**Hayden's POV for now!**
I woke up early that morning to let the dogs out and go grab the mail. The car was long gone by now and Dasha was still asleep. Hopefully I could just look at the package without having to tell her what was inside. This was past the point of ridiculous and she was already scared. It honestly pissed me off how far some of these people had gone to separate us.
The mail contained the regular bills and magazines along with the "package" he had spoken of. It was an envelope that you usually sent fragile things in as I contemplated opening it up out here or inside.
Glancing around, I decided it was for the better to do it inside and shut the door before looking at it. There was a letter that was typed up and signed stating about our relationship. It didn't make any sense until I saw who it was addressed to. My boss.
"Okay... I'm leaving for Cali you prick. This is irrelevant now." I checked the envelope for any photos but saw none. What was his motive?
I went through my email just to ensure my boss hadn't actually emailed me saying he did indeed have photos of Dasha and I. Thankfully nothing was showing up school related and I let out a breath. For now things were... manageable to say the least.
Dasha's footsteps sounded as I made my way into the kitchen and set the package on top of some bills. I began to pull ingredients for an omelet out of the fridge when I heard her enter.
"Morning sweetheart," I set the things down and turned to kiss her forehead.
"Good morning," she reached up for another kiss and smiled.
"The dogs are both outside for now. Does an omelet sound good for breakfast?"
"Yes." Her stomach agreed while she opened the fridge for me and got the carton of orange juice. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Mhm. Did you?"
"I usually do when I'm with you."
Although my back was to her while I was getting things ready I could tell she was blushing.
"I'm glad I can do something right." I teased and bumped her hip with mine when she approached to get glasses.
She bumped mine back and grabbed plates for us. "When did you want to start packing things?"
"We can today. I've already began the garage and back bedroom. My parents offered to hold things that we didn't want to take with us for now."
"Awesome, I have everything from my apartment ready to go. I guess we just need to confirm where we're living so that we know what all we can bring."
"How about we make a trip out there this next week? We can look at the University so I can talk to faculty and you can help me decide where's a good place to stay."
"That sounds great!"
Seeing my girl actually happy for the first time within the past few weeks was a relief. Things were at least a little less stressful in the sense of Dasha being a graduate now. However it left room for everything else to be dwelled on.
"And we can do any wedding stuff out there if you wanted?"
"I wouldn't mind dress shopping out there. But I want to do the wedding here so our families can attend. The girls have already started looking for different dresses."
"Perfect. Let me know whenever you need help, I don't really know what to do." I felt my face flush, it had been awhile since I had looked into wedding decorations and such. Even then Missy hadn't given me much of an option when we first became engaged.
"This is as much of your say as it is mine." She smiled and went to set the table while I finished.
"So after breakfast, I can start booking tickets and then we'll begin figuring out living conditions? I know it's going to be expensive no matter where we are but I still want to be somewhere relatively close to everything."
"I don't know where I would apply to yet, so as long as you're not having to commute super far to campus I don't mind."
"We'll figure it out." I reassured her and placed the food on the table.
A few hours later I had the flight booked and a hotel for a few days. There were a few realtors I was looking into and wanted to check with Dasha when she got back from running errands. She hadn't specified but I assumed some were wedding associated and others were just because.
Bandit and Jasper were playing when she walked back in and they stopped to sniff her.
"Hey guys, miss me?" She kissed them both.
"I know I did." I set my laptop aside as she climbed into my lap.
"I wasn't gone super long," she teased before kissing me.
"I feel like anything I say now will be used against me because of how cheesy it'll be." I kissed her back and pushed her hair out of her face.
"Some girls like the cheesy comments though." She shifted in my lap as her phone went off and leaned against me while I stroked her back. "Hey mom, what's up?"
I couldn't hear what she was saying on the other line but I could feel Dasha frowning. "Since when?"
There was a reply and I waited as patiently as I could for her to finish the conversation so I would know what exactly was going on. Surely it wasn't anything involving our relationship.
"I... I really am sorry mom. I didn't know," she slid off my lap and gave me a sad smile before slipping into the bathroom. What the hell?
The rest of the convo I didn't hear so I focused on watching the dogs breathe as they slept. What could she be apologizing for?
Fifteen minutes later the only thing I heard on the other side of the door was sniffling. I really was baffled by the whole thing as I got up to check on her. "Sweetheart, is everything alright?"
"Yeah..." she sighed and unlocked the door while throwing away a tissue. "I um... my mom called because her dad died. And I... well I feel bad that we ended on the terms we did. I mean... it's her dad." She was at a loss for words as I was. Yes her grandparents had been older but I didn't think it was to that extent.
"Did she say how?" I held her close as she steadied her breathing.
"I guess he was diagnosed with stage four cancer a few months ago but they didn't want to tell me until after I graduated... but his heart stopped while he was sleeping. Maybe that was better than..."
"He's not suffering anymore love. I really am sorry, I know that's hard." I felt tears prick my eyes when remembering when I had gotten the news of my grandmother dying a few years ago. It had been so unexpected, just like this.
Dasha wrapped her arms around me and just stood there while I kissed her hair. "Where will the funeral be?"
