"So we're going to Daddy's Mommas?" James asked from the backseat. It was two in the afternoon, and somehow Aria and Ezra had gotten themselves and James ready in time to drop Rex off at the Cavanaugh/Hastings residence before one thirty. They planned to be at the Fitzgerald house hold around three thirty for an early dinner, and much to Ezra's surprise the day had gone without a hitch. So far.
"Yes. You're going to meet your Uncle Wesley and Grandma Dianne." Aria spoke from the passenger seat while she applied mascara for at least the third time in a half hour.
When Ezra poked fun at her, wondering how she'd managed not to poke herself fin the eye, Aria giggle and insisted that applying make in a moving vehicle was a 'honed talent'.
Ezra noticed that she had put a large amount in to her looks that day. A black shirt with a blue printed jeans and heels were a bit more dressy than her normal attire. After throwing a navy blue button down shirt on and some pants, Ezra had been forced to look at what must have been six outfit combinations.
Not that he was particularly opposed to his girlfriend modelling clothes for him, but eventually it got tiresome and comparing one shirt to another was boring. It didn't matter to him, because he thought she always looked stunning.
Apparently the response 'You'll look beautiful in whatever you wear' was not appropriate for meeting your boyfriend's mother for the first time.
"So Like Uncle Mike? That means he's Daddy's brother?"
Ezra looked at his son in the rear view mirror. "Yep, he's my little brother, bud."
Absentmindedly while he pushed a transformer out of its vehicle form, James asked, "Do you love your brother Daddy?"
The question surprised Ezra, he hadn't been expecting it. But he'd gotten used to the unexpected and never ending questions from his curious four year old.
"Of course I do, Jamie. He's my brother." Ezra knew that no matter how bad things were in their family, he'd always love his brother, even if he wasn't fond of him at times.
"I'd like a brother." James stated simply.
Aria nearly choked on the coffee she had begged Ezra to buy her from a Starbucks on the outskirts of Rosewood. He chuckled, seeing her startled expression. It reminded him of a deer caught in the headlights of a truck, but he calmly replied. "Well you have Rex, he can be your brother for now. He's just much furrier and marginally less... human."
Aria was still gasping for air, making sure to save her coffee by putting it in the cup holder. It seemed like the coffee was holding her together that morning, how much she'd pleaded Ezra just to run in and get her something.
"He's my dog-brother." Ezra laughed, between Aria wiping some of her drink off her face and James seeming awfully pleased with his 'dog-brother', he couldn't help himself. It was hilarious.
An hour and a half later, Ezra pulled into the driveway of his childhood home. It still looked the same as it always had; a large two story house with windows that never had a speck of dirt on them, the front gardens were always perfectly managed with blooming colourful flowers, and the fountain that he and Wesley had always gotten their baseballs stuck in as kids was spurting water.
Ezra looked cautiously over to Aria, who was balancing James on her hip, still half asleep after taking a nap on the way up. She looked perfectly calm, and Ezra wished he could have had a shot of whatever she'd taken that morning. Ha, if only. She seemed so calm about the whole ordeal, and Ezra wasn't sure how that was humanly possible.
With her free hand, Aria entwined hers with his. Ezra had a bouquet of flowers in the other arm; they'd seen them outside of a small convenience store in the town a few blocks away from the Fitzgerald residence.
With the quick exhale of a breath, Ezra raised his hand and knocked on the front door.
"Ready?" Aria asked.
He nodded. "Ready." With a quick squeeze of her hand, he looked up and came face to face with his mother at the door, smiling as motherly as she could manage.
"Hi Mom." He gave her the flowers and hugged her, pecking her on the cheek. He pulled away and made his way into the front hallway, taking in all the memories he'd had in this house. Ezra left home at eighteen, eager to get away from his mother and all the baggage that came with being a Fitzgerald. Wesley had been fourteen at the time, and Ezra felt kind of bad still about leaving him behind. It dawned on him that he hadn't introduced Aria.
"Oh, mom. This is my girlfriend, Aria."
He watched as Aria flash the smile that made his stomach do flips.
"Nice to meet you Ms. Fitzgerald." The two women shook hands, and Ezra watched in anticipation as his mom insisted that she be called Dianne.
"And who is this?" Ezra knew what was coming before it even happened, his son having the personality that he did.
