Year Ten | The Dinner

Reader Note: The Contract is not a romance. It is Tucker Meyer’s origin story and a prequel serial to the spicy BWWM age-gap romance Together Exclusive Official by Stevie Alison.

Christine

“Are you coming to Clairborn for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks?”

Laughing, I tell my father, “I totally am, Dad. I’m looking forward to seeing you, and I’ll be taking Makayla to Monroe to shop while I’m here.”

“You’ve already talked to her?”

“Yep. She’s loving it at Clairborn U, but she says she misses me, and she’s dying to go out for ice cream.” I then exhale. “You know how her mother is.”

Dad sighs. “Yeah, I do. It’s a good thing she has a safe aunt. Mikayla’s a beautiful young lady, just like you...like all of my daughters and granddaughters. Ugh, I wish I knew why Alyce turned out so mean, especially about weight and appearances. I didn’t raise any of you girls that way.”

There’s not much to say to that, honestly. The truth is, all three of us lived under the same roof with Dad and Mom. After they separated, he wasn’t an absent father, but they may see our post-separation childhood differently than I do.

That’s the thing about perspectives. We can be inside the same situation, and you could have a completely different experience than the others in it.

“So you’re coming. I assume Tucker’s out?”

“Of course.”

He snickers. “Some things never change.”

“True, Dad. But some things do.”

***

Tucker

It’s a normal Tuesday. I’ve spent the day consulting Shane, in partnership with his friend Sam, on a major office development on the edge of town. The project is going swimmingly, and Sam’s excellent to work with.

On my way home, I attend my yoga class in the Chihuahuan Desert a few minutes away from home, where I’m now helping the instructor by assisting with poses for new and less experienced yogis.

After class, Tiffany, the instructor, pulls me aside.

“Tucker, I just wanted to tell you how amazing you are helping students with their poses,” she says, running her fingers through her long, blonde locks after removing her hair tie.

“Thanks, Tiff,” I say.

“You’re really good at showing our less flexible students modifications that work for them. Very patient and understanding.”

I shrug. Each student comes in at a different base level of flexibility and endurance, but as far as I’m concerned, yoga is for everyone.

She then tells me, “Start thinking about potentially running your own classes. Nancy is leaving soon...she and her family are moving to Anaheim, so there’s an opening and we’d prefer to hire folks we know.”

Chuckling, I say, “My day job keeps me busy, but it’s something I’d be happy to consider. Thanks for your vote of confidence.”

The traffic has improved, and I’m looking forward to making it home fairly quickly. Christine texted me earlier to say she’s making pork chops, stuffing, and green beans. Yum.

Entering our condo from the hallway, I can already smell the deliciousness.

“Dinner’s ready, Tucker,” my wife calls to me from the kitchen.

I walk in there, and she’s wearing a navy blouse with ivory polka dots, and high-waisted blue jeans that hug every curve. Looking forward to taking that off later. Approaching her from behind, I give her a hug and kiss her cheek.

“You’re looking quite lovely, doll,” I say.

“Thank you,” she says, sounding a little distant. “Dinner’s ready. We don’t want it to get cold.”

She must be quite hungry tonight. I can’t blame her. Our meal smells delicious.

We both fix our plates and sit together at the dining table. We’ve been practicing that more often, and it’s a routine I enjoy.

“How was work?” I ask.

Her eyes are on her fork and knife. She’s focused intently on her dinner. “It...it was good. Normal day, can’t complain. How about you?”

“It was nice. We’re continuing to move forward on the project Shane’s got going with Sam. Making great time on it, and city government approvals are moving along easily. Sam has some connections there, so it’s been great.”

“And yoga?”

I think about what I want to share about that before I answer.

“Yoga’s good. Tiffany wants me to potentially take over for one of the other instructors who’s leaving town.”

“Oh, nice.”

Once I swallow a piece of tender pork chop, I disclose, “If I take it, I might be coming home a little later a couple of days a week.”

“Okay,” she says, with no hint of apprehension.

I’m glad she’s not seeing that as a problem. Honestly, I was a bit worried about that.

We vacuum our dinner. Christine’s an excellent cook anyway, but she outdid herself tonight.

Dinner’s over, and she clears the table.

“Stay there,” she says.

I’m anticipating some deliciousness. Perhaps she’s serving vanilla ice cream, or something else sweet.

She returns, but instead of ice cream, or even wine, she’s holding a manila envelope and pen. Her blue eyes fix onto me like it’s serious business.

Not what I expected. I’m wondering what this is about.

Sitting down, Christine opens the envelope, pulls out a stack of papers, and reaches across the small glass table so that it is piled in front of me.

“What’s this, doll?”

“Read it, Tucker,” she says, matter-of-factly.

My eyes scan the top page:

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

COUNTY OF DOÑA ANA

THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

CASE NO. D-307-DM-20XX-00925

CHRISTINE GRACE MEYER, Petitioner,

v.

TUCKER NEIL MEYER, Respondent.

SUMMONS

TO THE RESPONDENT: TUCKER NEIL MEYER

ADDRESS: 157 VIA VERA CT, UNIT 207, LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO 88015

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to serve upon the Petitioner’s attorney, or upon the Petitioner if unrepresented, an Answer or Motion in response to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage Without Children herewith served upon you.

