Chapter 15 – the next morning
Aria's pov
I sat with Emily and Maya as we caught up over brunch at The Radley. Although I wanted to stay by Oliver's side; Ezra and the boys had their last suit fitting and then Spencer's having the guys put together the wedding favors. Frankly after what happened between me and Ezra, I need someone to talk to about it…. Without Oliver around.
"Okay, now that you two have let me ramble endlessly about the boys. What's new with you two?" I asked, and they shared a look.
"We weren't going say anything yet, but we might be adopting two kids. When we were in Colombia, this woman wanted us to adopt her baby. But we told her that as much as we wanted to, it just wasn't the time for us. But she recently reached out to us, about adopting her newest baby and her first born." Emily said.
"Oh my god! That's so amazing, you two are going to be such amazing moms." I told them.
"Thanks Ar, but waiting for the call is killing us. The agency knows about our engagement to the wedding, so it shouldn't interfere." Maya said
I took a sip of my pomegranate and guava spritzer as they both took bites of their food. Maya's phone began ringing and we looked over at her, she quickly got her phone out and looked at us. It was pretty obvious that she was nervous about answering whoever was calling.
"It's the agency." She said.
"Go answer it! Should I be with you when you answer it?" Emily asked.
"I'll just surprise you with the news." Maya said.
She quickly got up to go take the phone call, I took Emily's hand in mine as she crossed her fingers. They deserve to have these kids so much. They've been great aunts to Oliver and Malcolm, and I know they'd be even more amazing as moms.
"How's your mom?" I asked, taking a bite of my banana foster waffle.
"I haven't really seen much of her since I've been training the new high school swim team, and she's been cancelling dinners with us. You know, there's an opening for AP English teacher. Mrs. Olsen finally decided to retire. If you want, I could probably pull some strings and get you an interview." Emily said.
"I'd love that. The three of us, all working together." I said.
"Aria, we've known each other forever. What's the matter?" She asked.
As much as I love the girls, I hate the fact they can read me so easily like this. Even though I did want to talk to her about what had happened between me and Ezra. It was awkward enough avoiding the conversation with him this morning, and I think Malcolm could tell something was up.
"Ezra and I… we fell asleep together on the couch, nothing else happened. It was late and we were watching some movie, I ended up falling asleep and woke up in his arms." I admitted.
"When I woke up in his arms, it brought me back… to when we were happy." I continued.
Maya came back, and neither Emily nor I could tell what Maya had been told. They better have been approved to adopt the kids; the birth mother clearly wanted them to have her children! There's no reason that I could think of that they shouldn't adopt; they both have steady jobs and their own place with plenty of room.
"Well…. Turns out, that we need to leave the day after the wedding." Maya said, smiling.
"Oh my god! We're having kids?" Emily asked excitedly.
"I'm so happy for you two!" I said.
…
Maya's pov
I took Emily's hand as we walked through the mall, we needed to get so much for the baby and for Darius with little time to spare. Just as we were about to go into another baby store, I caught a glance of a photobooth… just like the one where we had our first kiss.
"How about a small break?" I suggested, nodding my head towards the photo booth.
We walked over towards the photo booth. This is it, seeing the photo booth is obviously a sign to propose now instead of tonight. Placing our shopping bags down on the ground, I quickly and carefully pulled out the ring box from my purse as Emily placed a dollar in. We both prepared ourselves and I quietly opened the ring box, careful not to let the ring fall out. Within a few moments, our future could be changed.
"Since the day you came into my life, you've turned my world upside down in the best way ever. You helped me come to terms with who I am, and that person… has been in love with you since day one. You were all in while I was still confused and in denial. Even though our future seemed dark and impossible when we faced hardships; like my mother and you going off to True North, we came over that together and I wouldn't want it any other way or to spend my life with anybody else. Maya Anne St. Germain, will you marry me?" Emily said, holding up a white gold cushion cut halo three stone ring.
"Oh my god… Emily! I was just about to propose to you!" I said, showing her the round cut rose gold moissanite ring.
"This would be us saying we love each other all over again." She pointed out.
"I hope you know; my answer is yes." I told her, softly kissing her.
"I'm also saying yes." Emily murmured, cupping my face.
…..
Aria's pov – the next week
Malcolm and Oliver were in Ezra's living room, building Legos while Ezra and I watched from the kitchen. After Oliver came home from the hospital, I had started moving some stuff from Caitlyn's to the loft. Even though it was his week with the boys, Ezra helped and so did the boys. Everything finally seems to be better between not only me and Ezra, but also him and Hardy. Josh accepted my invitation to be my date for the wedding, and it's been getting more serious between us… it's a little scary, but also a good feeling.
"Why don't I make everyone dinner tonight? I found a recipe for vegetarian lasagna a while back, how about that?" Ezra suggested.
"You don't need to make it vegetarian. I sort of eat meat now, even though I feel awful about it." I told him.
"So, you're a guilty omnivore." He teased and I nodded.
I looked over to see the boys, clearly not paying any attention to anything other than the game and each other. It's so obvious how much the boys love each other, sometimes Oliver will climb into Malcolm's bed instead of mine… I'm kind of jealous of that. But their love for one another has only grown stronger as the years have gone by; despite the fact that they're seven years apart and not being together much the past four years. I only hope they both have the same bond with the baby as well.
"Because I know you, I need to ask. Have you made this before, or will you be burning the house down?" I asked, turning back to Ezra.
"I've made it a couple times, so nothing will burn. Plus, Malcolm liked it when I made it." He told me.
"With your cooking abilities, are you sure he's not lying?" I teased.
"I even had Toby taste it… because Hardy refused to." He admitted.
"Ez, I'm messing with you." I said.
"You know, I learned it to make it… for you. I had planned to surprise you with it when you came home." Ezra said.
"You're learning to cook, which is good. Because you can't live off takeout forever." I pointed out.
I can't get over the fact the learned the recipe for me… and was going to surprise me with it when I had come home. But obviously that was never going to happen. He smirked before lifting off his shirt to show off his small six pack… along with the faded scar from the night he got shot. That night managed to always be on my mind like my psyche didn't want me to forget that it actually happened. One of the many reasons for my nightmares… and I wasn't even there when it happened.
"Think I'll be okay." He told me.
"Don't come crying to me when you're in your thirties and your six-pack is gone. All because you live off of takeout food." I joked.
"Daddy! You have a booboo!" Oliver said, as he came into the kitchen
"I do, and I'll tell you all about it when your older. Who wants to help make dinner?" Ezra asked, changing the subject.
…..
Ezra and I were watching the boys splash around in the pool, they had ganged up on us to convince us to let them go swimming. Ezra looked over at me as I took a sip of my peach tea, I turned to see him trying to figure out how to say whatever it is that he's about to say. Even though we talked about the night I almost slept with Hardy…. There were still some things we really hadn't brought up about it. It could either be about that or the divorce papers that we will be signing in a few days.
"There's something we haven't discussed… about that night." Ezra said softly.
"Why I was completely drunk." I responded, and he nodded.
"I ran into Byron that morning and learned Meredith wasn't the only woman he cheated on Ella with. And then I was also realizing that Riley and I didn't feel like a couple at all, and I was still a little homesick. So… yeah, getting drunk sounded like a great idea." I said.
Neither of us said anything as we turned our attention back to the boys, who were now doing cannonballs. They both look so much like Ezra and though I wouldn't have it any other way, I kind of hope the baby looks more like me. I'd love a girl; I could dress her up in little dresses or twin with her. Because it's a little hard to do the twining with Oliver or Malcolm, and I can't twin with Rosie for obvious reasons.
"So yesterday, before everything happened. I told Malcolm that you and I would discuss letting him try coffee." Ezra said, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Well obviously, he can't just start having it all the time." I pointed out.
"That's what I told him, but what do you think?" He asked.
"I don't see anything wrong with letting him try it. I said.