James opened his eyes finally, revealing his stunning baby blues. "I'm James William Fitz. You're my Grandma, right?" Dianne turned around facing Ezra her eyes wide in disbelief. She cocked her head in a way that said, 'we're discussing this later'.
She turned back and shook James' tiny proffered hand. "
I guess I am. Nice to meet you too, James William. Now everybody come into the dining room, Wesley was just working on dinner. He's become quite a good chef over the years. Always was, even as a child." It took everything Ezra had not to roll his eyes. It had already begun; the tiny little digs at him that his mom made sure to throw in to reassure him of his status in the family.
Lovely.
"Big brother!" Ezra heard from the kitchen. He chuckled as Wesley came around and hugged him. "Long time since we've seen each other." The other Fitz had always looked a little more like their dad than Dianne. The lighter hair, the slightly larger build. He'd gotten Dianne's eyes though, while Ezra had inherited his fathers. Wesley had always had the preppy look; he'd taken to the polo shirts and clubs that their mother had enrolled them in as clubs quickly. He'd been the model son, always following mom and dad's orders, while Ezra had always been the opposite.
"And you must be Aria. I can understand why you have my brother thrown through a loop." He and Aria shook hand before Wesley crouched down so he was now at James' height.
After meeting Dianne he'd asked to be put down, and Aria kindly obliged.
"And what's your name?" When asking the question, Wesley looked at Ezra and winked. Nice of him not to sell Ezra out in front of their mom.
"James William Fitz."
"That's a good name, buddy. I'm Uncle Wes." It took a few seconds, but James cracked a small smile. Within a few hours Ezra was sure his son would be more talkative. It generally took him a bit to warm up to strangers.
"Hi. Do you like cars?" The little boy nervously fidgeted in his pocket, fumbling around with one of the many toys he'd probably jammed in to the small space.
"I think a better question is who doesn't like cars." Wesley smiled, and Ezra chuckled a little as he realized that he, Wesley and James had the exact same smile. Carbon Fitz copies.
Dianne cleared her throat in the kitchen, and all the adults turned to her.
"So I'm interested in how all of this came to be." She said, motioning to Aria and Ezra. "You're the same girl from a few years back, am I correct? When Ezra lost both of his jobs in Rosewood?" Way to ruin the moment.
Words caught in Aria's throat; Dianne was awfully... to the point. What's she supposed to say? 'Yes, I'm the reason he quit his job so we could be together, then lost his other one because my father was a closed minded hypocrite.' Pretty much everything a guy's mother wants to hear.
"I didn't lose both my jobs, Mom, cut it out. I left one for a better opportunity, and that fell through." Ezra's hands tightened on the dining room table.
Dianne looked so casual while she chopped up some red peppers. It didn't appear to bother her that she was ripping up her son's life choices. "And she was your better opportunity?"
"James, do you want to go see all the model cars your dad and I built when we were kids?" As if that was even a question for the little boy. Already he was beginning to warm up to Wesley, and he happily skipped off with him.
Impatiently, Dianne tapped her nails against the granite countertop. "Yes, mom, she was my better opportunity. How about you have some class and don't bring up this kind of thing in front of my son?"
"Hm, yes. The son who's life you missed a couple years from? Because as far as I know this is a recent development." Ezra's blood curdled at how she pronounced recent; like it was a dirty word. Her turned to Aria, and gave her what he could best describe as his 'I told you so' look. It hadn't even been ten minutes and already it was like they were being interrogated.
Heaven forbid if they could actually sit down like a civilized family.
"It'd be nice if you could actually stay out of my business without having your own opinion about everything I do. For starters, yes, I was out of a job for a bit, five years ago. I'm back working there now, in a stable position. Aria and I are together with our son, and I've never been happier."
Why was everything so difficult for them? They always had to go against the odds and fight battles just to be with each others. Every time things were going well, life had to throw a wrench into the mix like seeing the two of them being thrown through a loop brought the universe some kind of sick entertainment.
Then again, a voice in his head brought up the point that what they had was worth fighting for.
"Daddy!" James' yell from upstairs was unmistakeable. "Come play with me and Uncle Wes!" Ezra looked to Aria, because there was no way he was going to leave her alone with his mother; it's asking for a cage match. But she rolled her eyes and pushed him to go.
"I can handle myself, Ezra."
She could handle herself, but Dianne was a force all on her own. Still, James was now pleading him, and it was hard to deny him anything when he did that. He placed a kiss on her forehead before going upstairs.
"Do you need any help with that?" Aria motioned to dinner. There was a pile of vegetables left to chop and she could see an empty pie crust sitting on the end of the counter. By the smell of things, the turkey was already in the oven and almost done.
"If you really want to help, you can chop these veggies while I prepare the pie." Aria nodded and went to work. It was silent; the only sounds in the room were the rhythmic chopping that came from her and Dianne. It felt like there was a lot to be said, but Aria wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't really in the position to get into their family issues, but she hated how Dianne had decided to drag Ezra through the mud for no apparent reason.
Five years ago she probably would have stayed silent at the matter, but having a son of her own she knew that she would never do the same to James.
After finishing all of the vegetables and throwing them into the pot on the counter, she wiped the knife clean and turned to Dianne. "I don't mean to impose, or anything, but its Thanksgiving, and maybe you could go a little easier on Ezra?" She hated how she sounded, but she didn't want to anger Dianne further. No use in poking a sleeping bear.
"So you do speak. I don't like you very much, dear." Aria blinked a few times, surprised. She'd known the woman for what, twenty five minutes, in which she'd probably spoken to her for two, and she was already passing judgement on her. "And I'm sure the feeling is mutual, but in this family, I'm sure it's evident that we have very little room for blemishes. Ever since Ezra decided to forsake the family name it's just been a downward spiral, so I guess you can understand why I'm a little harsh on him."
"Harsh? That seems like an understatement considering the first thing you did when we got here was psychoanalyze everything that's happened between him and I and immediately peg everything on me, even if there's nothing wrong with what happened. He's your son."
The older woman cocked her head to the side and smiled, in that fake sweet way that you see on television when you see the stereotypical socialites in a tense setting. "And seeing as you have James-William, you can understand why I only want the best for my son. As a mom surely you want the best for your child."
The question made Aria feel sick, because if you wanted the best for your child, you shouldn't be the one trying to control what that meant. The moment something didn't work for you, as a mother you aren't supposed to turn on your kid and act like they've committed some kind of heinous crime.
"I want the best for him, of course, but the best for him is going to be carried by his own discretion, once he's old enough. And I'm not going to antagonize him for his choices, because I'm raising him in a way where that's encouraged." She couldn't help it as her voice began to rise louder and louder.
"I'm sure Ezra dragged you here-"
"Actually I was the one who persuaded him to come. He didn't want to but I was the one who suggested we go." She couldn't help it; Aria let a sarcastic smile come across her face. "So maybe you want to take a look at what you want for your son and realize that you can't control him, and you can't condemn him for his actions." A mini victory dance erupted in Aria's head when she saw Dianne staring speechlessly at her.
I bet this is one of the few times that's ever happened.
"Maybe if you can get off your high horse next time he won't have to be persuaded into coming. I've said what I had to say, if you want to pass me those apples, I'll peel them and there's a slight possibly we can get through this without wanting to tear each other apart."
James was in awe at the amount of cars that were accumulated in one room. Ezra remembered spending a lot of his time as a kid working on them with Wesley, and keeping them in the pool room. As they got older they referred to it as the 'man cave', the only spot in the house that their mother shied away from due to the fact that it was never organized or clean.
In the middle was a pool table, and the surrounding walls were covered with posters and shelves with models on them. A work bench was tucked away on the back wall, still stocked with everything they needed. Even though it was clear that it hadn't been touched in years, the pool table was still kept in good condition, seeing as Wesley occasionally used it to have his friends over instead of his dorm on campus.
One of the reasons Ezra was happy he became a teacher; less school. While he liked teaching, he was never fond of being taught. Sitting in a class room listening to an old professor ramble on never held any merit to him. Learning was fascinating, but it had to be presented in the right way. That's what led him towards being a teacher.
Jamie was scampering around the room, eager to see everything he could. He knew that touching them was not a good idea, and he made sure to have his hands clasped behind his back while Wesley lifted him up to see.
"Here James, you can play with this one, if you want." Off one of the upper shelves, Wesley grabbed one of the newer looking models and gave it to him. It was familiar, and then Ezra remembered that it was one of the last ones they had built before Ezra moved out.
"Pretty sure that was the last one that we built together." Wesley said as the two grown men took a step back.
"I think I left a couple of months later." Ezra said. It was funny, he never really considered how he'd just left his brother alone. At the time all he had to do was get up and get out, and it didn't matter what he had to leave behind.
Wesley nodded. "The rest I built alone, until I was like, sixteen." Ezra couldn't help but notice the hollow tone in his brother's voice. They stood in silence, watching James run the car around on the ground. "I'm sorry I've been such an asshole all these years, man. Letting Mom act how she does. You don't deserve it."
Ezra didn't know how to react; Wesley's apology had come right out of left field, he wasn't expecting it at all. But he knew why; being in that room together brought back when they were close, when they were almost inseparable. And Ezra had just packed up and left.
"I shouldn't have left when I did, Wes. I left you alone, and I shouldn't have."
Wesley scoffed. "No, you had to. Out of the both of us you were the only one to have enough balls to actually get up and leave. And from the looks of it, things have worked out pretty well. I was always mom's favourite because I didn't know how to stand up to her; I just went with whatever she asked. I was always jealous of you for that."
Ezra clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's okay. If there's one thing I've learned from all of this, it's that we've got to move forward. Besides, look at you, you're going to be a lawyer, all top notch-"
"I'm not becoming a lawyer. I might have switched my major. I'm studying forensic anthropology. And I haven't exactly told mom yet."
Holy shit. How he got away with that, Ezra had no idea, but he was proud of him for finally sticking up for himself.
"I switched two years ago, I'm almost done my degree. I've managed to keep mom completely in the dark. And don't give me that look, because there's no way I'm telling her until the end of this year. You know she'll cut funding like that." He snapped his fingers. "I've got this."
Ezra was brought out of the conversation by James tugging on his pant leg. "Daddy how do you play pool?"
"If there's enough time, I'll teach you after dinner, okay? We should go see Mom." James nodded and raced down the stairs after carefully placing the car he was playing with on the pool table. He could barely reach over the edge but managed to do it.
Wesley chuckled. "I can't believe that you left her down there alone. Mom's going to tear her apart."
"You'd be surprised what she's capable of, Wes. Don't doubt her for a second." When they got down the stairs, all was quiet in the kitchen. The two women were working around each other without a single word being exchanged.
Wesley rolled up the sleeves on his grey sweater. "Need some help? I'll switch out with you, Aria."
She smiled gratefully and ran her hands under the water in the sink before wiping them dry and making a beeline for Ezra.
"You were right." They both said at the same time. They each cocked an eyebrow. It was funny how in synch they were sometimes.
"We should have never come." Aria whispered.
"It's a good thing we came." Ezra said.
They looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.
"Did my mother give you a hard time?"
Aria shrugged. "Whatever she gave me I dished it right back at her. We've been chopping and slicing for the last twenty five minutes where the only noise is the boiling water. It was starting to get a little creepy." Ezra could see her relax marginally when he ran his hands up and down her arms. "And so I'm assuming things went well with your brother?"
"We figured a few things out, yes. I'll tell you on the way home when my mother doesn't have her stare locked on us like we're a couple of thieves in a bank." He trailed his thumb gently across her cheek. "Just dinner and desert and we can get out of here, okay?"
She nodded and laced their fingers together as they went and sat down at the dinner table.
"Momma, Daddy said that we're gonna have a guys day soon! How cool is that?" Leave it to Jamie to break the ice in a room. Aria smiled and tousled his hair.
"Very cool. That means I get to have a girls day, and all your aunts will be over. You boys can go to the apartment, we call dibs on the house."
"Since when do you guys call dibs on the house? We just decided this today!" Ezra asked.
"I just did. You should have called dibs earlier. Otherwise it's up for grabs. Am I right, Jamie?" Aria got up and help Wesley put some of the food on the table. Ezra's eyes were bigger than his stomach at that moment. Potatoes, carrots, peas, salad, turkey, buns, ham and stuffing all looked delicious.
"Yep! That's how we do it at school." He pulled himself into the chair beside Aria, opposite Wesley. Ezra remained directly across from Aria, and Dianne was naturally left the head of the table.
"Nice to know we're deciding this using the same system four year olds use." He flashed her a sarcastic grin.
"If it's not broken, don't fix it." Wesley said as he placed the cranberry sauce on the table.
For once in his life, Ezra had a fairly peaceful holiday dinner. Dianne was virtually mute all throughout dinner, and he wondered what Aria had said to her.
Hey, he welcomed the abnormality, sadly enough he had to refer to everything going smoothly as abnormal. James had eaten more than Ezra though possible, and was now slouched in his chair, his hands resting on his tiny belly.
"I'm stuffed." He announced. "That was good Grandma." The kid never forgot his manners.
"Thank you sweetheart, but I hope there's room for dessert." Immediately James perked up, straightening his back and smiled sweetly.
"There's always room for that!"
The group laughed at his innocence. Even though things had gone well up to a point, it was like an instinct in Ezra to be waiting for something. There was no way this could have gone the way it did without a single hitch.
Apple pie was served warm with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, James making sure to put an obnoxious amount of both on his little slice of pie.
"So Ezra, how is it at Rosewood High?" Wesley asked as he sprayed the remainder of the whipped cream on his pie. Conversation had run thin after allowing James to basically take the opportunity to tell Wesley and Dianne all about himself. For a four year old who was shy at first, given the chance he could talk like there was no tomorrow.
"Good. I was happy they let me back last year. It's a lot of work, but it's rewarding. Aria happened to move back to Rosewood after getting a job at the high school too."
"Teaching is an okay profession." Of course Dianne had to throw her two cents in. "Nothing on becoming a lawyer, right Wesley?" Ezra almost choked on his pie to try and keep from laughing. If only she knew. But Wesley played his part well and went along with it. If that's what he had to do to keep going to school to do what he loved, so be it. "Something funny, Ezra?"
The pair of brothers made eye contact and cracked a grin, but said nothing. "Nope, just went down the wrong tube." The superior expression on his mother bothered him; she looked at him because he didn't follow the path she'd put him on he was lesser, and that just wasn't the case. He knew he shouldn't have to prove anything to her, but he couldn't let his mom pull away from this one feeling like she won.
"For me, teaching trumps being in law any time. Because every time I see someone have that light flick on, I know that I've made some sort of a difference. Besides, who are you to judge, you've done nothing but live off of dad's alimony payments."
The breath was sucked out of the room, except for James, who was happily munching on his mountain of ice cream.
"And you not being able to come up with a reason against it is proof enough that there is no way that you should be offering your opinion on how Aria and I live our lives. Or Wesley for that matter." His brother shot him a grateful look. "So next time you want to invite my family over for dinner, you need to forget your prejudices, because I don't want that around them. Or we don't come at all. Fair enough?"
After a staring match that was high up on the intensity scales, Dianne conceded. "Fair enough."
For the next hour, conversation drifted lazily, and Dianne was civil when putting her own opinions out there. For once in his life, Ezra had said everything he needed to say to her face. He didn't run away from his problems, and it felt good.
He knew his mom had more to say, but he wasn't interested in hearing it.
James had passed out on the couch in the living room and it was almost seven o clock, so Aria and Ezra said their goodbyes. The ones with Wesley were more genuine than with Dianne, but not a single person had ended up drunk, crying in the bathroom or leaving the premises. Both Ezra and Wesley considered the afternoon a success.
Aria and Wesley got on well enough, and towards the end of the night James had been pretty comfortable with his uncle. Then again, he had a massive model car collection and with Jamie's interests anyone with a collection that big the four year old would consider a friend.
Aria was carrying a sleeping James as they walked out the door.
"I'll text you next time I'm in Rosewood, and we'll go grab drinks, sound good?"
"Sure thing Wes. Good luck with school." Ezra said with a wink.
It was clear that something had gone down between the boys, because the way they were acting was not at all how Ezra had told Aria their relationship worked. She figured she'd ask him later, once they were home if she wasn't passed out by then as well.
After all the food she'd consumed, their bed was calling her for a good night's rest.
Fastening James in his car seat had been easy with him asleep, and when Aria sat down in the passenger's seat she fought the urge to close her eyes. When Ezra climbed in and turned on the car, the heat coming out of the vents felt good.
"I'd ask you what went down with my mom but you look like you're about to drop." He remarked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"I'd ask you about you and Wesley's sudden bond but I can barely keep my eyes open." All she wanted was to curl into their bed and wrap herself in the comforter.
Ezra smiled. "Tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow."