Chapter Four: Takes Some Time

Edward's POV

I looked in the bathroom mirror one more time before shutting the light off and heading into my bedroom. It was my first day at Graham Hill Elementary School and saying I was nervous was a bit of an understatement. I was offered the job two years after graduating from Boston University and reluctantly took it. It was a great opportunity, but Tanya was staying in Boston. It was killing me to be so far away from her, but she insisted I go.

It was just how she was.

I argued that I was fine at the small school right outside of Boston. But, she was right when she told me that Graham Hill was better for me and my career. So, she helped me buy a small apartment, packed the boxes with me, and made the three thousand mile drive with me. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I'd ever done especially since she insisted on postponing the wedding until she could find a job in Seattle.

The distance was killing me, but she was always there, telling me we'd be together soon.

I poured myself a bowel of Honey Nut Cheero's and turned the news on. Halfway through, my phone vibrated and I saw a FaceTime request from her. I muted the TV and answered the video call.

"Hey, handsome." She smiled as she came into view.

"Hi, gorgeous." I laughed.

"I like your tie." She giggled and I looked down to see it. It was the one she'd given me for my first student teaching job and I'd worn it for every first since.

"I miss you," I sighed, ruining her happy vibe. I always did this, but the second I heard her voice, I began missing her even more.

"I miss you too." She smiled. "But, I'm turning in more applications today so I'm being hopeful." She told me. "I want you to do this, Edward Please don't feel guilty."

"I can't help it." I shrugged. "I hate being away from you...summers were long enough."

"I know but this is good for you. This is a good job and you're going to go places." She whispered. "Good luck, baby."

"Thanks," I smiled. "I love you."

"Love you more." And she hung up. I finished my breakfast, brushed my teeth, and headed out the door. I made sure to get there earlier than I needed to be to get a good parking space and to find my way around the school. It wasn't very big, but I still wanted to know the place.

After finding my classroom, I made my way to the small faculty lounge to try and get some coffee. It was empty except a janitor and a guy a little older than me, sitting on the couch.

"You the new guy?" He asked as he looked up from his newspaper.

"That depends." I said. "Is being new good or bad?"

"Good." He nodded. "Very good."

"Then yeah, I'm the knew guy." I laughed as I poured myself a cup of coffee. When I took a sip, I made a mental note to make sure to take some with me the next day. "I'm Edward."

"Seth." He smiled. "Fifth grade."

"First." I told him. "How long have you been here?"

"Six years. It was my first job." He smiled. "And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. You'll love it here."

"I sure hope so," I sighed nervously. Seth went back to his paper and I headed back to my classroom. I'd been here on the weekend to set it up and as it got closer to Eight-thirty, I got more and more nervous. If this worked, which I was hoping it would, this would be my school for a while.

At eight fifteen, I heard the first bus outside of my window. I took a deep breath and waited for the new students to come through the door. They told me a lot of the first graders were driven to school the first few days, so I wasn't expecting any yet.

And then, one of them came running through the door. He was a lively little guy with a Ninja Turtle backpack and a Spider Man shirt. I couldn't help but giggle as he ran through the room. A man who I assumed to be his father, followed him in the room an apologized to me for his sons behavior.

"Come here, you!" The dad laughed as he scooped the boy into his arms and carried him over to him. "Tell your tears your name."

"Jason!" He giggled.

"I'm Mr. Cullen." I smiled, and he reached his tiny hand out to me, asking me to shake it. I gripped his small hand around mine and gave him a good shake. His dad only stayed for a few minutes to help him find his cubby and desk and then as more people started filing in, he left.

Jason ran over to another little boy in a Spider Man shirt and gave him a big hug. I assumed they'd met last year in kindergarden. I talked to the parents as the came in to drop their kids off.

And then, she walked through the door. I couldn't help but stare for longer than I should have. She was...breathtaking. She had long, wavy, brown hair with dark brown eyes to match. She was pale as porcelain and her legs went on for miles. I thought she was one of my coworkers, but then I noticed the little girl attached to her leg.

The only thing that was different between the woman and her daughter was her daughters skin was just a tad darker. But, the little girl was equally beautiful and I smiled at how much they looked alike.

"Excuse me," I said to a mother I'd been talking to. I don't know what I was doing. I was engaged and she was the mother to one of my students, but I couldn't help myself from gravitating towards her. "Hello," I smiled and then looked down at the little girl. "Who are you?"

"This is Ava." The mother answered as Ava hid her face from me. "It was the same thing last year and she was having fun in an hour so don't worry."

"Hi, Ava." I smiled as I bent down to her level. "We're going to have a lot of fun in the first grade."

"See, sweetie?" The mother asked. "Just because you have a boy for a teacher this year doesn't change anything. He seems just as cool as Mrs. Anderson did last year." She smiled as I stood back up. "I'm Bella."

"Edward." I smiled. "I mean, Mr. Cullen." I said and I could feel my cheeks warming up. "I'll give you two a few minutes." I told her and walked over to another couple and their kids.

When the bell finally rang, it was time for all the parents to leave and time to start a new year. Bella was right. Ava was fine after a story and was playing with the other kids within no time.

It had to have been the best first day of school I'd ever had, even counting when I was actually going to school. The class I had listened when it was time and nothing got out of hand when it was play time. I was feeling better that Tanya had literally dragged me out here for this job.

"Mommy!" Ava yelled as her mother walked into the room again. She'd had a good day, but I could tell how close her and her mother were. Bella didn't look very old, my age maybe so I assumed she was still a teenager when she had Ava. I also saw there was no ring on her finger, so I figured the dad was not in her life anymore.

"Hello again." I smiled at Bella as she hugged her daughter. "Ava did really well today. I thought you'd want to know."

"What does really well mean, exactly?" She asked as she set Ava down on the floor.

"She cried for a little after you left but when we got started, she was fine. Not a single tear." I smiled. "She didn't want to eat her snack, but other than that, no problems."

"You didn't eat your grapes, huh?" She laughed, looking down at Ava. "Well then you get grapes after school instead of the cookies Grandma made."

"But, Mommy!" Ava fought.

"Ava, you won't get cookies for a week if you throw a fit." Bella glared and Ava stopped instantly. "Sorry, my mother makes the best chocolate chip cookies and Ava's addicted."

"It's fine," I smiled. "So, will your husband be picking her up a lot or no?" I asked. I knew there was a sheet with who was allowed to pick Ava up sitting in my filing cabinet, but I was feeling quite nosy at the moment.

"I'm not married." She smiled. "Ava's dad lives down in Florida...we aren't together." She told me. "So no, it'll be me or my parents who pick her up. Did I put him on the sheet?"

"No, I was just double checking."

"Mommy, lets go!" Ava wined as she began pulling at Bella's arm.

"Well, that's my cue." She smiled. "Say bye to Mr. Cullen, Ava."

"Bye, Mr. Cullen!" She squealed as they left the room. I took a breath to compose myself as I walked back over to my desk. I felt guilty when I saw the picture of Tanya on my desk. I wasn't being fair at all and I needed to make sure I wasn't off flirting with single moms again.

The last child was picked up and I was finally able to go home. I packed up my things, turned the light off, and made my way to the staff parking lot.

"Cullen!" A familiar voice called as I neared the doors. I turned to see Seth jogging down the hall.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as he came to a stop.

"A couple of us are going out for a beer later tonight to celebrate the first day of school." He told me. "You wanna come?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." I sighed, excited to finally get out of that apartment. Jasper and Emmett were still in Boston, trying to find a way to get out to Washington. "Which bar?"

"Here's all the information." He said, handing me a piece of paper. "I'll see you later."

"I can't believe you're finally here!" I squealed as I picked her up and spun her around. Tanya had managed to get a job interview at a small, but well known PR firm in Seattle. I knew she'd get the job in a second, but she was having her doubts. I was just glad she was here, it'd been too long since I'd seen her.

"Did you miss me or something?" She laughed as I peppered her face with kisses.

"Not at all." I said as I set her back down on the ground. "So, what do you wanna do?" I asked. "See the city, go to my place, get something to eat?"

"See the city and get something to eat?" She asked as I picked her bag up and took her hand in mine.

"That'd be lovely." I smiled as I kissed her. Yeah, we were that couple that kissed and cuddled every chance we got, but I could care less. I was madly in love with her and I wanted people to know. It wasn't a crime to be in love and to show a little PDA.

When we got to my car, I put her bag in the trunk and opened the car door for her.

"Such a gentleman." She laughed as she got inside.

