The Love You Give

Making Plans

Ezra felt refreshed and restored after her snuggle and nap with Barry Allen. "You're such a good boy, aren't you?" She petted the Pitbull before heading downstairs. Celeste and Jansen were the only ones seated. "Where are the guys?" Ezra asked confused. "They said they were going to grab dinner on their own and were busy having triplet bonding time." Celeste laughed to herself. "You know there was a time, in our old house, that they would camp out in the treehouse all night just hanging out doing their triplet bonding. I miss those days." Ezra smiled at her. "I'd like to see this old house one day. I'm sure it has many stories to tell." Celeste nodded as Marisol brought out dinner. Ezra wasn't trying to be rude and ignore Jansen it was just really hard to reconcile the past with the present. They made small talk, but it was obvious to Jansen and Celeste that something was off with Ezra.

"Are you okay, honey?" Jansen asked but she couldn't look at him. "I'm fine. I think I'm done for the night. I'll see you guys in the morning." She said rushing off. "But you haven't had dessert..." Celeste tried calling out. "That was weird." Jansen nodded in agreement. "Did it seem like she was mad at me?" He asked his wife who shook her head no. "I'm going to go talk to her." He said before getting up and kissing her on the lips. "Don't mind me...I'll just eat alone," Celeste said to herself. Ezra heard the knock on her door and immediately knew who it was and she wasn't ready. "Come in." She sat on the end of her couch with Barry Allen lying on her lap. "Hey kiddo, can we talk?" Ezra nodded and Jansen took a seat at the other end. "You seem a bit off tonight. Is everything okay?"

"Yes...no." Ezra sighed before looking at him. "Why do men cheat?" Jansen immediately began choking on his saliva. He coughed out loud before collecting himself. "Why are you asking this, honey? Did something happen between you and Mason?" Ezra looked at him confused before rolling her eyes. "Mason and I are just friends. I was just thinking about my father and how he had a loving wife and devoted child and it still wasn't enough for him. Did we do something wrong?" Jansen shook his head no and sat closer to her before petting Barry absentmindedly. "Men cheat for a variety of reasons, but the most common is the false belief that they're missing out and that what they have will always be there. Selfish men cheat. These men put their feelings and needs ahead of others and it's wrong."

"Were you ever a selfish man?" Jansen looked Ezra in the eyes and saw pain and sadness. "I've made some mistakes in the past, but I promise you, angel, I'm not that man anymore. You can trust me," he said cupping her cheek. Ezra saw the sincerity in his eyes and nodded. Just then the boys busted into her room. "We can come back," Jacob said looking between them. "No, it's fine. I was just leaving." Jansen kissed her forehead before patting Barry Allen and leaving. "What was that about?" Jace asked taking a seat beside her. "Reconciliation." The guys shared a look before looking down at her smiling face. "I missed y'all tonight." They smiled back at her before each giving her a kiss. "We missed you too, baby girl, but we had to see someone about our future."

"What now?" Ezra looked at the fanned-out brochures on her coffee table and giggled. "College." They all nodded in unison. "Where do you want to go? Because wherever that is we'll be right behind you." Jacob smiled happily. "Babes, I couldn't ask any of you to do that. Jace, I know you want to play college football, Jacob you want to go to Pratt Institute and Jackson, I know you have your heart set on the Savannah College of Art and Design. You each have your own dreams. I can't ask you to give that up for me." They each saw how selfless she was and though it warmed them that's not what they wanted. "We know you're not asking us, Princess, but this is what we want. We want to be with you." She saw how serious they were. They weren't going to let this go.

"Jace wants to be a Husky so bad. No offense Barry Allen." They all laughed as the pup tilted his head in confusion. "Going to UConn would be amazing. We can all get an apartment on campus. Jackson could join the Art and Design track and Jacob can apply for the Visual and Performing Arts program. I'd be happy applying for a spot in the Music program. This would be my dream come true as we'll all be together, but I'm not selfish. It's not what you guys want." They shook their heads. "Sweetheart, that plan sounds amazing. It sounds perfect for us. We're all happy and most importantly, we all have you." Ezra looked at all of their faces. "You're sure you are okay with this." They nodded happily. Her smile grew by the millisecond. "We need back up schools. We'll all apply just in case, but I know Jace will get drafted." Jacob pulled her up into a kiss. "Time to start looking for apartments, sweetheart!"