I grabbed my purse and locked the door behind me, “let’s go before it gets here.” I headed towards his bike and held my hand out or a helmet. Zane, bless his heart, was still a mama's boy and he knew better than to argue with me. Adjusting my skirt and slipping my sensible pumps into his saddle bags, I climbed on the back. “Did you take care of what we talked about?” I asked him. “Have I ever let you down?” Nope. Never has. We passed the big black car as it pulled into the driveway.
The parking lot of Triad was full and so were the surrounding streets, and the service was still two hours away. Local police were directing traffic. I’m blown away by the sheer number of people and bikes and cars.
There are two massive white tents set up. One is full of row after row of chairs for the ceremony, and the second is a for the food and caterers who will serve lunch afterwards. I am impressed with Gentry for pulling this together, and for a split second, I feel slightly guilty for not riding in the damn limo. Chaos guys are posted at the doors of the shop and the tents as security. Zane allows me to take his arm and he gently leads me into the shop.
My Triad family is waiting for me. Over the years we had hired countless veterans, some disabled, half a dozen homeless guys, and a more than a few convicted felons. We always hired the unhirable. Some stayed, some moved on. At least forty men and women stood in front of me. Most looked pretty uncomfortable in their dress clothes and dress uniforms from every branch of the service. Every single one of them had a story to tell me and I relished every memory they shared with me.
Genty and Aurora were finally there and it was time. I took one last moment to blot my eyes and check my hair in the restroom. “Mama, are you ready?” I opened the door to my little girl’s icy blue eyes that were so much like her daddy’s. She was in her full dress uniform, not a hair out of place. She was so much better at staying composed than I was, just like Grey. Another one of her father’s traits. I hugged her anyway, not caring if I messed her up.
The four of us walked down the long aisle and took our seats in the front row of the big tent. They guys would have been humbled to see just how many customers, local business people, military people and MCs show up to say farewell. Bryce was already seated, along with Gentry’s fiance, Maddy and their little girl Mey, and Zane’s wife Katrina who had Zinnia on her lap. The girls stood and hugged me when I passed them. Bryce held me for a long time. He was still my best friend, and would not be my roommate at the cabin soon. When I sat down, little Mey scrambled off of her mother’s lap and climbed up in mine, wrapping her chubby little arms around me neck and hugging me close.
I forced myself to take in the scene in front of me. Two matching white marble urns were all that was left. The Marine Corp flag was suspended from the ceiling, along with the American flag and a Triad banner. Framed photos of their Marine Corp graduation and one of the three of us, me in the middle of course was blown up to a poster size and illuminated by a single spotlight.
A very distinguished gentleman in full Marine Corp dress blues stepped up to the podium and tapped on the microphone, causing static and screeching feedback. Definitely something Aurora set up. He cleared his throat and straightened up the papers in front of him.
“Thank you all for coming today to pay your last respects to”, he looked down and read off of his paper, “Grey Cantrell and Michael Chicon. Let us bow our heads in prayer”, his voice echoed through the space.
“OH FUCK NO!” I have no inside voice when I’m annoyed, and I am very very annoyed right now. “Shit”, Bryce whispers, anticipating what is about to happen. “Mama, sit down.” Aurora hisses. Gentry just looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I hand Mey back to her daddy, “Sorry baby. This is going down my way.” I take another deep breath and gather my thoughts as I walk up onto the stage. The bewildered chaplin is still standing at the podium, unsure how to proceed. “Thank you, sir. Please have a seat. If you’d like to add something at the end, I’m ok with that, but this isn’t working for me.” He nodded and glanced around nervously, before taking my empty seat in the front row.
I looked around the room and smiled.
“Please excuse the change in plans. I’m truly honored and a bit overwhelmed that so many of you came out today to say goodbye to the greatest men I’ve ever known. Neither Grey nor Mick were religious men. Spiritual, perhaps, but not religious. They were definitely not traditional, by any means so their send off should not be traditional either.”
“A few years ago, I was cleaning out the attic and I found a box full of their military records. It wasn’t something they really talked about, like most heroes. Grey had one hundred and seventeen medals and commendations. He did four tours. Mick did two tours and had twenty two medals and commendations. He was an expert marksman and a combat medic. I sat in the attic, all alone for hours, reading letters and testimonies from people they had rescued or that had bared witness to their acts of heroism under fire. I cried my eyes out that day, then I packed it all back and taped the box up and pushed it back in the corner where they had stashed it for so many years. I never mentioned that I found it. I already knew that they were brave and strong and honest. I didn’t need those letters to know exactly how amazing they were, and they never felt like they had to prove it to anyone.” Several voices from different areas in the tent let out a heartfelt “Oorah”, which made me smile.
“Both Mick and Grey loved their country and were proud to have served. They would have given their lives defending the flag without fear or regret. They loved their family. The kids and I never doubted it for a second, and our extended work family. God knows they loved American made motorcycles and never recovered from betrayal of HD moving out of the country.” Someone towards the back yelled “Amen” and the mourners laughed as a group.
“How many people know the story of how we met? Well, I won’t bore you with details, but I was sitting in a mud puddle crying over a lost job and a lost man, when they picked me up and brought me home for just one night. Thirty-six hours later I was in their bed and ten months later we brought our first son into the world. Mick delivered Gentry on the kitchen floor of the cabin. Aurora came along two years later, and Zane, her “Irish Twin”, just ten months after.”
“I can honestly look back on every moment of my life with Grey and Mick and say, with absolute certainty, that I have no regrets. My life with them has been the happiest of happy endings. There isn’t one single thing I would change. You, know, I honestly woke these last few mornings and wished I had been riding bitch that day. I’m not going to lie to you, my friends and family. So I’m going to ask you all for a favor now. I need your memories to give me the strength to keep going. I need your stories that will make me laugh today. And down the road, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year, when i wake up wishing I was on the back of that bike, I’ll remember your words, and I’ll remember that my guys aren’t really gone as long as they made an impact on your lives as well as mine.” Tears were rolling down my face again and I felt weak in the knees. My eyes found Zane and, like Mick, he knew in an instant that it was a plea. He was beside me in a just a few steps, his arm around me. Gentry followed and I found myself between my sons, but with the same comforting strength that I had always garnered from the presence of their fathers.
Zane helped me to my seat that the chaplin was kind enough to vacate and Gentry took the microphone.
“When I was ten years old, I got off the school bus on the corner, right there, like I did almost every day.” Gentry pointed towards the intersection and smiled at the thought. “I watched Grey fix a transmission and handed him tools, but he knew something was wrong. After about an hour of relative silence, he finally said, “You gonna tell me what happened boy?” I started to talk about the new kid in school. An Asian boy named Joey. I told him how some of my friends picked on him and called him “Charlie Chink” and all sorts of awful names. He never said a word, just listened. By this time, Mick had set down his tools and stood next to us, both of them just l
istening until I ran out of words. Grey said, “and what did you do”. I got really defensive. I told him I didn’t say anything. I didn’t call him names. I didn’t pick on him. He frowned at me and looked me dead in the eye, “I didn’t ask you what you didn’t do, boy, I ask you what you did.” I didn’t really understand what he meant at first. I thought I was doing the right thing by not being a bully. Mick chimed in and said, “So letting it happen is ok? Letting some kid get picked on and ripped apart because he’s different is alright to watch?” I must have still looked confused or something, so Grey, who my mom has always called “the voice of reason” straightened my ten year old ass out. “Letting it happen and standing by with your thumb in your ass makes you just as guilty as they are. You had the power to stand up to them and you chose not too. That’s disappointing.” Up until then I had never, ever disappointed my parents. Mick nodded and added, “if you’re doing what you believe is the right thing, we will always have your back.” The next day, I sat at Joey’s table at lunch and I punched Brady Carter in the nose for calling him Charlie Chink. Joey Chan is still my best friend and he’s also my business partner, and former MMA Middleweight champion.” He turned to the matching white marble urns, “thanks dads...for always steering me back in the right direction when I lost my way.” He kissed his fingers and touched each earn, before sitting down by his sobbing wife and hugging his gorgeous little girl who was named for her grandpas.