"Always." I smiled as I shut the door and walked over to my side. I drove her around for a while, showing her small little things I found when I moved here. But, as the sun began to set, I made my way over to the Space Needle.

"Good choice," She laughed as I parked. We made our way up to the door and I bought our tickets. After a few minutes of waiting, we were able to go up to the top. "Edward," She gasped as we looked out over the Seattle skyline and saw the sunsetting.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around her from behind and kissed her shoulder. "Just like you,"

"I love you so much." She whispered as she turned around in my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gently pressed my lips to hers.

"I kinda wish I knew I'd be moving to Seattle," I told her as we continued to look out over the city. "This would have been the perfect place to propose."

"Hey, I loved your proposal." She whispered. "It was perfect."

"It was, wasn't it?"

"Don't get cocky now," She giggled. "I can't wait until we get married."

"Me too," I smiled.

I paced around my apartment as I waited for Tanya to get back from her interview. I had no doubt she'd get the job, but there was this annoying little voice in the back of my head asking what if she didn't get the job? Would she move out here anyway and wait or would we postpone the wedding even more?

Finally, I was able to sit down and begin grading the math worksheets I brought home with me. They got a check if they tried to do the assignment, so I was finished going through the quickly. At six o'clock, the front door swung open and she walked in.

"So?" I asked, jumping from my place on the couch,running over to her. "How'd it go?"

"I didn't get the job, Edward." She sighed, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. I hugged her tightly and just let her cry it out. I didn't understand why they wouldn't give her the job, but I didn't ask. "They said I wasn't what they were looking for."

"Then, you'll go and find a better place." I shrugged. "Or, you can just move out here while you're looking for a job."

"And be unemployed?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "You want me to be that girl?"

"What girl?"

"The girl who sits at home while the man goes and does all the work and makes all the money." She growled. "That girl."

"No, but I want you out here with me because I don't want to wait to get married anymore." I told her. "We've already postponed the wedding once, I don't wanna do that again." I said. "Tanya, I didn't propose to you so we could be engaged forever."

"But I'm not just going to sit here all day while your'e at work, Edward." She yelled. "I won't do it! I worked too damn hard in college to be the housewife."

"I'm just saying until you find a job!"

"And what if that takes two years?" She asked. "I have a perfectly good job back in Boston and I'm not leaving that to sit here!"

"What about the wedding?" I asked. "What if it does take two years for you to find a good job here in Seattle? We're going to wait that entire time to get married?"

"Maybe." She sighed.

"I don't want to wait that long, Tanya." I told her. "I want to call you my wife when I introduce you to people. I wanna start having kids...I wanna start a family." I explained. "And, the longer your in Boston, the longer it will be before we can do those things."

"We aren't having kids right after we get married." She reminded me. "You know that right?"

"Yeah, well I was thinking we'd be getting married in a few months and then in a year or so we could start trying." I told her.

"Only a year?" She asked. "Edward, I'm not a baby making machine and the second that kid pops out, I'm going to be the one stuck here at home with it."

"You want kids though!" I argued.

"Maybe I do," She shrugged. "But, after seeing how hard it is for some women to get back in the swing of things at work...makes me not want to have them." She told me. "I don't want that to happen to me."

"So, let me get this straight." I seethed. She'd never said anything about not wanting kids and I was fuming. "You don't want to have kids because of your career?"

"Yeah,"

"Kids are my job, Tanya!" I yelled. "I love kids and when I see them playing with each other...I want one of my own. I want one with you!" I told her. "You knew this from the beginning!"

"Then...maybe this was a mistake." She whispered. "Maybe we should...take a break."

"A break?" I asked in disgust. "You mean, call off the engagement?" I asked.

"We obviously want different things."

"We wanted the same things up until about five minutes ago!" I reminded her. "I can't believe you. You're giving up on us that quick?"

"I don't want to hold you back from having a family and I'm not leaving Boston anytime soon anyway." She told me. "This is probably best for us."

"Tanya," I whispered as she began slipping the ring off her finger. "Come on, lets work this out."

"There isn't anything to work out, Edward." She told me, putting the ring in my palm. "You'll find another girl who wants a family just like you do."

"I don't want another girl." I cried. "I want you."

"You want a family and a family is something I may never be able to give you." She said and walked out of the apartment.