He nodded in agreement. This is how we should be co-parenting, getting along perfectly and not in an argument every five minutes. Oliver came running towards us, giggling with Malcolm behind him. Climbing onto my lap, Oliver took my cup and took a sip of my tea.
"Yuck." He declared, giving my cup back.
Snuggling into me, Oliver reached over and took a handful of the strawberries we have been snacking on. My phone beeped and I saw that I had a text from Josh. Holding my phone over Oliver's head, I opened the text and tried not to give it away that it was Josh… though I'm sure Ezra already knew it was him.
'I was thinking that we could take the boys mini golfing tomorrow night.'
'That sounds fun, I'll talk to the boys about it and let you know.'
Texting Josh back about tomorrow, I saw it was almost eight twenty and mentally kicked myself for letting Oliver be up this late. He should've been in bed about an hour ago and he still needs his bath. I really need to stick to his schedule; this isn't good for him with the few times it's been messed up for one reason or another. I looked at Oliver, who was finishing his last strawberry.
"We better get going, it's way past your bedtime Ollie and you still need a bath." I said.
"No bath!" Oliver argued.
"I know you don't want a bath, but you need one since you've been swimming." I told him.
"Want me to just hose him down upstairs?" Malcolm asked, secretly meaning a shower.
"Yeah!" Oliver said excitedly.
"Just don't make a mess." Ezra and I both said.
We watched as Malcolm led Oliver inside to go wash up, with Fish trailing behind them. Ezra and I started cleaning up the snacks, he gave me a look before taking the plates that I had picked off the table. I started cleaning up the boys' pool toys that were spread around the yard.
"You don't have to help clean up Ar. I think you should take it easy… or you could help clean up if you want." Ezra said trailing off as I glared at him.
"Ez, you can only say things like that if I'm about to pop." I told him.
"Noted. But you know, we will have to come up possible boy names… because whether Oliver likes it or not, there is a possibility the baby will be a boy." Ezra said, and I nodded.
"Got any ideas?" I asked.
As I placed the pool toys in the wicker storage box, Ezra picked up the cups and stacked them all together. It hadn't occurred to me that we'd have to pick names for the baby, now that Oliver is set that we don't have another boy… it's going to be hard to pick out boy names.
"Not really, what about Phoenix?" He suggested.
"Not a fan of it honestly. How do you feel about Flynn or Augustus?" I asked
"I like Flynn, what about Atticus?" He added.
"A lot better than Phoenix. Plus, it'd go with the literature thing we started with Oliver." I told him.
Cleaning up the last of the garbage, I followed Ezra inside and he led me over to the kitchen table. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, before writing down the two names that we both liked. Hopefully, Oliver won't throw a tantrum over the fact we're preparing in case the baby is a boy.
"Edward." I said, Ezra set the pen down and gave me a look.
"We are not naming any of our kids after some sparkly vampire. I'm not even going to count Edward as a suggestion, just going to pretend that you didn't say it." Ezra told me, and I jokingly rolled my eyes.
"James." I said, picking the first name that came to my mind.
"I like that a lot more. Jeremiah?" Ezra said, writing down James.
"It's too close to Malcolm's middle name Ez." I pointed out
"Then Jacob." He said, rebuking his previous suggestion.
"I'm team Edward." I joked.
Without saying anything else, Ezra sat his pen down and looked at me again. I still remember when I made him watch the first four movies the summer before I left for school. Of course, it took a lot of persuading and he made me watch Chinatown from start to end for each movie he had to endure. But we ended up getting…. distracted each time he had played Chinatown, at least I can it doesn't put me to sleep anymore.
"Liar, you hated Edward in those sparkly vampire movies." He reminded me, snapping me out of my memories.
"How about Evan?" I asked, he nodded and wrote it down.
"Octivas." Ezra threw out, and we heard one of the boys coming down.
Just then, Oliver appeared in just his underwear and crawled onto my lap. I handed him his bottled water and he gladly drank some. Hopefully, he'll just knock right out instead of wanting a bedtime story tonight. We really need to get Oliver back on his seven twenty bedtime schedule.
