Triad: A Three Way Love Story

by Clairissa SinClair

  Wiping up the mess I made I asked, “Whose Abraham?”

  Mick answered first, “He was a friend of ours from the Corp. Abraham Gentry. Six foot five inches of muscle and heart. Best man I ever knew. He had his mom ship him boxes full of those little bean bag animals, made her hunt for them at garage sales and stuff. He carried them all over every shit hole, war torn country we visited and gave them to little kids. Some little kids never had a toy before. He visited hospitals and saw kids who’d lost their legs to land mines and stray bullets or just scared little kids to lost their families to insurgents.” Grey nodded thoughtfully, “I asked him once why he did it and he told me that if he could change the way one kid thought about Americans he might save a life one day. That and he loved making a kid smile.” “He sounds like a wonderful man”, she smiled.

  “He was. The best. A few years ago he was home, visiting his mom in LA. Walked in on a robbery in progress. A bunch of punks had pistol whipped the old man and were kicking the crap out of the old lady that ran the bodega. He took out three of them before one of them shot him in the throat. He bled out but not before he broke the kids arm.”

  “Oh my God. That’s awful..” Mick wiped a tear out of his eye, “He was. I miss him. I still have one of his little bean bag babies. It’s a blue elephant.” Grey nodded his head, but I could see the tears in his eyes too, “Abraham Gentry was a legend.”

  “That’s perfect then.” “You want to name him Abraham?” “We’ll name him Gentry. It’s a little more unique.” They both nodded. “Gentry is a great name. I like it.” “Yeah, me too. Let’s do it.”

  “So is it going to be Gentry Cantrell Caporillo or Gentry Caporillo Cantrell?” “You sure you don’t want him to just have your last name? Gentry Hamilton?” I shook my head, “No, my father doesn’t deserve to have his family name carried on. He is a douchebag.” Grey nodded his head, “mine doesn’t either, so I’m going to be honored for him to have Cantrell as his middle name.” Mick shook his head, “I’m not so sure I want him to be a Caporillo anymore. Tony Caporillo wasn’t my dad and he was an asshole too. To be totally honest, I’ve been thinking about changing my last name. About taking my dad’s name.”

  That was unexpected. I knew that they were definitely getting closer and tentatively building a relationship, but I never thought he would change his name. I’m sure Mama Belle will lose her fucking mind.

  “So you are proposing Gentry Cantrell Chacon?” I asked. He nodded slowly, “Yeah, I actually talked to a lawyer a few days ago.” I nodded. Grey nodded.

  Our boy has a name.

  Chapter 40--Grey

  Today is the grand opening of Triad, and, truth be told, I am scared to death, although I’ll never admit it out loud. Joss has planned this down to the last detail. All we have to do is show up and fix bikes. The parking lot is alive with action. The stage is set up, along with iron bar cages for the go-go dancers. I have no fucking idea where you would ever rent cages, but leave it to our girl to find them. The food trucks are pulling in now. Vendors and crafts people and a few bike sales people are setting up their tents, too.

  Joss and Bryce are running around with clipboards and water bottles, yelling directions at everyone. I am pretty sure Mick is as freaked out as I am. “Grey, baby, grab these boxes for me. They need to go inside to the retail store. They’re ladies tank tops. Do you mind?” I kissed her. She melted into my arms and I patted our son. “Got it. Anything else, ma’am?” She was already off and running after a food truck that needed to move back about ten feet to be even with the rest of them.

  Mick was already inside the store assembling a tire display. “Can you believe all of this stuff?” he gestured around the store. It didn’t look like a big space when we moved in, but Bryce had done a great job organizing it and maximizing our use of space. One corner was ladies tank tops that he and Joss had designed. They were, as they described them, “Pretty Damn Hot”, which was the name on the label that they had created. They were skulls with jewels, daggers with jeweled blood drops, fanged spiders with black jewels, snakes with green jewels...basically scary things with pretty sparkle. The men’s shirts had the Triad logo on the back and a hot semi-naked chicks on motorcycles on the front. They all had catchy double-entendre phrases, like “Take good care of your best girl”, “Ride her hard but practice regular maintenance”, “Share you your wife, maybe, your bike never.”

  “Nope, I can’t believe any of it. I just hope people show up.” “Shit Grey, have a little faith. We’ve got this.”

  An hour later the parking lot was packed with bikes from all over. Some of the local MCs and our regulars were there to show support, listen to good music and show off their rides. Others happened to be just riding by or headed to local pubs and stopped in. Neighborhood folks stopped by for food and balloons and just to see what we’d done with the old station.

  The local press took pictures of the three of us in front of the sign. The business editor interviewed each of us individually. “This shop has been my dream for more years than I care to mention. It took our girlfriend’s skills and tenacity to make it a reality, though.” I hoped I didn’t sound like a schmuck. I excused myself to plug a tire for a weekend warrior type rider.

  “How much do I owe you?”

  “No charge. Just stop back in if you need any work done.” I slapped the guy on the back and he shook my hand. “Definitely!”

  Joss hobbled over, happy and exhausted. “My ankles are gone. I have cankles.” She sat down on the picnic table next to me. I pulled her feet up and slipped off the sandals that were leaving red marks all over them, and gave her a massage. “That feels so good.”, she moaned.

  Mick joined us, bringing along his mom. She still was blissfully unaware that Mick knew who his dad was, or that our girl is the one that told him the truth. Joss looked nervous and whispered to me, “Damien is on his way here.” Fuck.

  “So you did a pretty good job, Joss. How’s the baby?”. “He’s fine. Thank you, Belle. Where’s Sammy?” “Club business. Not here. Bug and Stone are here somewhere.” “Yes, I saw them earlier.” Joss casually handed Mick her phone, opened to the message that said Damien was on his way there with some of his guys. He looked panicked too.

  “Ma, you and I have to talk. We should probably go someplace private.” It was too late. Fourteen riders from Chaos with Ambush leading the pack, rolled in. There was no way to miss their entrance. Her face flashed anger and shock and, in an instant, she knew that he knew the truth. “Jesus, who let the fucking trash in here? Really, Mick, you need to be pickier about your clientele. Get that fucking Mexican piece of shit the fuck out of here.” “STOP!” I’d never heard Mick raise his voice to his mother until then. “Belle! Shut the fuck up. You’re talking about my father!”

  Welp, that cat was out of the bag in a big loud way. “You were never supposed to know that!”, she hissed. I wasn’t sure if she was going to cry or start screaming. “Well I do. He’s my dad. I’m ok with it. It’s all good. Keep your mouth shut Belle. I’ll never EVER forgive you if you don’t.”

  Across the parking lot, Ambush could see that they were having words, but there was no way he could have heard it over the music and engines.

  Belle looked at him across the crowded parking lot, then she looked at Mick. “You ungrateful fucking asshole. I raised you. He didn’t. I should yell his dirty little secret from the rooftops. I should put a full page ad in the paper. Fuck him and fuck you.” Mick grabbed her by the upper arms and shook her a little, “Listen to me Belle. I love you. I appreciate everything you have ever done for me, but you need to think long and hard before you do anything, or say another word. If you open your mouth today or any other day in the future, I will be done with your forever. You will not see me. You will not see my son. You have secrets too. I’ll spill all the dirt. Just walk away and cool off.”

  Belle looked torn before having one of her patented screaming tantrums, or maybe just crying. She surprised us all and turned and w
alked away, disappearing in to the crowd quietly. “I got this”, I followed her.

  Belle darted through the crowd and around the back of the garage. I picked my way through and caught up with her. She was leaning against the wall between the dumpster and oil recycling bin, tears rolling down her face. She quickly wiped her tears when she saw me, “did you come to gloat? Maybe rub it in a little, Grey? Go ahead. Kick me when I’m down.” She pulled a joint out of her purse and toked it up. “Nah, just wanted to make sure you’re ok.” I leaned against the wall next to her while she took a long hit and slowly blew out a cloud of sweet smelling smoke.

