Threefold

by Scott Hildreth

  “Okay, listen carefully. Ready?” he breathed into my ear.

  The feeling of his warm breath on my neck and ear caused me to shudder. As I tilted my head toward his face, he breathed into my neck again playfully.

  “Ready...?” he breathed, drawing the word out for several seconds.

  I wiggled my shoulders, freeing myself from him, and stomped my feet lightly on the floor, “Stop. That drives me nuts.”

  “That’s good to know, I’ll use it to my advantage. Okay, no more playing, back to business,” he said as he flipped his head back, clearing the hair from in front of his eyes.

  “The chicken is cooking. The timer will beep when it’s done. When it does, just take the tray from the oven, and set it aside. The rice is in the skillet, and needs nothing. Now, that big pot has boiling water in it. When you drop the wontons in, it’ll stop boiling. Let it come back to a boil, stirring it lightly, just to keep them from sticking, okay?”

  Somewhat confused on why he was explaining about all of the food, I nodded my head, “Okay.”

  “Then, when it comes back to a boil, pour that little cup of cold water into it,” he said as he pointed to the measuring cup of water beside the stove.

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Let it come back to a boil again, and do the same thing. After it boils again, remove them carefully with this spoon,” he said as he waved a spoon filled with holes in front on my face.

  “Okay. Drop them in, back to boiling, cold water, back to boiling, and then cold water again?” I asked.

  “You’ve got it, and back to boiling. Then remove ‘em, and split them three ways in the little bowls filled with cabbage.

  “Okay,” I nodded.

  “That’s him,” he said as I heard the sound of someone turning a key in the door lock.

  He leaned into me and kissed my cheek. As I stood in slight shock and stared, he whispered quick instructions, “Three pieces of the chicken on each plate, rice beside the chicken, split the wontons evenly. You’ll be fine”

  My eyes widened as Cade ran from the kitchen and flopped down onto the couch. As I heard Ethan walking inside, he began to complain to Cade.

  “Dude, Rain wasn’t down on the bench. Did you see her today?” he asked as he walked into the house.

  I smiled and stood silently as I made wontons.

  After a few more footsteps, we were eye-to-eye, gazing at each other over the bar which separated us. Ethan’s eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a huge smile as I dropped the last wonton on the board.

  “Sure did,” Cade said over his shoulder as he flipped through the channels on the television.

  “What are you doing?” Ethan asked as he pulled off his jacket.

  “She’s cooking our dinner, leave her alone,” Cade hollered.

  “Cooking,” I responded, trying unsuccessfully to keep from smiling.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Uhhm, chicken, wontons, and fried rice. Oh, and peanut sauce,” I grinned as I lifted the board of wontons and turned toward the stove.

  “No shit. Fuck, my favorite. Cade, you’re not helping her?” Ethan asked as he walked past me and toward his room.

  I gazed at Cade, and waited for him to respond.

  After Ethan passed, Cade looked over his shoulder and winked, “No. She said she doesn’t want help.”

  I grinned as I gazed down at my dingy sneakers.

  Okay, carefully put them in the water, and back to boiling.

  Using the back of the spoon, I carefully flipped the wontons into the water. After they were all in, the water stopped boiling, just like Cade said. After a few minutes of stirring, it slowly came back to a boil.

  Pour in the cup of cold water.

  The water stopped boiling. As I continued to stir the wontons, the timer on the top of the oven beeped, startling me slightly. After a few seconds of searching, I grabbed the oven mitt and removed the tray of chicken from the oven and set it on the countertop. As I turned back toward the stove, the water was beginning to boil again. As if I was a seasoned cook in an Asian restaurant, I turned to the sink and filled the cup with cold water. Over my shoulder, I noticed Ethan quietly watching me from his seat at the bar. I turned from the sink, smiled, and poured the water into the pot. As I waited for the water to come to a boil for the last time, Ethan cleared his throat.

  Okay, let the chicken sit, and put three pieces on each plate, with rice and split the wontons three ways…

  “You look like you know what you’re doing,” he said.

  I shrugged my shoulders and twisted my mouth to the side, “I don’t.”

  As soon as the water came to a boil, I removed the pot from the stove and set it on the bar. After carefully lifting the wontons with the spoon and allowing the water to drip free, I placed them in the pre-prepared bowls of shredded cabbage Cade had placed on the counter. As soon as I was done, I laid three pieces of the skewered chicken on each plate, and removed the rice from the stove. As I spooned a healthy helping of rice on each plate, Cade walked into the kitchen.

  “Looks wonderful, need any help?” he asked as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

  “You sure you’re not gay?” I whispered as I stared down at the plates.

  “I heard that,” Ethan chuckled, “He’s not gay, he just acts like it.”

  “Just stop it, Ethan. I was just seeing if she needed help,” Cade sighed.

  “Here, let me put this sauce in a bowl,” Cade said as reached for the food processor.

  Ethan walked past me, opened the refrigerator, and got a bottle of beer. After twisting off the lid and taking a sip, he walked up behind me and peered over my shoulder toward the plates.

  “Smells good, is it ready?” he asked.

  “Go sit down, we’ll bring it to you,” Cade snapped.

  As Cade spooned the sauce into a small bowl, he tossed his head to the side, looked up, and smiled. As he turned to face Ethan, the smile turned to a scowl.

  “Go! Get out of the way,” he snarled toward Ethan.

  “Whatever, dude,” Ethan grunted at he turned and walked toward the dining table.

  Cade picked up one of the plates and the two bowls of sauce. After nodding his head in the direction of the other two plates, I picked them up and followed him to the dining table. As he placed the bowls and plate on the table, he turned toward the kitchen.

  “I’ll get us some water, sit down Rain,” he said over his shoulder.

  Cade had already placed napkins and silverware on the table. Although I realized I hadn’t cooked the entire meal, as I sat down, I wondered what it would taste like, and how Ethan would react when he ate it. The wontons and the peanut sauce were my main worries, and any criticisms about the rice, sauce Cade had prepared, or the chicken wouldn’t bother me too much. As Cade handed me my glass of water, he nodded his head toward my plate.

  “Well, let’s try it, shall we?” he said.

  “Good bread, good meat, there may or may not be a God, but let’s eat,” Ethan said under his breath.

  “Sometimes you disgust me,” Cade sighed.

  “You always disgust me,” Ethan responded as he picked up a piece of chicken and smelled it.

  After spooning some of the peanut sauce onto his plate, Ethan placed the spoon back into the bowl. I reached for the spoon and did the same as I continued to watch him. He carefully pulled the hot chicken from the skewer, set it down on his plate, and cut it in sections with his fork. He then piercing a piece with the tines of his fork, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite.

  “Holy fuck, that’s good,” he said as he chewed the chicken.

  I pulled the meat from my skewer, cut it into pieces, and dipped it in the peanut sauce. Cade wagged his eyebrows and tilted his head toward Ethan as I lifted the chicken to my mouth.

  “Oh, thank you,” I responded.

  Holy shit, that’s good sauce.

  I continued to chew my chicken and watched as Ethan raised a spoonful of the fried rice to his m
outh. After chewing it and swallowing it, he dropped the spoon onto his plate, cupped his hands together, and glanced at Cade before turning to face me.

  “What’s in the rice? The little pieces of meat?” Ethan asked.

  I thought of what Cade had put in the skillet before he added the rice; onions, garlic, oil, and ham.

  “Ham,” I responded.

  “You could learn a lot from this girl, Cade. This rice beats the shit out of what you normally cook; you put bacon in it, right?” Ethan asked as he shook his head and scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth.

  “You normally use bacon?” I asked as I turned toward Cade.

  He closed his eyes and lowered his chin slightly in confirmation. I glanced down at my plate and stared at the food. After shifting my eyes to Ethan, I watched as he spooned some of the garlic pepper sauce over his bowl of wontons. He then dipped a wonton in the sauce, lifted it to his mouth with his fork, and ate it in one bite. As he chewed the food, I reached for the hot pepper sauce. After spooning the sauce over my wontons, I poked one and lifted it to my mouth.

  Oh my God, that’s good.

  “Jesus, these wontons are the fucking bomb. Rain, this is really good. Hell, you should open an Asian restaurant,” Ethan said as he poked another with his fork.

  As much as Cade obviously wanted me to take credit for the meal, I didn’t feel it was right to continue without recognizing him for having helped, or at least giving him a little of the credit. Ethan’s continuous praise was making me feel somewhat guilty.

  “Well, I just did what Cade told me to. Without him giving me instructions, we’d be eating peanut butter sandwiches,” I responded.

  “Well, either way, it’s fucking good,” Ethan said as he continued to gobble down the food, “This shit’s one of my favorites, and Cade knows it.”

  “She did all the work,” Cade sighed.

  I glanced at Cade and made my best effort to wink.

  You’re precious.

  I sat up in my chair and smiled. As much as I felt I had no real business being in their home, these two men were slowly making me feel as if I belonged with them. Our ten or so nights together eating dinner had become enough of a ritual that it was difficult for me to imagine not seeing them for a night. As I continued to eat and watch the two of them intently, I realized I had no right to feel the way I felt about them or the situation I was in with them. I needed to learn to live in the moment, be grateful for what I had, and not worry so much about what the future may or may not bring. As the three of us sat and quietly enjoyed the food, I realized I had truly been blessed by having them in my life.

  “So,” Cade said loudly, interrupting the long silence and gathering Ethan’s and my attention.

  “Yes,” Ethan said sarcastically, stringing the word along for some time.

  Cade looked up from his plate as he brushed his hair out of his eyes, “Well, this morning when I was going to work, there was a sheet of paper posted on the inside wall of the elevator.”

  “Wasn’t anything when I came home,” Ethan shrugged.

  Cade shook his head as he carefully placed his fork on his plate, “It’s because I tore it down and kept it so no one else would see it. Let me finish, you goon.”

  “Finish,” Ethan sighed as he poked another wonton in his mouth.

  “The guy down the hall, the handicapped guy? He needs someone to prepare his meals for him, help him get dressed in the morning, and he needs bathed at night. It said the pay is fifteen dollars an hour in cash, and it would take a total of six hours a day. That’s almost $100 a day,” Cade explained as he alternated glances between Ethan and me.

  “Getting a second job?” Ethan chuckled as he poked another wonton.

  Cade shook his head from side to side, and finally focused on me.

  “No, asshole, I was thinking of Rain,” Cade sighed as he shifted his gaze toward Ethan, “Maybe she should see if they’d hire her. And in thinking that, it got me wondering…”

  “I think we should let her stay here. You know, stay all night instead of sleeping on the bench or by the dumpster. It really bothers me that she sleeps outside, it’s cruel to treat someone you like in the manner we’ve been treating her. And I think we should let her stay here instead of leaving when we’re gone to work. What do you think?”

  As Cade spoke, I couldn’t believe my ears. My heart began to race and I started to feel almost ill. To think, even for one minute, that my life could possibly change so drastically was more than I was able to make sense of. As I sat and hoped Ethan agreed with Cade, Ethan responded.

  Ethan set his fork onto his plate and brushed his hair over his ears, “Well, I like it. And, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t matter much if she gets the job or not. If she wants, she can stay here. If she gets the job, it’ll just help her out that much more.”

  I attempted to swallow. As I glanced back and forth between the two men, my eyes began to feel swollen and heavy. In a week and a half, I had grown to like these two more than anyone else I had ever met in my life. Now, I was beginning to think my feelings were justified, and not simply wishful thinking. I opened my mouth and spilled my thoughts and emotions onto the table.

  “This can’t be happening,” I said as I raised my hands to my mouth.

  I glanced at Ethan.

  He grinned and nodded his head.

  I turned toward Cade.

  He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “Well…?”

  “I just…really? You’re…” I paused and rubbed my eyes with my index fingers.

  My emotions began to mount. I felt as if any moment I would begin blubbering. I had no idea people like this even existed in real life. I glanced at each of the men independently, and shrugged my shoulders.

  “You’re serious?” I stammered.

  They both nodded their heads.

  “If they gave me the job…I could…I could even buy…a uhhm… a new…a few new pairs of panties and some summer shorts,” I said.

  Cade smiled, blinked his eyes a few times and wiped what looked like a tear from his cheek.

  And the thought of it all quickly became too much for me.

  And I began to cry.

  ETHAN

  The world is comprised of all different types of people. Regardless of how well you think you might know someone, from time to time they’ll say or do something that will completely take you off guard, and change the way you’ll look at them forever.

  “So let me get his straight. You have some homeless chick staying in your house? Right now? Cade’s at work, and you’re at work, and some homeless bitch you met a few weeks ago is rifling through your shit, trying to decide what to pawn off for cash?” Jake said as he lowered the lift onto the floor.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. For many reasons, I had not yet shared with Jake the fact Rain had moved in. I didn’t want to listen to his opinions or theories about a homeless woman and the risks we were taking in having her in our home. Today, however, I chose to mention it; not for his approval, but more because I was pleased with her company. I wanted to share my pleasure by talking about it with someone other than Cade. In retrospect, I guess Jake was the wrong person to share my joy with.

  “She’s not homeless, she’s got a place now. She lives with us,” I said flatly.

  “What the fuck ever. I swear to fucking Christ. You’re the most soft-hearted fucker I’ve ever met. I’d beat that prick’s ass that’s hauling your wife around on the back of his bike, and I’d toss that homeless bitch on her ear as soon as she got done swallowing my cock. Does she suck a mean dick?” he asked as he reached over the seat and pulled the choke lever.

  I tried to act like I didn’t even hear what he said about Rain sucking dicks.

  Jake was in his mid-thirties, covered in tattoos, had short curly hair, and a full beard. His beard was roughly as long as his hair, and it appeared he washed each of them once a week. He and I had worked together in the shop for almost four years. He was a biker thr
ough and through, and had very little compassion for mankind as a whole. He didn’t want to know anyone who wasn’t already in his small circle of friends, which consisted primarily of other bikers. He trusted very few people, and any time something happened which exposed a person who was a liar or a thief, he acted as if the entire world was behind the event. Life, to him, was one big conspiracy. All day, every day, he drank coffee like water, and never shut up. His mouth was constantly moving, and random opinions spilled from it as the day progressed.

  “She’s my ex-wife. I don’t give a fuck what she does, she’s not my concern. And yeah, Rain is at the house now, casing the place, looking for gold, silver, and diamonds to hock. When I get home, we’re going to shoot another porno movie, and I’ll sell it on the internet,” I responded sarcastically.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” he chuckled as he switched the ignition on.

  “Is the inspection cover on or off that primary?” he asked as he reached for the start button.

  “I put it on, it’ll be fine,” I nodded.

  He held his thumb over the switch and hesitated. As he glared at me I shrugged my shoulders.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “You seriously have that little bitch staying in your house while you’re gone?” he asked.

  I nodded my head, “Yep.”

  “I’ll just say it now. I told you so. I fucking told you so,” he sighed.

  I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and inhaled a shallow breath. As I exhaled, I opened my eyes and responded, “She’s not like you think. Maybe after you meet her, you’ll agree.”

  “I don’t want the little thief around me sniffing for something to steal. Fuck that shit. When you said you let her stay all night during that storm, I thought you were fucking nuts, but this is borderline insanity, brother,” he growled.

  “To each his own,” I said as I reached over the bike and pressed my thumb into his, starting the bike.

  As the bike exhaust began to rumble, I listened for any odd sounds from the transmission. I nodded my head at the smooth hum of the motor and hollered over the sound of the exhaust, “You want me to take it for a spin?”

  “I’ll take it. If you want to pick up the tools, I guess we’ll call it a day,” he shrugged as he walked around the back of the bike.