The Orphans Series Vol. 1: The Orphans by M. Evans Page B

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