  “How long has he known?” I figured we were past the bullshit stage so I told her the truth, “a few months. Took him awhile to come around to actually talking to him.” She nodded slowly and took another hit, “I hated him for not wanting me. He always wanted our son.” I took the joint from her and took a small hit, it had been years since I had imbibed in any weed, “You can’t help who you love Belle. Damien is a good guy. He’s trying. Just let it be.” I exhaled and she took her joint back. “He didn’t violate your agreement, by the way. He wasn’t the one that told Mick. You still have to keep your end up and be quiet.” “Who was it?” “Does it matter?” “Shit, it has to be the baby mama or you’d tell me.”

  I turned around and faced her, “Belle, fucking listen. Joss is with us and she is staying with us. Damien is Mick’s dad and our baby’s grandfather. You are his only grandmother. Please, please, let us be a family. A totally non traditional Triad family. Be Gentry’s grandma. Bake cookies with him. Take him to the park. Read him bedtime stories. Be a part of his life. We all want that, but for it to happen, you have to let this go. It was almost three decades ago. Let it be.”

  She nodded slowly and walked away from me.

  Chapter 41--Joss

  Bryce and I sat slumped down on the sofa covered up with fleece blankets eating ice cream out of the carton, my swollen feet and ankles were propped up on a pillow on top of the coffee table. The television is on but we’re not really paying much attention to the cooking show on the screen. Grey and Mick had dropped me off a few hours ago. I was exhausted but exhilarated with the success of the opening and couldn’t sleep.

  “Your toes look like sausages.” “Gee, thanks for pointing that out asshole.” “Seriously, is that supposed to happen? Do you need a doctor? Are they going to explode or something.” I squirted more canned whipped cream on the top of my pint and added a few squirts of hot fudge sauce. “Yes, toes explode all the time on expectant women. Like zits.” “Ew. Just ew.”

  I set the carton on my belly and reached for the remote. The baby moved and the carton jumped a bit. “Did you see that?!?” “Holy shit, let me feel”, Bryce put his ice cream down on the coffee table and spread out both hands over my belly. We both waited silently until it happened again, “Yes, that’s it. You can feel him now.” Tears instantly welled up in my eyes. Mick and Grey should have been here. They should have been the first ones to feel our son’s tiny kicks and backflips.

  Bryce hugged me and I cried. Ogre sensed my stress and put his big black muzzle in my lap and licked my hand. “Joss. I love you. You are my best friend forever, but it’s time I kick you out. You need to go home where you belong.” I sniffled and nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Get me an Uber. I’m going to pack a few things.”

  All of a sudden I had all the energy in the world. I tossed some clothes and my toothbrush in a bag along with the photo from my nightstand and my prenatal vitamins. I grabbed Ogre’s leash and snapped it on. Bryce was waiting by the door with my purse. “He’s on the way. It cost you extra to transport Cujo.”

  I hugged him like I was never going to see him again. “Be happy mama.” “I promise”.

  The Uber driver’s name was Earl and he was really annoyed that I had a monster sized dog. I gave him forty extra bucks in cash to shut up and get moving, which was against the rules. He still wasn’t into the idea until I started to cry that I had to get home. Another man scared shitless by a pregnant woman’s tears. He relented. The ride felt like it took forever. “Here. Turn here. This is the driveway.”

  As soon as we turned onto the dirt road, I saw that the front porch light was on. It was a beacon calling me home. I wanted to just hop out and run, but I was barefoot. Crap, I was barefoot. I was also wearing dog pajama pants and a hot pink Triad tank top with no bra. To top it off it was cold and my nipples were hard enough to cut diamonds. Oops. I was so excited about coming home I forgot to get dressed.

  He stopped in front of the house and popped open the drunk, handing me my suitcase. I could see the curtains move, and the lights were on inside, so I knew my guys were still up. I dragged it across the front lawn and up the steps. The door opened before I could knock and Grey was there. He was wearing sweats and no shirt and had his reading glasses on, which meant he was sitting in his recliner doing a crossword puzzle. Ogre ran right past him and flopped down on his bed in front of the fire. I handed him my suitcase and said “I’m home.”