"Only I start with O." Oliver snapped.
"Got any suggestions?" Ezra asked him.
"Olivia." Oliver said
"Baby, that's very close to your name." I told him
"And Olivia starts with an O lil man." Ezra added.
"I know, you don't want the baby to be a boy. But you need to know that there is a chance they'll be a boy." I said.
"Only I be baby boy!" Oliver exclaimed.
Ezra and I looked at each other as Oliver scrambled off my lap and stormed upstairs. Neither one of us know how to handle Oliver demanding we don't have another boy. I know that Oliver would try to convince Ella to keep the baby at her house if it is a boy, I did try selling Mike to Lizzie…. So, I wouldn't put it past Oliver to try any of the cliché selling the baby sibling tactics.
..…
Walking into the boys' room, I saw them both in bed and ready for me to read. I've been procrastinating asking the boys about going mini golfing tomorrow since we got back from Ezra's. As much as I want the boys to see Josh as someone that I like very much, I don't want them to feel forced to like him. I sat down on Oliver's bed as he opened his storybook and handed it to me.
"Before I start reading, I want to ask you two something. How would you two feel about going mini golfing with Josh and me tomorrow?" I asked them.
"I like mini golf!" Oliver exclaimed.
"Yeah. Sounds like fun." Malcolm said, I could tell he was hiding something.
"Ollie, why don't you go potty one more time." I told Oliver.
"Don't have to go." He said.
"At least try, you had a lot of water a while ago." I told him.
Oliver sighed as he crawled out of his bed, we watched him walk out of the bedroom. I waited a few moments before walking out to the hallway to make sure he just wasn't sitting out in the hallway, which wouldn't have surprised me.
"Okay, tell me what's bothering you. Honey if you don't want to come, you can tell me. I don't want you to feel as if you have to." I said, sitting next to him.
"I do wanna come... It's just that, I just wish that we could go back to being a family." He said quietly.
"Oh honey. I know everything is still hard to get used to, but right now we just have to adapt to what it is." I said.
"Life kind of sucks." He muttered.
"You know, sometimes I forget you're only twelve with how you act and talk. But can I tell you something?" I said and he nodded.
"It's still hard for me too, getting used to everything." I told him.
…
The boys led me and Josh to last hole of the mini golf course, and I felt his hand brush up against mine. Glancing over at Josh, I gave him a soft smile and took his hand in mine. Caitlyn insisted that I wore my corral pink shark bite tank top with white straps, claiming I need to show off my cute shoulders. As we got to the first hole, Oliver turned around and Josh let go of my hand before he could see our hands together.
"Here mama." Oliver said.
He came over and handed me Bubba. He had been set on bringing Bubba with, even though I told him it would be best he was left in the car. Mostly, because I knew that I'd end up holding Bubba most of the night or worse, Oliver would leave Bubba somewhere and lose him. I'm shocked that he hadn't left Bubba somewhere at all tonight. So far, the boys really like Josh… at least that's it seems like at least. Malcolm and Josh have been talking about sports almost the entire time, Oliver on the other hand has been acting shy all night. Despite that he already knows Josh, perhaps it was too soon for them to be meeting Josh like this. Especially Oliver, even more since his tantrum about I had a date with Josh and not Ezra.
"I like your lamb Oliver." Josh said.
"Thank you. His name is Bubba." Oliver told him
"That is the coolest name ever!" Josh exclaimed.
"I know." Oliver said, seeming to be less shy
"Go hit your last ball baby." I told him.
Oliver walked back over by Malcolm and placed his ball on the grass. Josh and I looked at each other as Malcolm was reminding Oliver how to gently swing his putter. After hitting the ball, he came over by me and reached for Bubba. Malcolm hit his ball then Josh hit his, Oliver followed me as I hit my ball and took my hand in his.
"Your turn Ollie." I reminded him.
"Will you hold Bubba?" He asked Josh.
"I can totally hold Bubba for you." Josh told him, taking Bubba.
Josh and I shared a look, I'm guessing Oliver really is warming up to Josh. He doesn't let a lot of people hold Bubba, but apparently Josh is one of the few. Out of all the girls, only Caitlyn can hold him if I'm not. Looking between the ball and the hole, Oliver dragged it with his putter. We clapped when the ball went into the hole, getting Oliver to giggle.
"My ball is gone!" Oliver exclaimed, looking into the hole.
"That's because it went back to lady who gave us the balls." Josh told him.
Josh handed Bubba back to Oliver, and I can tell is getting tired. Hopefully, he won't want me to read a story and will just want snuggled tonight. Oliver looked up at me and lifted his arms, I picked him up and he rested his head on my shoulder. While Malcolm and Josh took their turns, I struggled to give Oliver snuggles and hold my ball and putter.
"Mama's gotta put you down real quick." I told Oliver.
"No!" He started crying.
"What if I held you?" Josh asked, receiving a nod.
I handed Oliver over to Josh, who somehow calmed down the second he was settled in Josh's arms. Malcolm and I made a face at each other as I went to hit my final ball. After a couple of misses, I finally got it in the hole. Offering to take Oliver back from Josh, both of them shook their heads. Either Oliver really likes Josh… or he's a lot more tired then he's showing. We headed back to the building to return our putters and Oliver seemed to have woken up a bit.
"You have my ball?" Oliver asked, and I mouthed blue.
"I do, it's right here!" The girl said, holding up a random blue ball.
"That's cool, isn't it Ollie?" Malcolm asked, receiving a nod.
…
As Josh pulled into the driveway, I turned to see Oliver had fallen asleep in his car seat and Malcolm was on the verge of falling asleep. Neither of the boys definitely won't want a bedtime story tonight, which hurts even though I was kind of hoping that it would happen. Pretty soon the baby will be here, and who knows if I'll be able to tell them a story every night. Malcolm gently shook Oliver awake as we were getting out of the car.
"Thanks for coming guys." Josh said
"Thank you for bringing us." Malcolm responded.
"Thank you." Oliver said barely audible.
"Okay you two, go on inside and get ready for bed. I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in Ollie." I told the boys.
"Bye Ollie, bye Malcolm." Josh said.
The boys waved to Josh as Malcolm led Oliver inside. Turning my attention to getting Oliver's car seat out, I saw Josh already had it out. Wow he's fast, I took the car seat from him and he brushed some hair behind my ear.
"I had a really good time tonight." I said as he walked me to the porch.
"So did I, I'm glad you said yes. I know things moved quickly between us these past few days, but I know that I don't want to see anybody else. And I'm hoping you feel the same." He said.
Looking into his eyes, I gently cupped his face and pressed my lips to his. Even though I hadn't been sure about even going on a date with him in the first place, he makes me happy and I really do like him. It's like he was always meant to me be the one that pulls me from whatever funk I had been about Ezra.
"I definitely feel the same." I whispered.
"Eww!"
We turned our heads to see Oliver, looking at us through the window with a disgusted facial expression. Pulling away from Josh, I raised an eyebrow at him and opened the door. How long has he been there instead of getting ready for bed? He's not even in his pajamas, which means he probably hadn't brushed his teeth yet.
"Oliver, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for bed?" I asked.
"Bubba still in the car mama." He said, on the verge of having a meltdown about it.
"I will get Bubba; you go get ready for bed like I told you. By the time I come up there, I want to see you in bed Oliver." I told him
He scrambled upstairs and Josh led me back towards his car and unlocked it for me. I saw that Bubba was right next to where Oliver's car seat had been and picked him up. I'm surprised that Oliver even forgot about him in the first place, he loves Bubba more than anything… Although I did assume that he would leave Bubba at the mini golf course somewhere. Closing the door, Josh gave me a small smile before pressing his lips to mine once more. I wrapped an arm around his neck as he pinned me up against the car.
"I better go make sure Oliver's in bed and give him bubba before he has a meltdown." I whispered.
"Okay, I'll see you later." He said.
…
Next day
Ezra and I were sitting at his kitchen table, trying to figure out how we're going to put together Oliver's birthday party in such a short amount of time. With being Spencer's maid of honor, I almost forgot about my own child's birthday party…. Oh shit! I wasn't here for Malcolm's birthday and didn't get to do anything with him for it! Yeah, I definitely deserve the best mommy in the world cup the boys gave me for Mother's Day. I shared a look with Ezra and we both knew that we should have Oliver help out since it is his birthday party.
"Ollie, can you pause your cartoons and come here? Daddy and I need to talk to you about your birthday party." I called out.
We watched Oliver, look at the remote and pressing the mute button. Giggling, he ran over here and crawled up onto his chair. He took looked at us and I brushed some hair out of his face, I hate how fast these years have gone. Feels like only yesterday that Ezra and I brought Oliver home from the hospital.
"What kind of theme do you want your party to be lil man?" Ezra asked.
"Huh?" Oliver asked, quite confused.
"What the party is about." Ezra explained.
"Thought it about me." Oliver said, reaching for the crackers.
Ezra and I looked at one another, trying not to laugh. I handed Oliver a couple of crackers for him to snack on. There's so much to do with both the wedding AND his birthday, we'll figure something out for Oliver's birthday. We've been doing that for the past three years when we came home for summer, although last year was the hardest to do. Malcolm had to be in New Jersey for his soccer camp the same day I left for London, and Ezra had to start off his book tour. Which is why we ended up doing Ollie's birthday in March over Spring break.
"Theme is just the decorations. Do you remember your Elmo party last year?" I asked.
"Please no Elmo, I'm a big boy!" Oliver said, matter of factly.
"Do duckies have birthday parties mama?" He asked, randomly changing the subject
"I'm not sure." I said.
"Can we throw a party for the duckies?" Oliver asked
"Maybe, but we need to focus on your party right now." I told him.
Malcolm walked into the house with Fish. I hate the fact Malcolm can't bring Fish over when its my week with the boys, hopefully Ezra and I can work something out if I end up renting a house. He unleashed Fish before walking over and sitting down next to me.
"What about a circus?" Ezra suggested.
"No daddy! Clowns are scary." Oliver told him and Ezra looked at me.
"Like mother, like son." He chuckled and I jokingly rolled my eyes at him.
Glancing at the time on my phone, I saw it's an hour before I have to get to work. Ella said that she could watch the boys tonight since I have to work, she learned a new recipe that she thought the boys and Luna might like. Ezra said he would keep the boys longer, but he and Nicole are going to the movies later.
"We better get going you two, I need to get ready for work and drop you off at Grandma and Grandpa's." I said, looking between the boys.
"I could drop them off if you want." Ezra said as the boys went to go get their stuff.
"Thanks, but Ella's making some new recipe for the kids, and sending me to work with some for later." I told him, getting up from my chair
"What's she making?" He asked.
"Some smokey chorizo cheesy pasta she saw on Pinterest." I told him, the boys came running down with the things they usually bring back and forth.
"I'll see you boys later, have fun with mom and behave for Grandma." Ezra told the boys
…..
Walking into The Grille, Josh gave me a smile from the host stand. I walked over and he brushed his lips against my cheek. At least there's barely anyone here, and they're not going to throw a fit that he kissed my cheek. Chloe came out from the kitchen as I put my food in the stand.
"Are you trying to steal my job Rohland?" I teased him.
"Not at all, just thinking about you." He said as Chloe came up.
"Ugh, you two are disgustingly cute." She joked.
I held back my laughter, as I started punching into the system. One of the tables started flagging Josh down, he gave me a small smile before going to go check on them. There is nothing that could ruin my night tonight. It looks like things are finally getting better.
AN – Nothing could ruin her night…. Right? ALSO EMAYA ARE ENGAGED & ADOPTING! Spoby's wedding is coming up soon, trust me it's going to be the fictional wedding you won't want to miss… that's all I'm gonna tease. Please do send names for Both Ezria's baby and Spoby's baby. Also don't forget to let me know whether you're team boy or girl for both Ezria & Spoby babies.