"Back home where my parents are. They lived relatively close and I know they have plots picked out there... I just feel so bad for not being more understanding. I was so cruel to not want them at my graduation." She wiped her eyes again.
"Sweetheart, do not beat yourself up about that. His thinking was just what he knew and you were just upset, I know you loved him."
"I don't want our kids to grow up feeling like they can't be accepted."
"They won't sweetheart I promise. At least not from us or from those who matter. Things will be different even ten years from now once we have them and they're old enough to understand." My heart thudded just thinking about becoming a father and seeing Dasha be a mother. I could only wish that it would come once we had everything settled and were in Cali or at least somewhere for a few years.
"I need to call my grandma... but after that we can do something happier."
"Take your time love, I'll make sure I have the information correct for the relators I wanted us to look at.
She nodded and went into the bedroom while I sat back down and put my laptop back in my lap. Who would've thought this would be the news we're receiving after she graduates on top of everything?
**Three days later**
"So this is it." She squeezed my hand as we walked from our car and to one of the buildings of Berkeley.
"This is it." Hayden shook his head as we walked in and saw a man talking on the phone at the reception.
"One moment," he set the phone down. "May I help you?"
"My name is Hayden Blaze, and this is my fiancé, Dasha. I was informed to meet, Dr. White here for a tour?"
"Oh yes, give me one moment. Take a seat," he pointed at the chairs before picking the phone back up.
"I'm excited that they'll let you teach here even without your doctorate." I whispered while gazing at the photos on the wall.
"They may be able to workout where I get my doctorate here while teaching." He replied and stood when a man walked in seconds later with his tie slightly wrinkled.
"Sorry, I completely lost track of time and was trying to get out of a meeting. You must be Hayden Blaze." The short man, shook his hand and then mine.
"Yes Sir, this is my fiancé, Dasha. She wanted to tour as well."
"Not a problem! Are you a teacher as well, Miss..."
"Watkins. And no Sir, I graduated with a mass com degree."
"I see, well I'm glad to still have you here." His grey eyes shone as he turned and had us follow him across the campus towards a different building. "The department is made up of many different professors who specialize in specific time periods. Some do graduate and undergraduate courses, just depending upon supply and demand."
I listened as he went on and on about the different things regarding the college. He seemed to know my boss fairly well which made me feel relieved knowing I was being placed in good hands.
"What do you prefer to teach Hayden?" Dr. White looked up at me while we went to his office.
"I do like medieval, but honestly anything prior to World War One. So the ancient things."
"Excellent! And are you pursuing your doctorate?"
"I am looking into options currently. Since that's a bit more specific and I needed to just get more information honestly."
"Not a problem. I can give you some people and numbers to reach if you want to do it here or online somewhere. I really think you would make a great fit here, our department is very enthusiastic about what they do and we need another male aboard."
"What's the student to staff ratio?" I squeezed Dasha's hand to reassure her on the last comment.
"Undergrad you're looking at... maybe eighty? But you know students drop and such. Graduate it's in the twenties typically."
"Not bad." I was used to the numbers as it was.
"But even then if you do more than one class time it'll split the classes and such. Some of our professors are out today but there's a few you can meet. I promise not to take up too much of your time."
"It's not a problem, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to show us around."
We went to a few of the classrooms and met some of the faculty. I took in how they did their classrooms just to see what was different here versus back home. The great thing about being a professor was the independence you got to design your room.
"We are always grateful to welcome someone," one of the women shook my hand. "I may be biased but our department is more close-knit than some of the others."
"I don't doubt it for a second." I replied as she smiled and shook Dasha's hand as well.
After another hour or so of talking and promising to visit again, we returned to our rental car. My smile was wide as I pulled away and Dasha kissed my cheek.
"What do you think?"
"I love it honestly. The faculty are intelligent and very honest. I just think it would be a great fit." I kissed her hand and held it while driving with the other. "But what about you? Is this something you'll want to do?"
"Sweetheart, whenever your job takes you, I'll follow. I can find something here no doubt. Who knows, maybe I'll get my masters online so I can find more opportunities too."
We pulled up to a bistro to stop and eat before our appointment with the realtor. There was one house we were looking at today, and two more tomorrow. They were all relatively close to campus, and one was even near San Francisco.
"I'm glad we were able to get away for a few days." I watched her finish eating as we sat and looked at the people around. It was starting to warm up, and I made a mental note to check the weather for the evening in case we went out.
"Me too, this was what we both needed." She leaned into me, "I'm excited to see the houses."
"I am too, it really doesn't matter to me which one we pick, if we even like any of them. As long as you're happy."
"As long as theirs a yard of some sort for the dogs I think we're good." She teased.
"Yes, they are definitely a priority."
"Tonight," she dropped her voice just to make sure people weren't eavesdropping. "We celebrate."
"Hmm, I like the sound of that."
Her blush was all I needed to know that things were looking up from here. I couldn't wait to show her the houses and see what she really thought. My future with her was just beginning.
**I could've made this a little longer, but I want to do some research on the houses first. Don't worry we're only... halfway through. There's still a LOT to come ;) many more surprises ahead.**