  He stood to the side and held his arm out, welcoming me back to the place I never want to leave. Mick was standing at the top of the stairs grinning down on us. I pulled my suitcase across the hardwood and up the stairs, “I’ll just put this in the guest room.” I didn’t want to think I just came back for the unlimited amount of dick. Grey followed me. Mick let me pass, and I hauled my bag down the hall. They both followed me to the door, wordlessly. I opened it up and flipped on the light, expecting to be greeted by the patchwork quilt and comfy bed I had slept in before.

  I dropped me bag with a thud and my hand flew to my mouth. The room had been totally transformed into the a stunning nursery for our baby boy. The walls were painted a pale muted shade of lime green that played off the colors in the bedding we had chosen. The gorgeous crib we had chose together stood in the middle of the room over an oriental rug in shades of blue green and gold. Old framed motorcycle photos from the twenties and thirties covered one wall. A modern floating shelf held a white piggy bank that said “Hog Fund” sat it, along with a blue elephant that must be the one that belonged to Abraham Gentry. The old rocking chair had new teal blue cushions and next to it was a table made out of an antique motorcycle wheel covered with glass. Instead of a rocking horse, there was a rocking Harley next to the dresses. I took the whole room in piece by piece.

  “Well, what do you think?”, Grey asked. I turned around and threw myself into his arms. “It’s perfect. It’s the perfect room for our baby. I love it so much. You guys are incredible!”

  Mick smirked, “You can thank Bryce for the design. We did the manual labor. I made the table.” “It’s beautiful. It’s just so perfect. Just so perfect.” I walked in and looked around at every tiny detail. I picked up the elephant and sat down in the rocking chair, hugging him to my chest. “Perfect.” I said again.

  “What changed your mind, babe?”, Mick asked, kneeling next to me. Stupid hormones. I started to get teary again. “I was eating ice cream with Bryce and the baby moved. You could feel it on the outside. Bryce felt it. I wanted it to be you. You should have been there for the first kick.” I was sobbing now. Grey pulled me to my feet and picked me up.

  “Ok babe, it’s been a long day, your feet are swelled up and you’re exhausted. Let’s put you to bed.” He carried me into his room. The King sized bed had been replaced with a California King and with new bedding and extra pillows, all in turquoise blue paisley. “We did a little more remodeling. Mick’s bedroom is for cooling off or private time or if someone is sick, whatever. This is our bedroom now.” He set me down and pulled open the sheets and duvet so I could climb in. I dropped my pj bottoms first, and just kept on my tank and panties.

  He lifted up my feet and stuffed a pillow under them. They both climbed in next to me, Mick by the wall and Grey on the outside. I took both of their hands and planted them on my belly. It felt so damn good to be home. Gentry must have thought so too, because it didn’t take long f
or him to start wiggling. I moved their hands to the side he was most active. “Oh my God, did you feel that?” “Was that him? Holy shit”. They were both so excited. I was definitely back where we belonged.

  Chapter 42--Mick

  The shop has been open for about four months now. We are unbelievably busy, in fact we just hired our first employee. I met him in the waiting room at the Veterans Administration. He was medically discharged after taking a few bullets in the cat box commonly known as the Middle East. Even though he’s Army, we still hit it off right away. I hired Jack Sharp on the spot. I thought Joss and Grey would be pissed off when I texted them, but they trusted my decision and it’s worked out well. He’s a fast learner and thankful for the opportunity to work.

  Joss didn’t renew her lease on the Thompson Building address, and moved her office to the loft over the shop. She has about sixteen clients now, which is more than she can handle by herself. Bryce has turned into her full time partner and a part time student.

  The name change was finalized a few weeks ago. I dropped the paperwork and my amended birth certificate on dad’s desk. He cried. I cried. Joss cried, but then again, she’s pregnant and cries at the drop of a hat.

  Gentry should be here soon. Not soon enough for Joss. Mama is tired and cranky most of the time. She’s in the kitchen cooking up some scrambled eggs with cheese, which is her current craving, and singing along with a Kid Rock song. I stop in the doorway and watch her wild belling dancing moves. She’s dressed in my “DILLIGAF” t-shirt stretched tightly over her full round belly, and Grey’s boxers. It is sexy AF, and I can’t help but sneak up behind behind her and rub my hands from her ripe belly to her amazing tits. I nibble at her neck because I know it drives her crazy.