Aurora Belle stood up and walked towards the podium with perfect posture and complete dignity. “I can’t believe I’m going to tell all of you this story, but it is one of my fondest memories. The first time I got my period, I was in the sixth grade. The school nurse called Triad and told them what was going on and that I needed to go home to change my jeans. It turned out that my mom was at some community business event for the day, so it was up to my dads. They dropped everything and picked me up at school. It had been like forty five minutes since the nurse called and I was just sitting there, waiting, embarrassed at the situation and with a big stain on the back of my pants. When they both pulled up the truck in front of the school, Mick jumped out and came inside, and handed me a Triad sweatshirt to wrap around my waist. He walked behind me and I tried not to cry. When I got in the truck, they had a giant pink gift bag with a huge poofy bow waiting for me. The reason it took them so long to get there is because they had stopped at the pharmacy. My two dads had purchased about twenty different feminine hygiene products and gift wrapped them for me. I mean, I had tampons and pads and a hot water bottle and Midol. Just what every twelve year old girls wants from her dads. They even bought a birthday card, and crossed off “BIRTHDAY” and wrote in “BECOMING A WOMAN DAY”.” The whole audience laughed with Aurora. “Mick handed me a hot fudge sundae, explaining that it was what they fed mom when she got “the crankies”. Grey launched into an obviously prepared speech about how natural it was, and I shouldn’t be ashamed or embarrassed. I think the worst part was when they announced to my brothers at dinner. I think it traumatized Zane. I hid in my room until my mom came home. She had tears in her eyes when she came in, but it was from her hysterical laughter when they told her what they had done. “Baby girl”, she told me, “good luck ever finding a man that's as good as the two that raised you.“
“It was a few years later when I told that story to my girlfriends when we were talking about our parents. I stressed how mortified and humiliating it was. One of my friends had tears in her eyes when she told me how lucky I was. You see, she had broke her arm playing basketball and her dad sent his admin to pick her up and take her to the hospital. The other one was in no less than seventy musical performances in high school and her dad has been too busy to attend any of them. That is when I truly appreciated that my dads were always there for me and, up until then, I just took it for granted. They were the best dads that any girl could ever have.” She stepped away and stopped in front of each urn. In her full dress uniform, she snapped a smart salute to each of her daddies.
Zane stood up next, which slightly surprised me. “When I joined the MC like my grandfather, I was scared to come home. I knew the prospect kutte I was wearing was going to piss off my parents, who had avoided MC life. I wanted to catch them each alone, but that didn’t happen very often because they were always together, but I found my mom first. She threatened to kill my grandpa.” The Chaos guys laughed at the thought. “In the end, she accepted my decision as my own. Grey and Mick saw me walking towards them and they knew exactly what I had done without me saying a word. Grey hugged me, “You sure?” was all he said. I said “yessir.” He nodded his head and walked away. Mick looked me up and down, “Grandpa push you into this?” I said “No sir. Been thinking about it for a long time. I need you to be ok with it.” Mick looked at me like I lost my fucking mind. “Zane, you are your own man. You don’t need me or Grey or Mom to approve of your choices. If you believe it’s what right for you, then own it.” He hugged me and that was the last that was ever said about it. Oh, and by the way, I was seriously traumatized to learn about the female menstrual cycle over dinner, Aurora. After you ran off and locked yourself in the bedroom, it turned into the most awkward Q and A you can ever imagine. The dads kept googling things on their phones to answer the questions that Gentry and I kept asking. Thanks big sister.” Zane stepped away and pressed his forehead to each urn, his final whispered words were private.
Bryce smiled and me and squeezed my hand before he took his place. The years had been kind to him and he was still a sharp dresser. I’m pretty sure had fairly frequent botox treatments but he would never admit it. “I’m Bryce Chacon, Mick’s step-daddy. When I met Mick and Grey, my husband, Damien, was still deep in the closet. I was also younger than Mick, by three years. I was never expecting to find total acceptance in to the family, like I did. I joined Triad as Operations Manager nearly thirty years ago. One of our customers made the mistake of referring to me as “the faggot”. Grey and Mick literally threw him out of the shop, seriously, that man flew about ten feet out the door. Grey even through his bike out of the garage and let it fall. Mick picked the guy up off the pavement by the throat and said “That man is my dad. If I ever hear you insult him again, I will rip your fucking dick off and shove it up your own ass.” Like most obviously gay boys I had my share of bullying and was used to the names. It was when he hugged me and just said, “What a dick.” before he went back to work, like nothing happened. I knew I was truly family.”
One by one people lined up to share their stories. Bones, one of our shop guys talked about how he was homeless and suffered from terrible PTSD. Grey hired him to sweep and clean and eventually his responsibilities included oil changes and tire swaps. Grey even moved a camper in the back of the building so he had a place to live, and now he’s buying his first home. One of their military buddies talked about how Mick sewed up a leg wound while lying on his belly with a face full of sand and bullets flying over his head. As a result he didn’t lose his leg. A few told colorful jokes of some of the more creative pranks that went on over the years at the shop, one of which involved a blow up doll and ended up with a police lineup. When the line finally dwindled, I stood back up before the Chaplin could get back on the microphone.
“Thank you. Sincerely. I thank you all for your kind words and memories. I’ll leave you with a summary of today’s lessons and implore you all to remember them in memory of Grey and Mick. Take care of each other. Stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. Follow your heart. Be your own man, no matter where that path leads. Take responsibility for your actions. Don’t be afraid to give second chances, or even third chances. And most of all, never forget that love wins.”
I sat down and let the Chaplin say his prayer and invite everyone into the tent next to us for food and fellowship.
I sat there, even when everyone was gone. Just me and two urns. “You two sons of bitches weren’t supposed to leave me all alone. I’ll be ok though. I promise. I’ll be strong. I’ll keep going. I was just s
o fucking lucky to have you in my life. Thank you for picking me up. Thank you for finding me when I ran away from you, and thank you for loving me so hard.”
“Ma, you ready?” My three beautiful children were waiting for me. I nodded. Zane signaled to his VP, and two of his men carefully removed the urns from the table. I knew they would safely deliver them to the cabin for me.
We had a long and hard group hug. “Is it taken care of?” I whispered to Zane. “Oh hell mom, what are you guys up to?”, Gentry stepped back and looked at us both for an answer. Zane kept his arm protectively around my shoulder. “It’s done. Club business big brother. None of your concern.” Aurora’s leatherneck side came out, “I hope it’s what I think it is. Grandpa would have fucking lynched the drunk bastard” “Jesus, you two, don’t even tell me you did something stupid.” Gentry implored. I started to laugh at the three of them arguing like they always have. They stopped and stared at me. “Let is go children. We have guests.” Just then the band that I hired started playing “Yesterday” by the Beatles. The next song on their playlist was “You Shook Me All Night Long.” It was my very specific playlist. The beer was cold and the food was hot, and I knew that Grey and Mick would approve.
Check out my other books on Amazon.com!
The Evolution of Pink Kitty #462
https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Pink-Kitty-Beginning-Book-ebook/dp/B07HY1PRFM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543276595&sr=8-2&keywords=Clairissa+sinclair
The Revolution of Jules https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Jules-exciting-conclusion-Evolution-ebook/dp/B07J649VRP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543276720&sr=8-1&keywords=Clairissa+sinclair
Triad: A Three Way Love Story Page 21