Page 28 of Until Tomorrow
“Eva,” I began, taken aback, “that’s not enough.”
“It’s enough for me to move and start over,” she replied. My gaze flicked to her face, and I could see she meant it. “Please, sign the papers, Logan. I don’t want to go to court. The judge would only laugh at you for trying to fight me over me not wanting your money.”
She had a point. I hated that she had a point. No one would take me seriously if I tried to fight her into taking more money.Shit.Begrudgingly, I accepted the pen she held out and flipped through the stack of papers. I glossed over everything out of habit, but of course, there was nothing out of the ordinary. That wasn’t Eva.
I signed every tabbed location and felt my life slipping further out of my hands with each one.
“There you go.” I made sure the papers were neat and handed them back to her.
“Thank you,” Eva said, putting them back in her bags. Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands together as she stared up at me. Even in heels, she was still short enough to crane her head back slightly. “Now that that’s out of the way, I have a question for you.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to divorce me?” she asked. That wasn’t the question I expected, considering she just had me sign papers.
“Eva, I—”
“I know that you feel like you need to,” she interrupted, “but what I’m asking is if youwantto divorce me. If you weren’t going through what you are, would you still be asking me for a divorce?”
“No,” I told her softly.I meant that with every fiber of my heart.Drawing in a deep breath, I put my hands in my pockets as I considered the best way to word what I wanted to say. Brutal honesty was all I had. “Eva, I need you to understand that this was a last resort for me. I love you, and I will always love you. But, Eva… I can’t… I’m afraid I’m going to wake up one day and regret not figuring this part of myself out. And I can’t do that to you. I won’t be a husband who cheats. And I can’t… I can’t not know either. I don’t know what I’m doing, Eva, but I never wanted to hurt you. This isn’t aboutwantingto divorce you. I just don’t see another solution to my predicament.”
She let out a shaky breath as she nodded. The emotion in her face was unreadable.
“Okay,” she replied. “I’d like you to come inside with me. There’s a presentation that I’d like you to join me for. And I’m asking you to keep an open mind. If at the end of it, you don’t want to talk, I’ll give you the papers, and that’s it. We’ll be done. But if you’d like to talk, we can go to the coffee shop nearby and talk.”
I couldn’t imagine what kind of presentation could change my situation.
“Eva, I don’t think—”
“Please, Logan,” Eva pleaded, cutting me off. “It should only be an hour or two at most.”
“Okay,” I agreed. Two hours was the very least I could give her. Her head bobbed up and down slightly, lips pressing together tightly. Without a word, she turned on her heel and went inside the auditorium.
Sheleft me in one of two seats in the middle of the auditorium. I watched in utter fascination as she strode right through the mingling crowd toward the front of the auditorium where five people stood talking. As she neared them, one man stepped to the side, saying her name loudly. I frowned as he hugged her tightly. I didn’t recognize him—granted, we’d been separated for weeks, so she could’ve met all kinds of people.
He was tall and lean, his dark shirt stretched tight across broad shoulders and falling loose around a tapered waist. Light brown hair hung past his shoulders in wild waves and matched the trimmed beard on his face. He was tattooed, loud, and unlike anyone she knew.Well, except maybe Elliot.
I watched as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into the group. Dozens of unorganized thoughts and questions weaved through my head. Who was he? How did they know each other? How did she know all of them?
Was I jealous?Not really. More than anything, I felt outside of it all. Weeks apart meant weeks of her living life without me. I’d meant what I said. I didn’twanta divorce. It was a necessity. I wanted to know all the ins and outs of her life. I wanted to know the story of how she’d met them and how we’d gotten to this point.
“Five minutes!” a blonde woman yelled over the chatter, dragging me from my thoughts. She hurried up the aisle, shouting, “We’ll get started in five minutes! Grab your drinks, grab your snacks, grab your friends! There’s no pause button on real life, folks!”
Chapter 19
Logan
“Allright,”theblondewoman said just as Eva slid into the seat next to me. I glanced at Eva, taking in the careful way she kept a distance between us as best as she could in the fold-down seats. She caught me staring and nodded pointedly toward the front. I did. “Okay, we’ve got an impressive turnout tonight. These things are always so iffy depending on the timing. I’m excited to have you here. I know our guests are as well. I’m going to go over a few quick things before we dive right in! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Amelia Waterman. I am a professor of psychology with a specialty in the psychology of sexuality and the psychology of relationships. I’ve spent years sharing my experience and education with the community in a variety of outreach programs. It’s my personal mission to help bridge the gap between what’s considered traditional and non-traditional when it comes to relationships, sexuality, and family dynamics.”
“We hate the word non-traditional!” a young man in the front chimed in.
“That is correct, Mark.” Amelia laughed. “Mark’s in one of my classes. My students are privy to my societal rants.
“Part of what I like to do is create events like tonight by working with queer members in our society as well as those who don’t have standard-looking relationships. These open-floor events are a great way to get the conversation started. This here is a great place to learn firsthand through people who live these lives. I find this to be a far more effective tool of acceptance and understanding than pamphlets and emails. The rules are the same as always. You are welcome to ask any appropriate questions you have. Unintended bigotry will be gently corrected because that’s the only way we learn. Any intentional bigotry will lead to me kicking you out. I’m tiny but feisty. Ask my wives. I will drag you out if I have to.”
That sentiment earned her a chuckle around the room, including from me. The woman was all of five feet and had to be going on fifty.
“We’ll start tonight by letting our guests introduce themselves, their dynamic, and tell you a bit about their lives,” she continued. “After that, the floor will be open to ask as many questions as you want. We’ve only got the auditorium for two hours, but we can mix and mingle afterward. We’ll have food and drinks out in the lobby, and our guests will be around for any one-on-one questions you might have for them. Got it?”