Your Answer or Motion must be filed with the Clerk of the District Court, Doña Ana County Judicial Complex, 201 W. Picacho Ave, Las Cruces, New Mexico, within thirty (30) days after service of this Summons upon you, exclusive of the day of service.

IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS, JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT WILL BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU FOR THE RELIEF DEMANDED IN THE PETITION, INCLUDING THE DIVISION OF JOINT FINANCIAL ASSETS.

What? Dissolution of Marriage?

“The fuck is this?”

“Tucker...I’m done.”

“Done?” I ask, as it slowly sinks in what any of this legalese means. “Like, you’re divorcing me?”

She sighs. “Yes. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

My vision narrows. “Christine...what is all this about? Everything’s fine. We’ve been doing fine. You’ve been killing it at your job. You’re singing solos in your choir. You’ve made friends and you have a whole social life. I thought you were happy...”

“I am happy, Tucker. But you haven’t wanted to be a part of my happiness.”

My brow furrows. “That’s not true, I do...look, I thought we were good. We sit and talk every night, we fuck like jackrabbits, we sleep together and wake up together. We just passed ten years with a goddamn trip to Vegas and the Grand Canyon. For fuck’s sake, am I missing something?”

She shakes her head. “There’s more to a marriage than check-ins, getaways, and your dick.”

Ouch.

My hands gesticulate. “Shit, Christine. If you have a problem with me, why don’t we talk this through before doing something so drastic? We can talk it out...we can work it out...we always have...”

She sits back in her chair. “There’s nothing to work out anymore. I’ve been telling you for as long as we’ve been married. You and I are doing fantastic — separately. But when we first moved out here, we had goals and dreams...a life we wanted together. We had a future we were working towards. And none of it has happened. And it’s not for lack of my bringing it up. It’s ‘Later, Christine,’ later, later, later.”

“Look...if you want us to move back to Clairborn, we can do that. I will get that set up first thing tomorrow morning, a—”

“I’m over that shit, Tucker! That fight’s dead and gone. I’m here. I made it work. I’m not leaving New Mexico. I have a life here now that has nothing to do with you.”

“So, what’s all this?” The reality is slow to sink in.

“See, that’s your problem. You do what you want when you want to.”

“Not this bullshit with your goddamn father...”

Christine sneers, “And you wonder why I’m leaving you, Tucker.”

That takes the wind out of my sails.

She continues. “You made your career work. You made yoga work. You sure as hell made New Mexico work. But you chose to let go of everything else, even our marriage. Ten years, come and gone. We’re still renting. You haven’t let me get off the damn pill...it’s clear you don’t want kids. You might as well get a vasectomy and be done with it.”

“The fuck? That’s not true!”

And apparently, she’s not done. “You can’t be assed to come to any of my concerts or social events for work or with my friends. And your own family only knows you’re alive because they have me on speed dial.”

At this point, my face is in my hands. Damn...am I that disconnected?

“I will not wait forever for your later to be now. There’s nothing left that you can say to change this. I have a process server coming later this week. Either you get served by them during your yoga class, or I can have a notary come over and you can sign this form now.”

Christine pulls out a piece of paper. It lands on top of the big stack. It says:

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

COUNTY OF DOÑA ANA

THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

CASE NO. D-307-DM-20XX-00925

CHRISTINE GRACE MEYER, Petitioner,

v.

TUCKER NEIL MEYER, Respondent.

ACCEPTANCE OF SERVICE AND RECOGNITION OF ACCORD

I, TUCKER NEIL MEYER, state to the Court that I am the Respondent in the above-styled domestic relations matter.

1. Receipt of Pleadings: I hereby acknowledge that I have voluntarily received a true and correct copy of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage Without Children and the Summons issued in this case.

2. Waiver of Formal Service: I knowingly accept service of these documents and waive the necessity of formal service of process upon me by a Sheriff, Process Server, or other authorized official.

3. Submission to Jurisdiction: I enter my formal appearance in this matter and submit myself to the jurisdiction of the Third Judicial District Court of New Mexico.

4. Time to Respond: I understand that by signing this document, the statutory thirty (30) day timeline to file an Answer or Responsive Motion begins on the date executed below.

Below is a blank line for me to sign in the presence of a notary public.

I’ve got nothing left.

“Is this what you truly want, Christine?” I ask quietly.

Her face softens. “Tucker, I love you and I always will, but this is what I need.”

“Okay.”

She makes a phone call. A few minutes later, the door slightly shakes with knocking. Christine gets it. Her coworker and friend Leila enters in a navy dress suit.

Her friends knew about this before I even had a clue?

I’m not going to think about this now. I just can't. Let’s just get through this.

Since Leila is a notary public, she takes me through the process. I sign her notary book and the voluntary service document, then she stamps and signs it.

“Are you gonna be okay, Christine?” Leila asks.

“Yeah. I’m packed. Sofia’s outside now. I’m going to stay with her for a while.”

How long has this been in the works?

Christine wheels out her yellow hardshell suitcase and carries her black purse and backpack. Before she leaves, she slides me a business card.

“My lawyer’s information is here. I suggest you get one, too. I don’t want much...I just want to move on. Goodbye, Tucker.”

Leila leaves, and Christine follows right behind, shutting the door.

And just like that, my marriage is over.

Want to see where Tucker Meyer’s story leads after The Contract? Read the spicy BWWM age-gap romance Together Exclusive Official, on Kindle Unlimited, DRM-free ebook, or print: