Star wasn’t quite sure when the ecstasy ended and her body stopped convulsing, but when she found herself wrapped in both Chad and Diego’s warm embraces, she had tears in her eyes. “I love you,” she said to Chad and she kissed him, then she turned her head to Diego, who was beat, his eyes shut. “I love you too,” she said, kissing his lovely lips.
“We love you too,” Chad and Diego said in tandem, obviously reading one another’s minds again.
“I know you do,” Star said, hardly able to force out the words. She was just so happy.
And with her words, The Great One appeared again, a smile splitting her face. “I can feel your love for one another,” she said, in an upbeat voice. “It is my extreme pleasure to seal this union forever. You do understand triad rules, yes?”
Chad’s eyes were only half open as Star looked over at him. “Maybe…explain them for me,” he said, sounding tired.
“Of course,” The Great One said. “You are a family unit that cannot be broken. When Star becomes pregnant, it does not matter whose biological child she bears. The child belongs to all of you and will be treated as such. That’s the most misunderstood rule so I wanted to make sure it’s clear.”
“Fine with me,” Chad said, with a little more energy. “Makes sense, in fact.”
“Good,” The Great One said and she waved her arms again.
The feeling of a soft blanket covered Star’s body and she knew her men felt it too. The blanket would be tightly wound around them, signifying their triad.
“Now you are all one,” The Great One said. “I hope you’re not too tired to eat the delicious food your mothers cooked for you. And, Star, of course your father helped. He is such a proficient chef.”
“Did my dad help?” Diego asked, slowly sitting up in bed.
“He tried,” The Great One said, and everyone laughed, even Star, although she didn’t really get the joke.
“You may go when you like,” the Great One said, “and I know you’re going to have a wonderful family. Good-bye.” She disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving the triad together, touching, thinking about their fate and relishing the love that they had for one another.
Epilogue
It was Thanksgiving at Asa and Alice’s Phoenix ranch and the table couldn’t have been prettier. Chad felt satisfied and happy. The long table, dainty white tablecloth and candles made a simple but elegant place to eat. Asa had cut the turkey and everyone had participated in cooking, except for Star. Chad and Diego had insisted that she rest since she was so close to her due date with the triplets. Star had put up a fuss over sitting down but both men had insisted she just relax, as her physician on Venus had admonished her to do. Usually Star hated to be idle but Chad knew just how much she already loved her babies, just as he already did.
“I can’t eat another bite,” Chad said as he pushed away his empty plate. “This was delicious though.”
Diego, still eating, said, “I could go for another plate.”
Star rolled her gaze heavenward. “Diego, the way you eat it’s amazing you don’t weigh three tons.” Her words were soft, affectionate.
Chad just laughed at the soulmate and bonded brother that he dearly loved. “Well, he always did have a huge appetite, even as a little tyke.”
“I’m finished too,” Asa said, smiling at Alice. “Would you mind if I left the table, dear, to have a word with my son, the father-to-be?”
“Oh, sure, go ahead,” Alice said.
Chad was surprised that his father wanted to talk to him alone and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He knew in his gut that his father suspected something weird was going on with himself, Diego and Star. Although Diego always joined the family for holidays, he sensed that his father had maybe noticed something. He had been shooting Chad puzzled looks since their arrival the night before.
His stomach tightening, he followed Asa into the comfortable living room in Alice’s cheerful ranch. The cloth fabric furniture was a medium blue and comfortable to sit on. Asa took a seat in a chair and Chad sat on the sofa right beside the chair, looking down at his hands, wondering what was coming. “So,” he said and cleared his throat, “you going to give me a lecture about babies, Pa?” He tried to lighten the mood.
“Hell, no,” Asa said, chuckling.
The chuckle reassured Chad a little bit.
“I never took care of you as a baby,” Asa went on, the hurtful words softened by his kind voice. “I thought that was woman’s work and your ma was still around…”
Chad’s gut tightened again and the fingers on his thighs curled. “Yeah, so?” he asked, wondering what was next. His father never spoke about his mother anymore.
“Your ma tried to tell me things about this planet called Venus but not the Venus near earth,” he said, and Chad tried to remain stoic, even as his heart pounded. “Of course, I thought she was babbling nonsense and I’m not here to talk about that in detail. Frankly, I don’t want to know.” He paused and now there was a heaviness in the air.
Chad lifted his head and looked at his father. His forehead was wrinkled but he still didn’t look angry. In fact, his aura was hard to read, but not negative.
“This thing with you, Diego and Star,” he went on, “and how you disappear half the time on the ranch, or so the hands tell me, that’s part of what your ma was talking about to me, isn’t it?”
Chad’s throat clogged up. He couldn’t speak, wasn’t sure what to say.
“It’s ok, boy. Just yes or no.”
“Yes.” He winced as he said it, not sure what to expect.
“I keep having dreams about your ma,” Asa went on and he looked him in the eyes, very serious. “They aren’t romantic dreams. I love Alice and always will but your ma is sending me messages about her world. I ignored those messages before but now they make sense to me. Don’t ask me why. Maybe because I found love myself I was able to open my mind. I don’t know or care why but I understand now that your marriage with Star is not a traditional marriage. Is it?”
Chad hesitated, scanning his father’s aura. He was being honest. Relaxing a little he said, “Not for humans, no but on Venus it’s pretty common.” He waited for his father to berate him but all Asa did was nod.
“I understand and I don’t want to know any more.”
“You’re not upset?” Chad could feel relief filtering through him.
Asa shook his head. “No. The ranch is always cared for and you make up for lost time when you are there. I still want you to have it, that is, if you still want it…”
“I love the ranch, Pa.”
“Well, then as long as you do, it’s yoursand as long as those babies are still considered my grandchildren, I don’t care about the type of marriage you have. All three of you seem happy and that’s all that matters.” He paused. “I am still the grandfather, right?”
Chad smiled. His father rarely sounded vulnerable in any way. “All three of them are your grandchildren,” he said, “and Alice will make a wonderful grandmother too.”
Asa let out a breath. “Son, I have to admit I was afraid to confront you about this. I thought that maybe because of…of rules on Venus…a human couldn’t be the grandfather…or something like that. I want to be able to give these babies all the love that I didn’t give you…and that I’m sorry I didn’t give youbut seems like everything is going to be all right.”
Chad blinked the tears out of his eyes. “No rules like that,” was all he said.
Asa rose and Chad rose right after him.
“I’m proud of you, son,” Asa said. “I’m glad you didn’t give up on an old fool like me.”
Chad looked down at his shoes but he was smiling. He felt good inside.
Then his father was hugging him just as the others entered the room. Chad, hearing the voices, quickly pulled back, but he knew they’d all seen him with his father. Embarrassed, trying to change the subject, he said quickly, “All of you finish so quickly?”
Star sat down on the sofa where h
e had been. “I think it’s time,” she said, and tossed him a huge grin. “I mean, I’m just started to feel the cramps, but triplets will come fast…”
Chad sprang into action as did Diego who pulled out his cell phone. Chad ran upstairs to grab a little suitcase he’d brought just in case of this happening. Star had a doctor in Texas and one on Venus. If there was any trouble, the Venusian doctor would come down to earth and help the human doctor while staying invisible.
After Chad returned with the suitcase, he ran outside to get his father’s car. Asa had given him a key, just in case of such an emergency. Everyone piled into the car and Chad drove off, his heart thudding hard, but not as hard as the pain in his head.
Five hours later, two baby girls and a baby boy were in their arms. For earth purposes, Star named only Chad as the father, but it would be recorded accurately on Venus. The little girls both looked like Chad. The boy looked like Diego. Star knew that Venusians could breed from more than one man at a time. Asa and Alice didn’t say a word other than to stare at the beautiful babies.
The doctor was puzzled. “Triplets and they all weigh at least six pounds and don’t seem to have any problems. Amazing.”
Later, when Star was alone with Chad and Diego, knowing Diego would be asked to leave soon because he was considered just a visitor, Star handed him the boy as Chad, with two babies in his arms, handed her one of her daughters. Star let the little girl feed at her breast and she knew it was a miracle that all of them shared.
“So we all agree on the names?” she asked, staring down at the suckling babe.
“Lucius for the boy,” Diego said. “I like that…it’s strong.”
“Yes,” Chad agreed, “and I like Tiana and Greta for the girls. Tiana is definitely you, Star, a future love goddess. Greta is full of piss and vinegar. I can tell already.”
They all laughed, feeling close and intimate.
“You know something?” Star asked, having meant to bring it up before, but not in front of Asa and Alice. “My crest is smarting a bit.”
“Mine too,” Diego and Chad said together.
Chad looked puzzled. “What does it mean?” he asked his two soulmates.
Star nuzzled her face in Greta’s soft hair, smelling the baby scent. “Just more of an affirmation that our triad is good and pure. Every so often, during peak events, our crests will remind us of how lucky we are.”
Chad, with Tiana in his hands, sat beside her on one side of the hospital bed. “We sure are,” he said, and kissed her bent head.
Diego, holding Lucius, walked around the bed and sat down on the other side of her. His lips nuzzled her neck. “This triad was meant to be,” he said. “We have so much to look forward to.”
Star felt her men close and her babies near and her body turned to butter. “We do have a lot to look forward to,” she said, a lump in her throat, “but let’s enjoy every single minute. Let’s concentrate on right now.”
“Can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” Diego said, in a crooning voice.
“Me either,” Chad said, and the three of them cuddled up as closely as they could, bringing the babies together as well, just as an aura of warmth and love swirled around all of them, tying them up in a bow.
The End
Raven Knight has always loved to read books, especially IR books and decided one day to try her hand at it. While she also busy raising kids and normal life, Raven thinks it is important to always take time to read a good book. Her mother reports that she drew pictures and printed words in an attempt to tell stories, even at the tender age of two. As a born storyteller, she kept writing and won awards for creative writing, becoming known as "The Writer" by peers. Having married at 20, she put writing on the backburner and worked in many interesting fields, including a position at The Chicago Tribune.
When all her children were finally in grade school, Nicole started writing again. She had always been a voracious reader of the genre and decided to focus on writing romance. Ms. Knight is a member of Romance Writers of America and WisRWA.
Raven’s special interests include adoption, Bipolar Disorder, Domestic Abuse, Animals, and Autism as they have all touched her life. She currently resides in central Wisconsin with her loving husband and their children.
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