frank, taking a minute to enjoy, this tapped a finger on his chin. "You know, I can't remember.... Did I pack pig assholes or beef? I guess we'll have to find out! Better grab a small bowl for your first round of supper, Shaun."

             
Shaun shrugged. "Well, at least you brought a loaf of bread and some fruit cocktail cans."             

             
Frank grabbed the cast iron pot and carried it over to the table. He laid out a couple bowls and filled them to the top. Steam poured out of them along with delicious smells. "Come eat some beef stew, Shaun. Your being hungry, cold and in the wilderness is no fun. We'll save the pig for Sunday breakfast!"

             
Shaun took a big inhale of the steaming stew in front of them and went to take a giant bite of it. His dad stared at him, smiling. "That's some hot food son...! Might want to let it cool off."             

             
Shaun attempted to juggle the food in his mouth finding a spot the scalding hot stew wasn't going to blister, and he finally decided the only thing he could do to save himself was to take a giant drink of water. He chugged a few gulps out of his bottle and made some panting noises. He picked up a piece of bread, tore off a chunk and started snacking on it, waiting a bit more patiently now for the stew to cool.             

             
Frank took a piece of bread and passed it back and forth in his hands. "Shaun, I've been meaning to talk to you, but I figured I'd wait until we got to go on our trip this weekend."

             
Shaun looked up. Questions he kept to himself were betrayed in his eyes, like: Why did you wait? Was it because you were worried about what I'd do if I was home? Would I leave if I was home? Would I hide in my room? He nodded and just stared. If he wanted to talk they would talk.

             
Frank thought maybe Shaun would say something and after a minute of awkward silence he managed, "So you're aware that Karen and I have been seeing each other the last few months, right?"             

             
"Yeah, I know you two are dating. I've seen her leaving in the morning, and you coming home in the morning. I can put two and two together. I'm not a kid anymore, dad."

             
Frank looked at his son seriously. "You haven't been a kid for a long time, bud. I know you see her leaving and me leaving at different times of the night, and I want you to know that isn't the only reason we date.... We truly love each other's company. I haven't been this happy since your mother was in my life, son, but since she isn't I think she would have wanted me to find someone new."             

             
Shaun scowled. "Well, I wouldn't know what she'd want, but she wouldn't want you to replace her."             

             
"Shaun that's impossible! There is no replacing someone you loved and lost, but there is finding someone that you love again. I'd say only by God's good grace that I was able to find someone this wonderful again."

             
Shaun didn't want to make his dad feel bad but he countered, "Don't tell me that you don't know how much I like Ellie! You're putting me in such a messed up situation, dad!"             

             
"Shaun you're going to have girls come in and out of your life. I want to spend the rest of my life with one that I think will be a great mother for you and a wonderful wife for me. Ellie and her mom are two wonderful women. I need you, or at least I want you, to tell me that you're going to be on board, that you're going to be able to handle this, son. I can't make a decision this big on my own. Unfortunately, life sometimes has big decisions. When life goes normally and you don't lose the ones you love, then you don't ever have to ask your son for their permission to marry someone."

             
Shaun just stared at his dad. "Married!? You're going to ask her to marry you already!? I just thought.... Well, hell! I don't know what I thought you were going to say! I can't believe you're going to marry her! Jesus, dad! And how dare you tell me I will have all these girls in my life! Ellie is wonderful! She won't have anything to do with me as a boyfriend because your intentions are to make her my freaking sister!"             

             
Frank hadn't realized, of course, how deeply his son felt for her. "Shaun, I had no idea this is what was going through your head. Why didn't you say something before now?"

             
Shaun threw up his hands in disgust. "When would I tell you, with all the hours you put in at the lab and all the time you spend with Karen? Well, hell, this is probably the first time we've spent together since the Principal's office, or Christmas when they both came over! But I wouldn't really call that father-son time!"

             
Frank slammed his hand down on the table hard. "Look! You need to relax! I'm sorry you have a crush on a girl you think you want to date. Life isn't about what ifs. It's about what you do, not what you daydream about! Life is too short--you need to grab what you want in life and take it by both hands! It's not likely that I'm going to stop seeing Karen, so I don't really have an answer for you with Ellie, but you're a smart kid and I'm sure you'll figure something out."

             
Shaun put his head down, and started eating his stew and bread. His dad just stared at him, feeling like he was stabbing his own son in the back, but at the same time knew he didn't have that many opportunities in life, and this was one that he was going to take. He thought about continuing the conversation and trying to resolve some issues, but knew there was a good chance he'd just be adding gas to an inferno. They ate the rest of their food in silence and went to their own cots afterwards.

             
Shaun wrote furiously in his journal, trying to think of what Ellie would say when she heard the news. Sadly, he didn't think she would have the same reaction--she liked his dad, more than the memory she had of her own, and he didn't think she was faced with the dating conflict issue.

             
Sunday, the two woke early. Shaun stayed in the cabin until his dad left to go hunt. He wrote the entire morning and packed up all of his gear. He was half tempted to walk down the snow covered hill by himself and wait by the truck. He thought about it and realized, even though he was upset with his dad, not getting a deer this season wouldn't make him feel any better.

             
Frank went into the woods by himself after trying to wake an unresponsive son. He couldn't have felt guiltier having said anything before they got home, unsure why he thought taking him up into the woods was a good idea to break the news. He hoped if they talked it out then maybe Shaun could see it from his point of view. By having a mom in the house, they could feel like a real family, not taking into account how much Shaun cared for Ellie even if it might be just a teenage crush.             

             
Shaun left a note on the table for his dad. It said he would meet him at the cabin at three to head down. He went a mile in the other direction today and found a new set of tracks. He was optimistic he was on a deer highway close to here. He thought about it and sat down, triumphant he'd found his own spot and didn't have his dad tell him where to sit this time. When he had a son of his own one day, they wouldn't be fighting like this, because he wasn't going to date his son's friend's moms. Milfs wouldn't be allowed in his book.             

             
He sat in his spot watching the woods and listening. He didn't pull out his journal or music player today and, for the first time, wasn't bothered by the silence. It was something his dad said would happen over time as he developed into a man. He understood what his dad meant now how the stress of daily life could be silenced when sitting in the woods. He didn't lay his gun down today, but kept it steady in his hands. He listened intently and heard a deer grunting in the distance. He remained perfectly still and silent. He moved slowly and peered his head around the side of the large oak tree and saw a giant buck coming towards him.